New Experiences

XX

"Breakfast is served, monkey-wunkey!"

Monkey Fist shivered at the term of endearment. However, he looked at the breakfast tray that Amy had set up on the bed for him and had to admit that it looked delicious. Dating DNAmy, while proving to be an uncomfortable life choice, had its perks.

"Thank you, Amy."

"I got you your favorite cereal the other day!" said Amy, pointing to the bowl of Simi-o's on the tray.

Monkey Fist nodded as he began to chop slices from a banana he held over the cereal bowl. It was a children's cereal, but Monkey Fist believed certain things were just an obligation if an evil mastermind wanted to maintain a simian theme.

"Did you get a nice beauty rest?" asked Amy.

"I suppose."

"Well, I'm glad somebody did, because I was tossing and turning the whole night!"

"Yes, I noticed."

Amy sighed wistfully. "I had bad dreams about my poor Cuddlesaurus, all alone. Banished to the impenetrable void of infinity. It's just a shame!" she chirped.

Monkey Fist chewed on a mouthful of banana and monkey-head-shaped cereal. It was clear that Amy wasn't going to let go of this Cuddlesaurus thing. He supposed it was why she collected so many Cuddle Buddies; just one of those obsessive personalities. He had not seen the creature himself, but Amy had told him about the incident many times, about how Kim Possible and that girl, Justine what-was-her-name, sucked it into a vortex.

Amy was different from many other villains that Monkey Fist had met, but when it came to ranting about her defeats at the hands of teen heroes, she was exactly the same. Monkey Fist shared Amy's dislike for Kim Possible, but Amy seemed to hold a special grudge against the creator of that strange device that had banished her pet from their dimension.

Kim Possible and that Justine girl both went to Middleton High School. Along with Ron Stoppable. Monkey Fist narrowed his eyes and crushed the tea cup he had been holding. He began to wonder if he could use Amy to his own advantage.

"Oh Amy?"

"Yes Montykins?"

"You know, if you really miss your Cuddlesaurus, perhaps we could find a way to get him back."

"Oh Monty, do you really mean it?" Amy clapped a hand to her heart.

"But of course, my dear."

Monkey Fist, having finished with his breakfast, set the tray aside and got out of bed. He began to walk down a spiral staircase as Amy followed excitedly behind him. "Of course, if we are going to get this monster of yours back -"

"He's not a monster, Monty!"

"- Yes, of course. If we are going to retrieve this cuddly carnivorous cutie from whatever dimension it is currently floating in, we need some reason to do so."

Amy scratched her head. "To save it, of course!"

"No, beyond that," laughed Monkey Fist. "A creature like this Cuddlesaurus must be useful if we want to bend the world to our will."

"Do we want to do that?"

"Yes. Yes we do. Now," Monkey Fist continued as the spiral staircase opened up into his lair's sprawling library, "we need to form a plan."

XX

Justine could smell bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen. She stood at the bottom of the stairwell, hesitant to follow her nose. Breakfast smelled good, but it meant that her parents were cooking it, which was a freakishly unusual occurrence. Normally they grabbed a plain bagel or an energy bar in their rush to work, if they had anything to eat at all.

Last night, after Brick had excused himself to go home in a hurry, Justine's parents had been strangely quiet about the lip-locking session they had witnessed. Apparently they had just been saving their comments until morning. Judging by the delicious breakfast scent wafting past her nose, Justine assumed they were waiting to ambush her in the kitchen. Never had breakfast smelled so dangerous.

"Hey mom, hey dad," said Justine as she strolled into the kitchen with an air of casual indifference. That's right, mom and dad. Nothing happened. Just here to grab a bite to eat.

"Justine, would you mind sitting down for a moment?"

"Sure," she said as she piled a plate with eggs, bacon, and toast. That was it; she had walked right into their trap. As if she had any alternative. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down, still trying to maintain an air of naïve innocence as she shoveled food into her mouth.

"Do you want to talk about what happened last night?" her mother asked.

Justine considered the question. "No, not really." If her mother was going to give her the option...

"Well, we'd like to talk about it. Are you going out with this Brick character?"

"I guess so."

"You guess so?"

"Well, yesterday was our first date."

"And do all the young ladies at school make out on their first dates?"

"I haven't asked them, mother."

Leona Flanner gave her husband a reprimanding look, as if encouraging him to join in.

"Ah, yes," Ted Flanner coughed, putting down his silverware and swallowing a mouthful of food. "Um, Justine, we've been a little concerned about your behavior lately. We still don't understand why you were given that detention the other day. Was that because of this Brick boy?"

"No." Justine knew she was lying, but her parents wouldn't understand the circumstances.

"You've never gotten a detention before. It was a little alarming to us."

"It's no big deal. Mr. Barkin just overreacted. It won't happen again."

"I should hope not," replied Leona. She didn't want to be too hard on her daughter, but she knew how much potential her daughter had, how much she had already achieved. She did not want to see her daughter wasting her time and squandering her abilities.

"Justine, honey, I can't tell you who to like and who not to like. I just don't understand why you're interested in this boy. I know I haven't gotten to know him very well, but he did not seem very intelligent when he was over here working on that project with you. And you said he was a quarterback?"

"Yes," mumbled Justine.

"How much can he possibly have in common with you? I doubt that academic achievement is very high on his list of priorities. If this is just about how he looks, honey, I know it can be tempting, but believe me when I tell you that the pleasures of the flesh -"

"Mother!"

"Okay, okay. I'm just trying to understand this. There must be some nice boy in one of your classes that might be interesting. Maybe someone else who likes physics?"

Justine did not know what to say. She could not put her thoughts into words; perhaps she only liked Brick because of his body, perhaps there was more to it than that. She hadn't had the chance to think about it. Wasn't that was dating was for? Justine wasn't sure, but her mother was making it even more confusing.

"I just think you can do better, honey. You deserve so much. There's no reason for a girl like you to settle for less."

Justine had finished her breakfast, and her mother and father seemed to be staring at her as if they were trying to decipher a coded message.

"I'm going to be late. I need to go to school now."

Justine left the room so quickly that she almost forgot to take her backpack. Her head was a jumble of thoughts, jostling each other to get to the surface. She felt annoyed by her parent's questioning, but on the other hand, she had a lot of respect for them – her mother in particular – and she couldn't help but listen to their words. She thought she liked Brick. But her parents had asked her a question, a question she was now asking herself.

Why?

XX

Brick walked down the hallway with one arm holding the strap of his backpack and the other wrapped around his new girlfriend. He was the center of attention, and he loved it. An amazing variety of emotions were thrown from the faces of fellow students; surprise, incredulousness, amusement, even anger. He noticed Justine smirk at a few somewhat nerdy girls who enviously watched them pass by.

"Alright, I'll catch you later Justine!" said Brick when they arrived at the gym doors.

"Bye Brickie-wickie."

Brick assumed that Justine was trying out pet names. He was flattered, but hopefully she would choose a different one eventually. Justine leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek and left him to gym class.

"Flagg, where have you been? You're late," barked Barkin as Brick walked in.

"Sorry Mr. B."

"Go get changed! Also, wipe that lipstick off your cheek, it's disgusting!"

"Yes sir!"

Brick went into the locker room to put away his backpack and change into his gym clothes; some of his classmates had already finished changing and gone back to the gym, but some were still in the room. Steve Farley and Eddie Jackson waved at him as he entered.

"What's up, Brick?"

"Not much Eddie."

"I haven't gotten the chance to chill with you in a while, man. What's been going on?"

"Sorry, I guess I've been a little busy lately."

"So I hear," said Steve. "Busy making the beast with two backs with Flanner, huh?"

Brick laughed. "Come on man, it's not like that."

"I dunno," said Eddie. "You've been acting a little weird lately. Hanging out with Justine? I just hope you aren't ditching your real friends to hang out with somebody who looks down on you."

"What?"

Eddie finished putting his gym clothes on and closed his locker. "She looks down on you. What did you think, man? She's always trying to act like she's better than everybody. She's probably just going out with you to make fun of you or something."

"Just drop it, Eddie." Brick was tired of hearing his friend's opinion. He didn't know what Eddie's problem was; it wasn't like Brick asked for his opinion anyway.

Brick returned to the gym room and began his exercise routines with the rest of the class as Barkin berated them for their improper form. Normally gym class was one of Brick's favorite classes; being one of the biggest guys in the school, barring Big Mike of course, Brick could always rely on excelling in gym. There was no insecurity. Not only that, but Brick always found that exercising and playing games took his mind off things. Physical activity, in a strange way, relaxed him. Today, however, Eddie's attitude was making him feel tense. He couldn't wait to hang out with Justine in the afternoon.

XX

"Hey Stoppable!"

Brick took his hand from Justine's waist for a moment and waved at the sandy-haired boy, who was currently trying to put some books back in his locker and prevent a flood of assorted junk from falling out at the same time. The bell had just rung for the end of school, and it looked like he was excited to be leaving. Kim and Tara were both standing to either side of him. Brick shook his head in wonder; if he didn't know any better, he might have gotten the impression that Stoppable actually had game.

"Hey, what's up B-man!"

"Me and Justine were just going to hang out, maybe at the park or something."

"Oh yeah?" Ron tried to close his locker against the bulging mass of junk and only managed to wedge it halfway shut, which he decided was enough. "Me and Tara and Kim are going to go hang out at Bueno Nacho. It's our usual routine. Well, me and Kim's usual routine anyway."

Tara smiled cheerfully and grabbed Ron around the waist. "I'm tagging along!"

"You guys eat at Bueno Nacho this early?"

Kim, whose view was being blocked by Ron and Tara as they embraced each other, piped up from behind them. "We like to just hang out and talk there. And Ron likes to have easy access to food all day long, if it's possible."

"Oh, sweet. You guys mind if me and Justine come along too?"

"Sounds badical to me! The more the merrier, am I right?" Ron gave Tara a kiss on the cheek.

"Justine's got a car, so we could just pile in there. We'll lead the way."

Brick and Justine walked towards the school entrances. Kim tried her best to sidle up beside Ron, ignoring the way Tara was clinging to him.

"Hey Ron," she whispered. "What's up with Brick hanging out with us all of a sudden?"

"I dunno KP. Why?"

"It just seems strange. I mean, he's nice, but have we ever really 'hung out' before?"

"I guess not. I'm cool with it though. It's all good in the neighborhood."

Tara laughed at the comment, far too uproariously in Kim's opinion, as the trio followed Brick and Justine out of the school and into the bright Middleton afternoon weather.

XX

"I think Stoppable eats more than I do," observed Brick.

He and Justine sat in one side of a Bueno Nacho booth, while Kim sat on the other. Ron and Tara were currently at the registers, ordering yet another Naco combo meal. Brick had eaten a lot, but he was full; Ron's appetite seemed to have no end.

"It's really Rufus," explained Kim. "Ron does eat a lot, but the way Rufus darts in and out and grabs anything you're not watching makes it look like the food is disappearing much faster."

Brick watched the way Tara clung to Ron and laughed at his comments. He thought that Kim had been acting a bit strangely since they decided to go to the Bueno Nacho. As if she was being a little too normal. "So, how do you feel about Ron and Tara being a couple now?"

"Me? Great. Ron's a lucky guy!"

"Yeah, he really scored big, going out with Tara." Brick noticed Justine's subtle glare. "Um, not that Tara's that great or anything. I mean she's hot. Average hot. Hot like Justine. But a little less!" He decided that he had covered his tracks well.

"Yeah, Tara's had a crush on him for a little while. I'm surprised he never noticed it before," said Kim.

Justine took a bite out of her Naco. She had wanted to order a salad, but Brick informed her that salads were for girls. After Justine pointed out that she was a girl, Brick had explained that he was being metaphysical. This comment had prompted her to give up and order a Naco.

Justine had been quiet during their trip to Bueno Nacho, because she was a little nervous about such an unusual social situation. She wasn't a hermit, but normally she interacted with certain types of people, oftentimes in the context of schoolwork or competitions or research. Going out with Brick Flagg was a new experience to her; throwing people like Kim, Ron, Tara, and Monique into the mix made it even more unfamiliar. However, she was surprised to find herself growing more comfortable with the situation. Especially with Brick sitting next to her and making conversation.

"To be honest, I thought the two of you had been going out for a while," said Justine.

Kim laughed. "Me? Ron? Going out? Nope, just friends, that's all! Best friends since pre-K. Good times... good times!"

Kim gave another nervous laugh and pounded her fist on the table for emphasis, knocking over her soda. Brick and Justine were both slightly disturbed.

"What's good times?" asked Ron as he returned to the table with a tray of food. "Make way for the Ron man, Kim. I'm squeezing in!"

"Let me go first," said Tara as she darted into the booth next to Kim, before Ron could enter. "That way you have more room on the aisle seat!"

"That's a great idea, Tara! You're so thoughtful."

Kim was pushed up against the booth window as Ron and Tara squeezed in. Brick noticed that Kim was correct; Ron's tray, which had looked like it was almost brimming with food on the way over to the booth, was now about half full. Rufus had appeared on the table, seemingly out of thin air. His stomach bulged like a grapefruit.

"Mm, hey Brick!" squeaked the mole rat.

"Hey little dude. I'm watching my Naco, so don't try anything."

Rufus gave the quarterback a wink.

"Kim, girl!" The booth's occupants turned to see Monique walking through the Bueno Nacho doors. "You didn't tell me you guys were coming here after school!"

"Um, Monique, we come here like every day."

"Fair enough. Scoot over, Brickie-boy!" Monique slid into the booth, which was becoming quite crowded. "Hey Ron, you're sitting in the aisle... would you mind getting me a number seven combo?"

Ron was about to get up when he paused in confusion. "Wait... Monique, you're in the aisle too."

"Well yeah, I just wanted to rest a little... please?" Monique batted her eyelashes.

"Well, alright."

Kim stared at Monique in disbelief as Ron left for the counters again. "That was a bit shameless, Monique."

"Yeah, I didn't think it would actually work though. Hi Tara, hi Justine." She noticed that Brick's massive figure left her barely enough room to stay in the booth without falling out. "Justine, I gotta tell you girl, I'm jelling a little over your new boyfriend here!"

Justine looked prickly for a moment until she realized that the comment was in jest. "Yes... Brick is a whole lot of man," she said, trying to imitate Monique's attitude.

"Why don't you flex those pecs for us, Brick?" asked Monique.

"Flexing the pectoral muscles isn't actually that impressive," explained Brick. "Those are the muscles in your che-"

"Flex your biceps then, boy. I was just trying to be cute, sheesh!"

Brick dutifully extended his arms and flexed. Monique squeezed a massive bicep and squealed. Justine noticed what she was doing and felt Brick's other bicep, just to make sure she wasn't being outdone.

"Ladies, if you wanted to check out some guns, you could have just asked," said Ron as he returned to the booth with a tray for Monique.

"Ron, you don't have biceps," Monique replied.

"Well, that hurts. I'll just take that tray back, thank you very much!"

"I'm just teasing you. Here, give me a flex."

Ron extended an arm enthusiastically, his muscles exhibiting no noticeable change. Monique felt his bicep and squealed anyways, while Ron's date narrowed her deep blue eyes.

"You're a little feisty today, Monique," observed Kim.

"What can I say. I am in a good mood. I've been playing around with a few new clothing designs that I'm feeling pretty psyched about. One of them has a hair band, Justine!"

Justine nodded. "Excellent."

"By the way girl, you and Brick went out on a date the other day, right? Give me the juicy details!"

"We had Italian," said Brick. "Justine barfed out a bunch of meatballs on our waiter."

"What? That's not what happened?"

Unfortunately, Justine was munching on a large mouthful of Naco when she responded to Brick's comment, which promptly went spraying out across the table.

"Eww!"

"Yeah, just like that!" laughed Brick.

"I was trying to see how many meatballs would fit in my mouth. That was a perfectly legitimate reason for me to spray meatballs on the waiter."

"Sounds legit to me!" said Ron. "I bet I can beat your record." He began to stuff a Chimarito into his mouth as fast as he could.

Kim rolled her eyes in disgust. "Ron, there's no way to even convert a meatball count to the amount of Chimarito you can stuff in your face. How are you going to figure out who can -"

"Winning doesn't matter, Kim!" exclaimed Tara. "What matters is that you try!"

The blonde cheerleader promptly stuffed a Chimarito into her own mouth. Brick, Monique, and Justine – after a moment of hesitation - all followed suit with whatever food was at hand, trying to restrain their laughter as Kim looked on in horror.

XX

"I can't believe Ned asked us to leave!"

Kim was stricken with embarrassment. Justine also looked a little embarrassed, but no one else seemed to care very much. Most of the group walked towards Justine's car, but Ron and Tara seemed to be hanging back a bit and laughing at some inside joke between the two of them. Brick was trying to fight the urge to barf; keeping up with Ron's eating habits was more of a challenge than he had expected.

"Hey guys, we're gonna walk back to the school and get my scooter," said Ron to the rest of the group.

"Bye Ron! Bye Tara." Kim waved at the pair as they walked off together.

Brick looked up at the sky. It was still bright out, but the brilliant blue of the sky was beginning to take on a more yellowish tint as the afternoon dragged on. They must have spent a long time at the Bueno Nacho. Brick wondered how Kim and Ron could do that all the time and still be able to go on missions. He was impressed with Kim in particular; he knew she was a straight A student. Both Kim and Justine seemed like the kind of people who could do anything they put their minds to, and still leave time for themselves to relax. It was like they did things effortlessly. Brick envied them.

"What's up, Justine?" he asked when he noticed his girlfriend getting out a cell phone.

"I have to call my parents."

Justine dialed a number on the phone, and someone on the other end picked up immediately. "Hello mom. Yes, I know, sorry. I was working with someone after school and it ran a little late. I'll be home soon."

Kim raised an eyebrow as Justine flipped the phone shut and returned it to her shirt pocket. "Lying to your parents, Justine? I'm shocked." Kim was teasing a little, but she was surprised.

"They've been a little upset with me lately. I thought it might sound better if I said I was doing some work."

"Why are they upset with you?" asked Brick. "It's not that detention I got you into, is it? I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." Justine opened her car door. "I'm going to have to get home. Who needs a ride?"

"I'll take it if you're offering," said Monique.

Brick and Kim declined the offer. Brick wasn't ready to go home yet; he felt like enjoying the weather a little longer, and he had a sudden interest in talking to Kim. Brick was about to suggest they go for a walk when a catchy jingle rung out from Kim's cargo pants. The red-headed teen pulled out a blue device; Brick recognized it from a few times in the past when Kim had been called on a mission at school.

"Hey Wade," she said to the Kimmunicator. "What's the sitch?"

"Hey Kim. I've gotten some reports that Dementor and his henchmen are on the move to -"

Wade stopped abruptly as Brick leaned over beside Kim and peered at the Kimmunicator's screen. "Hey, you're Kim's computer dude!"

"Yes, we've met already. You're that dating-Justine-Flanner dude."

"Right on! How did you know?"

"Anyway," Wade went on, "I've been tracking Dementor in Greece. I'm not sure what he's planning, but he has a boat and a lot of henchmen with him. Something seems fishy. I thought you might want to check it out."

"Can do, Wade. Just send somebody to pick me up at the Bueno Nacho, please and thank you!"

"No problem." Wade turned off his feed and Kim pocketed the Kimmunicator.

"Sorry Brick, but it looks like I'm off on a mission."

"What about Stoppable? Maybe you should flag him down before he runs off with Tara."

Kim frowned. "No, that's alright. He's been busy with her lately... I don't want to interrupt them. I'm sure I can handle this one alone."

Brick felt disappointed. He had wanted to hang out with Kim, partly because he felt the need to talk to someone about his new and unfamiliar relationship with Justine, and partly because he just didn't feel like going home yet. Brick knew his father would be there, and he didn't really feel like having to badger him about looking for work again. He watched Kim as she walked over to an empty table outside the Bueno Nacho to wait for her ride, and an idea popped into his head.

"Hey Kim!"

"Yeah?"

"What if I tag along?"

Kim looked at Brick like he had sprouted a new head.

"Well, tell me if I'm wrong, but Stoppable is usually like the distraction, right? I could do that!"

"I don't know, Brick. These missions can be dangerous sometimes. You really want to come along?"

Brick nodded. "I'm kind of interested in seeing what you guys do. I guess I feel like trying something new."

Kim nodded. Brick appeared to be genuinely interested in coming along; she supposed he was trying to break out of his comfort zone, what with dating Justine, hanging out with her and Ron instead of his usual athlete friends, and now this. She decided Brick could be useful as a distraction. He did not have the Ron factor, but perhaps she needed to see the Brick factor in action.

"Alright. If you're sure. Just be ready to run around in circles a lot!"