Ch. 14
Just as Ron stepped out of the office with Yori, after picking up her class schedule, he spotted Felix, who he wanted to talk to that morning. After a quick introduction, he moved to the topic he wanted.
"Hey Felix, can I ask for your help with studying? I'm in need of a tutor." Ron asked, seeing the stunned expression on Felix he added. "I recently came to the decision of improving myself and one of the ways am going to go about it is with my grades."
"Not a problem Ron." Felix replied, after thinking a moment he added. "I got free time after school, we can meet up and work out a schedule, if you're free."
"Thanks man, that would be great! Say Bueno Nacho, my treat?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, oh and again nice meeting you, Yori!" Felix agreed.
"An honor, Renton-san." Yori spoke.
"Please, Felix. Renton sounds too formal." Felix added before heading away, no doubt looking for Zita before first period started
"Very well, Felix-san." Yori amended.
Just as Ron was watching the interaction between his friends, he noticed Bonnie making her way over with Tara and decided to greet them. "Hey Bonbon, Tara! Good morning! This is Yori, a friend I made when I visited Japan for the exchange program." He said to them before turning to Yori. "Yori, this are my teammates on the cheer squad, Bonnie and Tara."
"Nice to meet you Bonnie-San, Tara-san. My name is Yori." Yori greeted with a slight bow.
"Nice to meet you too." Tara says turning slightly towards Bonnie. "This is Bonnie, I'm Tara."
"Hi." Bonnie stated before turning to Ron. "How many times must I tell you not to call me that lo--." Bonnie started her usual insult when Tara covered her mouth.
"Shhh!" Tara said to Bonnie before letting go of her mouth, turning, she said to Ron. "Sorry about that, she's sensitive when it comes to that nickname."
"Not a problem, I'm used to it." Ron said not being affected by Bonnie's insult or attempt to. "Anyway we got to go, I'm trying to give Yori a tour of the school before first period."
"Oh, one moment." Tara hurried and called out before Ron could start moving. "I overheard a moment ago that you're looking for a tutor, if you want, I can help you with some of the courses."
"Oh, thanks Tara but Felix agreed to help on that front." Ron said leading Yori further into the school.
What Ron did not notice as he walked away, was the sad look Tara had at his answer and Yori's keen gaze since the blonde appeared.
~~~~~
Tara turned to Bonnie with a sad and teary expression, but before she could say anything, Bonnie spoke. "So simple it's not even a problem."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Tara asked dumbfounded. "You know Felix won't bail on Ron. So, how is this simple?"
"Tara, Tara. We don't need Felix to bail, just be unable to cover every subject during the tutoring, making a spot for you." Bonnie stated, she was confident in getting students to do what she wanted, after all, there was a reason they called her 'Queen B' and it was not all because of the attitude.
"Bonnie, don't do anything drastic, it wouldn't help upsetting Ron's friends to get close to him. You know that when it comes to his friends, he goes to extremes, remember 'Camp Wannaweep'?" Tara reminded, causing both to tremble slightly at the memory.
"Yeah, but don't worry, Zita owes me a favor, so it won't be a problem once we explain the situation to her." Bonnie answered confidently as she pulled out her phone to text Zita. A few minutes later, they were traversing the school halls on their way to meet Zita, who was with Felix at them moment.
As they walked, Tara decided to ask Bonnie a question that was bouncing in her mind since the day before. "Bonnie, thank you for all your help, but why are you going so far to help me? You never really seemed to like Ron, much less since he started calling you Bonbon."
"Its not that I dislike him either, but seeing the things he takes from and because of Kim, yet looks like everything is alright makes me so angry." Bonnie says. "Its what my sisters expect from me." She finishes softly. "As for why am helping you. That's simple, you're my bestfriend and always been there for me, so now is my turn." Bonnie finally answered with a smile, giving Tara a quick hug.
Hearing her response, Tara teared up a bit while returning the hug. This was just another reminder that Bonnie wasn't like what she led most to believe. Again deciding to help her break free of her 'Queen B' persona, Tara tried thinking of ways to go about helping her, but nothing came to mind.
Bonnie looked ahead trying to spot Zita and Felix, seeing them, she led Tara over. Upon arriving, both Tara and Bonnie noticed that Zita and Felix were accompanied by Monique. Seeing that as an opportunity, Bonnie waved to Zita when she looked over. A moment later, she walked over after saying a few words to Felix and Monique.
~~~~~
Monique had alot on her mind since the day before and it all revolved around a single subject, Ron. When she woke up that morning, she had yet to make a decision, but on her way to the shower, she passed the video from yesterday, with Yori's and Sarah's name tagged on. After her morning routine and a quick breakfast, she noticed her phone was constantly vibrating with questions from her fellow students, but chose to ignore them, focusing on her current predicament.
As Monique made her way to school, Ron texted, thanking her for the headstart and with a smile, she made up her mind. She would have to talk with Kim, but she was going to try and pursue a relationship with Ron and remembering the day before, she would have competition. Coming into the school, Monique sent a text to Kim, to try and meet up, but the reply was that she just met up with Josh. Monique was aware that when Josh was involved, Kim's focus didn't go elsewhere.
Seeing as Kim was busy, Monique decided to find Ron and start working on redefining their relationship, but after looking around school for a bit she couldn't find him. Spotting Felix and Zita, she made her way over to ask if they seen him. Just as she was about to greet them, she heard Felix mention that Ron asked him for tutoring and she blurted out. "NW! RWTS?!!(no way ron wants to study)"
"Ahh!" Felix shouted, not having seen Monique approach from behind. "You surprised me there Monique. What was that you said?" He asked after calming himself.
"Morning." Zita greeted. "I have to agree, what was it that you said?"
"Sorry about that, Felix, didn't mean to startle you." Monique apologized before greeting them and asking Felix about Ron's tutoring. "So is Ron really looking for a tutor?"
"Yeah, just told me this morning. We are gonna go over the details after school, at Bueno Nacho." Felix confirms for Monique while Zita was responding to a text.
"Wow!" Monique replies stunned. She vividly remembered the time when they were paired for a project and he went out of his way to not do anything. 'So Ron's finally stepping up!' Monique thought to herself just as Zita excuses herself and walked over to Bonnie and Tara.
Thinking a moment to herself, Monique decided not to waste this opportunity. "Felix, I need a favor." She states.
"Sure, what's up?" Felix asks.
"Let me help with the tutoring." Monique declared, while looking Felix in the eye.
"Hmmm, can I ask why?" Felix asks slightly surprised.
"I've liked him for a while and I'm going to try changing our relationship." Monique whispered quickly to Felix. "DTAFN!(don't tell anyone for now." She added, blushing at what she admitted for the first time.
"Ok you got it, what subject..."
~~~~~
As Ron was showing Yori around, he could tell that his fellow students were staring. He thought it was because he was accompanying Yori around, since Monique would have told everyone. Unaware, that a video of him making out with both Yori and a disguised Shego, was how Monique spread the news.
They were just about done with the tour of the school, when Kim appeared from one of the corners. Ron was about to greet her, when Josh also turned the corner. Ron quickly noticed that they were speaking to one another and from the look Josh flashed him, he was likely the subject of their conversation. Ron momentarily debated whether to make a run for it, but decided against it and opted to greet them. "Hey KP, Josh. This is Yori, a friend I made in Japan. Yori this is Kim Possible, my best friend and her boyfriend, Josh Mankey."
"Its an honor to meet you, Possible-san and you as well, Mankey-san." Yori greeted with a slight bow.
Kim on her part, was stunned by the introduction. She remembered that Ron was part of the student exchange program months prior, but could not remember if he even mentioned it. In fact, she could not even remember talking with him, during or after his stay in Japan about it. She was certain she never asked, so her surprise to Ron's, new female friend, add onto that the video of him making out with said friend and another woman, were enough to momentarily stun her.
Ron could see the news of Yori surprising Kim, but he wasn't expecting such an extent that she forgot her manners. "Ugh, KP, dont forget your manners." He reminded.
Blushing, Kim began speaking. "Sorry, my name is Kim Possible, nice to meet you." After greeting Yori, Kim turned to Ron. "Don't you mean girlfriend? What about the other girl in the video?"
Now it was his turn to be shocked. Ron had not expected that question, so all he could ask were questions. "Video? What video?"
While asking, Ron failed to notice that Yori tensed at the mention of girlfriend and blushed, when he did not go out of his way to correct Kim's statement.
"Monique sent a video this morning, you were making out with both Yori and someone called Sarah." Kim answered, pulling out her Kimmunicator to pull up the video. "I had Wade check and its authentic."
Ron watched the video and unlike Kim expected, he flashed a goofy smile while muttering softly. "Almost convinced myself it was dream."
Upon hearing him, Kim finally snapped. "Ron! You skipped school to hang out at the mall with your girlfriends!! Do you know how bad that looks?! How bad an example it is! If people know, it will hurt Team Possible's image!!"
Hearing that Ron's expression darkened. He was injured and unconscious the majority of the weekend. His bestfriend did not even notice and instead of asking if everything was ok, she was leaving voicemails about him skipping school. Now, she's talking about appearances and examples! To top it off, she went into the team's image!! The majority of the world didn't know he was on the team!!!
Just as he was about to snap himself, Yori placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke up. "Actually, Possible-san, Ron-san did not skip school to hang out with his girlfriends, as you have put it. The majority of the weekend he was feeling unwell and even then he picked me up at the airport, with his friend Sarah-san. As for going to the mall, I asked to go shopping, since I wanted to try some American style clothes for school."
From Yori's tone, Ron could tell that she was upset with the way Kim questioned him, instead of asking if he was ok first. Feeling delighted, Ron nodded to Yori and moved to change the topic before Kim could say anything else. Especially after noticing Josh's calm, almost satisfied demeanor. "Josh dont forget to introduce yourself."
"Right, Josh Mankey. It is nice to meet you Yori." Josh said, stretching out his hand for a handshake.
"Now that that's done, am going to head to first period with Yori, since I have to have a word with Mr. B." Ron spoke up, before Yori had a chance to shake hands with Josh, leading her towards their first period class. Passing by Kim, he noticed her stunned and slightly dazed expression, but chose not to stop and let her think about things.
~~~~~
Ron's morning went as good as can be expected. His conversation with Mr. Barkin started a little rough, but as he and Yori explained, they came to an agreement. He would still attend the detention he earned with the food fight last Friday, while he was under the influence of the Attitudedinator. Once that was out of the way, Ron got permission to use the home economics room during lunch, with the condition he makes some food for Mr. Barkin as well.
After the talk with Mr. Barkin was done, Ron took a seat at the back with Yori. He started a light conversation with her, while doing some math on the side. The school year was just after the halfway point and by his calculations, he still had a chance to bring his GPA back up. He would need to take a decent amount of extra credit, but if his teachers agreed, he could get school on the right track. Just as students began entering the classroom, Ron resolved himself, planning to talk with each teacher after class and paying a visit to his guidance counselor before the day was done.
Not all the teachers were open to the idea of giving him extra credit assignments and when Ron thought back to the way he behaved, he couldn't blame them. He presented the image of a slacker since the school year began. Not all of it was intentional, most of the time he was too tired from missions and with others, he had difficulty following the subjects. A very small amount, was that he did try getting by with the bare minimum, but those mostly happened in group projects.
Although, at first it looked like he would get nowhere with his teachers, after explaining his intent to turn his grades around, they accepted his proposal with a few conditions. No late extra credit would be accepted and missing three assignments would stop further extra credit from being assigned. Lastly, he was to keep up with the current assignments, failing to do so twice, would stop the extra credit from being assigned.
Ron would have loved for a bit more leeway, but he accepted on the condition that he be allowed to hand in assignments electronically, in case of emergency or missions. Of course, he would have to prove that it was an emergency or mission. The talk with the counselor done, Ron signed a pledge and stepped out of the office to see the waiting Yori.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Yori." Ron instantly apologized before adding. "I still have detention and meeting Felix later. Want to go ahead and meet him at Bueno Nacho? Rufus is about ready for a snack, since lunch was a bit light this time around."
"Not to worry, Ron-san, I'd like to keep you company." Yori replied looking into Ron's eyes, despite her blush.
Ron's heart sped up with her answer, nodding he lead the way to detention, as he sent Felix a text to confirm their meeting later. Recieving a reply, he entered detention with Yori, still unaware that she wasn't the only one intent on his company.