Kim stood just outside the sliding glass doors of Club Banana with Monique, who was re-folding the red-tagged clothes on a table.
"Darn customers never put anything back the way they found it," Monique muttered.
"Ah, the perils of retail," said Kim, grinning.
"You've NO idea, girl," said Monique as she slid a neatly folded stack forward a bit. "There, that's that, at least for now."
"Ready for lunch, then?" asked Kim.
"Yeah, lemme grab my purse and tell Marcie," said Monique, and disappeared inside. A minute later she was back out, and the two of them headed for the food court.
On the way Kim was greeted by a number of people who recognized her, and one man wanted an autograph. Seeing that she was willing to give it, several other people asked as well.
"Ah, the perils of world-saving," grinned Monique, as the last one thanked her and went away.
Kim quirked an eyebrow. "You've NO idea, girl," she responded with a grin of her own.
Monique just laughed, and they went on their way.
They got their lunches from the mall's Souper Salad, and sat out in the food court to eat and people-watch.
"So, how are things with you and Ron?" asked Monique.
"Couldn't be better," replied Kim, "He's really grown up since we got together as a couple."
"So I've noticed," said Monique.
Kim got a sly look. "I DO have a bit of gossip for you..."
Monique's dark eyes lit up, and a grin split her face. "Spill, girl! You know you can't hold out on me!"
"Okay... remember in the last semester that Jen took an art class?" said Kim.
"Vaguely. I remember she's got a sketchbook she never shows anybody," was the reply.
"Well, she found an art tutor to continue with for the summer," said Kim, "And you'll never believe who!"
Monique leaned in to hear.
"Josh Mankey!" said Kim, leaning back.
"NO!" said Monique, sitting back in disbelief, "You think they...?"
"...will get together?" finished Kim, "I don't know. So far, all the signs say no, but Josh..." Kim got a dreamy look.
"Better snap out of that daydream, girl, or Ron's gonna go all monkey on someone," said Monique, but she was grinning.
"Uh? Oh, yeah, I guess..." said Kim, the smile slowly leaving her face.
"I felt sorry for them when she and Felix broke up," said Monique.
"Yeah, but it was a mutual thing, and they are still friends," answered Kim.
Monique's expression turned sad. "I am SO gonna miss this, and you, when you leave. You know I want the best for you and Ron and Jen, but it's still gonna be hard."
"Yeah, being gone for a year is going to be hard for everybody involved, but it'll be good, too, you know," answered Kim.
"I'll live with it, as long as you keep your promise to touch base once in a while," said Monique.
"Mon, you're my BFF, and I'm NOT letting you out of my life that easy. I WILL keep in contact," said Kim, and put her hand on Monique's arm.
"I believe you, Kim," said Monique, and the two friends turned back to their lunch, in a somewhat more somber mood.
kpkpkp
Ron Stoppable and Felix Renton sat on the couch in the living room of Felix's house, the Z-Boy game console on the coffee table active with Zombie Mayhem IV on the TV.
"ALL RIGHT! Got the Head Zombie!" shouted Felix, throwing a fist in the air.
"You got lucky. He was supposed to be mine," said Ron, a frown on his face. He hit the 'pause' button.
"Yours?" asked Felix, "You were barely inside the cemetery!"
"But I called 'dibs' on him!" protested Ron.
"I don't think so," said Felix.
"Well, I meant to, anyway," answered Ron.
"You can have the next one," said Felix, taking a drink of his soda.
"Okay, then," said Ron, grabbing a nacho chip.
"You know Zombiepalooza is coming back to Middleton this year," said Felix.
"No, I didn't. When?" asked Ron, looking at him.
"In November. I got a flyer for it the other day," was the answer.
"Aw, man, and I'm gonna be in Japan and miss it," said Ron, an annoyed expression on his face.
"Maybe this time I won't have my wheelchair stolen," said Felix, "And a bunch of game consoles destroyed by a monster truck."
"Well, I hope it DOES happen," said Ron, thoughtfully.
"What?" asked Felix, confused.
"Well, that would give me an excuse to come home and bash a few zombies, along with a few evil freaks," said Ron.
"Oh, brother," muttered Felix, shaking his head.
"I'm just kidding," said Ron, "You know better than that."
"Well, I hope you were," said Felix. He called up his character stats on the screen, and started making some adjustments.
"I gotta head for the Little Zombie's Room," said Ron, "Anything you want me to bring back from the kitchen?"
"Nah, I'm good," said Felix, and went back to his stat screen.
After his visit, Ron went into the kitchen, where he found Mrs. Renton. She was programming some of the cyberobotic arms around the room for new tasks.
"Hello, Ron," she said, glancing at him.
"Hi, Mrs. R," replied Ron, "Came in for some more chips. Rufus has managed to eat most of the bag we had."
"In the breadbox," she replied, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.
Ron retrieved the chips and turned to go when Felix's mom said, "He's going to miss you.
You've been a good friend to him."
Ron smiled. "He's a good guy, and I'm gonna miss him too. But, as the robot said, "I'll be back."
Mrs. Renton smiled.
"But we're not leaving until the end of summer," added Ron.
"Oh? I didn't know that," she replied. "Can you help me for a minute?"
"Sure," said Ron, putting down the bag, "What do you need?"
"I want to test my programming," she replied, "Pick up that bag of chips and stand still."
Ron did so, and Mrs. Renton hit the 'Enter' key on control console. "If I got this right, they should take the bag from you, open it, and hand it back."
Two mechanical arms snaked down from the ceiling, oriented themselves, and centered on Ron. One took the bag from him and gently laid it on the table. The other grabbed him by the back of the shirt, and picked him up.
"HEY!" said Ron, struggling.
"Ooops," said Mrs. Renton, turning back to the console.
The second arm hovered in front of him, unsure what to do. Then it made a decision. It grabbed his pants by the waistband, and pulled them down to his ankles.
"Aw, man, not again!" whined Ron.
Mrs. Renton turned and saw Ron's predicament, and quickly turned back to the console, so Ron wouldn't see her grinning. "Sorry, sorry," she said, typing commands and trying not to laugh.
The arm put Ron back down, then both disappeared toward the ceiling. Ron grabbed his pants and pulled them back up, face red.
"Okay, I'm done," he said, and Mrs. Renton turned back to him, trying her best not grin.
"I guess I need to rewrite the code," she said, "Sorry about that."
Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "That's okay. After all these years, I'm used to losing my pants." He grinned sheepishly.
"At least this time your shorts stayed up," she replied, and gave up trying not to laugh. She leaned against the counter and broke up.
Ron turned red and chuckled nervously. He grabbed the bag of chips and made his way back to the living room.
"I heard you and Mom laughing," said Felix, "What was that about?"
"Oh, nothing," said Ron, "I was the victim of some more bad computer code."
Felix snickered. "You mean you were Mom's guinea pig for the arm's programming. Again."
Ron turned red again. "Yeah, I was."
Felix laughed. "Did your shorts stay up this time?"
Ron turned bright red. "Yes, they did. Now, back to the game."
Felix cracked up and Rufus, who was sitting on the coffee table, did too.