Chapter 7 - "Mystery Meat Surprise"

(11:30pm, MHS Cafeteria)

The indescribable slop of mystery meat, gushing with smelly juices stunk up the aroma of the cafeteria. Bits and pieces of nutra-loaf, strands of hair and even a dead insect or two was sticking out.

It was sloshed onto both Kim and Ron's dishes as they walked the lunch line.

"Told you." Kim warned him while clenching her nose. Rufus, on her shoulder, was also closing his nostrils as well.

"What kind of animal even deserved this type of punishment?!" Ron gagged.

"Not me..." Rufus squeaked.

"Bigger question is what planet did said animal come from!" Kim moaned even as she saw five ants crawl in the meat. "Eww...eww! Bug alert!"

"Trade you for the one with hair in it..." Ron asked, offering up a trade.

"So in the land of in your dreams, Ron!" Kim said, declining "Now let's find a spot to sit."

As the two of them walked, they noticed a table overflowing with finer foods, including the 'Fruits of the Sea'.

"What about over there?" Ron asked?

"Ron, that the Senior Table! AKA off limits to sophomores like us." Kim said, pointing to the roped-off access to the table followed by two bouncers. "You need to show your school ID to prove you're a 12th grader."

"That is so a class system! Why do they always get the better foods while we get stuck with...unclassified food!" Ron protested.

"Eternal mystery of life, Ron!" Kim sighed, the Senior table so far away from her and her BF "Now let's find a spot before we get busted by Mr. Barkin!"

They eventually chose a spot in the middle of the cafeteria where Zita Flores was waiting for them. Formerly enemies in their Freshman year, Zita took a liking to Kim when the latter stood up to one of Bonnie's cheerleaders. She had to thank Kim for not ending up with a knuckle sandwich in her face for not having enough lunch money.

"Hey, Kim and Ron!" Zita said, waving to them.

"Zita! What's the sitch around school?" Kim asked.

"I'm trying to sign a petiton to the school board to change the...'exquisite' menu the high school has been serving to its freshmen, sophomores and juniors." Zita explained while pulling out the petition.

"No joke, Zita, my mom's meat loaf is far more edible than this garbage!" Kim said, twirling her fork in the indescribable food.

"How many signatures have you gotten?" Ron wondered.

Zita sighed, showing the paper to them, "Only 79 signatures from the students. In order to reach the Middleton Unified District board, it has to reach 200."

"Yeah, good luck passing that against the superintendant of the district, Veronica Rockwaller!" Kim muttered while trying to eat the food, "Her daughter always wraps her around that little finger!"

"Speaking of that..." Ron said in interfering the conversation between the two girls.

He pointed out Bonnie entering into the Senior Table, wielding the signature smirk on her face, snickering at her triumph over Kim earlier in the day.

"What?! That's so a foul play by a Rockwaller when I see it!" Kim snarled at her rival.

"I thought the Senior Table was only for seniors..." Ron wondered.

Zita said, shaking her head, "Not just that, but the student's parents also have to be in a position of power in town to earn that spot!"

"Look at that sniveling brunette...thinking she's on top of the world with her invite to the Senior table, her drivers license, her homecoming dress, her plans to date Josh!" Kim growled, "Soon, everything is going to crash down on her head!"

"Karma is one big ugly thing, KP. Once it starts, it's never going to stop." Ron said.

"Like the avalanche you nearly caused on yesterday's mission in the Alps against the Killer B's?" Kim snickered, lightening up the mood from her rivalry with Bonnie...if only for a moment.

"Caused by my mad yodeling skills." Ron admitted.

Zita laughed a little, "You have a talent at yodeling?"

"I actually did." Ron said, blushing at the cheeks.

"He tried it at last year's talent show...got vegetabled to the face!" Kim said.

"Still can't get those tomato stains off my shirt in the laundry!" Ron uttered, not wanting to recall the incident.

"Cheer practice is going to start next period!" Kim said as she stood up from the table, not even getting halfway into the dreaded mystery meat.

The peppy redhead also added in sarcastically, "I can't wait to see what Bonnie has in store in her complaints department."

"Ugh...that cheer is all wrong!"

"That's not how you use the megaphone!"

"Kim, I'm supposed to be on top of the formation, not you!"

After the Middleton High cheer squad performed a cheer pyramid, a snarling and extremely annoyed Kim somersaulted down and landed a perfect ten on the cheer mat. The other cheerleaders followed suit and disassembled from the pyramid.

Bonnie got onto the ground right in front of her.

"When I checked the offical roster of the squad, B, I did not see your name listed as the captain!" Kim sneered.

"Isn't the purpose of the captain of the cheer squad to try to motivate her team!" Bonnie retorted

"Also, isn't the purpose of the spotter, such as you, to prevent any of my cheerleaders from ending up in the ER?" Kim fumed just mere inches from her face.

"That so won't happen!" Bonnie scoffed, "Us cheeleaders are just too pretty to suffer a stupid broken bone!"

"Bonnie, we are not going to have this debate again!" Kim exclaimed.

"Kim, everyone should know by now that cheerleaders have to be snobby, mean, and...especially...dumb."

At that moment, Amanda was approached by Tara.

"What's the capital of the United States?" Tara asked.

"Uhh...duh...Hollywood!" Amanda snarked.

Kim was livid at the obviously wrong answer Bonnie's hench-cheerleader gave her, "Didn't I remind you that cheerleaders are normal people just like everyone else at this school, though held to a higher standard!"

"Yeah, as in a higher standard to the Food Chain!" Bonnie snarled. "Amanada just said yes to Rick Flagg!"

Amanda sighed ands said, "He's such a dumb dreamboat!"

"Cheerleaders can date any guy in the student body they want, regardless of who they are!" Kim said, defending the ideals that she still stood by for.

Bonnie debated with her own version of what dating meant, "Cheerleaders like us only are supposed to date jocks or cute guys that are on the top of the Chain, Kim! Don't you even see it through that thick skull of yours! Or is it filled with too much Nacho cheese and a tortilla shell, courtesy of Stoppable."

"Hey, don't diss Ron or Bueno Nacho like that!" Kim sneered. "And you know what I think of your Food Chain?"

"What about it?" Bonnie growled.

Kim gathered up the courage to form her opinon on Bonnie's food chain! "That it can be thrown away...into the Middleton High garbage can...where all that mystery meat would let it rot and decompose into nothing! That's what I think, mean B!"

"I can diss anyone that eats anything that has high carbs in it. Stoppable fits the profile quite nicely..." Bonnie sighed while snapping her fingers, meaning Amanda and Sarah are going off by her side. "Off to my next class! Hope you enjoy your time at the dance, Miss Loneyhearts!"