KP One Oh One Chapter 2: Part II Those Who Fail History, a kim possible fanfic

KP – One Oh One : Part II – Those Who Fail History…Are Doomed to Repeat It

Whenever Ron considered the possibility of attending college as a younger teen, he always had a certain image in his mind of what it would be like. Part of that image was expressed when he accompanied the Possibles to Florida to help Kim's Nana move into the Chez Leisure retirement home. It would be a fresh start, a clean slate if you will. He wouldn't be the big nobody loser he always had been in grade school.

Kim's first class was as eight in the morning, while his wasn't until nine. They already decided they would ride to school together in the morning, so that left him with a little time to kill before his great academic career actually began. It bugged him more than he let on that he not only wouldn't be able to wait for her at the end of her class, but that he actually didn't have any classes whatsoever with her. Their fields of study were diverging and unless there was some elective course they both wanted during some future semester, it was unlikely they would be together like that much ever again.

At first, he held out the hope they could share some classes in their core curriculum. Even though he was majoring in culinary arts, with a minor in business and Kim was studying International Diplomacy, they still had to take the basics. Math, History, Science, English as well as some other topics that didn't seem completely necessary to him were required. Only, Kim had jumped in with both feet with more advanced courses. Since she had taken AP English her senior year in high school, she was already a full term ahead of him in that subject, so that was out. The same thing applied in Science. Math was off the table as well, since she was taking advanced calculus, while he was only qualified for a more mundane trigonometry course.

That left only History. Unfortunately, they couldn't get their schedules to mesh at all due to conflicts with other classes they couldn't move around. Not only that, but while he was qualified for the more advanced course her curriculum required, he really didn't have enough confidence in himself to keep up. He only needed two credits of History and he didn't want to be repeating the courses. Take the normal class, do reasonably well, get it out of the way.

He wandered around campus for a while after staking out the lecture hall. It was nothing like what he was used to at MHS. Instead of relatively small rooms with twenty to thirty desks, the class was being held in what looked a lot more like a medium sized auditorium. The seats were arranged in curved rows with folding mini-desks in place of arm rests. If he timed it right, he would be able to snag a good seat. Not too close to the front, definitely not in the back, just a little off to the side where he would disappear in an ocean of new Freshmen like himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to succeed in the class, he simply didn't want to put himself into a position to be called on all that much until he was comfortable with the new style of learning. He didn't want to be in the back because that would peg him as a slacker, an image he had done a lot of work to put behind him.

One thing was certainly true about a college campus. Especially in the morning, the grounds were full of students, and when it came to the female population, almost all seemed to fall into that loveliest of age brackets, from eighteen to early twenties. That was what he liked so much about being in Fort Summerdell for spring break a few years ago. They were still in that narrow slot when they still looked like teenagers, but they were actually adults!

The only drawback, at the time he was still fifteen and hadn't started growing again. Now it was painfully obvious that he looked like just a little boy, hitting on the big girls. They wouldn't give him the time of day until they realized Rufus was with him. Somehow the little guy had managed to worm his way into the hearts of just about every coed in the beach resort, being named honorary mascot of several sororities.

Now things had changed. Ron was not only taller, but had filled out just enough to go from skinny to simply slender. His face was a little leaner and his ears had flattened out just a tiny bit. Instead of turning their noses up or outright ignoring him, the girls who passed by him would sometimes smile or even wave at him. He knew he was by no means any kind of hottie, but the sudden attention made something inside him tingle.

It also scared the mess out of him.

He started getting a notion that, not only being in a committed relationship, but actually being engaged was putting out an invisible wave that the women around him could somehow detect. Was it a form of confidence he now had, knowing that part of his life was now fulfilled? Or was it a sort of test the man upstairs set up for him. At least that test he knew he would pass. He could enjoy that little bit of friendly attention all day long, but he would never, ever do anything that would betray Kim.

Still, there was this little voice inside his head, some little bit of the old Ron telling him that if he wasn't with her, nothing would have changed. No woman would give him the time of day. He would just be the same old loser he always was.

Who was he kidding. Without Kim, he would have stayed a total slacker. He wouldn't be at Middleton College about to take US History 1101. He very likely wouldn't even be at Lowerton Community College. He'd be across town, lording it over Ned at the Bueno Nacho as the assistant manager. No, not even that. It was Kim who filled out his application and Kim who cajoled him into taking that job in the first place. By the time he was forced to actually get a job, he'd be starting at the bottom, just doing enough to get by. That sort of thing doesn't make one a manager. It was only his subconscious desire to finally surpass her at something that made him literally take the place over. No, if Ned would even look at his application long enough to consider him, he'd be nothing more than another pimple-faced nacho-drone drawing minimum wage and wondering how he was going to pay for his next Naco.

A smiling coed with Bonnie's body, Tara's face and Hope's hair brought him out of his little pity fiesta. The look on her face seemed to say 'you can have my number if you want it' even though she was walking with a guy twice his size. The truth of the matter was that he was with Kim, and had been since he was just four years old. Much as he always swore he had her back, she had his as well. What he had was so much because of her, both her help and the desire she gave him to make himself better than he was.

Slowly, something else dawned on him. There was nothing especially wrong with the way he was dressed, only that, for some reason, he started realizing he still looked like a high school student. It wasn't one particular thing he had on, though maybe wearing his old brown backpack by both straps was a start. Kim had him doing that for years, telling him that holding it over one shoulder would hurt his back. Well, there really wasn't anything in there except for some snacks he would share with Rufus later, while he was killing time alone waiting for his English class to start.

It still struck him as funny how college classes were set up. For all his years in grade school it had been every class, every day. Instead now they were spread out all over the place. Most of the classes met for three hours a week, some for an hour Monday, Wednesday and Friday, others for a hour and a half on Tuesday and Thursday. There was also a lab course he had to take along with his Physics class that met on Tuesday nights. It was really going to be strange taking a class when it was supposed to be dinner time, but that was part of the new world he was living in. For the moment, Kim was willing to wait for him to get out before going to dinner with him later, but he knew eventually it was going to mean he had to get himself a new car.

The night he proposed to Kim his battered old Chevrolet Chevette conked out for good. Granted, he only paid three hundred dollars for the car, but there was enough wrong with it that it wasn't logical to fix it any more. The main thing that killed it that night was the timing chain breaking. That drove him a little nuts, since his mechanic told him since it had a chain and not a belt he didn't have to worry about it. Still, it broke, killing the car as dead as if the engine were gone. Throw in the fact the oil pump was on its last legs, it leaked like a sieve and the clutch he had put in back in February was already wearing out, he was better off walking to Kim's house in the morning and riding in her car. Some kind of vehicle was needed, since the campus was across town from their homes.

His needing to be home to help take care of his new sister aside, he was wondering if moving back in with Kim's family really was a good idea. As quick as he thought about that, he discarded it again, knowing the reality of the matter was Kim still would have to sit around studying or something while he completed his lab assignments, whether she was taking him to his home or hers until he had his own ride. Maybe it was time to start looking at scooters again. Or motorcycles. They both enjoyed the short time he had the old sportster style bike, though it gave Mrs. Dr. P. the willies.

Checking his watch, it was time to get back to the History building. The class wasn't for another twenty minutes, but he had his particular seat to grab. He shuffled his pack onto one shoulder, trying to emulate the style the other students used. That would work until they had their books, unless they worked out some kind of system of getting back to the car between classes, using it as a defacto locker. That would mean some serious hiking, considering commuter students had to park in some pretty far ranging lots.

That was another thing that pegged him as a bit of an outsider at Middleton. It was a traditional campus, meaning the majority of his classmates lived in the dorms. Even his guidance counselor seemed to frown on the prospect of him living at home, at least as a Freshman. Some colleges actually required first year students to live on campus, but this school was large enough that it wasn't feasible. It simply didn't make sense for him to waste a large sum of money on a room half the size of the one he grew up in that he had to, in turn share with some guy who might turn out to be a Brick Flagg type jock or some kind of weirdo. Growing up as an only child, Ron never had to endure sharing a room with anybody and he was not about to start unless that person was a five foot five, one hundred five pound redhead.

Still, commuter students were given the short shrift. Not only did they have to buy a very expensive parking permit, but they were only allowed to park in lots that barely qualified as being on the campus. Even Seniors were forced to park in the outer boondocks. It was like it was some kind of punishment for not partaking of the wonderful student culture that existed in the dorms.

All the more reason for them to find an apartment as soon as they were able, even if that meant one of them taking a part time job somewhere. Still, the thought of coming home and taking off some sort of apron or smock, kicking off his shoes and curling up in a couch with Kim was reason enough for a little hardship. There were plenty of places around the campus, all within walking distance. They talked about that a little bit, though it would be difficult to find a place willing to rent to eighteen year olds without help from their parents.

Ron knew better than to broach that subject with Kim's Dad. So, for the moment, they would live at home and drive across town to class.

Just as he planned, the middle seats were still wide open when he got back into the lecture hall. Moments later it started filling up in earnest. The class was purely for Freshmen, so, like him, they wanted to get in and find a good seat.

Once more he checked his watch. Wade's tinkering had tied it into a local time service, so he never had to fool with setting it. Something horrible tickled the back of his mind as it ticked down to the start of the class. The professor had not yet appeared and he wondered if he was actually going to be late. There was only one teacher he ever knew of who would show up exactly as the bell would ring. He watched as the seconds counted down. He already knew the bells were about forty five seconds behind his time. With ten seconds to go he looked up.

His eyes went wide as the teacher strode into the room, putting his briefcase down on the desk sitting on the raised platform.

No! It can't be! What have I done to deserve this?

The bell rang.

"ALRIGHT, PEOPLE. LISTEN UP!"