Disclaimer: Kim Possible belongs to Disney. Bast and the plot are mine. Marilyn Sudor is borrowed from Boston Public, which belongs to FOX.
Author's Note: I borrowed Marylyn Sudor from "Boston Public", because she's my favourite character from the series. She's here just for a visit, but maybe she'll return in a later chapter.
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Chapter 10: About Table Talk and Music Lessons
Cafeteria, Middleton High School, Middleton City
After Bonnie's dramatic exit Ron and Felix settled down at the table. Ron instantly got busy at his tray and turned the goop on it into an edible meal, using the "Culinary Emergency Pack" from his backpack. Rufus climbed onto the table from his pocket, rubbing his tiny claws in anticipation. While Ron was working on his meal he looked back and forth between Felix and his sister. "Bast, this is Felix. He's my best friend."
"Besides Kim, that is." Felix said.
"We'll see about that." Ron mumbled under his breath, but accidentally loud enough for Felix to hear it.
He rolled his eyes, wheeled over to Bast and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"I am Bast Stoppable." She took his hand. "And you are the famous Middleton zombie basher."
"I see my reputation hurries on ahead." Felix held her hand, his thumb stroking gentle across its back. "So, do you like video games?"
"I have not played one yet." She looked down. "Ah, can I have my hand back now?"
"Oh, sorry. It's just feels so…silky." Felix blushed and retreated his hand. "That was supposedly the dumbest thing to say. Sorry."
Bast smiled at him. "Actually, it was the nicest thing I heard all morning."
"So, I bet your morning wasn't all sunshine and roses." Felix said.
"It was all right." Bast gave the boys a brave smile. "It could have been worse."
"It should have been a lot better." Ron growled. "But there are so many dummy heads at this school I truly start wondering how Singer manages to keep up the standard."
"You have changed quite a lot, my friend. Where's the funny guy we all like so much?" Felix asked.
"Oh, he's still there; he has just grown up a tad." Seeing his sister shoving her food around on her plate Ron changed his tray with the one of his sister. "Here, try this one Bast. Bon appetite!"
"Thank you, Ron." Bast tasted her new meal cautiously and was surprised about it good taste. Definitely not home made, but quite tasty. She gave him a radiant smile: "This is good."
"The chef strikes again!" Ron cheered while he processed with his own meal. "Chez Ron is serving again."
"Man, I wish somebody would do that for me sometimes. Maybe I should learn how to pout!" Felix said smiling. "Luckily I got the last pizza pie; after all they are quite good." He looked at Ron. "Now that we all can take care of our growling bellies, care to tell me what happened between you and Kim?"
"No, I don't." Ron stated.
"They had a major confrontation because of me." Bast said quietly. "I wasn't exactly nice to her."
"That's not true! Bast, don't try to make Kim appear in a favourable light." Ron sighted and related the clash with the redhead in a few short sentences. "And please, Felix, I know you have something to say about this, but I have made up my mind. This time Kim has to make the first step."
"What sort of best friend would I be if I wouldn't peck and prod you about it? Ron, you need to set things right with Kim."
"Felix, please stop." Ron looked at him seriously, but had to notice that Felix resolve wouldn't break. "At least for now…" he added with a sigh.
"Seriously?" Felix asked in a taunting voice, trying to cheer Ron up a bit.
"Seriously!" came the blond boy's smiling answer and both burst out in laughter, while Bast gave them an irritated look, obviously not getting the hang of their funny imitation.
"So, why don't you come over after cheer practise and I'll introduce you to Zombie Mayhem 6. Let's see how much your skills have rusted. And of course, this invitation counts for both of you!" Felix said smiling.
"I would like to come, but Mom and I go to the mall fore some quality mother-daughter time. Maybe another time?"
"Of course. Ron, what about you?"
"I'll come over, thanks. I missed our slayer duels." Ron finished upgrading his dish and started to eat.
Rufus had nearly immediately hurried over to Bast. While sitting on her shoulder he let himself be fed with bits and pieces from her tray. The little guy would never dare to ravish her meal like he frequently did with Ron's and Kim's. When he had seen Bast tearing apart a four inch oak pole with a technique she called "Raging Claws", he had instantly decided to never, ever make her mad. And, as a rat, being fed by a beautiful cat was way cool, wasn't it?
After a few minutes of silent eating Ron spoke up. "Have you seen the notice about the indoor pool?"
Felix nodded. "They have finally managed to complete the renovation. There will be try-outs for the new swim team on next week's Friday."
"I think I'll give it a shot."
"I thought you hate swimming?" Felix wondered. "I remember your stories about Camp Wannaweep."
"I said I hate swimming in contaminated water. But actually I am a pretty good swimmer; in fact I'm pretty sure I'll make it into the team." Ron said confidently.
"So, good luck then. I heard there are some more try-outs on that Friday, most important the cheer squad. And Singers annual attempt to start a gymnastics team." Felix chuckled; every student knew that a functional gymnastics team was one of Principal Singer's greatest goals for Middleton High. He turned to Bast. "Why don't you learn a routine for the squad try-outs? I bet you would be stunning."
"The cheerleaders would never want me in their team." Bast sighed, holding up her furred hand. "Too much freak factor." She continued with a smaller voice. "Do you really think I could be good enough?"
"Yes, you are", Ron stated. "Will you give it a try? And you got at least one vote, namely mine."
"Yes." Bast said, not entirely convinced, but with growing enthusiasm.
Felix nodded approvingly, but with an evil grin. "Then I'll keep my fingers crossed. And, after you've been admitted to the squad, you can keep an eye on our two lovey-doveys."
"Felix!" Ron warned his friend with a growl. "That is not a subject to be discussed in public!"
"Ron, I know that you have it bad for Kim, ever since that first day we met at the fair. You love her and the cheer squad is a good chance for you to ogle her in a short skirt."
"Felix!" Ron repeated with growing anger and a deep blush.
"But I'm sure Kim will return the favour, once she gets the chance to see you in short, tight swimming pants!"
"FELIX!" Ron exclaimed frustrated, while the boy picked up his tray and escaped laughing. The blond looked at his sister, searching for comfort, but was greeted by two huge and toothy grins, a small and a big one. Defeated his head slumped on the table, but immediately jerked up when soft furred hands tickled him. "Ok, ok… I'll drop the drama." He smiled at his sister. "Let's go to chemistry, you devious tickle monster."
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Monique took up her tray and sat down at the table where Kim was busy slaughtering her so called meatballs. Indeed, she was so busy chopping she didn't even notice the arrival of her best girl friend. Monique took the seat opposite of Kim and followed her dark glares over to the table where Ron just sat down with Felix and that mutant girl, after he had scared off Bonnie and her followers.
"You know, girl, we could go over and sit with them… it would make your angry glares more effective."
Kim slowly turned around and stared at Monique: "Excuse me, did you say something?"
"I said, that, if you still want to eat this, you should stop tearing it apart."
"What? Oh, the meal. Right. Sorry." Kim sighted and stopped abusing the dish. Seeing the unappetizing mess she had created she pushed the tray away with a sigh. She glanced over to Ron, who was busy upgrading his meal.
"Kim, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Monique. You know, you don't have to ask my permission to do so."
"What's going on between you and Ron?"
"Nothing." Kim stole a peek back at the table, where Felix was chattering with the freak.
"Kim, that's exactly what I see and meant: absolutely nothing!" Monique gave her best friend a concerned look. "You two glare at each other, given the fact you're not busy avoiding one another. Girl, every time in the last three month your eyes got all dreamy when I mentioned Ron and sometimes I even had to snap you out of your own little world, where he was the centre of the universe."
"Monique, let me tell you something: Ron is the most stubborn, idiotic and stupid PIG HEAD I've met in my entire life."
"Does that mean you've given up on him?" Monique gave Kim a suggestive smile. "Because, if you don't want him anymore… I'll take him for myself! From what I've seen this morning I can tell that Ron really has bumped up; he's downright handsome. Maybe I should start right now, before Bonnie realises him as a man and he becomes another notch in her garter…"
"Ok, you can stop now." Kim sighted and flipped her hair back with an uneasy gesture. "We've had our worst quarrel ever." The redhead told Monique all about the day before, including the crying part, carefully paying attention that nobody overheard their conversation. "And now he won't even listen to me, before I apologize to that cat freak. But he can wait until the sun explodes before I do that."
"That's quite a situation you got yourself into. I totally agree with you, Ron should have called you instead of dragging some rookies into a mission. And dropping everything on you without warning afterwards wasn't the smartest move either." Monique took a bite of her meal, wrinkled her nose and pushed the tray away. "You know, someday I might actually thank the cafeteria lady for this junk; not eating it keeps me in shape." She returned her attention to Kim. "But you said some pretty mean things there as well. So, why don't you just get it over with?"
"What do you mean?" Kim was confused.
"Kim, you love this guy and you care for him. Ignoring him will get you nowhere, in fact it'll hurt you both more than it will help you. Look, just apologize to the girl, apologize to Ron and tell him how you feel. And I promise you, the minute you do so, the cat is out of the picture."
"I'll never do that!" Kim said angrily. "He threw me out of the house! Because of a freaky mutant! And I'll never, ever apologize to the daughter of a villain; it would be like telling Shego I'm sorry for kicking her butt!" Kim's glares grew even colder. "For once Ron needs to find out for himself how bad his decision was, alone, without me helping him along to the right one. HE wanted the rough approach and he was the one who told me to get lost; I'm just playing along!" Kim glared at Ron, only to see him change his tray with the freak. 'Ok, that does it! He only upgraded my meals so far! JUST MINE! She's trying to steal him away, there's the proof!' Her anger ten folded. She wanted to step over to Ron, slap him upside the head and yell at him, telling him again what a stupid and big tail-swinging mistake he made. 'It's all HER fault. She's Monkey Fist's Trojan Horse and he doesn't see it!'
Monique followed her suddenly even darker glares and sighted. "She's his sister, Kim. He's supposed to care for her, she's family."
"For the record, she's not family. She's the freaking daughter of his totally mad arch foe. I get bad vibes from her, she's bad company. I'll not allow her to hurt Ron!"
"Ok Kim, whatever." Monique knew every further argument would be wasted; Kim was in full rant and stubbornness mode. She shook her head, wondering about how two people so obviously in love with each other could be so incredibly stubborn in confessing a mistake and making apologises to one another. Like Felix, Monique knew that Ron loved Kim and vice versa. Of course, she would never tell anyone of them the truth; Kim and Ron needed to find out themselves.
The Afro-American girl knew it was going to be a stressful autumn as long as this quarrel continued. But, being Kim's best friend, she knew how to get her mind on another subject, at least temporarily: "Say Kim, would you like to come to the store after cheer practise? I checked it yesterday afternoon and saw some terrific new stuff, just perfect for you!" As expected Kim's mood instantly lightened up.
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Josh Mankey was a skilled observer and a capable planner. Skills sharpened by his artistic ambitions and several years of successful baseball team leading, skills that in fact had lead to several successful love affairs. Of course these affairs had been successful for him, not so much for the girls he had been with, for his moral standards weren't even nearly as high as his ego was big.
The blond boy sat at his favourite table in the raised part of the cafeteria. From here he could easily observe all the girls he was interested in, but today was different. Normally ever so often a girl would have locked eyes with him for a light flirt, but right at the moment they ignored him. Not one, not two, but all of the good looking girls gave him an ice queen treatment that rivalled the icy planes of the Antarctica in its coldness. And right in the middle of the cafeteria sat the reason for his deep fall from the position of hottest hunk of Middleton High to social misfit, barely more popular than Stoppable: that righteous bitch Kim Possible.
Like the redhead had promised on that fateful night she had called Tara and the blonde had believed every word of Kim's little fairytale. Tara had dropped him like a dead rat first thing on Monday morning, not without telling the other cheerleaders about it. And suddenly Josh Mankey was a persona non grata.
But now he had the one chance to get back at her: Kim was furious about the cat freak being with her precious Ron. Josh allowed himself a sinister smile while his latest conspiracy formed in his mind. And it was so easy: get the bullies to pick on the cat freak, which of course meant that Ron would have to defend her, thereby making Kim more furious. Eventually their friendship would fall apart and Kim would need some comfort, bringing her back to him. And after he had his fun with her he would dump her, just like she did. Perfect plan, perfect revenge. Josh stood up and walked over to Bonnie's table to talk to Brick. "Time to get things moving…"
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Marylyn Sudor was a demanding, but patient teacher. She had transferred from Boston to Middleton two years ago, when Principal Singer had searched for a new music teacher. Marylyn found Middleton High a rewarding field of work, the school choir and the orchestra had won a couple of prices, both regional and state awards in the last years. The Afro-American teacher thought of herself as a calm and well-balanced woman, capable of handling anything a normal school day could throw at her.
That was before Bast Stoppable joined Miss Sudor's class for her very first music lesson. Bast Stoppable came in quiet, but with a small smile on her feline lips. Chemistry had been fun, she had teamed up with Ron on some experiments and they had produced some nice results, and being with her brother had made the angry and disgusting glares bearable.
But now Marylyn faced a serious problem: the new girl disrupted her choir practice. As usual she started the school year with some songs to find some potential new choir members. With a sigh Marylyn cancelled the song the class was currently performing. "Something is definitely not right here." she said. "There is a constant pushing and shoving going on and nobody concentrates on the songs. Is there anything bothering you?"
"It's the cat freak!" someone from the back row blurted.
"Excuse me?" Marylyn said. "She hasn't been off-key. Bast, would you please repeat the chorus, alone!"
Marylyn listened closely and couldn't find a single flaw in her performance. The purring undertone in her voice made her singing somewhat rough, but with the right choice of songs, preferably rock ballads and jazz songs, she might be able to do a solo performance at the next school concert. "There wasn't a single mistake in her singing. So stop accusing her, somebody else was off-key…"
"It isn't her singing." the same boy said. "Why do we have to stand next to her anyway, in class is at least some space between her and us."
"He's right. I don't want to catch that disease that made her look like this." Mindy said, shuffling away from Bast.
"That's ridiculous. Stop fooling around, we have work to do." Marylyn was clearly irritated.
"Bonnie said she's contagious."
Marylyn sighted. "And how came Bonnie to this conclusion?"
Mindy shrugged her shoulders. "Bonnie knows about these things, she's the best. And even Kim stays clear of her and she knows all those weirdoes and freaks from those mission thingies. So I suppose there is something not right with her."
"Enough of this nonsense. We'll start again, on my mark!"
After three more failed attempts Marylyn was seriously angry about the attitude some of her pupils showed towards the Stoppable girl. But she had to keep her practise in mind. "Bast, I'm sorry, but would you please step over here and wait while I finish the lesson." She pointed to the stool in front of the grand piano.
Bast stepped from the crowd and walked over to the stool, trying to hide the hurt she felt. She plumed down onto it, feeling miserable. Marylyn continued with her lesson without further interruptions. With the bell she dismissed the class into the afternoon.
"Bast, please stay here, just a few minutes, ok? I'll be right back; I just have to give these reports to Mr. Barkin."
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Ten minutes later Marylyn approached her class room on her way back from the vice principal's office. She stopped when she heard soft piano music and talking voices. She walked to the door, opened it quietly and peered inside to see two girls. Bast was sitting at the grand piano with her back to the door, playing with an expertise normally earned through many years of practise, while Tara stood behind her.
"You play wonderful." Tara said. "Where did you learn it?"
"I was kind of born with the knowledge." Bast answered, her hands dancing across the piano.
"So, you're a natural then?"
Bast hesitated for a moment before she answered: "I was subconsciously educated. The knowledge of how to play various instruments in a professional way was part of it."
"I'm jealous." Tara laughed. "That's so cool; I would give a lot to play like you without the need to practise."
"I would rather have liked to learn it the conventional way." Bast stopped her play and turned around to look at the blonde. "Why are you so nice to me, Tara? I saw you sitting with Bonnie during lunch; wouldn't she be angry if she saw you talking to me?"
"Bonnie and I've been friends for many years. But I'm not one of her admirers; we respect each other as equals. Which means, I choose my friends myself and not with the prerequisite of Bonnie liking them. The same counts for my friendship with Kim."
"And the other students?"
Tara laughed lightly. "It's the way high school functions: I'm a cheerleader and a friend of Bonnie, so as long as this remains no one is going to ostracize me. And do I really need a reason to be nice to a new girl?"
"Sorry. It is just… you are the second person here at school to be nice to me, besides Felix."
Tara laid a reassuring hand on Bast's shoulder. "You need to know that I'm adopted, too. But this stays between you and me, right?"
"Of course." Bast started to play again, a quiet and slightly sad song she had heard on the radio.
"My parents died in a car accident when I was little. My uncle, Dad's brother Jason adopted me into his family. I like them very much, but sometimes I miss my parents. So I guess I can understand, at least a little, what you had to go through." Tara looked closely at the feline girl. "I would like to be your friend."
"Thank you, Tara." Bast said quietly. "You are very nice." Suddenly her cat ears perked up. "How long have you been listening?" she asked without turning around.
Tara looked to the door and saw a blushing teacher. "I'm sorry; I didn't want to intrude on your conversation. But you have an amazingly keen hearing. How did you notice me?"
"Your shoes squeaked on the threshold."
Marylyn walked into the room. "Tara, would you please give us a few minutes?"
"Of course, Miss Sudor, I've got to go to cheer practise anyway. Bye, Bast, see you tomorrow." Tara waved at her new friend and walked out of the door.
"Thank you Tara, good bye." Bast called after her, before returning her attention to the teacher.
Marylyn walked over to the piano. "Bast, I'm very sorry about the way the class behaved and that I had to exclude you from the singing. They have no right to tease you like that."
"I am getting used to it." Bast said quietly. "You don't need to feel uncomfortable. But thank you for your concerns."
"I heard you playing. Tara's right, you play wonderful. You know, I'm looking for some new members for the school's orchestra. I would like you to play the grand piano for us… or any other instrument you might be playing."
"Actually I play piano, violin, transverse flute and organ."
Marylyn smiled brightly at her. "That would be perfect! So what do you say?"
Bast bristled: "I thought about joining the cheer squad. You know, there are try-outs next week and they hand out the routine on Monday. Between that and, if I make it into the squad, the training, I don't think I have enough time for music practise. Sorry."
"Oh, no need to be." Marylyn said with a somewhat faked smile. She was disappointed, but professional enough to not let it show. "But promise me to tell me if you reconsider."
"Of course, Miss Sudor. May I go now? Mom is waiting for me at home."
"Well, see you again next lesson." Marylyn dismissed the feline girl, turned and started to clean up the room, muttering under her breath. "Poor thing, so much wasted talent. Hopefully she'll come back after the try-outs. She'll never make it into the cheer squad anyway." If she had watched the departure of her student, she would have seen her ears twitch at her words. Because of her heightened hearing, Bast had understood every word.
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Thanks to my reviewers, especially G-Go! You guys rock! Thanks to my buddy for investing his precious time in my writing!