Note: Please see the Foreword for updated Author's Notes
Chapter 2: Of Mondays, Mankeys, and MissionsRon was able to navigate his car through the student parking lot with practiced ease. He shot a sideways glance at Kim. She appeared to be the picture of perfect calm, but he knew her too well. He could see just the faintest glimmer of anxiety behind her sparkling emerald eyes, causing him to laugh to himself. "We've been on hundreds of missions and faced dozens of villains, but this is what she worries about," he thought. "Oh, well. If only she knew that it was more than just a little training in Japan that's behind my new skills."
But he was unable to tell her the whole truth about Yamanuchi. At least, not yet. He had had many conversations with Master Sensei during his month in Japan, but the Master would not budge. Ron had argued that she was part of Team Possible, that she had every right to know, that she could keep the secret of Yamanuchi safe. But, most importantly, he hated the fact that he had to keep his ability and power from the one person to whom he could tell anything. Yet, Master Sensei would only reply that the cherry blossom reveals itself only when the conditions are right. Ron had figured out that that meant not yet, but hadn't really understood anymore of his cryptic message.
He sighed as he pulled his car into one of the marked spots. Ron looked once more, and the slight trace of fear in his girlfriend's eyes was gone. She got out, as did he, and they collected their belongings. The young couple made their way to the front of the school where they had to part before going to homeroom. Ron needed to drop off his practice gear in the gym and Kim had to stop at her locker to grab another book. He kissed her quickly on the cheek, and turned for the gym.
Kim continued into the school, heading for her locker. The hallways were noticeably absent of students, which caused her to wonder where everybody was. Then she remembered that she was late and that everyone was already in homeroom. She looked at her watch, realized that she was already ten minutes late, and picked up the pace. She rounded a corner and was almost to her locker when...
"Kim!"
Kim stopped, suppressing the urge to shudder. She instantly recognized the owner of that voice, with its trace of smugness and superiority, but the knowledge only made her want to turn and run instead of returning the greeting. Bracing herself, she turned around.
"Good morning, Bonnie," Kim said pleasantly. Bonnie came running up to her and it was clear that the brunette was not happy with something. She had her hands on her hips, she was taping her foot impatiently, and Kim could see the red in her face despite the deep tan. "Bonnie's mad at something I did? No shock there," thought Kim, "I wonder what got Bon-Bon to fly off the handle this time."
"Kim, where have you been?" Kim tried to respond, but Bonnie cut her off with a wave of her hand. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is what you're going to do about this."
Kim, having missed the daily memo on what Bonnie was caring about this morning, was completely confused. "Bonnie, what are you talking about? It's still early in the morning, what could have possibly have happened by now?" she replied, annoyed that Bonnie couldn't just ask a simple question. With Bonnie, everything was so the drama.
"You mean you don't know? Kim, you need to stay on top of these things better. I mean, the squad deserves a captain that can give 110%, and if you're not up for the job, then maybe someone else should take over." Bonnie smiled her most condescending smile at Kim, the implied hint being that she should be captain instead of Kim.
Kim could feel her anger getting the better of her and knew that this was exactly what Bonnie wanted. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to calm down. She rubbed her temples, counted to ten, and then looked at Bonnie once again. "Bonnie, why don't you start by telling me what is going on."
"Well, the Middleton School Board met yesterday to vote on the annual budget. Apparently, there is a budget gap of several thousand dollars and instead of raising taxes, they're going to cut school programs."
Kim smiled and began to relax as she took the news in stride. "Bonnie, do you really think that the school board is going to cut the cheerleading squad? I mean, we must take up, what, like less than a millionth of the budget."
"Yes, but guess who was there last night? Mr. Barkin."
Kim's mood suddenly changed, and not for the better. Mr. Barkin is Middleton High's Vice Principal. He's known for bringing a strict but random sense of discipline to the school, and many of the students believed that he still thought he was in the army.
He was also the faculty advisor to the cheer squad. Every club or sport at Middleton High needed a member of the faculty to oversee them, and this rule applied to the cheerleaders as well, despite the fact that they were pretty much autonomous. This job fell to Mr. Barkin, who personally felt it was beneath him to supervise cheerleaders. And he was very vocal in his dislike of this particular 'chore', as he put it.
Kim was now eyeing Bonnie with some trepidation. "Did he say anything at the meeting?" she asked her fellow cheerleader.
"Oh, he said plenty. Like how the cheerleaders main purpose was to root for the football team. And that school sponsored competitions and new uniforms were a waste of resources that could be put to better use. Although he did also recommend getting rid of the Middleton Mad Dog." Bonnie's dislike for the foam-spitting mascot hadn't abated much after Ron had passed the torch to the new guy.
"So, what, we're supposed to just sit on the sidelines at games and look pretty?" Kim demanded. She was once again angry, but this time at Barkin and not Bonnie.
"If Barkin gets his way, then, yes. Kim, what are you going to do about this?"
"I don't know. Look, Bonnie, I'm late for homeroom and I need some time to think about this. Why don't we take this up again at practice this afternoon?"
"Fine, Kim, whatever. Just make sure that you have a plan by practice." And with that, she stormed off in a huff.
Kim sighed. "It's definitely a Monday," she thought to herself. She then turned, grabbed her book from her locker, and sped off towards homeroom.
***
Ron walked into the locker room shortly after he left Kim. It was your typical high school locker room, with cold blue tile and beat up metal lockers. Little light was coming in through the small windows that ran around the top of the room, and Ron found himself alone.
He quickly moved to his locker and put in the combination, revealing an interior that was a reflection of its owner: completely disorganized. Many students at Middleton High had allowed their regular lockers to become filled with loose paper and other assorted garbage, but everyone else on the baseball team could only help but wonder how Ron Stoppable managed to get his athletic locker so messy as well.
But Ron didn't have time (nor the desire) to clean out his locker now, so he simply shoved things aside until he had made enough room for his gear. Stowing it securely, he shut his locker, and turned to leave. He was almost to the exit of the locker room when...
"Ron!"
"Ugh," Ron thought. "This is not a conversation that I need right now. Or ever."
Still, he couldn't ignore the owner of the voice forever, and it would simply be rude, albeit expedient, to simply walk off without acknowledging him. So, he turned to talk to the captain of the varsity basketball team. "Good morning, Josh. What's up?"
"Nothing much. I was just surprised to see someone else in here this early in the morning." He was being friendly with Ron and had on a mischievous smile, the combination of which put Ron instantly on the defensive.
"I was just dropping off my gear before heading to homeroom. What are you doing here? Basketball season ended, like, weeks ago."
"The same thing as you, dropping of my gear." The smile never left his face and now Ron was even more confused.
"Your gear?"
"Yep. Oh, haven't you heard? Coach Hill was talking to Coach Powell about how it would be such a shame to not have someone of my talent playing for the baseball team. So, Coach Powell gave me a once over and, with a little help from Coach Hill, decided to give me a spot on the team."
Ron felt himself go entirely cold. He knew that Josh had never had any interest in baseball, and now all of a sudden he was calling in favors to get on the team. But Ron had a sneaking suspicion as to Josh's true motives and could feel himself go from cold numb to red-hot. And it wasn't helping matters that the sanctimonious grin Josh was wearing had never left his face.
"Well, congratulations," Ron managed to stammer out. "I'm sure you'll do well."
"Oh, I'm positive I'll do well. And it'll be a nice change of pace to get someone out on the field who actually has some talent."
Ron, his anger rising, opened his mouth to tell Josh exactly what he could do with his 'talent'. But, he thought better of it and didn't take the bait. "Well, Josh, I've gotta get going now. Homeroom. See you this afternoon at practice." And with that, Ron turned to leave.
He only got a few steps, however, before his curiosity got the better of him. He stopped, and with reluctance, asked, "So, why the sudden interest in baseball, Josh? I mean, you've never shown any interest before."
Josh had finished putting his gear in his locker and came around to face Ron. His smile, if it was possible, was actually wider. "I think you know the reason, Stoppable."
Ron knew damn well what the reason was but he wanted Josh to say it. "Sorry, I'm really not sure. I just want to make sure that you're ready to make a commitment to this team and not here for some other reason." Josh's smile slipped just ever so slightly, and Ron knew that he had angered him.
"Baseball," Josh explained, "it seems, is the best way to get back what is rightfully mine."
Now it was Ron's turn to smile. "He's so obvious," thought Ron. "What is rightfully mine! Well, too bad buddy, you blew your chance."
"Oh, and what would that be?" Ron asked sweetly, daring him to be so stupid as to say it out loud.
The smile was now gone from Josh's face and Ron could see it turn a nice shade of red. Josh clenched his hands into fists, stormed over to just inches in front of Ron, and put a finger in his chest. "Listen, Stoppable, we both know that I'm better than you. Once I'm done running circles around you on the field out there, she's going to realize it too. Then she's gonna dump you like yesterday's news and come back to me. Where she belongs."
Ron couldn't help but breakout into a fit of laughter at what Josh had said, which only enraged the boy further. He demanded to know just what was so funny.
"You want to know what's funny? The fact that you think Kim would leave me simply because you're better than me in baseball. I mean, I know you didn't really care for her, but I didn't think you thought she was that shallow."
That turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Without thinking, Josh threw a punch at Ron's head. Unfortunately for the boy, Josh had no way of knowing that Ron was a little different than all the other guys that he thought were geeks. With graceful moves, Ron easily dodged the attack, grabbed Josh's arm, and used his momentum to throw him into a nearby locker.
The noise of the argument had attracted the attention of Coach Powell, who had, until now, been content to simply read his paper in the office that adjoined the locker room. When he heard the metallic clang of Josh hitting the locker, he stuck his head out the door to the office and yelled, "What's going on down there, Stoppable, Mankey?"
Josh stood up, rubbing his sore head, and replied, "Nothing, coach, I just slipped on the tile, that's all." Satisfied with this answer, the coach returned to reading his paper.
"Look, Stoppable," Josh whispered angrily, "everyone gets lucky, but just watch out next time. And Kim will be mine again. Whether she comes willingly or by force." And with that, he left Ron standing there.
Ron was not feeling as good as he had been when he was taunting Josh. That last little bit that Josh said had worried him. Ron knew that he never had any true feelings for Kim. He knew that even before they were going out. Yet, he never thought of Josh as the jealous type, not the type to do something reckless. But Ron couldn't help worrying about what Josh had meant by 'force'. He'd have to keep a closer eye on his Kimmie, if not for her safety (as he was sure she could handle the likes of Josh Mankey) then for his own peace of mind.
He sighed. "Man, it is definitely a Monday," he thought as he hurried off to homeroom.
***
The rest of the day did not go any better for Kim and Ron. Given both of their unpleasant conversations before homeroom, they were extremely late. To make matters worse, they happened to arrive at homeroom at the same time and so their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Burns, drew her own conclusions as to why they were late. She had kept them after to lecture them on the importance of punctuality and that some things were more important than fooling around with your girlfriend. The lecture wouldn't have been that bad had that been what they were doing, but given the Bonnie and Josh situations that they had found themselves in, it amounted to adding insult to injury.
Morning classes also proved to be a sore point that day, especially first period calculus. Ms. Whisp had given them back their tests that they took on Friday. Ron hadn't faired too bad, and was quite pleased when he got a C. His happiness soon dried up, however, when Kim got her test back and it was also a C. Kim, who was normally an A student, became depressed because she thought she had done well on it. This only served to cause Ron to get into a funk as well. Kim, trying to compensate for the perceived disaster in calc, concentrated extra hard in her remaining classes so much so that Ron couldn't even get a word in edgewise. She said they'd catch up in lunch, but as luck would have it, Coach Powell wanted to see Ron about something then and so she ended up eating alone.
So, between two quick hellos in the hallway in between classes and the lecture in homeroom, the couple hadn't spent more than ten minutes in each other's company before the school day was out. Both of them in a foul mood, the next time they really had any time to talk was when they literally ran into each other in front of the entrances to the locker rooms.
"Oh, man, KP, I'm sorry," Ron apologized, as he rubbed his head.
"Don't worry. No harm, no foul," she said, giving him her first smile since before her morning chat with Bonnie. "Has your day been going as well as mine?"
"Better," he replied bitterly. But, then he gave her a small smile and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank God Monday only comes once a week."
She chuckled. "And Sundays."
"Huh?"
"Oh, I'm just having a little problem with Barkin. He seems to think that Middleton High doesn't need a cheerleading team."
"Nothing new there, KP."
"Yeah, its just that he's taking it to a truly critical level this time." She sighed, and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I can handle the Barkin situation. How about you? I heard someone new made the team."
She was looking to take her boyfriend's mind off of the terrible school day, but instead she had managed to sour his expression even more. "Well, 'made the team' isn't exactly what happened," Ron explained, "more like 'bribed his way on'."
"Bribed his way?"
"Yeah, it seems that he was able to get the basketball coach to force Coach Powell to give him a spot on the squad."
"But which student could get the basketball coach to do…." She trailed off, fitting the pieces together and not liking what it added up to. "Ron, its not…"
"Yep. Josh Mankey."
Even at the mere mention of his name, Kim felt disgusted. High School can be a rough time for young romance, and the breakups can make the gossip rounds for weeks. But the Mankey-Possible breakup was the stuff of legends. The unfortunate part was that she decided to end it in front of the entire basketball team. Middleton had just been eliminated in the semi-finals of the state tournament, and Josh was still stinging from the loss. Kim had tried to cheer him up, but instead of lifting his spirits, he decided to take out all his frustrations on her. For Kim, that was the last straw and she let Josh know exactly how she felt. They ended up making quite a scene, and despite Ron's best efforts to keep it low profile, every student in Middleton High knew about it by the next day. Three months had passed since then, and although there was other fare for the gossip hounds, this one just wouldn't die.
"But, why?" Kim asked Ron. "I mean, he never cared for anything other than basketball and his artwork."
Ron narrowed his eyes. "I think his interest in baseball began the day I made the team. He's still not thrilled with me going out with you."
"That's putting it mildly," Kim thought.
"Listen, KP," Ron said in his sweet, concerned voice, "just be careful around him for the next few days, OK?"
She smiled at the thought of her needing to ever be careful around Josh. Then, she smiled even wider at the thought that Ron was concerned for her. "Oh, Ron, I'm a big girl now. I think I can handle anything he throws at me."
He stood there for a moment, allowing himself to come to grips with the situation. Then, he smiled and took both her hands in his. "OK," he said softly. "Listen, I'll see you after practice?"
"Meet me in front of the school at six." She kissed him quickly and turned, heading into the girl's locker room.
***
Ten minutes later, Kim had changed into her cheerleading uniform and headed out into the gym. Everyone had already assembled on the bleachers and the first order of business was giving a pep talk to the girls on the squad. "OK girls listen up! We need to give a 110% at today's practice to get ready for the tri-city cheer-off! It's only in a few days, and I want to try out some new moves so…" She stopped when she saw that Bonnie, who was sitting in the back of the group, had her hand raised and was sporting her annoyed look. Kim had a bad feeling about where this was going, but she couldn't just ignore Bonnie, no matter how much she'd like to. "Umm, yes, Bonnie, what is it?"
"Kim," she said, standing up and making her way over to the captain, "I think we have something more important to discuss than the tri-city cheer-off."
"Oh, boy, here we go…" thought Kim.
The rest of the squad looked around at one another, a buzz of confusion running through the group. They had been gearing up for this tournament for weeks, what could possibly be more important right now?
"Well, Bonnie, I was hoping to discuss this with everybody after practice. This 'sitch or not, we still have to be ready to go in 5 days." The exasperation on her face was plain, and the rest of the squad could see it. The last thing they wanted was yet another fight between Kim and Bonnie, yet they were feeling left out of the loop and wanted to know just what was going on.
Tara spoke up first. "Well, Kim, now that Bonnie's brought it up, why don't we just talk about it now?"
Bonnie sensed that she now had the advantage and quickly pressed on. "Kim, I think it's obvious that we should talk about the 'sitch now." Then, turning towards the team, she dropped her bombshell. "Barkin has arranged to get rid of the cheerleading team."
That statement had exactly the desired effect that Bonnie was looking for. Chaos spread throughout the squad. The girls began looking at each other, a million questions springing from them assaulting their captain. They wanted to know what was going on and they wanted to know now.
"Alright, alright, calm down everyone!" Kim yelled, trying to regain control of the situation. "Here's the 'sitch. The school board is looking for ways to cut the budget and Barkin suggested to them that they cut the cheer squad. But," she continued with a glare at Bonnie, "a decision has not been made yet. As of right now, we are still here and we have a competition this weekend. So, we need to say focused on that right now."
Tara, however, was not convinced. "So, there's still the possibility of him getting rid of us?"
Kim looked at the entire team and they were all staring back at her, none of them thinking about practice or the tournament. Kim resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to deal with this now, and began to answer some of their questions.
"Yes, Tara, there's that possibility, but it's a remote one."
"At the school board meeting last night."
"No, they're not suspending the team until a decision is made."
"Yes, we're still on for this Saturday."
As the questions mounted, Kim could feel the energy drain from her. Between the horrible school day and now having to comfort six cheerleaders, all she felt like doing was going home and taking a nap. Trying to wrap-up the question and answer session, Kim asked, "So, are there any more questions? Good, then we can…"
"I have a question, Kim," interrupted Bonnie. She had been quiet this entire time, which had surprised, and worried, Kim. Bonnie, however, knew all this already and had waited until things had settled down and she had the squad's undivided attention before speaking again. She gave Kim one of her 'I've-got-you-now' smiles before continuing. "As the captain, just what do you plan on doing about this?"
Kim wasn't expecting this question. She had only known about the problem since this morning and between the homeroom fiasco and the calc test, she hadn't so much as given it another thought. Now, Bonnie had Kim right where she wanted her, and it looked like Bonnie was going to take full advantage of the situation.
"Ah, well, Bonnie, I haven't had the time yet to put together a plan as to how to handle this…" Kim stammered.
But Bonnie wasn't about to let it drop that easily. "But, Kim, you're the captain! Shouldn't you have spent some time at least thinking about this? I mean, the team should be your first priority as captain, but," Bonnie continued, putting a hand on Kim's shoulder, "if your attention is elsewhere, like, say, with your boyfriend, then maybe the team deserves someone who can give it their all."
All this had the effect of turning Kim's face the same color as her hair. Kim shrugged her shoulders violently, so as to throw Bonnie's hand off her, and turned on the other cheerleader. "Look, Bonnie, what I do with Ron is absolutely none of your concern and has nothing to do with this conversation."
"I agree with Kim that Ron has nothing to do with this," Tara chimed in, "but, Kim, do you have any idea what you're going to do to fix this?"
Kim, who had already had enough with Bonnie, made the unfortunate decision to take some of her frustration out on Tara. "Tara, I have no idea!" she yelled. "I only found out this morning when Bonnie told me and I haven't had anytime to figure anything out yet!"
By this time, Bonnie realized that she could probably get an ally in Tara after Kim's little outburst and so she sat down next to Tara. "By the way, Kim," Bonnie began in a sarcastically sweet tone, "why is it that you only found out this morning? I mean, shouldn't you have been at the school board meeting last night?"
Kim, who had been staring at Tara the whole time, looked like someone had slapped her across the face. She turned to Bonnie with a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, don't you think it would have been better if the captain was there to hear the news in person?" Bonnie smiled. "Maybe then, you could have come up with a plan to fix this mess by now."
This line of attack was completely unexpected and had thrown Kim off balance. "Ah, I agree, and if I had known about the meeting, I certainly would have been there."
"But, Kim," Bonnie went on. She could sense the blood in the water and was moving in for the kill. "Isn't it your job as captain to know about these kind of meetings? And just what were you doing while the meeting was being held anyway?"
"Yes, Kim, I'd really like to know that myself." This last bit came from Tara, who was still unhappy with Kim for the outburst at her earlier. The other girls murmured their interest in knowing just what their captain was doing then.
"Ah, well, I was on a mission in Peru, and…"
"Was that all you did last night, Kim?" Bonnie asked in her sickly sweet voice. She knew full well that Kim had had a date last night, and wanted her to admit as much.
Kim knew that she had been trapped. Not that she was sorry for her date with Ron or would ever apologize for it, but she knew that this was not going to go over well with the rest of the squad. She squared her shoulders and in a dignified voice replied, "If you must know, Bonnie, I also had a date last night."
"A date?" Bonnie was putting on an Oscar performance today with her insincere shock at something she had already known. "Kim, I know that you and Ron just starting going out, but don't you think your commitment to the team is more important than one date?"
"Yeah, Kim! Aren't you committed to the team?" Tara demanded. She had decided to take up the charge against Kim, which shocked the captain, as Tara had always been nice to her. Even given Kim's outburst at her earlier, Kim felt that it was not cause enough for Tara to attack her like this.
What Kim did not know, and what no one else knew, was that Tara was harboring a secret crush on Ron. In fact, she had been crushing on him since sophomore year, but was afraid to ever ask him out. It was a combination of her being too shy to ask a guy out, and Ron not being all that popular that had kept her from saying something to him. It had never really bothered her because Ron had never dated anyone before, so she could wait, content with the knowledge that she could ask him out anytime.
By the time Ron had lost his social pariah status, she had overcome her own insecurities about being the one to ask for a date and was ready to make her move. Unfortunately, she was a little bit too late and by that time, Ron had already gotten together with Kim. Not that Tara was the type to hold a grudge (she always felt that it was her own fault that it was Ron and Kim and not Ron and her), but the combination of Kim's attack on her and the fact that she had missed that meeting to go on a date with Ron sparked Tara's anger. And she was going to return the favor for Kim's earlier outburst and take it out on Kim.
But Kim didn't know this, and now she was forced to fight the war on two fronts, not just one. Kim started to tell Tara that she was 100% committed to the squad when Tara continued the offensive, "I just don't see how you can say that your 100% committed to the team when it's clear that you'd rather spend time with Ron than do your job as the team captain."
Kim, the hurt that she was feeling evident in her voice, responded, "Tara, I don't think that that's really called for. I do a lot for the team…"
"Yes, but is it enough?" Bonnie questioned. "I mean, if this is your best, then maybe your best just isn't good enough. Maybe its time for someone to lead the team who can give her full attention to the squad."
Kim was about to let Bonnie know just what she thought of her leadership skills when Tara sided with Bonnie. "I think that that's a good idea. Maybe its time for the team to rethink just who we want leading us. I say that after the tri-city tournament this Saturday, we all meet to discuss this. All in favor?"
Tara looked around to the other girls in the squad to gauge their reaction. She was unaware that Bonnie was doing the same thing, except that while Tara had a curious expression, Bonnie's was one of intimidation. It only took a few seconds for the team to cave in and agree to the plan of action.
Kim, who was unable to come to her own aid during the attack by Bonnie and Tara, had gone through several shades of red until she was now almost a purple color. Right now, all she wanted to do was to tell the squad how Bonnie had manipulated them, how Tara was being completely unfair, and that she would handle the situation. Reason kicked in, however, and she kept her mouth shut. She had lost the battle and not the war, but if she were to fly off the handle, then that would be the end of it and Bonnie would be captain.
Swallowing her pride, Kim put an end to the discussion. "OK, then, we will discuss the leadership of the cheer team after the tournament. In the mean time, we need to start working on our routine, otherwise it won't matter who the captain is after this weekend. Come on, let's get started." And with that, she turned away from the bleachers and headed towards the middle of the gym to start practice.
The one good thing that came from the discussion was that it put Bonnie in a good mood and so Kim didn't have to put up with Bonnie's constant whining throughout practice. Which was a good thing because Kim had other things to worry about during practice. While the cheer squad had seen many Kim-Bonnie fights over the years, this one was somehow different. Probably because this one was a Kim vs. Bonnie-Tara spat.
But whatever the reason, the team was walking around on eggshells throughout practice. They were stiff and were missing their cues, which caused the human pyramid to collapse for the third time. Kim was beginning to feel a mix of anger and frustration, but she was going to be super polite to all the girls. She needed friends right now, not more enemies.
As the practice wore on, however, the girls began to relax a little and everyone started hit their mark. Even Kim was beginning to lose herself in the work and it looked like everything was getting back to a somewhat normal state. That is, until they tried the pyramid again.
The girls were all in a line in preparation for their back flip into the pyramid. Kim, as always, was at the end of the line as she was the top of the pyramid. She was just about to pump her legs to start the flip when she overheard a small piece of Tara's conversation with one of the other cheerleaders.
"It's like I said," Tara whispered, "I just don't think Kim is right for the job anymore…"
This sent a flash of anger shooting through Kim. She had thought that things were calming down and that the girls were regaining their senses, which is why it seemed that Tara's conversation was coming from out of left field. In her anger, Kim kicked off the ground just a tad too hard and instead of gracefully landing on top of the pyramid, she overshot it.
Seven pairs of eyes watched as Kim began her approach towards the pyramid gracefully but then as the head cheerleader began to realize what the other cheerleaders already knew, she tried to compensate. She reached out in an attempt to land on the top of the pyramid in a handstand instead of on her feet, but her momentum was just too much. She caught hold of the arms of the two girls on top and continued to soar backwards. The two girls on top were not prepared for this and quickly lost their balance, dragging themselves and the bottom row down into a huge pile on the gym floor.
From the outside, it looked like one big tangle of arms and legs as the cheerleaders struggled to free themselves. As fate would have it, Kim ended up right next to Tara and Bonnie. Both girls were a little disoriented, and Tara hadn't notice Kim yet when she leaned over to Bonnie and whispered, "So much for a hundred percent."
Tara, however, was just a bit too loud and Kim had caught what she had said. Kim forgot that her position as captain was already in jeopardy, and decided that she had taken enough crap for one day.
"Well, Tara," Kim said quietly but with venom in her voice, "it isn't exactly giving 100% now either when you're trying to convince people to get rid of me in the middle of practice."
But Tara wasn't about to concede anything to Kim. With an expression of feigned shock, Tara placed her hand over her chest. "Kim, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You know very well what I'm talking about. You want to discuss who should be the captain, fine, but do it on your own time." Kim could feel herself losing control again, but the frustration of the entire day came crashing down on her and she no longer cared.
Bonnie, who had come to learn exactly when Kim was beginning to lose it after so many arguments with her over the years, saw she had an opening and took it. "So, Kim, now its not enough for the cheer squad to do what you want, but now we've got to think what you want as well?"
Kim turned from Tara to Bonnie as all three of them got up from the floor. "Look, Bonnie, no one is telling people what to think. I'll I'm saying is…"
"We all know exactly what you're saying, Kim," Tara interrupted.
Kim had had enough. She took a step closer to Tara and pointed her finger right in Tara's face. "Now, wait just a minute…"
"Possible!"
The entire team turned to see the owner of the voice, but everyone already knew whom it belonged to. Mr. Barkin, who had never been to a cheerleading practice before, had picked not only this particular one as his first, but also happened to pick that particular moment in which to enter the gym. There he was, standing in the doorway to the gym, and he did not look happy.
He motioned for Kim to come over to where he was standing. "Possible, can I have a moment of your time?"
The rest of the team began laughing quietly. Kim looked from the silently laughing squad back to the annoyed looking Barkin and hung her head in defeat. She knew that she was busted and that Barkin had probably only seen when Kim had stuck her finger in Tara's face.
"Today just keeps getting better and better," Kim thought bitterly as she walked over to where Barkin was standing.
When she was face to face with Barkin, he continued, albeit loud enough for everyone in the gym to hear him. "Possible, just what did you think you were doing back there?"
Kim blushed a bright red and began to fidget in front of Barkin. She was never in trouble in school and simply didn't have enough experience in these types of situations to allow herself to calm down and explain herself. "Ah, well, Mr. Barkin, you see…"
But it was Barkin's show and he was going to run it. "Possible, the cheer squad is designed to bring peppiness and school spirit to the student of Middleton High, not for you to go around picking fights with other students."
Kim though that this was an incredibly unfair portrayal of the day's events, but decided to keep her mouth shut in hopes that Barkin's anger would just blow over.
Mr. Barkin, however, wasn't about to pass on an opportunity to reprimand one of the cheerleaders that he so hated to 'baby-sit', as he put it. "Why don't you go hit the showers a little early today so that you have some more time to think about the true nature of the cheer squad." He smiled down at Kim in a way that suggested that this was the final word on the matter.
Kim took one last look at the rest of the team and became even more depressed, if that was possible, at the sight of Bonnie taking over the practice. She slowly collected her things and made the trek to the locker room. She showered and changed quickly, as she didn't want to be there when the rest of the squad showed up after practice.
The quiet locker room had afforded her a moment to reflect on the day. Between the homeroom lecture and the calc nightmare and now the possibility of losing her position as captain of the cheerleaders, all Kim wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed. She was planning on doing just that when the first happy though that she had since the end of school came to her. She had a date tonight! A small smile began struggling at her lips as she realized that, although her day had been one from hell, maybe she could have a happy ending to it. It was only 5:45 so she would be a little early, but fifteen minutes was a short time to wait for her Ron. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the front of the school.
***
Ron thought he was going to pass out. His face was flush and he was doubled over, gasping for air. He, along with the rest of the baseball team, had just finished warming-up, which was only supposed to get the blood flowing in preparation for the full practice. Instead, it left them feeling like they had just had two practices, back to back. And there was another two full hours to go.
This was all thanks to the newest member of the squad. His arrival had been met with mixed reviews. Some of the baseball team were also on the basketball team, so they had been friends and teammates of Josh for four years. Others, who were tired of the basketball team getting all the glory in Middleton, resented the fact that he had gotten on the team without so much as a tryout. Then there was Ron, who had any number of reasons to dislike Josh.
But, love him or hate him, Josh was on the team and here to stay. He was already in the locker room when Ron went in some forty minutes ago to get ready for practice. He had seen Josh, but Josh had missed Ron. "Good," Ron thought, "I can avoid him until we get out on the field."
Changing quickly, he was able to get out of the locker room before Josh and jog down to the baseball diamond. There, he did some light stretching until he was loose and ready to go. By this time, more and more of the team had joined him and they were playing catch, waiting for the coach to arrive.
Coach Powell got there a few minutes later and called a team meeting before they started. He started by saying that there was a new member of the team and introducing Josh. Not that anyone was surprised. His little coup to get onto the baseball team had traveled the gossip circuit pretty quickly, so that by lunchtime everyone in school was well aware of the situation. What everyone was wondering was just how Ron Stoppable was going to take it.
After the introductions, the coach went on to talk about the upcoming schedule for a few minutes. Josh sat down with the rest of the team, and it became apparent that the team was splitting itself down the middle between the Josh lovers and the Josh haters. No one was really paying any attention to Coach Powell after a while, which caused him to grow annoyed with this team. So, he finished the meeting quickly telling them that if they didn't want to listen to him talk then they could just do more warm-ups.
This generated a chorus of groans from the players that fell on the coach's deaf ears. "I think you guys are getting a little soft. Maybe some new blood can shake some life into you. Mankey! Take over the training. I'll be back in a little while." And with that, he turned to go back into the gym.
Taking his cue, Josh got up and headed to the front of the assembled team. "Alright, everyone, you heard the coach. Let's get going." And with that, he turned towards the track to start the two miles that the team ran each day. Everyone on the squad was in good shape and the jog didn't tire anyone out. Once they were done, Josh led them through the standard routine of stretching and calisthenics on the football field that was inside the track. After a half an hour, the team was fully limber and ready to go.
Usually at this point, the player that coach had selected to run the warm-ups would turn it back over to him, but Coach Powell hadn't come back yet from wherever he had gone off to. The team just stood around, not sure what to do exactly. After a few minutes of this, Josh spoke up. "Well, since coach isn't here, why don't we try some special calisthenics?"
Since the team didn't have anything else to do, plus the fact that they were curious as to what he meant by 'special calisthenics', they agreed to see what Josh had in mind. Ron had his reservations about all this, but seeing as how Josh's request wasn't out of line, he acquiesced.
It was Josh's idea, so everyone deferred to his lead. "It's simple. We're going to play a version of 'King of the Hill' and all you have to do is what are called suicide runs. Everyone lines up on the goal line. Once signaled, you run to the five-yard line, touch it, then run back to the goal line and touch it. You then repeat the process with the ten-yard line and then the fifteen. Any questions?"
This sounded more like a particularly cruel form of torture to the guys on the team rather than something to do to kill time. "Umm, Josh," Ron spoke up voicing the reservations of the rest of the team, "don't you think that's a little harsh for a warm-up?"
"We did this at every practice for the basketball team, Stoppable. I guess the guys on that team are just better than the ones on the baseball team…" Josh taunted. He could see that those who were on the basketball team with him snicker to themselves, while those who had not were getting pissed off pretty fast. Josh turned to the basketball guys, "Look, you guys can handle a little running, can't you?"
The basketball guys looked around at each other, nodded their heads in agreement, and started to move to the goal line. This served to anger the non-basketball guys even further, who were not about to let the basketball team show them up yet again. So, in a few minutes, everyone, including Ron, had lined up at the goal line waiting for Josh signal.
Ron wasn't looking forward to this. He had signed up for the baseball team to have some fun and meet a few new friends, not to be manipulated into extra punishment by the likes of Josh Mankey. He was frowning, looking around for Mankey to get the start signal, when he realized with a start that Josh was standing right next to him.
"Ready, Stoppable?" he asked, his voice low enough so that only Ron could hear him.
"Anytime you're ready, Mankey," Ron spat back with an equally low voice.
"Just try not to bump into me, buffoon."
Josh just got lucky. He had no way to know that by calling Ron a buffoon that he'd end up pushing one of Ron's buttons, one that Ron didn't even know he had until just now. Ron Stoppable had gone on many missions with Kim as part of Team Possible, faced many dangerous and evil villains bent on world domination, and had been called a buffoon by just about every one of them. But he was not about to take that from a man for whom he had nothing but contempt.
Ron turned to look Josh in the eye, his passion getting the better of him, when Josh, realizing that he had an opening, yelled out "Go!" The entire team took off in a shot for the five-yard line leaving Ron off balance and already behind. Josh was an outstanding athlete, and his years playing basketball only helped to increase his God given talents, so that he had taken an early lead over the rest of the team. But no amount of athletic skill could match the Mystical Monkey Power that Ron had. He quickly closed the gap between him and Josh and they were the first ones to finish, Ron just ahead of Josh.
As the rest of the team crossed the goal line, Ron couldn't help but feel good for beating Josh, despite the boy's cheating. But Ron also felt guilty. Master Sensei had warned Ron that while he had great power, it was only to be used in the pursuit of justice. And Ron doubted that beating Josh Mankey in a running contest qualified as the pursuit of justice.
Ron looked over at Josh, who was none the worse for wear. Josh, however, was clearly not pleased that he was shown up by Ron and he let his displeasure show on his face. "Man, if looks could kill," Ron chucked to himself. "Well, at least that's over with." Unfortunately for Ron, things were just starting.
Once he was sure that he could get everyone's attention, Josh addressed the team. "All right, that was great. Now, everyone who finished in the last half of the group sit out. The rest of you, line up for another run."
This was meet with yet another chorus of groans from the players. "Give it a rest, Josh. At this rate, none of us will have any energy for practice," Ron complained.
"Well, Stoppable, the name of the game is 'King of the Hill'. But, I guess you just don't have what it takes to be the best," Josh teased. He could see that Ron was getting angry again, and decided to press it a bit further. "I'm just surprised that Kim would settle for a quitter like you."
Well, there would have been less shock amongst the players had Zeus himself landed one of his thunderbolts right there in the middle of the football field rather than hearing what Josh had said. He just stood there casually, looking intently at Ron with a smug look, knowing that he had hit the other man's sorest spot. Ron, despite his recent successes in the social arena, was still somewhat insecure when it came to his relationship with Kim.
Ron, however, just stood there for a moment. At first, he wasn't sure that he had heard Josh correctly. His brain was just a tad slow in processing what he had heard because he couldn't believe Josh would cross a line like that in front of the entire team. But as the seconds ticked by, the truth of the situation hit home and Ron began to find new levels of hate that he never knew he had.
He took a step toward Josh, intending to remove that sanctimonious grin from his face permanently, when one of his fellow teammates placed a hand lightly on Ron's shoulder. Ron turned to see Dave, a fellow non-basketball guy, looking at him cautiously. "Ron," he whispered, "he's not worth it." Ron blinked. It was just enough to let reason get back its control on Ron, and he rethought his decision to give Josh a piece of his mind and fist.
But it wasn't enough to completely lift the fog of rage that settled over Ron's brain. Josh had gone too far by bringing Kim into this little battle of wills, and Ron was not about to let that arrogant prima donna get away with it. Ron calmly walked over to him, stood a mere few inches from Josh, and said in a mockingly calm voice, "Anytime you're ready, Mankey. Just try not to feel too bad when I smoke your sorry butt again." And with that, Ron turned and headed for the goal line.
Josh was also beginning to find new levels of anger as he watched Ron and the rest of the guys who had finished in the top half begin to get in place for the next run. He stood where he was, stewing in his own juices, until he noticed that the runners were now on the goal line watching him. Josh ran over to take his place in line and started the next sprint.
This continued for several more heats until it had gotten down to just Josh and Ron. The two enemies looked like they had just gone fifteen with a prizefighter and secretly none of them wanted this to continue. Josh was a superior athlete but even his teenage body could take so much and the excessive running was taking its toll. Ron, staying true to his promise to Master Sensei, had refused to use his powers again but, powers or not, Ron had gotten himself into excellent shape and was able to keep up with Josh. Unfortunately, without using Mystical Monkey Power, Ron was also succumbing to the effects of the continuous sprinting.
So, the two of them now found themselves standing there, red faced and sucking wind, their eyes shooting daggers at each other. Each of them silently prayed that the other would cave and end this, all the while vowing that they would not be the one to lose this contest. By now, Josh's little game had also deepened the rift between the basketball guys and the non-basketball guys so that the two groups were standing far apart and rooting for their champion: basketball guys for Josh and non-basketball guys for Ron.
"Alright…Stoppable…let's get…this…over with. I'm…gonna...show…you…how a… winner does it," Josh tried to sound superior but failed as he couldn't get more than three words out at a time while gasping for breath.
"Whenever…you're ready…Monkey," came the beleaguered reply from Ron.
"On the…count of…three. One…Two…" But that's as far as Josh got.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Coach Powell came running up to the team, his face contorted with fury. "Mankey! Why isn't the team up at the baseball field? I thought I told you to take them through warm-ups, not Marine Corps basic training! Just what the hell did you think you were doing?" coach demanded.
Suddenly, the smug arrogance was gone from Josh only to be replaced with fear and doubt. He knew that Coach Hill had more sway and power than Coach Powell did, but that didn't mean Coach Hill could stop Coach Powell from making Josh's life a living hell for the rest of the season. Plus, he also knew that Coach Hill would be pretty upset if he found out what was going on here. Almost as upset as Coach Powell was right now.
Ron could see Josh hesitate in answering coach. The other boy was wearing a 'deer-caught-in-the-headlights' look that Ron had never seen on Josh. Part of him rejoiced at the fact that Mankey was about to get it, and in front of all his basketball buddies no less. But the better part of him knew that, although it had been Josh's idea, they had all gone along with it, including Ron, and that it wasn't fair that Josh take the fall alone. Already regretting what he was about to do, Ron stepped forward.
"Coach, we finished our workout and you hadn't come back yet so we decided to put in a little extra work," Ron flashed his goofy grin at the man. "You know, the team feels that maybe we are going a little soft so we decided to work a little harder today. No pain, no gain."
Coach Powell had been an educator and a coach for over 22 years and he could tell when he was being given a snow job. What he couldn't figure out was why Ron was coming to the defense of Josh. He knew the gossip and the rumors just like everyone else, which was a major reason he didn't want Josh on the team in the first place. He looked at Ron, who had never lost his goofy grin, then back to Josh, who looked like the cat who swallowed the canary. Still very skeptical about what was going on, he decided that, on the surface, Ron's story checked out. He didn't believe a word of it, but he'd let it go. This time.
"A little extra work, huh? Well, good, I'm glad to hear it Stoppable. If you guys are so pumped to work extra hard today, then why don't we just extend practice by an hour? Meet me on the baseball field in five." Coach Powell, despite his generosity in this matter, wasn't about to let what happened go by completely unnoticed.
The rest of the squad, not daring to say one word, simply hung their heads and started off towards the baseball field. The basketball guys were completely convinced that this was all the fault of Ron, and became even more bitter towards him and the non-basketball guys, who, for their part, blamed Josh just as much, although they weren't too happy with Ron for coming to Josh's aid.
After a minute or two, Ron and Josh found themselves alone on the football field. They had taken the worst of it because they were the only ones who had lasted until the final heat. They had just started to catch their breath and began walking towards the rest of the team when Josh came right up to Ron.
"You got off lucky this time, Stoppable. Coach Powell saved you from getting you butt handed to you back there. Next time, he won't be there to help you." Josh hissed at Ron while tapping a finger into Ron's chest. With that, Josh turned and began jogging away.
Ron couldn't believe this guy. He had just gone out on a limb with his friends on the team to save Josh's rear and this was the thanks that he got? "But, am I really all that surprised?" Ron thought bitterly. "Next time, I'll definitely rethink my decision."
"You're welcome!" Ron yelled at Josh's back and began to jog towards the baseball field as well. He made sure that he kept a few steps behind Josh so that they wouldn't get into another confrontation. This made Ron the last one to get to the field, just in time to hear Coach Powell's instructions.
First up was batting practice. He sent all the outfielders into the outfield to shag fly balls while the players took turns at bat. When one player was done batting, he would then take over the pitching duties for the next batter. Coach Powell needed to work with the pitchers, so he left the rest of the team alone, trusting in them not to kill each other after today's earlier incident.
Ron went over to the bench and retrieved his glove. He was heading to the outfield when he noticed Josh doing the same thing. "Great," Ron thought, "It's not enough that he's on the team. He's also trying to take my position as well."
After a while, it was beginning to look like things were returning to normal. Ron was content to stay on the other side of the field away from Josh. Since everyone was exhausted from the additional running, no one really had the energy to get the ball out of the infield. Which suited Ron just fine, as it gave him an opportunity to rest. Before he knew it, he was the only one who had yet to take a turn at the plate.
He was jogging towards the infield when he realized that Josh was the last person to bat. That meant that Josh would be pitching to Ron, which caused no small amount of anxiety in the teenager. But, he couldn't refuse to take batting practice, nor would he give Josh the satisfaction of letting him know that Ron was a little worried.
Ron flipped his glove towards the bench and retrieved his bat. Settling into the batter's box, he looked at Josh for the first time since the boy had tapped Ron's chest. What he saw gave him reason enough to back out and sent a chill down his spine. Josh had a Cheshire-cat grin on and you could plainly see the malevolence in his eyes. Ron swallowed, and prepared himself for whatever Josh had planning.
But Josh didn't do anything, at least not a first. His first pitch was the proper speed and over the middle of the plate. Ron was expecting something else so much that he just watched the pitch sail by, which caused the other infielders to simply roll their eyes. He chuckled to himself and began to relax.
The next few pitches were just as harmless and Ron began to get into the 'swing' of things, as it were. "I guess he's not going to try anything after all," Ron thought to himself as he began to relax. But then the next pitch that Josh threw was a little more inside than the last one, and so was the next one, and the one after that. They were still well within the acceptable location for batting practice, but Josh was getting close to the edges.
Ron was beginning to get just a tad bit nervous when Josh unleashed a fastball, high and tight. Ron's instincts kicked in and he was able to dodge the pitch, but only by hitting the dirt. He got up, dusted himself off, and looked at Josh with murder in his eyes.
Josh, however, just had on a smile. He shrugged his shoulders and mockingly apologized, "Sorry, I guess that last on got away from me!" But his eyes gave him away, and Ron could see the fire that was burning behind them. "So much for Josh learning his lesson," Ron though.
Josh continued to let his pitches 'slip' and Ron was diving for the deck again. Ron was once again turning a nice shade of red when he decided he was going to have a little fun with Mr. Mankey. Forgetting his promise to Master Sensei, Ron tapped into his power and vowed that he was not going to fall to the ground again.
He got back into the batter's box and looked back at Josh. This time, it was Ron who was sporting a grin and it was Josh who was put off guard. But it passed in a moment, and Josh smiled back, taunting Ron. Josh reared back and threw yet another fastball right at Ron's head.
This time, Ron was ready for it. With blinding swiftness, he stepped out of the way of the speeding ball and with aim that would have been impossible for any average person, Ron connected with the pitch and sent it flying right back at Josh. Josh wasn't expecting this and had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit.
"Just what do you think you're doing Stoppable?" Josh yelled as he got up. "That almost hit me!"
"It was no closer than anyone of your pitches!" Ron shot back.
"What are you implying, Stoppable?"
"I think you know exactly what I'm implying, Mankey!"
"You think I was throwing at you intentionally? You're out of your mind!"
"Right…" Ron had switched from angry to sarcastic. "What was I thinking? I mean, there's no way you have enough skill to hit the broad side of a barn let alone my head!"
"Fine, I'll show you just how much skill I've got!"
By this time, the entire team, except the pitchers, had all come running into the infield and encircled the two of them. No one said anything, and no one moved to stop them. It was as if they were watching a car wreck; it was horrible to watch but you couldn't help but stare at it transfixed. Which is why they didn't do anything when Josh picked up another baseball and threw it at Ron. Ron was able to dodge it, but reason once again left him as the frustration of the entire day came crashing down on him. His face twisted into a snarl as he tightened his grip on his bat, bringing it back over his shoulder and stepping toward Josh.
Reason had also left Josh, otherwise he would have thought twice about taking on Ron right then. But, he had no intention of backing down and, despite the fact that Ron had a bat, he also started toward him.
Fortunately for both of them, the sight of Ron heading toward Josh with a bat was enough to snap the rest of the team back to their senses. They rushed in and quickly separated the two hotheads before they did something that they would really regret. Unfortunately for them, the commotion had attracted the attention of Coach Powell.
"Mankey! Stoppable! Didn't the two of you learn your lesson after what happened earlier today? You are supposed to be teammates who help each other not enemies who are at each other's throats! I want you to both hit the showers, right now, and Stoppable, I want to see you in my office in twenty!" And he just stood there to make sure they got the message.
Ron and Josh looked at each other then back to Coach Powell. They both knew that this was not the time to argue with the man and so they simply went and collected their gear. They walked back to the locker room without a word and without looking at each other, but at least they were walking together.
When they got back to the gym, they silently took their showers and changed. It was so quiet between the two of them that you could have heard a pin drop. Not that there wasn't anything to say; Ron could've spoke volumes about just how he felt about Josh right then, but neither wanted to get into any more trouble than they already were.
Ron had just finished changing when he could hear the rest of the team filing in to the locker room. He guessed that practice had ended, and he suddenly realized that he had a knot in the pit of his stomach at the thought of the conservation that he was about to have.
Coach Powell walked in, took one look at Ron, and said "Stoppable, my office, now." Ron felt himself go cold, but followed the coach into his office as instructed. Coach Powell shut the door behind him and motioned for Ron to sit in the chair opposite his desk. Ron flopped himself down into the chair with a sigh and began to debate with himself if he should just cut the coach off and apologize before he got started.
Ron was snapped out of his thoughts when the coach took his seat behind his desk and looked at the teenager. Ron was preparing for the worst and began wondering just what he was going to tell Kim and his parents when the coach threw him off the team when Coach Powell smiled. "Good Lord, Ron, just what I am supposed to do with you?"
"Wha…?" Ron was now completely confused. He had expected to have his butt chewed off not have a civil conservation with the coach.
"Look, Ron, I think I can trust you to keep our conservation here private?" Ron nodded his agreement. "Good. I can see that you're not too fond of the latest member of our team. Neither am I."
Ron was shocked that the coach was being so open with him. It was universally accepted that Coach Powell was none too happy with the situation, but no one had ever heard him complain about it, publicly or privately and Ron let his shock show plainly on his face.
The coach chuckled. "Don't look so surprised. I imagine that the only person in this school who is more unhappy at Mr. Mankey is you. "
"That's an understatement," Ron grumbled. He was beginning to relax and the hope that he wasn't in any real trouble began to creep back into him.
"Yes, well, while we are in agreement with our dislike of him, where we differ is that I have a healthy dose of trepidation when I am around him." Ron became even more confused. "Could the coach actually be afraid of Josh?" Ron thought.
Coach Powell smiled at Ron as if he had been reading his mind. "No, Ron, I am not afraid of the likes of Josh Mankey. But, look, Ron, in Middleton, basketball is almost a religion and Josh is the first person in a few years to get a scholarship to a big name university for basketball. The people in this town practically worship the boy, and some of them would be willing to do just about anything for him. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Ron wasn't exactly sure what the coach was trying to tell him but he nodded anyway. "Just look at how he got on this team. I mean, do you really think I'd let someone on the team without trying out? All I'm saying Ron is that discretion is the better part of valor. Try to remember that the next time Josh opens his mouth."
The coach looked at Ron for a minute to make sure that Ron had gotten the message and when he was satisfied that Ron had understood all that he was going to, the coach got up. Taking his cue, Ron stood up as well and watched Coach Powell come out from behind his desk. He put his arm around Ron's shoulder and guided him to the office door. "Alright, I've kept you long enough. Now, why don't you go find your girlfriend, have some fun tonight, and forget all about today." Coach Powell smiled at Ron and opened the door.
Ron smiled back at the coach, said goodnight, and left his office. He waited until the coach had closed the door and he was back to his locker before Ron heaved a huge sigh of relief. Ron leaned his back against his locker and slowly slid to the ground, with his head between his knees. He just sat there in the semi-darkness, thankful that he was alone.
As he contemplated the day, he wasn't very happy with himself. He had broken his promise to Master Sensei not once but twice. He had let Josh get the better of him and had nearly come to blows. He came this close to being kicked off the baseball team.
Ron sat there for a while, feeling a little sorry for himself, when he was brought out of his thoughts by a beep from his watch. He looked down at it and realized with a start that it was already 6:15! He was supposed to meet Kim fifteen minutes ago. He shot up, grabbed his jacket and keys, and ran to catch Kim in the front of the school. If she was still there.
***
Rufus could sense that something was wrong. He looked from his owner, who was currently driving, to Kim, who was in the passenger seat. Neither one of them had said a word the entire time since Ron had picked Rufus up from home. He was beginning to worry about the two of them because he had no idea what had happened at school that day to cause the two of them to fight. You see, Rufus no longer went with Ron to school; he went to his 'job'.
During one of Team Possible's missions last year, one of the grateful scientists, a psychologist named Dr. Syman, had noticed that Rufus was more intelligent than the other naked mole rats that he had come across. A lot more intelligent. So, Ron, Rufus, and Dr. Syman came up with an agreement that Rufus would spend each weekday in Dr. Syman's psychology lab taking all sorts of non-invasive tests in an attempt to discover just why Rufus was, well, Rufus. Plus, it gave Rufus all the cheese money that he could ever need, something for which his owner was very grateful.
But, genius mole rat nor not, Rufus had missed what had transpired just a little while ago and so he had no idea why his two favorite people in the world were so unhappy.
Kim had gotten to the front of the school ahead of Ron, but she wasn't surprised. It was 5:45 when she sat down on one of the benches in the school lobby, so she was early.
She didn't mind being early; it gave her a chance to daydream about the rest of the night. "Probably hit Bueno Nacho for dinner, then maybe catch that new romantic comedy with Hugh Grant…" she thought, lost in her own world. "That's gonna take some convincing to get Ron to agree to it. He'll probably suggest we see the new shoot-em-up with Lawrence Fishbourne in it. Yuck. Oh, well, it doesn't matter. Since we started dating, I haven't lost an argument yet. Now that I can use other weapons in my bag of tricks besides my puppy dog pout." This brought a smile to her lips and she could feel the tension of the day beginning to slip away as she realized that it was 6 o'clock and he'd be there any minute.
But as she sat there watching the clock in the lobby, there was no Ron in sight. She figured he might be a few minutes late, and since this was Ron, he had probably tripped himself up somewhere and was trying to untangle himself. Yet as the minutes ticked by, he was still nowhere to be seen.
6:05 "Oh, well, its only five minutes," Kim thought, "it's not the end of the world."
6:10 "Hmmm. I'm starving. Where are you Ron?"
6:15 "How can he be so inconsiderate? He was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago!"
Kim was quickly becoming angry with her new boyfriend when he came running into the lobby. "Oh, God, KP, I'm so sorry. There was a problem at practice and…" Ron stopped when he realized that she was quite mad at him. "Ah, KP, is everything alright?"
"No, and let me tell you why it's not." Kim said in a forced calm tone. Ron could sense the barely contained anger beneath her exterior and knew that he was going to get it for being late. "I have had one of the most horrible days that I can remember at school. Between homeroom and Bonnie and Barkin, I was counting on the fact that at least my boyfriend would be kind enough to make my day a little easier. Not be late by over fifteen minutes without so much as a call on the cell phone to tell me what's going on. By the way, you never did apologize for making us late this morning."
That last little bit had caused Ron to go from anxious about being late to completely confused. "Ah, Kim, we were late this morning because of the late night last night. I guess we were both a little slow getting going this morning…"
The look on Kim's face said it all. "Oh, no, she's not listening to me. This is gonna get ugly real fast," Ron thought.
"All I know, Ron, is that you were late picking me up this morning and now you're late picking me up this evening. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm important to you anymore." Kim knew the second that she had said it that she didn't mean it, but it was too late to take it back.
For his part, Ron looked like someone had hit him in the gut. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Kim, that was completely uncalled for," he replied as evenly as he could. He was hurt and a little angry by what she had said. But Kim's a proud individual and instead of apologizing, she decided that it was best to end the argument without a conclusion.
"Whatever, Ron. Can we please get going now? I'm starving and we still need to pick up Rufus." She turned towards his car, leaving a very confused and hurt Ron standing there.
Rufus, unfortunately, had missed all this so he was at a loss as to what was going on. He knew that there was a problem; he just didn't know how to fix it yet. While he was lost in thought, the three of them had managed to make their way to the Bueno Nacho parking lot. Ron picked up Rufus and put him in his pocket. Then the young couple, neither of them looking at the other, silently got out of Ron's car and began to make their way inside the Mexican restaurant.
From his vantage point in Ron's pocket, Rufus was beginning to put the Ron and Kim problem on the back burner when he spied a small flower stand parked in front of Bueno Nacho. The light bulb when off in the little guy's head, and he quickly scrambled up Ron's leg to tell him what to do. Ron, who had become used to Rufus climbing up and down his leg over the years, paid him no heed until he felt Rufus tugging on his ear.
"What is it, Rufus?" Ron asked with a mixture of exhaustion and annoyance. Rufus began to excitedly gesture at the flower stand and Ron stopped.
"Ho, apologize!" Rufus whispered in Ron's ear. By this time, Ron had stopped walking even though Kim had continued on.
"But it's not my fault!" Ron whispered back to his friend.
Rufus shook his head, pointed again at the flower stand, and said," Doesn't matter. Apologize."
Ron looked from Rufus to the flower stand to Kim and then back to Rufus. And he knew that Rufus was right. It had been partially his fault that they were late this morning and this evening, and besides, didn't the 'rules' say that it was the guy's job to apologize first?
"OK, OK, I'll apologize," he told Rufus. "Kim, I'll be right there. Order me the usual," he cried out to his girlfriend. She didn't turn around to look at him; all he got in return was a wave of her hand.
As soon as she was inside Bueno Nacho, Ron ran over to the flower stand. It was manned by a single elderly woman who smiled at him when he came running up. "In trouble with the Mrs.?" She asked Ron in a knowing voice.
Ron rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, you could say that. Rough day at school for the both of us. I just need to tell her that I'm sorry and how much see means to me."
"Ah. Flowers are an excellent way to tell a woman all sorts of things. Just what was it that you were looking for?"
Ron pulled out his wallet to see just what kind of an apology he could afford. He looked down and realized with a start that he only had $15 on him. He had meant to hit the ATM before school had started, but as they were running late, he didn't have an opportunity to do so.
Ron sighed as his heart grew heavy. There was no way that he could afford the flowers and dinner tonight. He was just about to tell the kind lady that when she realized his predicament. "I think I have just the thing for you, my young friend." She went into the back of the cart and pulled out a single red rose with a while ribbon tied around it. "Here. That will convey everything you are feeling to her with you having to say a single word," she said as she gave the rose to Ron.
Ron took it from her and admired it for its simple yet timeless beauty. "Just like Kim," he thought. He asked the lady how much and she responded by saying that it would only cost him a dollar.
"Oh, no, it can't possibly be that little. Please, how much is it really?" he insisted.
But the old lady wouldn't budge, saying that watching the two of them make up would be more than enough payment. Ron realized that he wasn't going to win this argument either, so he handed her a dollar bill and thanked her for all her help.
"Anytime, my young friend. Just you make sure that your lady is as happy as she can be," she smiled at him.
Ron smiled back. Looking down at the rose in his hand, he was beginning to feel better about the rest of the night. He turned from the flower cart and headed over towards Bueno Nacho.
When he entered the restaurant, Kim was just getting off the line, holding a tray with their dinner. She hadn't noticed him yet and was walking over to their usual booth when Ron caught up with her. He stood right in front of her, with the single rose in his hand, and put on his best imitation of the puppy dog pout. "Kim," he said, low and soft, "I'm really sorry about today."
Kim, who had already begun to feel guilty about how she had treated Ron, instantly felt the ice that was surrounding her heart melt. She felt sad and guilty about her actions and words, but also felt a sweeping warmth come over her at the sight of her apologetic boyfriend.
"Oh, Ron…" she sighed in an almost whisper. She was smiling now, but her eyes betrayed the sadness that she was feeling.
"Shhh." Ron took the tray out of her hands and put it on the table next to them, along with the rose. He pulled her close in a tight but gentle embrace, and there they stood, simply enjoying the feeling of being close to each other. After a time, they pulled away from each other a little and Ron kissed her softly, placing his forehead on hers.
Kim had forgotten all about the horrible day and was simply content to stare into Ron's chocolate eyes. She was losing herself in them when, before she realized what she was doing, whispered to him, "Ron, I love you."
Ron never moved but the surprise was evident in his eyes. They had not said those three little words to each other yet, despite the fact that both of them felt that way. For a moment, she was worried that she had taken things too fast, that she was going to scare him. But her fears were abated when he looked at her, his smile even wider, and told her, "I love you too, Kimmie."
The young couple, the problems of the day forgotten, stood there for a moment in each others arms until they realized that the entire restaurant was looking at them. They quickly separated and Ron suggested that they start eating otherwise they were going to miss the movie.
The rest of their meal passed by without incident. In fact, except for the fact that they were occasionally feeding each other, it was just like old times. They complained to each other about what was, for both of them, the worst day in high school. They joked around, and Kim listened about Ron' latest video game while Ron listened about Kim's latest fashion find. By the time dinner was over, the two of them were back to their old selves.
They were just about to head to the movie when the Kimmunicator beeped in. Kim silently retrieved it from her backpack and hit the button that brought Wade up on the screen. "Hey, Wade, what's the 'sitch?" Kim sighed to her genius partner. Between the late night last night and her day at school, she was not looking forward to another mission anytime soon.
"There's a break-in in progress at one of Middleton's research firms. The silent alarm was tripped about five minutes ago," the ten-year-old super genius informed them.
Kim just looked at him for a moment. "Ah, Wade, is there anyway that the local police can handle this? I mean, after Peru and all yesterday…" Kim was not looking forward to having two dates in a row ruined by a mission.
"Sorry, Kim," Wade replied. "The work that they're doing at the research firm is top secret. Some sort of military application. The local cops aren't cleared for this sort of thing, that's why they contacted you. And the military will never make it in time. What should I tell them?"
Kim looked up from the Kimmunicator at Ron, who simply shrugged. "Looks like it's my call, " Kim thought. She sighed and resigned herself to the fact that yet another night with Ron was shot. "Alright, Wade, where is the break-in taking place?"
"At the Photonic Imaging and Concealment Lab. Your ride should be landing in front of Bueno Nacho in a few minutes."
"Thanks, Wade." She started to cancel the call from Wade and head for the door when a though occurred to her. "Hey, Wade? What exactly do they do at this imaging lab?"
"Holographics."