Chapter 30 - Day 1: Railfanning Part 2

(12:44pm)

Kim, Ron, and Terri came into the dining room.

"Hey, Dad. Terri wants me and Ron to check out her train collection plus we're going to see a train." the redhead said to her father.

James replied, "I'll allow it, Kimmie-cub, but be sure to be back here by 3pm sharp. We are going to hit the road then."

"And you kids stay safe, OK?" May added.

"No big! We won't be gone that long!" Kim replied.

"Me, KP and Terri are also gonna for for ice cream-age!" Ron exclaimed, pointing to his stomach. "There's an ice cream place across from the place Terri selected to do her railfan thing!"

"Yum...ice cream!" Rufus squeaked.

I hate it when other people use my PDP.

"Thanks, Uncle James!" Terri replied, taking out her car keys from her overalls pocket. "I think Kim and Ron will enjoy it!"

"That's good!" James replied. "Hope you see some good trains!"

(20 minutes later)

Terri's car parked over at a nearby parking lot on Valmont Road. The railroad tracks were about a quarter-mile from the lot.

The group then got out of the car. Terri also took out a tripod and a camera from the trunk.

"Mind if you carry this, Ron?" Terri asked, "I need to set up the tripod in a position to catch that perfect photo op!"

She laid the tripod into Ron's arms. He was straining to hold it up. Terri held her most favorite camera in her hands.

"No prob, Terri! I can handle it!" Ron said, struggling under the weight of the tripod.

"So when did you first get interested in trains?" he then asked.

"I was about 3 years old when I first saw a train." Terri explained, "I was blown away by its raw power, the speed of it. As the years passed, it became more about the history of trains, the model collecting, the architecture, the economics.. I mean, you name anything train-related, I've been involved in it! I even was the supreme champion of Train Simulator 02! So now, I'm at CSU-Pueblo working for that railroad engineering degree."

"Nice! Why did you choose CSU-Pueblo, though?" Kim asked, putting her hands in her overalls pockets.

"For one, they have a good engineering program and secondly, I wanted to be close to home with Mom." Terri said.

"That's the more important thing: being close to the 'rents!" Kim said.

"We should be comin upon the spot pretty shortly." Terri replied, pointing to a spot right about 50 feet from the railroad tracks.

The three of them finally managed to come to a stop at that spot.

"Ron, can you hand me the tripod please?" Terri asked.

"Sure...thing..." Ron groaned under the heavy tripod. Terri took it out of his hands and set up the tripod herself and then put the camera on top of it.

Kim and Ron watched as she set it up.

(20 minutes later)

Terri then heard the familiar train horn coming from southbound.

"Here comes the NBSF 2344!" she exclaimed.

"How does she know that, KP?" Ron asked, scratching his head.

"What else can I say? She knows her trains." Kim said.

The train came by as Terri began to take pictures of it.

(1:44pm)

The trio saw two more trains as Terri continued to take photos.

Once the third train passed them by on the railroad tracks, Terri made a suggestion.

"Ice cream on me?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Ron grinned. He, once again, was given the task of carrying the tripod.

"I'm going to aim for butterscotch caramel sundae for two this time!" Kim insisted.

They went up the sidewalk and crossed the crosswalk between Valmont Rd. and 34th and went back down to an ice cream place called Scoopers.

They then walked inside.

"Ahh...Terri, my most favorite customer, along with Kim Possible, herself!" Mr. Tim Scooper, the owner, exclaimed with joy. He was about in his early 40s, had brown hair and green eyes.

"And don't forget Ron Stoppable, the bon-diggety sidekick!" Ron proclaimed, pointing to himself.

"Yes...whomever his name is..." Scooper muttered.

Rufus came on top of his head.

"And Rufus! Who could forget the mole rat!" Scooper said, patting Rufus on the head.

"Mr. Scooper!" Kim replied with a wave. "I'm glad to see you again!"

"And you too, Miss Possible!" Scooper said.

"I would like a butterscotch caramel sundae split for me and Ron. Rufus will have a scoop of vanilla and...what are you going to have, Terri?" Kim asked.

"Let's go with two scoops of chocolate strawberry!" Terri replied.

"Sounds good and, on the house, I'm gonna give you a 10% discount for your order, Miss Possible!" Scooper added "It's the least I can do since you saved me off Mt. Elbert last year."

"It's no big! Anyone can make a signal flare from potassium nitrate combined with alumium from soda cans and be fired from my hairdryer gun." Kim said with a grin.

"Hey, I was drinking those sodas!" Ron complained. "Kim jinxed me!"

"And I still owe him that one!" Kim laughed.

And so, Terri carried out the order of the double scoop of chocolate strawberry for her and the butterscotch caramel sundae for Kim and Ron. The total came out to be $8.41. Terri then gave Scooper the Hamilton.

The three then sat down at a nearby booth. There was also someone present wearing a trenchcoat, eating strawberry ice cream.

"So...Terri, what do you wanna talk about?"

Terri was trying to find a good ice-breaker topic. She looked at Kim's one-strap dark denim overalls and then her own railroad-striped ones.

"Kim, why do you wear your overalls like that?" Terri asked.

"Off all the possible ice-breakers you could choose from, that is one of the oddest ones I've ever received." Kim said, surprised at Terri's question. "But since this is a free country, I'll roll with it."

"It's a fashion thing." Kim continued, using her fingers to flop the unhooked part of the overall bib. "People did it all the time in the 90s, men and women alike."

"But why are you doing it?" Terri wondered, still not getting Kim's fashion sense.

"For one, it's summer, it's hot..." Kim replied, "It feels much cooler when I undo one of the straps. It also has this edgy vibe to it that I like. I wore it to a movie date with Ron here not too long ago!"

"It was The Notebook II: The Saddening." Ron replied while getting a little sniffle. "Saddest movie I have ever seen in my life."

"Oh yes . The theater manager had an ish with tissue paper all over the floor that night!' Kim recalled.

"Have you fought villains before wearing the overalls?" Terri then asked, laying out the camera on the edge of the booth table.

"About 98% of the time when I fought a villain or villainess trying some mad crazy takeover-the-world scheme, I'm usually in my mission duds." Kim explained, "The other 2% is either protecting some top-secret thing from the likes of Drakken and Shego or just incidental slash accidental in nature."

"So you've fought Shego before in the CB overalls ?" Terri then asked.

"I have a couple times, yes." came Kim's response.

"Since Shego is the one with the plasma powers, don't you think that the buckles would melt off because of the heat?" Terri asked, pointing to the hooked strap of Kim's overalls.

Kim laughed and replied, "The denim is made of the toughest type available. Furthermore, the buckles themselves are made of a metal that can withstand temperatures way beyond Shego's plasma blasts. So yeah, they can really stand up to the challenge."

"But what if you fought Shego wearing the overalls with one strap on and the hooked strap slips off the shoulder?" Terri persisted in asking.

"Then we definitely would have a major Code Red prob on our hands." Kim replied while blushing a little.

"Of course, I wouldn't have a problem if it were my pants falling down, because...you know...no one would notice the Ron-man's pants problem." Ron said, "Now...if it were Kim, it would make front page news on every single newspaper on the planet and be on every news channel!"

"Yes...especially if one certain brunette cheerleader, whom I will not name names, gets her grubby and slimy hands on those photos and vids...thousand upon thousands of vids..." Kim muttered, twitching her eyes and temping herself to not say Bonnie's name.

"Whoa...whoa, KP..!" Ron insisted, holding onto his girlfriend tightly, "Let us not bring up thoughts of her! This is summer! We're on vacation ! There is no need to bring that horrific image of her in your head!"

Kim took a deep breath and relaxed.

"You're right, Ron. It's no big! I am calm and composed Kim!" she insisted after exhaling. "I am in complete control of this sitch!"

"That's my BFGF!" Ron exclaimed.

"So, based on what we talked out, I think you should hook up the other strap of your overalls, Kim." Terri suggested.

"Very well." Kim sighed. She reached out and took out the tucked-in unhooked strap and fastened the strap to the bib, so that she was wearing overalls with both straps hooked.

"How's that?" Kim asked.

"Much better!" Terri said with a smile. "But not much can be done about your mom."

"Yeah...those Blue-Star brand overalls are from Smarty-Mart." Kim agreed, "Those metal pieces on the buckles can go missing sometimes."

"The infamous fifth-grade PSA littering rap involving my 'rents wearing them..." Ron moaned. "I still have nightmares about it..."

"We never spoke of that day again, Terri." Kim added.

She then saw the server return with Terri's chocolate strawberry ice cream and the sundae for Kim and Ron.

"Oh, and here comes our ice cream right now!"

The in the trenchcoat gave an evil smirk and continued eating her ice cream.