Chapter 25

(10:40pm)

Kim and Candace, in their pajamas, were brushing their teeth in the hall bathroom with the water from the sink running constantly against the drain.

"And, Candace…" Kim added, spitting out whatever toothpaste there was from her mouth.

"Yeah, Kim?" Candace added.

"Don't forget to read that Cheer Rulebook!" she suggested.

"But that book is 463 pages long and I have only a month and half to read the whole thing!" Candace whined.

"Candace..." Kim explained more about the book. "...around a fourth of that book has etiquette rules that were made in the 1950s and 1960s and, thus, not needed! But what you should focus more on are the rules of how we interact with the Mad Dog fans, how we interact with the citizens of our town, how we and how we interact with cheerleaders from other teams. That takes a good solid 100 pages of the book. And 20 more pages are dedicated to how we interact with the football team. Especially pay attention to the dos and don'ts of that section!"

"But what does that say about Veruca who's had a lot of boyfriends?" Candace questioned, bringing up the heiress' name again.

"Ugh..." Kim groaned, "...the record for one boyfriend being with Veruca at MHS is about four months. I just hated it when she stole that captain postition away from me! I could've set the limits on how many ex-boyfriends a cheerleader can have ..."

"But...she's a senior, am I right?" Candace guessed.

"Yes, but her grades have been slipping...and 40 of the pages of the book do deal with academics!" Kim replied, pointing to another important topic containing in the book. "My biggest gripe with her is that if she or her girls flunk their courses starting this school year, we won't be able to compete in the state cheer championship or, even better, the national championship! And they're already on thin ice with the teacers!"

"Don't worry about that, Kim!" Candace scoffed, "I, Candace, am a A-B student! So you won't have to worry about me!"

"No kidding!" Kim grinned, putting up her toothbrush, "That's what most of the squad makes, so we don't fulfill that stereotype!"

"Stereotype? What stereotype?" Candace asked.

"You know...the dumb cheerleader stereotype? The one who typically makes D's and F's on her report card?" Kim clarified it better for her.

"Ohhh...that stereotype!" Candace understood, "Yeah, that one's so old and cliche!"

"But Veruca and her girls, sadly enough, seem to fulfill that role..." Kim muttered. "Candace, I'd suggest that you should get some much-needed sleep. We're going to have a big day tomorrow and we need you to be well-rested and focused."

"Don't worry, Kim!" Candace proclaimed, pointing to herself, "This girl's gonna get the full eight hours of sleep she needs to be all peppy and cheerful!"

Kim giggled, "Anyways, Candace, I'll see you in the morning!" She headed out to the band room/guest room.

Candace headed on over to her room as well.

Kim went underneath the covers of her bed in the guest room while the rain was continuing to pour outside the window.

"So, how did the talk go with Candace?" Ron asked, cleaning out his ears with a towel. He took a shower earlier and was now in Wonder Weasel pajamas.

"It was...interesting...to say the least. She got freaked out when we told her the news of Veruca's release and she briefly hid in a panic box!" Kim said, describing in detail of the all-important talk with Candace.

"Ooookay... anyways, I was thinking of maybe seeing that new Bricks of Fury movie tomorrow evening with you once your practice for the day with Candace is done." Ron said.

Kim suspected something was up, "Ron...this isn't...umm, what you call it... a date, right? Because people would...you know..."

"Oh, no...no...no!" Ron chuckled nervously, "It's a friend thing, you know! Going and seeing a movie as friends. It's the friend thing to do and it's not going to cross into the boyfriend/girlfriend territory." He observed the crest-fallen look on his friend's face. "KP, I hope if I'm not...y'know...making you sad or anything..."

"Oh, it's just all these things that are happening so fast..." Kim explained, "...and we still have a month and a half's worth of summer vacation left!"

Kim grabbed her harmonica from the nightstand while another flash of lightning shone through the window.

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that Josh cheated me several months ago, Ron!" Kim sighed with disappointment And now with Veruca out of jail, it's going to be just another burden on me! Perhaps...singing the blues would help me with my problems."

(11pm)

The rain continued to patter the bedroom window pane outside the house while the second wave of thunderstorms continued to rumble ouside.

Now in their pajamas, Stacy and Candace were getting ready for bed. Candace, meanwhile, was reading the MHS Cheer Book. She was on page thirteen.

"Oh man...so many rules!" Candace groaned. "Stacy, I don't think that I can finish this book before summer ends!"

"Candace..." Stacy said from below, right next to her sleeping bag, "I think you should read at least twenty pages a night. That would cover the time needed until we get to those tryouts."

"You're right, Stace. Some of the rules that Kim said don't apply to this decade. Maybe you should concentrate on the ones that involve interacting with the fa..." Candace admitted before the sound of an musical instrument playing interrupted their conversation.

"What is that sound?" Stacy asked.

"It sound like..." Candace answered before the room went silent for a moment to figure it out, with the exception of the storm outside.

"It's a harmonica, to be exact! Kim's harmonica!" she replied.

"But what is she playing?" Stacy asked again.

Candace listened in closer. It sounded like...a very old hymn.

"It's...'Amazing Grace' that she's playing." Candace said, "Come on, we gotta see what's bugging her!"
_

And so, Candace and Stacy glimpsed at a sight very few people ever see of the world-famous teen heroine.

There was Kim, sitting on her bed and playing on her harmonica to the tune of the old hymn 'Amazing Grace' against the constant rolls of thunder while Ron and Rufus were watching from their bed.

Kim was on the third stanza of the hymn when she heard a knock on the door. She stopped blowing on her harmonica and put the instrument back on the nightstand.

"Come in."

"Oh...um...hey, Kim!" Candace nervously replied, entering into the room. "Um, why are you so down? You aren't the same from earlier when you were cheering me up in the Panic Room."

"Sorry, Candace..." Kim admitted, sighing, putting her hands on her chin, and looking at the raindrops on the window, "It's just that I have a bad sitch and I need to let it out somehow."

"What type of bad 'sitch' are you talking about?" Candace questioned.

"It's thirty percent Veruca getting out of jail, and seventy percent still suffering from the heartbreak with Josh..." Kim groaned. She still felt the sting of Josh french-kissing another girl on the lips right in the front of the living room window at her house.

"Wow!" Candace gasped in wonder, putting her hand on poor Kim's shoulder. "I can't even imagine what it's like to go through all that…"

"It would drive you up the wall, Candace!" Kim exclaimed. "There's only so much pressure that I can take…"

"I promise, Kim, things'll turn out fine for all of us!" Candace vowed.

"Hope so…" Kim moaned, looking out the window. "Still…I think something is up with Veruca…"

(8am, London Time)

Veruca's private jet landed at Heathrow Airport over in London. It was a relief for her not to be stuck in Middleton with her arch-rival. As an extra bonus, the weather in London was sunnier and better than back in Middleton.

Clad in her blue dress studded with diamond and sapphires, high heel stilettoes, and diamond earrings, she went into one of her many personal limousines, alongside with both Connie and Carmelita.

She instructed to her chauffeur, "Take me and my friends to the five-star hotel that I signed reservations for!"

The chauffeur nodded his head and drove the limousine with the vile girls inside.

The interior of the limo was silent until Connie broke the ice.

"Should you, like, do something about the delivery of the Ducky Momo costume?"

"Why?" Veruca asked.

"Because that was an extremely close call back at the Middleton Airport. If, like, we would've stayed longer with those two losers, we would've been toast!"

"True…true…" came the reply from the peanut heiress.

Carmelita agreed with Connie as well, bringing up another possibility. "The ginger-sniffer might even gather up clues against us and, knowing what she's capable of, could bring all of us down."

"You're right!" Veruca gasped, "I hadn't taken her intelligence into account! If the little ginger ass-wipe gets ahold of the evidence before my plan against Candace succeeds, I would be done for!"

She took out her diamond-studded cell phone.

"I think it's time that I made a little international call!"

(2am, Middleton time)

The second line of storms have mostly moved out of the Middleton/Danville area by this point, even though rumbles of thunder still could be heard.

In her mansion in Danvillewood, the richest part of Danville, Rebecca was in a peaceful sleep with her exfoliating mask covering her eyes when her phone on the nightstand began to ring. A lightning flash shone through her window followed by a low boom of thunder.

She began to toss and turn around, removing the mask.

"Ugh…who could be calling me at this time of night!"

Rebecca picked up the phone.

R: Hello?

V: Top of the morning to you, Reb!

R: Veruca? You made it to London?

V: Of course, Reb! Although the jet lag was uncomfortable at times…

R: I'd say, so why are you calling me at two in the morning?

V: Reb, we ran into a little problem?

R: Little problem?

V: Oh, by little problem, I mean big problem! And by big problem, I mean Kim Possible!

R: WHAT?! (loud crackle of thunder)

V: Yes, the little son of a bitch encountered me at the airport before I left! She nearly discovered our plan to ruin Candace's life! Luckily, I came up with the old 'Going out of Middleton for the Summer and making a fake truce' gag! She bought into it hook, line and sinker!

R: So…what's wrong?

V: What's wrong here is that Kim would still suspect that I am up to no good and try to piece the clues together before my plan against Candace can come to its final phase of fruition! I need you and Suzy to move the delivery date of the Ducky Momo costume by 24 hours! The earlier we can strike at Candy, the better!

R: Okay…so in other words, move the delivery date from the seventh to the sixth.

V: Correct! And make sure to apply the correct type of peanut butter just like you did with the Ducky Momo test costume with Sandy.

R: Understood, and are we going to move into the last phase of your plan?

V: Ah yes, it is time that we get to the last part of crushing Candace! I prefer to call it…"Operation: Breakup Jeremy!"