Chapter 2 [Tuesday morning—Middleton High School 7:05 AM
After a mini-workout in his parents' basement, Ron headed over to MHS for his appointment with Mr. Barkin and the first day of classes. While he, Sensei and the ever-expectant principal had ironed out the details surrounding the correspondence courses, Ron couldn't resist making an appearance in school. The summer in Japan made him feel better about facing his classmates.
Rufus peeked out of his pocket as they entered the school. As much as his friend dreaded their previous time there, the mole rat appreciated the difference in his human especially in how they worked out and meditated together in the central courtyard on the essence of perfection—the alpha and omega; yin and yang not to mention the cheese and naco.
"Here goes," Ron indicated anxiously at the sight of the principal's door open and the light peeking out. He knocked respectfully, remembering how Sensei had advised him to approach the situation. "Mr. Barkin?"
The door swung open, revealing the hulking man with the marine corp. haircut and bulging muscles. As always, he wore a dark tie and white shirt under his light brown suit. His intense stare cut right through the younger man's confidence. "Stoppable." He glanced at his watch. "You're early. Amazing."
"Hope you don't mind, Mr. B. Better early than late, right?" Ron asked nervously.
While he wasn't buying the question, Barkin had heard from Sensei and Kim about Ron's dedication and renewed sense of purpose. He still saw the same fear in the young man's face. However, he sensed something different about the young man. Maybe it was his posture. The bravado had lightened in the voice. "Right, Stoppable. Come in and shut the door."
"Thanks, sir," Ron replied while setting down his backpack and producing a folder from it. "The culture paper as Mr. Sensei mentioned." He handed it to the principal.
Barkin flipped through the paper. Ever since his Japanese counterpart had told him of Ron's desire to research Japanese culture, he'd maintained a skeptical posture on the endeavor. As he flipped through the paper, however, his eyes widened at the material. While still not college level, the sloppiness was gone. In its place, clean sentences expressed ideas. The citations were precise and from innovative sources—both books and art pieces. Disciplined order governed the discussion therein.
In short, the paper impressed the Hell out of Barkin, validating Ron's summer abroad.
"I never thought I'd see this out of you, Stoppable," Barkin admitted. "This paper rocks! A+! Of course, you don't mind talking to the World Civilization and Art classes about this?"
"Hey, sure thing, Mr. Barkin. Anything to help out the exchange program, right?" Ron supposed.
"That's the spirit!" Barkin agreed, wanting to do anything to encourage Ron's spirit in that regard. "Speaking of which, you know I'm expecting you to participate with the class through the multimedia center at Yamanuchi."
"I think it's cool. I get the best of both worlds, Mr. B," Ron expressed sincerely. "Besides, the others at Yamanuchi think it's cool too! Mind if they say a few words?"
Barkin blinked at Ron. If this is a dream, don't wake me up! "Anything to help, Stoppable. I trust they'll be ready this morning?"
"You've got it, Mr. B. They'll be there," Ron agreed, knowing that Sensei would make sure of it.
"Awesome!" He glanced at his watch once again. "Get your butt up to home room and I'll see you in the culture class. Got it?"
"Right, Mr. B. Thanks!" Ron concluded before leaving.
Unbelievable! He looked up toward the ceiling, feeling as if he'd just witnessed a divine miracle.
Chapter 3 [8:57 AM—Room 215: World Cultures
As Kim and Rick left their home room, they discovered that the halls already buzzed with the news of Ron's return.
"Doesn't take long, does it?" he supposed wryly.
She quirked her eyebrow. "It never does." She sighed, wondering how some people wasted their time gossiping about others.
"Hey, girl!" Monique called. "I heard Ron's gonna be here! I thought he and Yori would've left already."
"They wanted to do a day with us here," Kim informed her. Just then, she saw Yori approaching them in her blue school uniform. "Speaking of which…"
"Am I late, Kim?" the visitor inquired.
"Right on time, Yori. Follow us," Kim assured her.
"You and Ron have really got the place rocking!" Monique declared, trying to get Yori to spill something juicy for the grapevine.
The ninja smiled warmly, taking a page from Hirotaka's book. "That is Ron San for you. I am sure however he will act honorably." As they walked into the classroom, she looked over the assembled group of seniors. "I am looking forward to this."
"I'll bet you are! Hey, thought you were all going to keep Stoppable over there!" Bonnie snapped darkly.
While her cheeks burned at the other girl's words, she remembered Sensei's words in that regard. "A snake that strikes out at foul air only leaves its own neck vulnerable to the next strike." "Ron San wishes to share his accomplishments from the summer, Rockwaller-San. He has done much to make Middleton High School very proud. I trust you had a productive summer?"
Bonnie scowled, thinking of the time she had frittered away at home.
"Yes, Bonnie, do tell," Kim pushed, not letting the pressure off of her rival. Not getting an answer, she shrugged. "Thought not."
"OOH!" the brunette cheerleader groused before sitting in the corner seat and sulking with her arms folded. "Hey, K, he's still a LOSER!"
"Nice to see some things never change," Rick suggested sarcastically.
"Wish she'd grow up," Monique interjected as they took the six front seats, remembering to save one for Ron.
"Don't hold your breath," Kim advised while glaring at Bonnie.
"Hey, hey, guys!" Ron announced while walking into the room. "Hope the summer was all good!" He slid into the seat next to Yori.
"Hi ya!" Rufus greeted, popping out of Ron's pocket and jumping up on the desk.
Barely a second later, Barkin wheeled a television into the room and hooked up all of the relays. "Listen up, People! We're having a special treat from Japan courtesy of the Yamanuchi School. I fully expect you all to pay close attention and be respectful!" He turned on the television to see six young people in addition to Sensei sitting and waiting for their cue. He put on his headset. "Mr. Sensei, can you hear us?"
"Yes, we can indeed, Barkin-Sama. We appreciate the opportunity to share classes with you all in Middleton. Truly the experience will benefit us all," Sensei answered.
As the camera panned around at the Japanese students, it caught Hirotaka sitting confidently in the front row. He smiled and arched an eyebrow smoothly.
On the Middleton side, most of the girls in the class sighed.
Yori forced herself not to roll her eyes at the cool display. How I wish he would not do such things!
Rick eyed Kim who shrugged.
"Okay, Ladies. Now that we're all settled down, I wanted to welcome everyone to World Civilizations. Between now and next May, we're going to spend a month dealing with each culture in depth. Stoppable, give me a hand, will you?"
"I'm on it, Mr. B," Ron concurred while getting up and heading up to the desk.
As he did so, Bonnie leaned close to Kim and whispered, "Hey, K, looks like the Loser turned brown noser too."
Kim turned red and wanted to say something. She saw Sensei shake his head at her. Fine! For him, Ron and Yori, I'll chill! She crossed her arms and stewed in her juices.
By that point, Ron handed out the new world culture books along with a slip for each of them to fill out.
"Do you have your copies?" Barkin asked the others on the TV.
"Hai, Barkin-Sama. Domo arigato," the ninja master expressed. "If I may say a few words about our venture?"
"Of course. Please feel free," the principal accepted yielding the floor in the process.
"Domo. My friends, thank you for letting us share this and the World Art classes with you today. As our previous exchange ventures have taught us, the common sharing of ideas and cultures leads to peace and harmony. Remember that the most beautiful gardens come not just from the best seed. Rather, they come from the gardener and the bees who plan and cross pollinate, sharing the best in every plant and flower. We at Yamanuchi have benefited from our friendship through Hirotaka's experiences with you. But you all have offered us a gift in exchange. One of your own has experienced the give and take of cultures directly. I would ask that he speak on his stay with us. Stoppable San?"
Ron squirmed from the praise from his master. While he'd worked hard and given as much as he could, he still felt he wasn't carrying his own weight around the school. Making things worse, he saw the surprise in his classmates' eyes. Great. Here's to making a fool out of myself! He rose from his chair and walked toward the front of the room. "Domo, Sensei-Sama." He bowed to his ninja classmates as reverently as he could manage. "My friends."
With a nod from Sensei, the students on camera stood and returned the bow with a collective one of their own. Unlike their Colorado counterparts, they recognized how much Ron strove to improve with each day. As such, they wished to support him.
"Thanks, guys. As I said earlier, it was a bondiggity summer. We worked together on our studies up there. Yeah, gang, we've already been in session for a month now. But as Sensei-Sama said, it's about making friends and sharing ideas. We learn from them. They learn from us. I've introduced them to the naco and Bueno Nacho. They taught me about Eastern cuisine. I've managed a few meals for them with the teacher's permission of course."
Remembering the mid-July feast, Kim smirked at her friend.
"But the most awesome part of the whole sitch is that we're all buds here. Today, I'm here with you. Tonight, after Yori and I fly back there, we'll be on the other side of the screen. It really doesn't matter—with email, chat and texting, we're all cool." He beat a fist on his chest and made the peace sign. "It's all good, right?" His eyes surveyed the entire room from his far off classmates to those in the room before settling on Kim and Yori and smiling warmly. "Mr. Barkin, thanks for the advice. It's been badical. Thanks." He went back to his seat.
"Thanks, Stoppable, for those thoughts. In fact, People, we're all going to do talks over the course of the class. Each of you will pair up with a student from Yamanuchi. Since I know how much you love your cell phones and messaging, we're going to put them to good use." He grinned, knowing how much some of them were going to hate the next words. "You all are going to do class projects on a topic together. Is that all right, Mr. Sensei?"
"As we agreed," Sensei concurred, already planning a schedule for the ninja training around the projects and schoolwork.
"Wonderful. Okay, gang, we've worked out a list of topics and partners. Stoppable, I'm letting you and Possible team up on this one. Same with Matsumaru and Trouseau. Since you all know each other the best, you're going first. Simpson!"
"Yes?" Monique asked.
"You and Hirokata will be paired up."
The fashion queen had to contain her enthusiasm. "Thank you…." She sighed contentedly.
"I look forward to working with you as well." Accepting a paper from Sensei, he read, "We will be working on Steppe culture." While the region utterly bored him, Hiro contained his disdain lest he should dishonor his classmates.
Bonnie sulked, wishing she'd have drawn Hirotaka for herself. Can this get any worse?
