Chapter 38 - Five-Fingered Discount (Part I)

"Vanessa is not the thief of the Golden Bone." Wade said from the Kimmunicator.

Kim was shocked to hear the words come from her tech friend's mouth.

"Wade! You're supposed to be on my side!" Kim exclaimed, still flabbergasted about this news. "Her face was the one on the security footage.

"Not so according the report on the Lowerton-Wiley Ribbs High game." Wade said. The picture on the Kimmunicator showed a freeze frame of Vanessa, with a LHS cheer bow in her hair, leading the Lowerton cheer squad. She had a C on the hem of her cheer skirt, indicating her captainship status.

"See, Possible? I told you that I was at that game. And I have my witnesses to back me up!" Vanessa added, "And I couldn't drive to Middleton anyways because 1) I had no business being there, 2) it would've been a 80-minute drive and 3) I was with my cheerleaders in the Ribbs gym when that hailstorm hit the area."

Kim sighed, knowing she had no other choice.

"You're free to go, Vanessa. I guess there's no reason for me even being here in the first place."

"Good!" Vanessa grinned, "Now you have to owe the whole Lowerton cheer squad an apology for putting us through this whole ordeal."

Kim muttered under her breath. "Stupid clues that led me to nowhere!"
_

(5 minutes and one apology later)

"This is no fair!" Kim complained to Ron, "I believed in the clues...only for them to lead me to a red herring!"

"I'm tellin' ya, KP. Don't believe everything you see!" Ron said.

"Now we're back to square one...and the Golden Bone is still nowhere to be found..." Kim said before hearing her stomach growl. Ron's and Rufus' stomachs also grumbled as well.

"As well as our appetites as well." Ron replied, holding his stomach. "I'm starving."

At that moment, the safety pins that held up Kim's overalls straps suddenly fell off.

"What?! Oh no!" the redhead complained. "Not this again!" She held up the bib to prevent them from fallowing down.

And I thought I was the one suffering from the wardrobe malfunctions. Ron muttered to himself.

Instead of reattaching the straps, Kim tied up the straps to make a makeshift belt even though the rim of her CB boxers were showing.

"There, that'll hopefully hold them up..." she sighed. It would be embarrassing for her to suffer what Ron usually goes through on an everyday basis, especially if Bonnie found out.

"Let's get back to the house and regroup." Kim said while opening up the door to the RustBucket, "I'll see if the Tweebs installed a new shatter-proof windshield for the Sloth."
_

(15 more minutes later, Possible house)

"What do you mean the new windshield won't be installed for a week?" Kim asked, demanding at the Tweebs.

Jim said, "That's what happens when tennis ball-sized hail hits our neighborhood."

"The windshield glass people are going to be extremely busy. A week, at the earliest, is when we can be able to order glass that can withstand large types of hail." Tim agreed. He still had the 35mm camera in his hand

Kim, observing the still-hail-damaged windshields of the cars that her neighbors were driving in, had no choice.

"Very well, Tweebs, but if that new windshield is not installed by the end of the football's regular season, I will rat on you two for the microwave experiment you did with metal in the teacher's lounge to Mom and Dad." Kim said while sneering at her two extra-smart siblings.

The Tweebs left to go in the house.

"And we're still very hungry for that precious snackage." Ron groaned, still hearing his stomach rumble.

"Don't worry, Ron. We'll go to Bueno Nacho in a few minutes." Kim said before hearing the Kimmunicator beep its tune.

She picked it up and said, "Wade, what's the sitch?"

"Monique needs you. Something about a Club Banana Sale." Wade said.

Excited about fashion from her favorite store, Kim insisted, "Patch her through ASAP!"

Monique's face then patched through onto the screen.

"Big sale at CB?" Kim asked.

"You, down here, 30% off everything, today only!" Monique exclaimed on the screen.

"Who's coming with?" Kim questioned, hoping that Bonnie won't be there.

"Jess from the cheer squad is in the house with me!" Monqiue replied before Jessica came on.

"Hey Kim! Cargoes and overalls are selling like hotcakes! Ten percent more off at the register!" Jessica exclaimed, holding a pair of overalls in her left hand and cargo pants in the right.

"Sweet!" Kim exclaimed for excitement, "I'm all in!"

"We'll meet you at center court" Jessica said, telling them of the location of the meeting.

"I'll be right there!" Kim insisted.

"Wade, would the Sloth still be drivable despite the damage sustained from the hail?" Kim questioned.

"Yes, the weather should co-operate with us this time." Wade said, "But the flight system was damaged as well during the hail.

"Great...another thing for the Tweebs to repair..." Kim groaned. But she was thankful that she wasn't going to drive the RustBucket.

Once she put away the Kimmunicator, Kim grabbed her purse and headed towards the Sloth.

"So, shopping excursion?" her blonde-haired BFBF asked.

"Total defs!" Kim giggled a little.

"Aww man! I don't wanna be the bag boy again!" Ron complained. He always had to be the one doing that particular grueling chore.

"Ron, someone has to carry our bags." Kim said, pointing to him, "And that someone is you! And no PDPing your way out of this, either!"

"What about Rufus?" Ron asked, pointing to the naked mole rat.

"Not him! He's exempt!" Kim grinned.

"Yay!" Rufus squeaked.

Ron said to Rufus, "Lucky you're naked..." And turning to his girlfriend, he added, "Very well, But only if Felix also helps as well becaues we got an arcade date with blasting zombies.

"Done deal, Ron!" Kim said with smile.

"Relationships are always built on complicated compromises!" Ron chuckled.

"Let's pick up Felix!" Kim said.

Ron's stomach grumbled again.

"And Bueno Nacho as well!"