Chapter 9: Change Becomes Evident
By lunchtime it was clear that Kim still had all of her old energy. Most school bulletin boards had posters announcing auditions for the new mascot next Friday and welcoming interested parties to watch the drills this Friday afternoon. Rumors had started. Ron honestly didn't know if he was happy that the squad still wanted a mascot or if he was peeved that he was being replaced. So he had a rather wistful expression on his face as he settled down at his usual table. Oscar, Felix and Monique quickly joined him while he unpacked his lunch.
"So blondie," Kim's best girlfriend asked Ron, "what's up with you getting replaced? So far the gossip has either Bonnie getting to you enough for you to quit or Kim getting ticked off at you and kicking you off."
"What's your call?" Ron asked. He liked making Monique try to decipher the gossip she collected.
"It's gotta be something else. That thick hide of yours just lets Bonnie's shots bounce off and you aren't beat up enough for Kim to have gotten that mad at you."
"So far so good but I'm going to keep you guessing."
"No Fair! I'm the reporter not the detective!"
"I'll spill since Ron won't." Oscar chimed in. "It turns out that the so-called 'loser' is a pretty good wrestler. He's a shoe-in to make the varsity team before too much longer and he's a good enough guy to help the cheerleading squad adjust to it."
Monique and Felix both stared at Ron. "Is that right?" Monique asked Ron.
"AIDP, Monique," said Ron. "I had a good night, don't read too much into it."
"AIDP?" Asked Monique.
"Amp it down please. I don't want a repeat of when I was rich or when I got that haircut. I've let things like this go to my head before. If I make the 'A' team then I'll make it. I don't need to be telling everyone how good I am before I've proven anything."
Monique's jaw dropped. "Kim said you were showing a real grown-up attitude, what happened to the loveable blowhard I used to know?"
Being in love with a girl I can never tell does that to a guy. He thought, then he said, "I'm sure it's sunspots, something in the air, or maybe some side-effect of the last Drakken device we blew up. Don't worry, the same childish braggart will probably be back before too much longer."
"I hope not," said Monique. "I like this new Ron. Ron felt better than he had in a long time until….
"Hey loser!' Bonnie marched up to Ron's table. "Have you finally decided to quit the squad and give us a real mascot or has Possible finally come to her senses and ditched her dog?"
There were giggles from the cheerleaders' tables as Ron answered. "Ah, Bon-Bon, I had almost forgotten my place. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you climbing all the way down from your ivory tower just to make sure I know my place in the world. And to think that you care so much about me that you've come over here when you'll see me at practice in three short hours anyway! Thank you, thank you, I'd kiss your feet but I wouldn't want you to catch my loser cooties."
Bonnie could only stare at him. Stoppable didn't talk back when she called him a loser!
"But since you haven't climbed back to Snobville yet, you must want your questions answered. No, I haven't quit the squad since I soooo desperately need to see you at least once a week. I can't go a full week without being reminded that I'm a loser and I can't count on you to be able to consistently take time away from admiring your non-odiferous excrement to take care of it. As for Kim, since you've left the table where she's eating I'll have to assume that she has released her dog."
Ron was ready to really catch it for that last remark. The handful of tables that held the cheerleaders and their boyfriends were silent. A quiet tittering whispered into existence throughout the rest of the lunchroom. It grew into all out laughter, then APPLAUSE! Bonnie just stood there, spluttering.
"LOSER!" She screamed, then stormed back to her table.
Ron allowed himself ten minutes of gloating about putting Bonnie in her place before he went into damage control mode. For the rest of the day, whenever anybody brought up the incident, he would simply say, "sorry, just lost my head there." Yet somehow Ron felt better about himself. So many people had applauded him when he knocked Bonnie down a notch! Maybe she wasn't the all-powerful queen that she seemed. Maybe he wasn't the absolute pariah that he thought. He expected to catch it, physically, in some hallway for the rest of the day. He was surprised to find out that nobody seemed to be so fond of Bonnie that they would call him out over the incident.
Armed with this new attitude, Ron screwed up his courage and asked Sue out on a date for the following Saturday. He was pleasantly surprised that she accepted with a smile and a blush. So Ron Stoppable had a foolish grin and a happy heart when he floated into cheerleading practice.