(Cut to the interior of the classroom the group just
entered. All the students are seated, when an older woman, wearing a blue
dress, walks past the desks and sits down at the teacher's desk.)
Meg: (clears throat) I am Ms. Meg Serantis, and I believe
that this is the class I was assigned to teach. (Kim raises her hand.) Yes, Ms.
. . .
Kim: Possible. Kim Possible.
(Meg is surprisingly not surprised at the name, and Veeken
is somewhat curious.)
Meg: Yes, I thought I recognized you from somewhere. Anyway,
as you were saying?
Kim: Doesn't Mr. Barkin usually teach this class?
Meg: He canceled out at the last minute, and they hired me
as the substitute.
Kim: Oh.
Meg: As I was saying, the assignment is to read the story
from pages 113 to 121. Now, open your books and pay close attention, class . .
.
(Meg's talk fades into the background. All the students are
paying attention, except for Kim and Veeken, who are secretly talking.)
Veeken: (to Kim) Isn't it kind of weird that Barkin isn't
teaching?
Kim: (to Veeken) Yeah, usually it's him who does the
replacing.
Veeken: Maybe he really had to cancel.
Ret: (jumping in) Or, maybe, that's what they want
us to think.
Kim: Ret.
Veeken: No, it is a highly vague possibility, but Ret might
be right.
Kim: But that would mean that Meg would be lying to us, and
we could all be in some sort of danger.
(Unfortunately, everyone else heard that last statement.)
Meg: Ms. Possible, come see me after class.
Kim: (lays her head on the table)
Meg: (to herself) This just proves that fame isn't
everything.
(Later, after class . . . .)
Syd: Oy. One day with the substitute, and Kim's already
gotten in trouble.
Veeken: It's kind of unnerving, the way she got punished so
fast. Maybe she was on to something, and Meg was trying to cover it up.
Ret: Yeah, like in The Matrix when the Agents were
trying to stop Neo from joining up with Morpheus.
Syd: Huh?
Veeken: It is plausible. However, what would Meg want to
cover up that she doesn't want us to-(accidentally walks into someone) Oof!
(normal) Oh, sorry.
(It turns out Veeken has bumped into Mr. Barkin.)
Syd: Hey, Mr. Barkin.
Barkin: Oh, hey, Sydney, Veeken, and . . . . (of Ret) What'd
you say your name was again?
Ret: Retribution, or Ret for short.
Barkin: Pleasure.
jedi: (walking up) I thought you had something important to
take care of.
Barkin: No, it turns out that the position for substitute
was already filled before I could access it.
Syd: What happened to the original teacher?
Barkin: He retired several years ago, and no one noticed until Ms. Serantis filled the position. (realizes Kim's not there) Say,
where's Possible?
jedi: Who? (realizing) Oh, Kim. She kind of got in trouble with the teacher,
and she wanted a talk with her after class.
Barkin: That's kind of weird.
Veeken: How?
Barkin: In the rules of substitute teaching, a substitute,
like Meg, is supposed to report incidents, like the one with Kim, to me,
instead of exacting punishment.
Syd: Maybe she doesn't know that?
Ron: Sydney, that's stupid. Every substitute teacher needs
to know these rules!
Barkin: Precisely.
Veeken: Unless . . . Say, Mr. Barkin?
Barkin: Yes, Ms. Veeken?
Veeken: What happens if a substitute takes the place of a
teacher who's retired?
Barkin: Then the teacher receives that position, and is
obligated to fulfill the duties of the retiree.
Veeken: What?
(Cut to the interior of the classroom the others were in
earlier, only the lights are out, making the room spookier than normal. Meg is
clearly not in. Kim opens the door, spilling in light through the doorway.)
Kim: Hello? Hello? (enters) Ms. Serantis?
(Meg's bag is by the desk, still open. Something in it
catches Kim's eye.)
Kim: (cont) What's this?
(It's a small computer disk, labeled Study of Dæmons
information and Scientific Journal; TOP SECRET. Kim whips out her
Kimmunicator, and contacts Wade.)
Kim: (cont) Wade?
Wade: What up, Kim?
Kim: Can you do an analysis of this disk?
Wade: Not from here, I can't. If you can get the files on
the computer in your room, I think I can handle it. However, you have to make
sure no one realizes the disk is gone.
Kim: Right.
(Kim pulls out a device that looks like a pen and runs it
over the label. She places it on a similar disk, except for the lack of
writing, and the pen writes the same words on the disk in the same handwriting.
Kim quickly places the duplicate where the original was, and hides the disk in
one of her cargo pant pockets.)
Wade: Good luck.
(Kim shuts off the Kimmunicator just in time, as Meg
Serantis walks in the next second.)
Kim: Oh, hey, Ms. Serantis.
Meg: Oh, hello, Ms. Possible. I can't talk right now.
Something just came up.
Kim: Ookay . . .
(Meg picks up the bag with the false disk, and walks out the
door. Kim walks out the door, heading in the same direction, when she stops and
hides behind a locker, and watches as Meg looks around, then walks back into
the classroom. She sits down at a computer, turns it on, and puts the duplicate
disk in. Files appear, except for a random one. Meg's eyes go wide as she realizes-.)
Meg: (to herself; accidentally loud enough so Kim can hear)
A double!
(Meg pulls out a cellphone with a strange insignia on the
back, and dials a number.)
Meg: (to someone on the other end) Hello? Basil, it's Meg. I know it's 12:00 AM where you are, but we've got an emergency
over here. The disk has been stolen.
Basil: (on the phone) Are you sure?
Meg: Positive.
Basil: You don't suppose . . .?
Meg: Why not? It's quite plausible, though I don't know how
Ratigan could have snuck in without me knowing. He doesn't know who he
is, for Pete's sake!
Kim: Ratigan? Wha . . .?
(Kim runs away from the door, dashing out of sight, just
before Meg, still talking on the cellphone, walks out the door in the opposite
direction of whence Kim dashed. Kim peeks around the corner, watching Meg walk
out of sight.)
Kim: (cont) Ratigan? Basil? Who are-?
(Kim stops, lost in thought, as something comes back to
her.)
Kim: (voice-over) The Great Mouse Detective? Puh-lease!
That's a kids movie-
Veeken: (voice-over, also) That happens to boast one of
Vincent Price's greatest characters, Professor Ratigan.
(She dashes towards the double doors, stopping only to pick
up her backpack, and dashes for home.)
To be continued . . .
