Ol' Ryebread forgot the disclaimers in chapter one: Kim Possible & co. belong to Disney. Richard and Daphne Harte are my characters, based on Richard and Helen Lionheart, found at Richard's Page of Fanatism and Lionheartcartoons at Deviant Art.
JimVincible, thank you for the initial review. I caught the eye of a Calif. atty.? This Mich. surgical perioperative tech is flattered.
Alas, Will Du's role is strictly peripheral at this point--as will soon be apparent. The Muse--or plot bunny--"bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell...whither it goeth." (John 3.8) Stepping out on thin ice, here:
BEFORE THE MIDDLETON H.S. JR. SR. PROM
For two years Richard Leo Harte and his twin sister Daphne had attended Middleton High School, trying to act like normal students—normal for them. As children of a missionary couple in Japan, Leo and Mariah Bess Harte, they had already attended the boarding school of Master Goro Takayama, and then the Japanese public schools, referred to in this country as "exam hell" for their rigorous academic standards.
They were fraternal twins—not identical—but they behaved like identical twins. Because they were the only Americans--and almost the only Christians--in a social and scholastic setting, their bonds grew strong. Because of their faith, they did not thing it strange to pray before meals; in fact, this time together, and the ritual of meals together had been their coping mechanism, their sanctuary against loneliness; Master Goro had encouraged it; he recognized that, like the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, it built closeness and fostered spirituality.
The family had moved to America following the death of Mrs. Harte. She had lingered for several years after exposure to nerve gas in a terrorist attack against Tokyo subway commuters, finally succumbing to kidney failure.
The two children were already academic prodigies, multilingual and capable of competing academically at a college--or grad school--level, but they attended American public school just to round out their education—in Upperton, ironically, where their father had grown up.
Richard transferred to Middleton High School late in his freshman year and enrolled in the art program. Daphne transferred in sophomore year; she edged out Justine Flanner as the best science student in the class.
They behaved at Middleton High as they had behaved in Japan. They were bright, quiet, respectful of their teachers, hung out together, prayed before their meals—and stuck out like a sore thumb.
In Middleton, the practice earned them cruel treatment from the Food Chain. It marked them as odd, fanatical. The queen of the Food Chain, Bonnie Rockwaller, had her fun. She began by pointing out their appearance; both dressed conservatively and wore wire rim glasses. "OMG, they look alike!" And Kim Possible who rarely agreed with Bonnie about anything, had to agree on this.
Bonnie struggled to find just the right demeaning nickname for them. "They look like--like--" And Kim finished Bonnie's thought for her (some would say that Bonnie needed all the help she could get in that regard.)
"--Like bookends?" And so, in a most offhand manner, Kim therefore did something so uncharacteristic of her, so unlike her, that one day she would look back and hardly believe that she had done it; she actively participated in the Game of the Food Chain: disrespecting the less popular student, figuratively devouring them, as it were.
"The Bookends"; Bonnie loved it; the name spread like wildfire; it would haunt the Harte twins for the rest of their high school careers. Bonnie went further; knowing Richard's status as an art major, he was called "the Artist". Daphne's nickname was even more cruel.
Daphne was very serious, reserved, and devout. She did not flirt, swear, or party. She dressed sharply but modestly; no cleavage, no bare midriff; she hardly bared her arms, or her legs below the knee. She favored stylish pantsuits, slack and jacket ensembles, with high collar dress shirts. In fact, she dressed like a business professional, as compared to Richard's more casual clothing. Her golden hair, which had been her mother's pride and joy, was cut short, at the nape of the neck. She took pride in her prim, somewhat severe appearance.
Bonnie and the Maddog Cheerleaders brainstormed what to call her; names like Mary Poppins, Maria Von Trapp, and Barbara Bush came up. They finally decided on something simple: "the Librarian".
To add insult to injury Bonnie concocted a vile rumor, not because she thought it was true, but because she thought it was funny: why Harte twins hung out together so much; not because they were in a new social setting, but because they were incestuous
The Food Chain thought it knew everything there was to know about "the Bookends", but Richard Harte was studying something as keenly as the Food Chain had studied them: Team Possible.
Everyone knew about the Maddog Cheerleader who could save the world, and her dopey sidekick who had a naked mole rat for a pet. Many people even knew about the computer terminal in Kim's locker, and the young computer nerd who always had a giant soft drink cup, who was the webmaster for Kim's website ("I Can Do Anything!"), and was an ace inventor: Wade Load. No one knew that the young computer nerd had a backup, a partner, who was practically his equal at inventing: Daphne Mei Harte.
Everyone knew about Kim's parents, Mom and Dad Dr. P., who embarrassed and exasperated her by their constant love, enthusiasm, and cheerfulness, and Kim's brothers, who exasperated her with their high tech pranks. No one knew about Mom Dr. P.'s terminal patient, Mom Harte, who had come to America to see her in a last futile attempt to see medical treatment. No one knew that the two women had become the best of friends, writing to each other for the rest of Mrs. Harte's all-too-brief life.
Everyone knew that Rich was an art major, a nerd, a dork, a bookworm who liked to quote Shakespeare, a born-again Christian, a pastor's kid who could quote the Bible, a member of the school chorus who liked old Hollywood musicals. About the only friend he had was Felix Renton, who felt sorry for him; the physically disabled student who knew the sting of gossip, and so took the trouble to know the socially disabled student.
No one knew Rich's mind and spirit. No one knew the true extent of the martial art training or abilities of Rich and his sister, which very nearly rivaled those of Kim Possible. No one was even remotely aware of--Team Harte. They operated at Wade Load's side, out of the line of sight, keeping the power-mad masterminds under surveillance.
Rich felt what he considered to be a divine calling, a noble urge, a magnificent obsession: to be a knight, to rescue those in danger, to prevent from happening to others what had happened to his mother. It was for that reason that he studied Team Possible.
With their academic records and ability, both Daphne and Rich could have already been in college, but Rich wanted to take the next step; to bring Team Harte out into the light of day; to move from surveillance to action; and so they observed Kim and Ron.
He wanted to reach out to them, to make their two causes a common cause, even joint missions; the union of Teams Possible and Harte.
There was a problem: friction between Kim and Daphne. To say they were not friends would be an understatement. They resented--worse than that--detested each other. Daphne thought that Kim, not Bonnie was the mind behind the Food Chain, the source of all the rumors. She was also aware--both Harte twins has seen it almost immediately--how far Ron Stoppable's feelings for Kim went. Just as Felix felt a natural empathy for Rich, Daphne felt a natural empathy for Ron, and it grieved her that Kim should share missions, social life--in short, everything--with Ron--everything but her heart--that belonged to Josh Mankey.
Kim for her part sensed Daphne's hostility; she attributed it to a "holier-than-thou" attitude: the studious church-going girl versus the popular cheerleader, the modest versus the midriff-baring wardrobes.
It was classic misunderstanding; each thought the other despised them for some other reason. Rich was hard put to persuade Daphne to bear patiently with the high school sandbox mentality--for the sake of his dream--and the departed spirit of their mother.
So they bided their time.