Where Did the Time Go? : Part XXV
The school day was just a little over an hour old, and it was already turning out to be one of those days.
Kim almost always woke up just a few minutes before her alarm went off, to the point it was simply there so she could hear the weather forecasts as she went through a quick stretching and aerobics routine before heading down for her morning shower. This morning, by the time she actually awakened, the morning drive duo had already launched into their usual banter about the woman's two children of some other slightly embarrassing topic concerning their listener's love lives. They annoyed her no end but that particular station at least had the most succinct news and weather, not to mention the fact she usually turned the radio off by that point.
She wasn't late-late but it did put her in a rush. Without her exercises she wasn't waking up like she wanted to, so she had two cups of coffee and emptied the pot into her large travel mug.
Ron seemed extremely chipper that morning, but he caught on quick to her mood and drove her to school in relative silence without her resorting to a 'shut up and drive' glare.
This was, of course, his fault!
She didn't tell him so but it seemed she was beaming that fact straight into his mind as she drained her mug before they even hit the parking lot of school that Tuesday morning.
Kim wasn't the only one dragging. With Monday being a teacher's work day, it seemed most of the student body had the same idea Ron did, shifting most Valentine's day festivities to the three-day weekend.
That's why she felt the way she did and why it was Ron's fault. When she had gone to bed the night before, she had been walking on cloud nine. What she didn't realize then was just how exhausted she really was. The ballet had been magical and even though he was utterly confused through most of it, Ron waited until they went to dinner to ask her what was actually going on. She had to confess that, since the operatic portions were in Italian, she really didn't know what the singing was about but the performance was astoundingly beautiful.
Dinner was at a candlelight restaurant walking distance from the opera house. There was a large crowd already there, mainly from the performance but Ron already had reservations so they were able to go straight to a table and even though it was past eleven, she was ravenous, especially since they had skipped any kind of meal on the train, intent on spending their pre-'mission' time basically making out.
It was long after two in the morning when Ron went to his own room, in keeping with her father's conditions set for the trip. It wasn't like they would do anything they didn't do on the train, but his instructions had been explicit. Not that it helped her any. By four in the morning she was still staring at the empty pillow beside her, knowing that when they were away like this she always slept better when Ron was by her side. Even before their relationship began he would have at least been nearby in a sleeping bag, his presence meaning more to her than she realized at the time.
Somehow she did finally manage into a deep slumber, one she didn't awaken from until Ron was back in her room shaking her shoulder. They barely had an hour to get back to the Go City Union Station.
He was wrong about the nature of the train taking them back to Denver. The High Speed Special continued on to New York City after leaving them the night before, so it was a much more conventional train waiting for them on the platform. Fortunately, they still had a private compartment so the slower train suited her just fine. After a simple but hearty breakfast in the diner car she quickly changed back into her pajamas to settle in for a few more hours of sleep.
Ron attempted to curl up with her in the berth, but after rolling off twice he gave up and curled up in the seats rather than pull down the other berth (which was higher off the floor and he was becoming leery of the prospect of rolling out of the tiny bunk.)
A couple hours later Kim climbed out of hers, pulled off the blanket and snuggled up to him in the seat, getting the best sleep she had during their trip. When she finally woke up, they were still two hours away from Denver. They made the most of that time before she had to boot him from the tiny room so she could change back into her sweater and jeans, having noted how he liked to make like he was turning away while still watching her in the reflection of the window. Not that she so much minded him seeing her in her underwear but she wanted to honor the spirit of her father's wishes.
She was feeling a touch yucky since Ron missed one little detail in his planning and preparation for the trip. He packed her dress and her pajamas but somehow managed to forget spare underclothes.
Monday became their official gift day. He was back at her doorstep at seven in the morning bearing two small packages, a dozen long-stemmed red roses and the largest heart in the Russell Stover's inventory.
Rufus, who remained at home since their original trip to Lake Middleton was officially a date, was along this time. He couldn't be held back where large quantities of chocolate were concerned. It didn't matter that the confection was technically poisonous to most non-humans, he long ago proved he was utterly immune to whatever was in chocolate that made other animals sick. Kim was glad he was along, since she knew she would probably gain ten pounds by the time she was done with that thing. He also liked the gorchy coconut pieces.
The roses, it turned out, were for her Mom, who absolutely beamed as she hunted down a vase for them. They certainly brightened her day, especially since she was gearing up for a very dicey procedure at the medical center later that morning and had been up an hour later than normal pumping Kim for details about their trip.
The cold front was stalled and not expected until evening, so they took advantage of the lingering warmth to go out on the deck to finish exchanging gifts. She originally planned to give him his the next day but just like he said, they would have very little time to be together save for their school functions so she brought it out anyway.
It wasn't much. Despite belonging to a borderline upper class family, Kim's allowance was somewhat meager and as she got older, her chances of supplementing it with babysitting were growing thin. So, wearing sunglasses and tucking her long hair into a hat, she went to Smarty Mart and bought him a modest priced dress watch to wear instead of the black rubber sports watch he had on most of the time.
His first gift was a longer, slightly heavier chain for his ring and her locket so she could tuck it into even her lower cut tops if she needed to. The he pulled out the coup-de-grace.
Kim's heart almost stopped when he brought out a ring box. She suddenly had the mental image of him getting down on one knee, even though they had discussed in great detail that that would most def not happen until they were at least eighteen.
Instead of dropping to his knee, he slid closer to her on the picnic table bench and opened the box for her. Inside was a gold ring with a solitaire emerald, the cut matching the earring he had given her for her birthday. Inside was inscribed in floral script; KP My Valentine Always.
"It's beautiful, Ronnie." She gasped, trying it on. After giving him a big kiss she ran into the house to show her parents before they could leave for lunch.
"So Ronald's already giving you rings?" Her father asked, grinning from ear to ear as he inspected the gift.
"Well, it's just a promise ring." Ron replied, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"It's absolutely gorgeous." Anne said, holding her daughter's hand so she could get a closer look. "Ron, how could you afford all of this?"
It seemed to dawn on Kim just how much money he must have spent over the last few days. "Ron, how much money have you spent?"
He stuck his hands deeper into his pockets. "Not as much as I originally thought I would. I had a long talk with Dad and he let me have some of my Naco money. I had enough left over after taking care of my car to do all this."
Kim looked flabbergasted. "Ron, you can't spend money like this. Don't you remember what happened before?"
He held up his hand. "KP, this time I asked for advice, called in some favors and thought a lot about what I wanted to do. I'm just fine. I've got the same amount in the bank as I did before I started all of this. Plus, this time my Dad helped me find a jeweler who didn't take me to the cleaners."
Kim wrapped her arms around him and gave him a great big kiss right in front of them.
They spent the day running all the gas out of is car, shopping both at the mall and the stores downtown. Once again it was quite late when they parted company. It was even later when she fell asleep looking at the ring, dreaming of the day when she would trade it in for a lighter colored, much harder stone.
All in all, it had been the perfect Valentines, at least until the official day actually got there.
Two big mugs of coffee and an even larger travel mug started having their usual effect long before first period was over and not just making her wired. Normally, she prided herself with being able to hold onto it as long as necessary, but with the diuretic effect of the caffeine combined with the huge volume she had downed, by the end of the class she was grinding her teeth and squirming while she kept her legs crossed.
She was out the door so fast she almost forgot to put her paper in Doctor Snyder's briefcase. The Senior Hall ladies room tended to fill up fast between classes and she wasn't in any mood (or condition) to wait in line. If that were the case, she would be forced to use the boy's room again by 'mistake.'
It was all she could do not to let out a very un-ladylike 'ahhhhhhhh' by the time she got into the stall.
About the time she buttoned her pants she could hear other voices in the room, one of them clearly belonging to Bonnie Rockwaller. She was about to open the stall when she heard the other voice mention her name.
"Well of course not. As long as she's putting out he's going to stay with her no matter what. She may not be in my league but she's still a cheerleader and who knows, maybe he's got a thing for girls built like she is."
"I don't know, Bonnie. I just can't figure her for the type. From what I've been told she didn't even have a boyfriend for all that time. Why would she start doing it with him overnight?" The other voice asked. She sounded familiar but they were speaking in soft tones so it was hard to make out.
"Type doesn't mean anything. She's on the pill, so what does that tell you."
She stood there listening, thinking furiously how Bonnie would know something like that. Only her mother, her female doctor and Ron had ever been let in on that secret. Even her father wasn't aware of it for fear he would misunderstand her reasons for taking them.
"Maybe it's one of those pills they take to help with skin conditions…or maybe she's got other reasons."
Bonnie made a rude noise. "No, I looked it up. The kind she's on is the older ones. The only thing they're for is to keep her from getting pregnant, and why would she be taking them unless they were doing it?"
Kim almost gasped. Bonnie not only knew she was taking them, but the name of the drug as well. That meant some time along the line she had either seen her compact or somehow somebody like the girl at the pharmacy counter had let it slip. None of that made any sense. There were very specific and very strict laws that controlled who had access to her medical records. Even Wade, who had once made a habit of hacking into her online diary, had never delved into those.
"So, if she's doing that, what do you intend to do?"
"This time of year? I haven't got a clue any more. It's not like I can just walk up to him and say 'take me stud' or something. They're probably at their lockers right now talking all lovey-dovey and all that crap. Come on, I don't want to be late. I've got a perfect tardiness record this quarter and I'm not going to ruin it now."
Kim waited until she was sure both girls were gone. The warning bell rang, but she still didn't move, except to sit down on the edge of the toilet. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute, trying to piece together what she had just heard.
The fact that Bonnie knew she was on birth control and that she wouldn't even listen to the other girl when she'd mentioned precisely the reason she took them was pushed to the back of her mind. Something else took precedence.
Bonnie Rockwaller had designs on Ron.
It hadn't bothered her up to this point that other girls were starting to notice him. He was taller, leaner and starting to fill out more. Ron was also starting to come into his own socially, making more and better friends than he ever had before.
But Bonnie? She hated Ron and seemingly always had. The only interest she had ever shown in him was when he had all that money from his Naco royalties.
The Naco money!
Kim looked at her left hand, at the small emerald shining there, glittering even in the dim light of the stall. Ron had taken some of his money to buy it for her, money he seemed to think wasn't going to affect him in the long run. She covered the ring with her other hand and shivered slightly. Everything he said the previous morning sounded so good, like he was actually starting to learn how to handle his money but in reality all he had done was spend it on gifts for her and what must have been a very expensive trip for the two of them.
Her heart kept telling her to trust him, but her mind couldn't get around those facts. Somehow he had access to a large sum of money…
…and Bonnie knew it.
She couldn't make sense of that. Ron told her everything. He even described in excruciating detail what had gone on between him and Yori while they were in Japan.
Except, something had gone on between him and Bonnie while they were there together, something that he very plainly said the tanned cheerleader had asked him to keep a secret and as far as Kim knew, that was the only secret he kept from her, with constant assurances it did not conflict with the promise she made him make not to keep any secrets that would affect their relationship.
Was he keeping a new Naco Royalties fortune secret from her?
No! That just couldn't happen. Ron loved her every bit as much as she loved him and they were beyond such silliness as worrying about what secrets they kept from each other. If he was suddenly rich again and was out of control, she would have known about it by now. It was just the way his mind worked. He wouldn't have just bought her nice gifts, he would have made a bee-line straight for a car dealer and bought something silly like a monster SUV or useless like a tiny sports car. He would have been decked out in jewelry and wouldn't have had to mention that the high-tech ski suit she had tried on was too expensive. He would have just up and bought it for her.
The tardy bell for second period jerked her back to reality. No, Ron wasn't at fault here. The real enemy was Bonnie. Ron would never stray as long as his mind was clear, but her rival, now in more than just cheerleading, had a way of clouding things. Somehow she had already convinced him she was no longer a danger and if Kim knew the girl, she knew she would use that as a way to get to him.
Just as she opened the stall door, she saw the bathroom door open, admitting Principal Director. Kim stood there for a moment, feeling like some forest animal caught in the onrushing headlights of a speeding delivery truck.
"Isn't it time you were in class, Miss Possible?" There was no easy escape, the woman was standing squarely in front of the door.
"I…I was a little sick to my stomach. Ron brought me some chocolates yesterday and I guess I overdid it." It was true she was queasy and had eaten more of the candy than she should have in one sitting, but the two were mutually exclusive.
"You do look a little green there, Miss Possible. Do you need to see the nurse?"
She shook her head, not taking her eyes off the woman for an instant. "No ma'am. I'm fine now."
"You're certain you weren't talking on your device now? I'm well aware you managed to pull and end run around me on that issue, but class time is not the time to be jawing on it."
"No, Dr. Director. It's not even turned on...I haven't broken my habit of turning it off when I get here yet. I just needed some extra time in here, that's all."
The principal nodded. "Very well then. Get straight to class, but if you still feel sick do not hesitate to go to the nurse. We don't need our students interrupting class every few minutes simply because they didn't have enough sense to know their limits."
"I'm fine. Can I go now?"
Without another word, Principal Director stepped aside, letting her out. There had been no mention of a written excuse, so she was either going to have to convince her teacher of the same thing or take a second tardy for the class this quarter (the previous had been a real bathroom emergency) and she didn't want to end up in detention again.
Halfway to the classroom, she realized she needed to go again and there were no other bathrooms on the way.
Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney