OMG, it's not six months between updates. This one has been in the works for a while, since just after Christmas. I had to rewrite it from scratch and in the last couple of weeks, I've been bouncing IM's between Sentinel and CajunBear for this one. Sentinel as a sounding board and CajunBear for proofing. Thanks Dudes.
As usual ya can find the song on the Tube /watch?v=sYYAv-QW38Q
Chapter 42 Mony Mony
When Ron and Felix made it back to the apartment, they rejoined the party in progress to find that Ron's parents had already left. It was a strange mixture of mostly American traditions (Thanksgiving Dinner and Fellowship) with some Japanese influences thrown into the mix (Karaoke).
Kaname and Ayame were singing along with a popular J-pop song being blasted out by Frankenstein. Wade was continually surprised at how well the conglomerated mishmash of unrelated parts of computer hardware, amplifiers, tuners, equalizers and soundboard seemed to work as well as it did.
The young genius had offered Sagara to work out a better machine for him, but the Soldier declined saying, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it.". Ron had explained it to the teen by saying, "Dude, it's like he's Han Solo and that's his Millennium Falcon. Leave it alone."
The night progressed several different, yet interacting scenes were being played out. The Tweebs were sulking after the arrival of Wade and the subsequent attention of Ayame focusing on the genius (grrr). There was the amusement of Kim and Monique (and at infrequent times Kaname) with their sulking (snicker hehe). Shunya, James and Anne were, chatting watching the events playing out around them ('it's like dinner theater!' was James' remark).
Over against the wall, near the guitar stand, Kaname and Sousuke just sat, watching each other. It altered a bit as different people would either ask for a change in music or try to get Sousuke to accompany them with the Fender.
At times Ron felt the hair on the back of his neck standing up, like someone watching him, but he couldn't see anything wrong. The closest he came to figuring it out was when he spotted Monique staring at him once.
Shrugging it off, Ron fixed himself a sandwich from the leftovers and settled in a chair near the one of the monitors for Frankenstein and was paging through the lists of songs available. He had just taken a bite of his sandwich when a song jumped out at him. He gulped the mouthful, cocked his head to the side a bit and narrowed his eyes.
He knew the artist and the song pretty well. It was one of the many songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s he had inherited from Roger. The man had had no shame in the garage with a wrench in his hand. He had kept an ancient Pentium II tower with Windows 2000 hooked into an amplifier for running his MP3 collection while he worked. The man couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but he was enthusiastic, bobbing his head and bouncing his hips and warbling out the lyrics as he worked. And the song that jumped out at Ron was one of the many he had really gotten into the refrain of. As Ron looked at the screen, a grin started to grow. It grew and it grew.
Kim was talking with Monique when a cold chill ran down her spine, snapping her into mission mode. Something was wrong. She looked around and saw Ron wearing a grin she had hoped to never see again. The only reason she didn't immediately jump into full 'Mission Mode' was he hadn't turned blue and he wasn't madly cackling 'Aboooyaaaahahahahah'.
She watched as he grabbed Sousuke by the arm and quietly asked him questions. She only caught a piece of Ron's side of the conversation. "… live version, Dude. Not the studio one."
"Yes, I do. Steve Stevenson is an excellent musician. I've also studied the other guitarists that Mr. Broad has played with."
The grin was still present, "Outstanding! Set it up for me would ya. I'll be back in a minute." He snatched one of the cordless microphones and headed to the back of the apartment.
As Ron passed her heading for the bedrooms, Kim tried to get his attention. "Ron?"
"Got something I gotta take care of, KP! I'll be right back." The Grin grew as he left, passing by her BGF, he looked at her and said, "Monique!". Ron ducked into his room, shutting to door behind him. The look on his face rattled the other girl. A moment later, he came back out shirtless, entered Kim's room.
Monique stared down the hall, "Kim, what's that boy up too?"
Kim was looking in the same direction, "I…I…Moni, haven't got a clue."
Ron exited his girlfriend's room a few seconds later carrying a can or a bottle of some sort, back into his room. A second later came the sound of ripping cloth. Ron's dash across the hall wasn't too surprising. For Monique the surprising part was Ron was sans shirt.
He wasn't big like the weightlifters or football players. But it was a huge difference from the last time she had seen him bare-chested at the beach party last summer. His pecs and arms were ripped, with cords of muscle showing clearly, flexing with every move. He was still narrow in the shoulders, but his waist had trimmed down a lot, letting the muscles of his stomach and lower back show they had just as much definition as his chest.
Meanwhile Sousuke had been fiddling with Frankenstein, adjusting some of the volume and sound controls. He picked up the Fender and adjusted the tune a bit, strumming a few chords.
Mony Mony: originally by Tommy James and the Shondells
Sung by Billy Idol
Start /watch?v=sYYAv-QW38Q
A few minutes later everyone heard a low squeal as Ron turned on the switch to the microphone. Sousuke took that as his cue to start playing a rhythmic chord. The sound of a bass guitar and drums started pounding through the living room.
Alright
Ron jumped into the hallway straddle-legged as he sang into the mic. His appearance stunned everyone in the room, except for Sousuke. He just took it as another one of the strange things Ron was prone too.
Here she comes now singing Mony Mony
Shoot 'em up come on Mony Mony
Hey she look good and I feel all right now
I said 'Don't stop now come on Mony
Come on, Yeah
I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
From somewhere Ron had dug out the pleather pants from when he had the haircut by François. He was wearing his mission boots with the laces removed and his T-shirt had the sleeves and half the chest missing, ripped to his sternum. He was wearing an old leather jacket of Roger's with the sleeves pushed up to his biceps and a pair of mission gloves he had cut the fingers off of. Probably the most shocking part was his hair. It was spiked straight up, his blonde locks practically glowing.
Cause you make me feel (Mony Mony)
So good,(Mony Mony)
so good, (Mony Mony)
Oooo, I feel all right (Mony Mony)
It's so fine,(Mony Mony)
so fine (Mony Mony)
It's so fine, (Mony Mony)
Yes, I feel all right (Mony Mony)
I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Anne, being quicker on the uptake then nearly everyone else, much to the embarrassment of Kim and Monique, and with a grin to rival Ron's, grabbed two of the spare microphones, tossed one to Kaname and started singing along with the refrain of 'Mony Mony'. Kaname hurried to the side of the older woman and, using all of her years of karaoke experience from back in Japan, followed along until she had the same rhythm. The computer automatically recognized additional singers and deleted the backup vocals.
Wake it, shake it Mony Mony
I said a shot gun dead and I'll come on Mony
Ooooo, Don't stop cookin' 'cause I feel too good, yeah.
Well don't stop now well come on Mony
Come on yeah, I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
James just looked on at their performance, shaking his head with a smile, remembering back twenty years ago to having cable TV for the first time and watching a blonde dynamo hammering out an updated version of the old Tommy James and the Shondell's hit. He had to admit Ron had the signature lip curls of William Broad, better known as Billy Idol, nailed. As he screamed out 'Come on, Yeah', Ron had his head thrown back, the tendons in his neck standing out from the energy he was pouring to the song.
Cause you make me feel (Mony Mony)
So fine, (Mony Mony)
so fine, (Mony Mony)
It's so fine. (Mony Mony)
Make me feel alright (Mony Mony)
Alright (Mony Mony)
Alright (Mony Mony)
Do ya feel alright (Mony Mony)
I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Shunya Chidori had his head drawn back and a raised eyebrow trying to figure out what was going on. Ayame was smiling from ear to ear as she bounced along to the beat coming from the speakers set around the room. While Sousuke had the Fender screaming, Kaname had slid to the right of her fiancé and thrown an arm over his shoulder, still playing the part of background singer with Anne.
Guitar Bridge
Sousuke didn't bounce or strut. He simply played it straight as he went into the bridge, running the pick first up, then down the neck of the Fender. Ron, however, wasn't playing anything straight though. When the bridge started he was thrusting and grinding his hips in a set of moves that had every female in the room blushing, thinking "Whoa!" Midway through the bridge, as Sagara kept playing, Ron and Anne drifted together and stood dancing back to back. She was doing the background part of the song while Ron carried the main vocals.
(I love you mony mo-mo-mony) Said I doooo!
(I love you mony mo-mo-mony) Yes I doooo!
(I love you mony mo-mo-mony) Said I doooo!
(I love you mony mo-mo-mony)
They were shuffling up and down and grinding back-to-back in a way that had more than one person thinking "WHAT! Anne actually had a slight blush and a huge smile on her face, James' thought processes froze at the sight of his wife dancing like that with a man literally young enough to be her son, and Kim couldn't figure out whether or not to be jealous of her own mother.
I said Mony (Yeah)
Mony (Yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
WOOOOOOOWWWW
(Mony Mony)
(Mony Mony)
(Mony Mony)
Monique and Kim just stared in jaw-dropped amazement as Ron ground and strutted around the room. Kim was able to gain enough motor control to look to the side of her and see her BGF blushing darker than she thought the mocha skinned girl could get when he screamed into the mic. She seemed to be in a total state of shock as Ron bounced and hopped around the room.
I said come on, come on, come on
Mony Mony (Mony Mony)
Mony Mony (Mony Mony)
Feel all right, I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ron slid between the two girls still wailing into his mic, in a wide legged stance. The fact the pleather pants didn't split surprised both girls. Monique tried to drift away from the obviously insane Ron Stoppable, but he had hooked her arm in a vise like grip, all the while chanting 'Mony Mony', sweat starting to form on his face and chest.
Ride your pony, (Mony Mony)
Mony Mony (Mony Mony)
Mony Mony (Mony Mony)
Come on Come on Come on (Mony Mony)
Mony mony
Well I feel all right, I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah alriiiiiight!
About that time Kim caught a wink then a waggling of eyebrows from her boyfriend and blushed even more than before. It took every bit of willpower she had to not leap at him right there, wrap her legs around his waist and try and give him a toungesillectomy.
The song started winding down, nearly everyone started clapping as Ron was repeating "Thank you, thank you."
Ron looked at his still slightly stunned girlfriend, "How was that one KP?"
"Uhhh, real good Ron."
"Monique, I seen that one in list and thought of you. Ya see I've been waiting a couple a years for the perfect payback."
Poor Monique could barely string two words together. "Payback?"
"Yep, maybe the next time I tell ya something off the wall, like oh I don't know, that KP might be crushing on me or something like that, maybe you'll believe me. A booyaa! 'Cuse me ladies, I gotta go wash this goop outta my hair, it's messing with my essential 'Ronness'."
Stunned, Monique just stared at the door Ron disappeared behind. "Uhh, Kim?"
After what they had just witnessed, Kim really didn't feel comfortable with either 'Mon' or 'Moni', "Nique?
"Kim, you're my friend, and I love ya like a sister. But I'm telling ya, you better hurry up and claim that boy for real!"
"Oh yeah!"
Monique just kept looking at the door, "Kim, I'm telling ya this for your own good. Cause if his as good in bed as he performs, he's definitely gonna be AMITS!
Kim was too confused to puzzle out Monique speak just then. She looked at the girl beside her, saying, "Huh?"
"A monster in the sack! And if you don't want 'em, you just let me know, cause I'll take 'em off your hands. I ain't playing wit you, girl!"
Then a thought hit Kim like a thunderbolt. Shunya had made arrangements with Kaname and Sousuke to take himself and Ayame back to New York tonight and Wade was going to be in lab/workshop. She was going to be alone with Ron in the apartment overnight for the first time since they'd moved in. BooYaaaaa!
She started getting a gleam in her eye when she replied, whispering, "Oh Yeah! There's gonna be no one home tonight but us and Wade. And Wade's in the basement!"
Then her world crashed. Wade asked the Tweebs if they wanted to spend the night, the Tweebs asked her Dad and he said he had no problem with it.
NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The following morning found Ron in the garage, avoiding his tweaked girlfriend, Elma Lee on the lift, wheels about two feet off the floor. Ron was on a creeper with a light going over the chassis of Elma Lee. She didn't feel any different when he drove her home last night, but both Roger and Sagara had taught him it was better to find a problem and fix it before something broke leaving you sitting on the side of the road.
He was shining the light all around the suspension and underbody looking for damage from the run up Ridgeline Road. So far all he had found was a layer of dried mud coating the wheel wells. Pulling himself out from under the car, he went to the tool boxes. He opened different drawers and found a wire brush, scraper, goggles, dust-mask and nozzle attachment to the air-hose.
After plugging the nozzle to an air line and settling the goggles and mask on his face, he sat back on the creeper and began to clean away the dirt and bits of gravel from the undercarriage. He used the scraper and brush to loosen the dirt and the air-hose to blow it away, thankful for the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Roger had always insisted on using.
Looking at the brush in his hand, Ron cursed and his heart cracked as he remembered something else Will Du had taken from him. He remembered a conversation he had with his Uncle about a couple of months before his murder.
Ron had been using that same wire brush to strip away a rust spot on one of the rear quarter-panels when the man had asked if Ron wanted to go up to his cabin with him before winter set in so they could inspect the property and make a list of things Roger needed to buy so he could make any needed repairs the following spring.
Ron had readily agreed. But the plan had been put on hold when Ron had the ground open beneath him on his way to pick up a voltage regulator for Rogers truck one day. In the months since, other things had interfered with the trip into the mountains, starting with his moving into the garage.
Since Roger left the cabin to him, he made a decision. He quickly finished his inspection, put the tools away and cleaned up the mess from under the lift. He descended into basement and buzzed Wade to open the door. Pulling Wade aside while the Tweebs worked on something else, he told genius what he wanted. Wade logged into an orbiting satellite and pulled up the overheads.
"So how 'bout it, Wade? Can I get up there?"
"Ron, I don't know. You can't drive up there, snow's too deep. It'll be spring before the trails clear enough to let you through. Even with the Sloth's enhanced traction. It's too far for snowmobiles unless you're dragging a couple of ahkios full of gas."
"You could get there by helicopter, but they couldn't land anywhere close except right by the lakes edge. But there's a problem with that. The lake's not frozen over, just the shoreline. And since you can't tell where the shoreline is, they could easily drop you right in the water. Even then they couldn't stay on station. They'd have to hover, let you out and return to base."
"And, Ron, the way the weather is, there's no telling when they could get back up there to get you out."
Ron was scrolling the image trying to find an answer. "So there's no way up there 'til spring?"
He could see how much this meant to his friend, so Wade was racking his brain trying to find a solution. "Ron there might be a way. Talk to Motor Ed."
"Motor Ed?"
"Yea, he said he was working on an All Terrain Vehicle that could, quote 'Go anywhere, anytime. Seriously!' Let's see if he can back it up."
An hour later found Ron and Wade looking Ed's idea of an SUV.
"Dude's, this baby can go just about anywhere. Seriously!"
The 'baby' Motor Ed was talking about was a modified Dodge Ramcharger 4X4 sitting on a set of tracks, one for where each wheel used to be.
"I was gonna keep the stock 440 and build it up, but when I crunched the numbers, the tracks woulda' harshed on the mileage, Seriously!" When Ron and Wade looked at the mullet wearing, mustached man with confused expressions, he said, "Dudes I might be a gear-head, but I got dual degrees in Mechanical and Automotive Engineering."
"Anyway, so I pulled out the whole drive train and replaced it with one of Wadester's hybrid turbines and put a sealed electric motor on each wheel hub. The hybrid puts out about a thousand kilowatts. Dudes, that's over 1300 horsepower. Air Guitar, Waaaaannnannanna"
"Each one of the motors on the hubs are rated at over 400 kilowatts," Ed started wobbling his hand, "call it 530 plus horsepower, but the onboard sensors and computers will spread the power to each hub even if one of them starts to lose traction."
"She's not gonna be the fastest thing on the road, but she'll climb up a 22 inch vertical rise and up a 100 percent grade. You can even take a 22 percent side slope. Dudes, in the snow, she's got like over 22 square feet of contact surface and less than 2 psi of ground pressure. Righteous!"
Ron was scratching his head as he said, "Ya know, I never thought I'd say this, but Ed, ya mind if I use your truck this weekend?"
Noon found Ron in the garage again, this time loading the back of Ed's Ramcharger with enough gear for two people for the next few days. After hearing what Ron had planned Kim insisted on accompanying him into the mountains. She wasn't about to let him travel alone into the backwoods alone, for safety's sake if nothing else.
"Ron, you're talking about taking a trip into the mountains, in an untested vehicle, in the middle of winter. We have 3 foot drifts on the sidewalks here in town. I looked over some of the shots from the route you wanna take. The snow's 8 feet deep in places. You are so not going alone. Period!"
"KP, ya don't have to go. Sure Ed's truck is 'untested'. But every part of it is either 'Wade-tested and approved' or off-the-shelf. And it's just gonna be a one or two night trip at most. I'm just gonna go up, take a look, get an idea of what the place needs and come back. From what Roger told me about the place, I know for a fact there's no running water and only an outhouse. If I gotta stay couple a days, that's fine for me."
Ron winced cause he knew his next words could blow up in his face, "But I know how ya get if ya have ta go without a bathroom and a shower for a couple a days. On a mission, ya deal. But if ya don't have to, you're gonna get tweaked and I'm afraid ya might blame me for it."
Kim eyed him for a second, then grinned. "You're right, Ronnie. I'll make ya a deal. You let me go with you and I promise not to blame you if it goes south. OK?"
Ron looked at her sidelong, "No gettin' tweaked at the Ronster?"
"Nope."
He sighed and answered, "Alright, but ya better pack your arctic gear just in case."
Once the truck was packed, Wade provided them with a GPS route and weather report for the next few days. According to the weather forecast, it was going to be clear skies and cold for the next week. Ron made a stop at Roger's house to get the cabin keys and a few things from the garage as well as doing a quick check of the house and they were off.
The tracked truck was limited to 40 mph on the road and it took an hour and a half before they got to the turnoff. The plows had pushed the snow into drifts close to ten feet deep in places, but Ron found a place to ford the snow bank and get to the logging road that led into the forest.
That was the easy part. The hard part was making sure they stayed on the track, but Ron kept the power down and followed Kim's directions exactly and the SUV made easy work of the drifts through the forest. They found out just how deep the snow was when they stopped after another two hours for a 'Rest Break'. Deceived by the way the SUV seemed to float across the snow, Ron opened the door, stepped out of the truck and vanished, leaving a Ron shaped hole in the snow.
"RON!"
"I'm OK, KP, just give me a minute."
"Huh? Ron?"
"Just a sec KP." Kim was confused, looking out the open driver's door to the hole Ron dropped into.
A minute or two later, Ron said, "KP? A little help here." She could barely see his fingers waving inside the hole. She slid across and pulled him back up into the truck.
Strangely the first words out of his mouth were, "That's better!"
"Well it is freezing out there, Ron."
"It's not that, KP. I just really had to go."
It took her a second to get it. "EEEWWWWWW! Ron?"
"What? You think it's gonna be any better for you? I told ya before we started that an outhouse is it." Ron pointed with his thumb to the hole, "Besides, I figured out it's strangely a little warmer down there. Probably cause it's out of the wind."
"Ron?"
"And I can guarantee it's about as private as you can get out here."
"RON!"
"Just be sure to pack the snow away from ya enough to do your business."
Kim's face was nearly the color of her hair and it had nothing to do with the cold outside the SUV, "ROOOONNNN!"
Ron climbed into the back seat, "Hey, I got a stash of TP somewhere around here KP, hold on."
Kim couldn't believe what was happening. She knew sometimes Ron either wouldn't let go of a concept or get focused on one to the extent he blotted nearly everything out, but come on! We're talking about bodily functions here that she would have rather left in private.
She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back to the front, "Ron, I don't have to go that bad! I think I can wait 'til we get to the cabin. Let's just go. The sooner we get there the better."
He held up the roll of paper with a grin, "Ya sure, KP?"
Suddenly there was no way she could hold it any longer. She snatched the roll from him, "Rrrrr, gimme that!" She opened her door and bailed out, disappearing just like he did. "And don't peek either!" came from the Kim shaped hole.
A few minutes later he helped her back up and they were moving again. Six hours from when they left base, they were coming up on the cabin. Whoever had sited it originally had done well. It was set back from the lake and sat on a slight rise that left it mostly free from the snow, except for the windward side which had the snow drifted against two sides.
The front of the cabin was mostly clear of the drifted white stuff letting them clearly see the bottom half of the tree that had been blown into the front of the structure. Half the front wall and several of the windows were missing.
They got out of the truck and looked through the huge hole in the wall to find the branches practically filled the main room along with evidence that several small animals had made the interior their home.
Ron's shoulders slumped, "Rats! I'm sorry, KP. I thought it was habitable."
"Ronnie, I saw the same shots you did. From above, it looked fine. It's not your fault, but what are we gonna do? We can't stay in here, not with that tree there. It'll take us all night to clear it enough to sleep in there, not to mention the chimney's cracked. The fumes from the fire could kill us. And I don't know about you, but I'm gettin a bit tired. I so don't wanna think about having to make another six hour drive back home."
He thought about it for a minute, looking around in the failing light. His eyes lit on the side of the mountain. "Come on, KP. I got an idea." He led her back to the truck and they started out again.
When she asked him what he had in mind, he replied, "A place Uncle Rog told me about. Just up the side of the mountain, right at the base of the cliff face there." He pointed to a cliff with a blaze of quartz, like a lighting bolt, in the face.
Twenty minutes later, they approached the spot. An overhang in the cliff set above the surrounding ground level, surprisingly with a small spring flowing from the heart of the mountain, forming an ice plain on the downhill side, before disappearing beneath the snow. The floor of the semi-cave was dry, sandy and free from the drifted snow that covered the lower ground. A low wall of stones in front of the fire-pit, smoke covered roof and large log to one side the pit of the showed that the spot had been used many times before and just down the slope was a large pile of deadfall wood.
Kim beamed "Ron, this is perfect!"
Ron was able to back the SUV almost into the over-hang. Once the truck was parked, Kim called in to let Wade know the sitch while Ron unloaded their gear. He had expected to have to use the bags and cold weather gear, but he'd planned on the cabin at least being able to keep them inside. The loss of the cabin put a big crimp the sleeping sitch.
Once he had the gear unloaded, he trudged out to the deadfall. One of the things he pulled out was the chainsaw and safety glasses he'd picked up from Roger's. Luckily it was well tuned and started after a few pulls and Ron gathered enough wood to get a fire going.
In the meantime, after checking in with Wade, Kim pulled out an entrenching tool and started digging a long shallow trench in the sandy floor a few feet from the fire pit. Ron shut the saw down and gathered up what he'd cut so far and made his way back to the camp.
Kim grinned at him and headed out to the deadfall. She grabbed the saw and glasses and took over gathering enough wood to last the night. Ron found it amusing to see his girl tearing into the fallen trees, wearing a savage grin as the saw made short work of the limbs and trunk of her chosen target.
When Ron had the fire going, he filled a pot with water from the spring and started their dinner. Dropping all the ingredients in the pot, he carefully set it to simmering and let Kim rest as he kept cutting. After a few minutes to rest and warm her hands, she started carrying the wood while Ron kept cutting. They were both careful to work hard, but not so hard they started sweating. They traded the carrying and cutting until they had a large pile of ready firewood.
It wasn't long before they'd filled the pit with all of the smaller sticks and branches, saving the bigger pieces for the fire-pit. Kim sprinkled a bit of fuel from the saw onto the wood in the trench and tossed in a burning brand from the cook fire. Instantly the trench blazed up.
Keeping to the side of both fires, Ron dished up the stew. The low wall in front of the cook fire acted as a reflector, sending back a rosy warmth that belied the bitter cold outside the snug little cave. They sat cuddled on the log chatting as the fire in the trench burned merrily. When it finally settled into a bed of coals, they covered it with the sand Kim had set to the side and set the pair of sleeping pads on top adding their sleeping bags.
Between the calm night, reflector wall in front of the pit, the fire filled trench and the stone wall behind them the temperature in the cave climbed to the point they were able to remove most of the layers they were wearing. Boots to the side of the fire, toes basking in the heat, cuddled under a blanket looking out over the frozen lake shimmering in the crystal clear night in front of them, it was strangely the most romantic thing she'd ever even heard of. Looking at the man beside her, Kim made a decision.
Pulling on enough to make a quick foray into the cold, she excused herself, going one way, telling Ron he'd best go the other and get ready to settle in for the night. When she was out of sight of the camp, she pulled out her Kimmunicator and called Wade.
"What's up, Kim?"
"Wade, I need a favor."
"Sure, what a ya need?"
Kim started blushing, "Unless the aliens are landing again or the world's gonna blow up before tomorrow morning, please don't call us until we call ya back. OK?"
The young teen gives her a look for a second that says confused; then a light goes on behind his eyes. "You got it, Kim"
She was mortified that he'd figured it out and blushed even harder, but that didn't stop her from saying, "Thanks Wade."
He said, "No problem, Kim and 'Good Luck'. Wade out." Shutting down the link before she could get another word out.
When he'd closed the connection, Wade pulled up a file; it was a list of names and dates. Looking at the list, he couldn't believe his eye's, seeing the name of James T. Possible as the winner of the pool.