This story is my submission to the Summer of 2010 Writers Challenge.

During a reunion at Middleton High School, Kim and Ron learn about some persons they may see more often over the coming years.

Disclaimer: Kim Possible and related are the property of Disney which, contrary to common belief, I do not own.


A Preunion

"Where are we going?" Ron asked his lifelong best friend Kim Possible as he followed her along the streets of Middleton.

The ten year old redhead looked over her shoulder as if to make sure her friend was still there, "I read in the newspaper that there was going to be a reunion at the Middleton High School today, I wanna check it out."

"What?" Ron skidded to a halt, "No, I'm not going to school… it's a Saturday," he was about to turn around when Kim grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on Ron," she said with a look that tried to convince Ron that he was exaggerating but that actually showed she didn't really dare to go alone, "It's a reunion, there are no classes; lots of previous students come there and they tell how things used to be… and there is probably lots of snacks."

That finally convinced Ron, "Okay… but if they try to teach me anything, I'm out of there."

"Thanks Ron," Kim smiled happily, "you know, in a couple of years we'll also be attending Middleton High, and then we already know how things work there."

"Strategic intelligence," Ron pondered, "that might come in handy."

Kim laughed and rolled her eyes at Ron's comment, "You're weird."


It didn't take the two long to reach Middleton High. A sign in front of the school welcomed visitors to the reunion in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the school. Even though it was still relatively early in the afternoon there were already quite some people walking about.

"Let's see what they have inside," Kim said enthusiastically; her adventurous spirit fully active.

"But we're not invited," Ron objected, "and we're too young to pretend to have attended."

"There are more children here," Kim pointed to several groups of parents who had taken their children with them, most were just toddlers but some were close to Kim and Ron's age, "I don't think anyone will notice us."

As they approached what appeared to be the entrance stall they saw two girls, most likely a freshman and a sophomore, handing out name-tags to the various visitors as they checked in. Although they had a forced smile plastered on their face, Kim could see they were not enjoying their assignment.

As she was figuring out how best to pass the stand, the redhead noticed the familiarity between the girls, but it was Ron who recognized them, "Hey, aren't those Bonnie's sisters?"

Kim took another look and had to admit that the girls did indeed look very much like their snarly classmate. Even though they didn't hang out much with Bonnie, Kim was pretty sure she had heard the brunette talking sometimes about having two older sisters; sometimes bragging about the fact that they were in high school, sometimes complaining how they treated her. Kim wasn't really sure, but she though that having older sisters must be way better than younger twin brothers.

"Rockwaller! Both of you," a large man with brown hair walked up to the duo behind the stall, "Show some better smiles, this is a celebration, not a funeral. Or you'll still get the detention you two deserve."

"Ugh, cheerleaders don't do detention," the oldest of the Rockwaller sisters remarked, but after one glare from the large man the girls did put a little more effort in their smiles.

"I see the apples didn't fall far from the Rockwaller tree," an older man, looking very similar to the first, said.

"Dad," Steve Barkin – Kim was finally able to see his name badge – smiled, "Glad you could make it, how is Mystic Cove Haven these days."

Steve's father shrugged, "The community is getting smaller each year, I have to fill in more and more to keep everything running."

"I know the feeling," Steve told, "let me tell you about one of the teachers who almost choked on a pencil last semester…"

Seeing that both elder and younger Mr. Barkin were occupied, and the Rockwaller sisters didn't seem to pay much attention to their surroundings, Kim decided that now was the best time to head in.

"But it's just getting interesting," Ron complained, but followed his friend inside the school anyway.


Inside the building stood another stand with pamphlets that gave information about the different activities that were held that day and where they would take place.

Kim picked up one of the information sheets and looked questioningly at Ron, "What shall we check out first?"

"The cafeteria," Ron said enthusiastically.

Kim chuckled, "Okay, we'll first go there… but we won't stay there the whole time," she warned, knowing her friends behavior in close proximity to food.

"Alright," Ron conceded, "but we could go back there every now and then, right?"

"We'll see," Kim smirked and looked on the small map inside the pamphlet where the cafeteria was located, "Let's see…"

"No need," Ron grinned, "I'll just follow my nose."

His sense of smell working like a charm, Ron effortlessly led them to the canteen where several people were having a snack or something to drink while sharing stories about their time as students of Middleton High.

Ron's eyes grew wide, "KP, they have all kinds of free snacks here, this is almost as good as the Bueno Nacho opening."

Kim rolled her eyes, "Just don't eat yourself sick again, it wasn't pretty having to get you back after you've almost lost everything you'd eaten there."

Ron looked down, "I'll be careful."

Soon, Ron had assembled quite a selection of fried snacks, which were disappearing almost as quick as he had brought them. Kim decided to stick with only a drink; partly because she wasn't really hungry and partly because she felt a bit guilty for intruding in the reunion, even though no one seemed to notice them.

"This is great," Ron grinned between bites, "you know, I think I'm going to enjoy going to school here if the food's this good."

Kim chuckled, "Ron, I don't think they serve snacks every day."

"But still," Ron insisted, "if they can make such good snacks they got to make great food as well."

Kim shrugged, "I guess… come on, let's check out the rest here," she said when she saw her friend was about finished with his food.


"Where do you want to go now?" Ron asked; they had been wandering past several classes where former students of various years were reminiscing their school days. Of course, Kim and Ron couldn't really walk in there because they didn't belong to anyone there and would certainly receive some suspicious looks, someone could even try to help them find their parents, meaning they would be busted.

"Let's stick with the more crowded places," Kim told, "hey look, there is a cheerleader performance every hour at the gym," she looked at the clock, "the next one is in five minutes."

It was easy to find the gym seeing as more people were going there to see the performance. Kim and Ron quickly found a good spot where they could see the performance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this hour's performance will be done by the Middleton cheerleading junior team," the announcer told, "the following routine earned them second place in the regional cheerleader competition last semester. I give you… The Middleton High Junior Team!"

As the exciting music started, a group of eight cheerleaders ran onto the stage area, some pulling off a couple of cartwheels, and began their performance.

As the routing went on with a series of crossing somersaults and a three-tier pyramid, Kim got more and more excited and could barely sit still. Ron on the other hand was completely quiet and watched the gymnastic performance in awe, amazed at the skill the girls displayed.

"That was way cool," Kim exclaimed when they left the gym building after the cheerleader performance and walked to the largely empty track field; most of the activities and stands had been placed inside due to rain forecasts later in the afternoon, "I'm going to become a cheerleader too when we get to school here."

"Coolio," Ron smiled, knowing his friends athletic skills he had little doubt that she would be a great cheerleader, "Do you think they let you do those cartwheels and loops too?"

Kim shrugged, "Why not, those didn't look too difficult," to prove her point, she took a running start and did a couple of cartwheels in the grass before ending with a double flick-flack.

"That was amazing," Ron said, again stunned by his friend's abilities, "With those moves, they should enter you right now."

"Pssh," another voice sneered, "As if, even the most basic cheerleader could do better than that.

Kim and Ron looked up to see Bonnie Rockwaller, one of their classmates, standing a short distance away. Even though they hung out with different groups in their class, the two seemed to be a bit higher on the brunette's list of people she didn't like.

"What are you doing here Bonnie?" Kim frowned, not too happy about her performance – one she had actually put quite some effort in – being talked into the ground.

"My dad went to school here," Bonnie smirked, "what are you doing here?"

Fortunately, before either had to come up with an answer, Bonnie's mother walked up, "Bonnie! There you are, you shouldn't walk away like that. Come on, I want to find your sisters."

"Mo-om," Bonnie whined; very self-conscious about her mother's behavior, in front of Kim and Ron no less.

As Mrs. Rockwaller dragged her youngest daughter with her, Kim and Ron sighed in relief.

"We almost got caught," Ron mentioned.

"Yeah," Kim didn't think people would think much of it, but she was still glad that they hadn't drawn attention, "Maybe we should call it a day?"

"Sounds good to me," Ron agreed, "but first, want to go by the cafeteria once more?"

"Sure," Kim chuckled, knowing her friend's desire for snacks, "It's about to rain anyway, so we might as well take shelter inside."

They quickly walked inside the building, together with most of the reunion guests, when the first droplets began to fall.


The light rain soon transformed into a full-blown thunderstorm that had unexpectedly flown in from over the mountains. But despite this slight downer, the reunion festivities inside made up fairly.

"I guess we're stuck here for a while," Kim sighed as she looked through one of the windows; she had promised her parents to be home before dinner, but the rainstorm might prevent that. And she didn't want to ask to call home, because that meant admitting they didn't belong here.

"Wanna check out the library?" Ron suggested as she stepped next to her, carrying a new pile of snacks, "Maybe they have some comics we can read."

"I don't think so, this is a school library, not a public one," Kim said, but she turned away from the window nonetheless and looked on the pamphlet where the library was located.


"Are you sure this is the right way?" Ron asked as they walked through the empty hallway; although the rest of the school seemed to be still alive with reunion activities, this part was eerily quiet.

"It should be," Kim looked at the small map inside the folder, "Do you think we're not supposed to be here?"

"Aren't we anyway?" Ron frowned, "…Wait, do you mean this is a restricted area?"

"Not exactly like that," Kim chuckled, "but more like this part is not a part of the reunion."

"Maybe we should go back before someone sees us," Ron suggested as he started to show the first signs of working himself into a paranoia fit.

Kim nodded, feeling a little bit scared herself as well; maybe it was the thunderstorm, "Okay, we'll wait out the rain in the cafeteria."

Ron suddenly stopped in his tracks, "Someone's coming."

Kim strained her ears, but then she too could hear footsteps coming their way from the direction of the library.

They looked back; the hall was too long to make a run back before being noticed and the footsteps were rapidly approaching, but then Kim noticed the door of the near supply closet being open a tiny bit. She quickly ushered Ron inside and pulled the door almost closed again; she had noticed just in time that the door handle on the inside seemed broken so they would have locked themselves in when they had pulled the door entirely closed.

Just as the footsteps reached the corner of the hallway, a nearby lighting strike made the lights flicker.

The footsteps stopped for a moment, but then purposefully continued. Kim could feel Ron's hands tighten around her arm, but she didn't really want to shush him off because deep down she was actually a bit scared too.

Again, lighting stuck nearby, making the lights flicker again. But this time all the lights in the hallway went out.

Kim could feel her heartbeat increase, and she could also feel Ron's heart beat rapidly; the two were pressed together, holding on to each other for comfort.

All Kim's bravado and curiosity from earlier that day were gone, "This is what I get for breaking the rules," she thought, and she felt she deserved it too. But she felt even guiltier for dragging Ron into this.

Ron was just too scared for coherent thought; he desperately tried to vision his friend Rufus, but the giant had been appearing fewer and fewer over the past years, and deep down Ron knew that he was getting over having imaginary friends. Besides, his real and true friend would go even further for him than Rufus ever would or could.

Meanwhile, the footsteps had – albeit a bit more carefully – continued their trek through the now darkened hallway and were getting close to the janitor's closet where Kim and Ron were hiding.

Both kids peered through the creak in the door to see who was standing there, but then lighting stuck again.

Kim and Ron stared wide-eyed at the silhouette that was momentarily sharply defined in the shine of the lighting; a large woman with a sharp nose and pointed and slightly tainted glasses in front of eyes that made the kids' blood run cold.


As a deafening thunderclap shook the windows in the hallway, Mrs. Hatchet cocked her head; first the lights decided to shut off and now the door to the janitor's closet swung wide open, and the woman was sure she had hear two screams as something flew past her.

Shrugging, Middleton High's librarian continued towards the cafeteria; she preferred the quiet of the library – even in a thunderstorm it seemed quieter there – but a person sometimes needed their coffee.

And, of course, at the reunion there were bound to be previous students who thought they could get away from overdue books by graduating; she would show them.

Smiling to herself, Mrs. Hatchet ran her hand through the small stack of papers that showed the overdue books some students still owed.


Mrs. Dr. Possible was about to start worrying that her daughter and her best friend Ron would have been caught in the thunderstorm and could not make it home in time for dinner when a knock on the door announced their presence.

Opening the door, Anne Possible looked down on two soaking wet children who looked exhausted and were shivering – and not just from the cold rain – and close to tears.

She quickly let the children in, "What happened to you? Did you get surprised by the thunderstorm?"

Kim nodded, already feeling a lot better in her home and with her mother close by, although she still preferred to hold on to Ron too, "Y-yeah, we got a bit scared."

Ron nodded too, also not letting go of his friend, "It was really scary."


About twenty minutes later, Kim and Ron sat on the couch in dry clothes, sharing a blanket and watching a cartoon on TV; Both Possible and Stoppable mothers had years ago quickly noticed the amount of time Kim and Ron hung out together and had decided to make sure both children had at least one spare set of clothes at the other's house.

"Sorry I dragged you into this," Kim apologized, "I made you break the rules, and we almost got caught, and then…" she didn't finish, their scare still too fresh in their memories.

"S'okay," Ron smiled, a bit preoccupied with the cartoon, "We had fun, and great snacks. And we got home safely."

"I guess you're right," Kim conceded, "but still, I shouldn't have broken the rules."

Ron shrugged, "I never saw any rules there, did you? I don't even think anyone would have cared if we had announced ourselves… now can we watch the cartoon, I have not seen this one before."

"'Kay," Kim chuckled and moved a bit closer to Ron to get to the bowl of popcorn before her friends ate it all.

What could be a better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon than watching cartoons with your best friend?

END


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this one, don't forget to read the other stories of the challenge as well.