A new face joins Middleton High. Rafael (OC) is the boy's name and he moved from abroad. How will he adapt to his new environment as he meets Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable and the rest of the colourful cast of characters in Middleton for the next 3 years? And what will his presence add? We're about to find out in this HS journey full of adventure, action, fun and drama!
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Middleton High (Kim Possible - OC insert)
- Thread starter EmperorOfHeavyMetal
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Statistics (6 threadmarks, 38k words)
User Total EmperorOfHeavyMetal 6
A New Kid in Town
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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It was currently 17h00. I was starting to feel the pressure and anxiety building within me. School began tomorrow and, naturally, I was pretty nervous.
I had been in this country for only a week so far and everything was still new to me. It's one thing to visit a foreign country as a tourist, which is something I've always loved to do. But to move to one and attend school in it to boot? That's a whole new layer of complexities and troubles to teenage life. Especially to a kid like me who's always been shy, awkward and has experienced bullying in the past. Not only would I be the new kid in school this time, but also the foreign kid with a funny accent, I bet. Plus, my mother was also going to teach in this school. So could you blame me for being highly anxious?!
We moved all the way from Portugal to the USA, more specifically to Middleton, Colorado. It's not as big as Lisbon, but it's also not a small city per se. It's part of what's called the tri-city area in the state of Colorado alongside Denver and Colorado Springs. Middleton is the smallest of the 3 cities, with a population of around 250000 inhabitants. Not a megalopolis by any means, but it would be a large city back in Portugal. Now, why did we move from Portugal to the USA? My mother got a job as a school teacher at Middleton High, so therefore she had to move and so did I. Also, why was I attending the same school she's going to work at? Because I'm 15 years old and have to attend school, it's not like I have a choice, and it wouldn't make sense for me to attend a much further away HS from the one my mother will be teaching at. So, I was doomed ever since my mother got greenlighted to teach at Middleton High, pretty much.
I was sitting on the living room sofa. The house we moved to here in Middleton was pretty nice. It had a small yard and a fence and everything. Outside it was white and had a dark grey/almost black roof. I kept staring at the TV even though it was turned off. You might be wondering why I was not trying to enjoy my last hours of freedom before going back to school, which was a fair question to make, truth be told. But, the thing is, I was an anxious guy, and when I dreaded something that's nearby, I basically became paralysed and found myself unable to do anything but sit down or lie down and overthink about it as the clock kept on ticking.
"Rafael?" my mother entered the living room. "Here you are." She stood to the side of the sofa.
"Need anything, mum?" I asked with a neutral expression, even though I had a feeling I knew what the kind of subject she's going to broach was.
"I just want to know how you're doing." She smiled softly.
"Oh… I'm alright, I guess" I scratched the back of my head.
"I don't want you to be nervous, dear. It's going to be fine." She tried to reassure me.
"I mean, it was just so fast, you know?" I sighed. "Moving from Portugal all the way to here and we've only been here for a week so far."
"I know." She sat down next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But I'm sure you will adapt quickly, dear. You're a smart and strong boy."
"I'm just scared of this new environment, you know?" I lowered my head nervously.
"I know you've been through a lot, dear. But moving abroad can be the perfect opportunity for you to start over. And remember, we're in this together. I'll be working in Middleton High as well, so if you ever need my help don't hesitate to reach me, OK?" she smiled softly.
"I guess… but the USA? Why couldn't you pick a fellow European country to move to? There's English speaking countries in Europe too, like Ireland and the UK…" I look at my mother dryly.
"Well, Middleton High offered me a job. No school in Ireland or the UK did" she chuckled.
"The USA is so different from Europe as a whole, though…" I said tiredly.
"I know, dear. But perhaps we should take this as a learning opportunity." She ruffled my hair slightly. "Did you put everything in your backpack yet?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Have you seen the copy of your schedule yet? I left it on your room's desk the other day." she asked.
"Yeah, I have. Don't worry, I won't go in blind on my very first day." I reassured her.
"Good." she smirked. "Just wanted to make sure."
My mother stood up and told me she's going to start preparing dinner for later today. And also suggested I turn on the TV or play some video games to unwind. She did warn me not to start a new story-driven sort of game, however, since summer break ended tonight, naturally. I just turned on my Nintendo GameCube and played some Super Smash Bros. Melee until dinner. I loved this game!
Later that day, we ate some chicken, rice and vegetables for dinner and then, around 22h00, my mother told me I better go to bed. School started early tomorrow, at 8h00. Ouch! I didn't have any fight in me today, so I nodded and walked up to my bedroom, changed and slid between my bedsheets, turned the light off and looked at the ceiling for nearly an hour. I couldn't sleep due to my nerves. I kept turning in bed trying to find the best position to sleep. The last time I had been this nervous the night before a new school year was in 7th grade or something. I was now 15 and about to start 10th grade tomorrow and yet I was still a little kid, it seemed. Even though I was now about 175cm tall, going through puberty and only 3 years away from legally becoming an adult. Teenage years are so weird and lousy.
As I eventually fell asleep, I had rather intense and fast paced incoherent dreams like I usually do when I'm highly anxious or excited about something or when I'm ill. Unfortunately, I was not ill, so no chance of skipping school tomorrow… rats!
I suddenly found myself walking through a huge city that I didn't know, with wide plazas, tall buildings, large hotels and shopping malls and a never-ending metro system. Somehow my legs took me places automatically. Destination? Unknown. Suddenly I felt someone shaking my arm but didn't see anyone touching it?!
"Rafael! Wake up!" a voice told me. I looked around and it didn't seem to belong to any of the faceless people in the crowd walking around me.
"Wake up! Time for school!" I heard it again… mum?!
And then, suddenly my eyesight went blind and I stared at the back of my eyelids for a few seconds until I was able to open my eyes and feel my mother gently rocking my upper body in bed with her hands. It looked like it's morning already and time to get up and go to school on my first day.
"Good morning, dear!" Mum smiled softly at me. "Time to get up."
I slowly sat-up in my bed and rubbed my eyes. I still felt a little tired and sleepy. I let out a deep sigh and my mother gently tapped me in the back trying to give me strength and courage for me to get up and face the beginning of the school year in this foreign land. I stood up and walked to the bathroom to take my morning shower. It didn't take too long, but I washed properly. Then, I brushed my teeth and gargled. And then, I went back to my room and got dressed. Here in the USA, the school year started earlier than in Portugal. So, the weather was still hot since we were still in summer. We were in late August, for crying out loud! Therefore, I just put on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and sneakers. The t-shirt I was wearing today? My Slayer t-shirt. Might as well look badass on my first day of school!
I climbed down the stairwell and entered the kitchen to join my mother for breakfast. She was reading a newspaper while she drank her coffee mug. I took a seat and had a ham and cheese sandwich and a strawberry yoghurt in front of me waiting to get opened. I didn't waste time and ate my breakfast silently. As I finished eating my sandwich and my yoghurt and my mother finished drinking her coffee, she folded her newspaper and told me it was time to go. So, we headed to the garage and entered her car. She took the driver's seat, obviously, and I sat in the back. Sadly, public transportation in the USA was rudimentary in most places, so it was not feasible for me to take any form of public transportation to and from school. I was going to have to rely on my mother giving me rides. As suffocating as it was that she's working at the same school I was attending! It sucked having no choice. And school was a bit far from home to walk to every morning and Americans didn't build their cities for walking, but for driving around. Strange people…
Throughout the 30-minute car ride, I admired the scenery of Middleton's suburbs and the closer we got to the city centre. Lots of green areas, trees, nice houses and a sense of peace. It did seem like a nice and peaceful city overall. Then, we finally got to Middleton High. Mum drived to the parking lot to park the car, and when she's done parking it, she looked at me.
"Ready, dear?" She smiled softly at me.
"Do I have a choice?" I shrugged.
She chuckled. "I mean, do you feel nervous?"
"Don't think so, no…" I lowered my head as I answered her without sounding very convincing.
"You can get out. I'll get out of the car a bit later. I might as well let you walk to the school entrance alone on your first day in order to let you get used to it" she smiled softly.
"Oh…" I was a bit surprised at her statement. She was giving me some privacy and not letting every kid in school know from the first minute I stepped in Middleton High that I was the son of a teacher. That was surprisingly comforting from her. I nodded, opened the car door, took a quick look around the school parking lot, shut the door gently, took a deep breath, and walked to the school entrance.
Once I stepped inside Middleton High, I felt a bit overwhelmed. So many students! And the halls were long and wide too. So, this was an American high school… It was just like in the movies. So many kids were walking around and none seemed to notice me. I guess the school was so large that people couldn't easily tell who's new at first glance or something. I took out a small paper with the number of my locker. I was a bit excited since I never had a locker back home. Why did American schools have lockers, anyway? I needed my books and notebooks to take home with me to study and do homework. Were they meant to just store valuables to avoid them getting lost or stolen? Most likely. Anyway, I got to my locker and it was rather spacy. I put a lock on it and now I needed to pick a combination for it. I input 3-1-6, as in 'Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass' hehehe!
I just put my lunchbox in my locker. No point in carrying it around throughout the day. Now, I had to head to my first class of the day. I checked my schedule and it said I started with history in classroom nr. 40. I walked around the school looking for it and found it just a few minutes before the bell rang. Once it did, other students began entering the classroom and I followed suit. I sat in the back in order to go incognito. Plus, my eyesight was good and I was taller than average, so I didn't need to sit in the front rows. A few of my classmates were chatting as they waited for the teacher to arrive in the classroom. They either didn't notice my presence or didn't seem bothered by it, even if they didn't recognise me. Not even my Slayer t-shirt seemed to draw their attention, which led me to think they didn't even know the band or anything about heavy metal music. Plebeians!
I double checked my schedule to see if I was in the right place, and I was indeed. I did notice classes were only 1 hour long here, while back in Portugal they're usually 90 minutes long. It looked like the USA kept a similar runtime for classes to Portugal before the 2001/2002 school year. On the other hand, I noticed lunch break was only 30 minutes long, yikes!
A couple of minutes after the bell rang, the teacher entered the classroom. He was a tall, burly man with a big chin and short dark brown hair. He had a stern look on his face and wore a brown blazer and a black tie.
"Okay people LISTEN UP!" he commanded, and the whole classroom went quiet in their seats. "As some of you might not know yet, my name is Steven Barkin and I am your history teacher for this year and also am still Middleton High's football team coach in case any of you would like to try out for the football team this season!" He explained it loudly and authoritatively. "This year, in history, we'll learn about various topics such as the democratic revolutions, the industrial revolution, the rise of European imperialism and colonialism, WW1, the Great Depression and WW2."
Well, at least it was going to be an interesting curriculum! But this teacher sounded like he was pretty strict. And that could easily kill any student's enthusiasm for a class, no matter how interesting the subject matter might be. Barkin then began taking attendance, calling each student's name one by one in alphabetical order. We must raise our hand and say 'here' as he called our names. When he reached my turn, he mispronounced my name but I just raised my hand and didn't bother correcting him.
"You're an exchange student, right?" he asked me.
"Yes…" I nodded a bit shyly. I could now feel the whole classroom's eyes on me.
"What country are you from?" He raised his eyebrow.
"Portugal…" I replied short and quick.
"Well, welcome to the United States" he smirked. "If you have any questions don't hesitate in asking me, OK?"
I nodded and he resumed the attendance call. It looked like this Barkin fellow was not so bad after all? But I could tell he was a demanding teacher and I better make a good effort in his class.
The class went on normally. No one misbehaved and Barkin didn't yell at anyone either, fortunately. He just started telling us about the American and French Revolutions, mostly focusing on the American one. I had already learned about them back in 7th or 8th grade, so this was nothing new to me and it was easy to keep up with the material.
The bell rang at 9h00 and I had a 10-minute break until my next class. I left the classroom and didn't know where to go. After all, I didn't know any other kids yet so I could not hang out with anyone during break. I decided to explore the school a bit more and walk down the hallways. I reached two large doors eventually at the end of a hallway. They were ajar, so I took a peek in and it looked like they led to the school's gym. No class seemed to be ongoing, so I stepped in. The school gym had a basketball court, a volleyball court, bleachers and… I saw some people practicing something, but no teacher around? I walked a bit closer and saw a group of girls wearing colourful outfits that showed a significant amount of skin, exposing the girl's midriffs and showing off their legs. They seemed to be practicing some strange dance moves, and then it dawned on me… these were cheerleaders like the ones I saw in American movies! And they were practicing their routine at the moment. I took a seat on the bleachers and watched them for a bit. Taking a better look at them now, they wore purple outfits with a bit of orange and yellow as well. As for the cheerleaders themselves, they were all very physically attractive. They were all thin and in shape and had pretty faces.
They seemed to have a leader or captain, or whatever they're called. It was this stunning redhead with green eyes and smooth pale skin. It was hard to keep my eyes off her legs. She seemed to be guiding the other cheerleaders with her commands and they all seemed to respect her and do as she says. They then did something that looked like a human pyramid of some sort, with the gorgeous redhead standing on top of the other girls.
The practice seemed to be over and the girls were now chatting and giggling between themselves. I couldn't really make out what they're saying. Not that it mattered, really. Suddenly, one of the girls seemed to be walking in my direction. She had wavy sunny yellow, long blonde hair, blue eyes, a slender build, pretty face and nice legs. She was now standing in front of me and looked me in the eyes curiously.
"Enjoying the show?" she smiled as she cocked her head slightly to the side.
I just blinked fast, stunned at this smoking hot girl being so close to me and coming over to talk to me. That was not something I've ever truly experienced before.
"Cat got your tongue?" she giggled. "Don't worry. I don't bite." she smiled at me and I blush slightly, still unable to speak.
"Tara? What are you doing?" a voice came from behind the blonde and then another cheerleader showed up. This one was a tanned brunette with shoulder length hair in a shag cut, a slender albeit curvier body and with eyes that were either blue or green, I couldn't really tell. Regardless, they were gorgeous and hypnotic as much as their owner was. The brunette glanced at me. She had a strange aura to her. She emanated a more snobbish and intimidating energy than the blonde. Even though she was smirking at me, she came across as smug.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" she raised her eyebrow as she maintained her smirk.
"He was watching us practice, Bonnie." the blonde told her.
"Oh, really?" Bonnie's smirk widened. "Liked what you saw, boy?"
"Hum… it was cool…" I stuttered a bit embarrassed.
"He's so cute!" Tara giggled and I blushed again.
"Anyway" Bonnie cleared her throat "I don't recognise your face." She looked at me as if she was studying me. "Are you new in Middleton High?"
"Yeah…" I nodded a bit hesitantly.
"I knew it!" Bonnie put her hands on her hips triumphantly. "What's your name, new guy?" she asked with a sense of confidence that came more across as arrogance than self-confidence, but maybe I was just reading too much into it.
"Rafael." I replied curtly.
"Rafael?" Both girls blinked and exchanged glances. "That's an uncommon name." Bonnie raised her eyebrow.
"Where are you from?" Tara put her hands on her knees and bent over, her face now being close to mine, making me even more nervous.
"P-P-Portugal" I stuttered and sweat slowly dropped down my forehead.
The girls' eyes opened wide. "Oh, interesting!" Tara exclaimed. "How did you end up here in Middleton of all places in the US?" Bonnie asked me filled with curiosity.
I swallowed and prepared to answer them. I was not going to tell them the crucial detail of my mother getting a teaching job at Middleton High. That would automatically make me lame in front of two smoking hot babes. So, I decided to just tell them a half-truth. "Had to move here due to my parents getting a job in this city." I explained and hoped they were unable to tell I was withholding something more from them.
"Ah, makes sense." Bonnie nodded. It looked like that answer was good enough for her. Phew!
"Your accent is pretty cool!" Tara smiled at me.
"It is?!" I was surprised.
"Totally!" she nodded energetically.
I blushed yet again. Jesus, I'm dying here!
"What are you two up to?" another voice came from behind them, and suddenly another one of the cheerleaders cut between Tara and Bonnie. And it was none other than the gorgeous redhead who seemed to be their leader! She stared at me with an extremely confident aura that made me feel very self-conscious and insecure about myself. This was the type of girl that's the alpha female of her social group. A girl so popular and so hot that I'd never be able to get anywhere near her, since she'd just think of me as a lame loser geek. I felt paralysed as she stared at me and studied me, definitely judging me harshly even without speaking a single word or displaying any betraying facial expressions.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
The bell rang. I automatically jolted up from my seat and ran away out of the school gym in embarrassment with my face burning red. This was the most embarrassing moment I've experienced in a long time. I was now 'weak' in the eyes of 3 hot popular girls. What a horrible way to start my life as a HS student in the USA!
I slowed down as I got closer to my next classroom. I didn't even remember what class I was about to have. I only remembered the number of the classroom somehow. I entered it and took a seat. Not many empty ones left, so I sat down next to this blonde guy with freckles on his face who wore a short sleeved red jersey and a blue shirt underneath it. The teacher entered the classroom and class began. It looked like it was geography class.
Some minutes later I noticed a strange presence in the corner of my eye. I turned my head and noticed something pink on the blonde guy's shoulder… was that a rat?!
The blonde guy noticed me looking at the big rodent. "Oh, that's just Rufus!" he smiled. "He's harmless."
"Rufus?" I blinked. "What kind of animal is he?"
"Oh, he's a naked mole rat!" the blonde guy said it excitedly. He seemed to really care about his pet. But why bring a pet rat to school of all places?!
"By the way, Ron Stoppable is the name!" He pointed his thumb at himself.
"Rafael" I told him my name.
"Rafael… like the ninja turtle! Where are you from?"
"Portugal."
"Oh, cool. How long have you been here in Middleton?" he asked filled with curiosity to know more about me.
"Just a week." I shrugged.
"Ah so you're pretty new to the States." he realised. "Must be a huge change from back home, no?" he smiled softly now.
"Yeah, a bit. Hard to say how I feel so far, really…" I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Well, don't worry about it. We're friendly here in Middleton." he said reassuringly.
Class went on without anything noteworthy happening. The geography teacher was an older woman who seemed close to retirement and didn't have much energy left in her. Therefore, the class was a bit boring and a lot of my classmates barely paid attention to it and chatted with their classmates instead. The teacher didn't seem to care much. She looked like the type of teacher that was not very authoritative compared to Barkin, for example.
The bell rang and Ron asked me if I wanted to hang out with him during break. I shrugged and accepted it. He seemed nice and harmless. It looked like I've made my first friend at Middleton High!
We left the classroom and Ron suddenly asked me something. "Hey, didn't I see you in history class earlier today as well?"
"Oh? You have history with Barkin too?" I raised my eyebrow, not remembering Ron from the previous class I had.
"Yeah, he's the worst!" he threw his hands in the air.
"Oh?" I blinked and looked at Ron a bit concerned. Barkin indeed came across as a strict teacher, but was he really that bad?
"He gives me flack constantly!" Ron covered his eyes "It's like his job is to instill fear in my heart" and let out a sigh in defeat.
"Ah, that kind of teacher…" I rolled my eyes. "I hate those too."
"I know, right!" Ron nodded. "Trust me, Rafael. You don't want to get on his bad side." he warned me and I nodded understandingly.
"Yeah, he seems tough." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Anyway, tell me more about yourself, dude." Ron changed the subject to something more pleasant.
"Well, I like video games, anime, wrestling and heavy metal." I summed it up for him.
"Video games and wrestling? BOO-YAH!" he punched the air in excitement. "I'm a big fan of those myself too!"
"Cool!" I smiled.
"What kind of games are you into?" he asked, very eager to hear my answer.
"Oh, so many. Mostly Nintendo, Sega and Capcom games. I have a GameCube instead of an Xbox or a PS2, for example. I also have a Game Boy Advance." I added.
"Ah, I have a GBA too! Not a GameCube, though. I got the PS2 instead. What do you play on the GBA?"
"I don't have that many games for the GBA since it's not my primary system, so I basically have Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, Pokémon Ruby, Mario Kart Super Circuit, F-Zero Maximum Velocity, Super Mario Advance 2, Warioware Inc Mega Microgame$, Golden Sun and Super Mario Advance 4." I looked up in the air as I listed all my GBA games off the top of my head.
"Nice little collection." Ron flashed me a thumbs up. "I have Pokémon, Warioware and Mario Kart too! Who's your starter in Pokémon Ruby?"
"Torchic. Yours?"
"Treecko" he pointed his thumb at himself and flashed a cocky smile. "He's my spirit animal."
"You mean your spirit Pokémon." I chuckled.
"Whatever." Ron chuckled too.
We kept on chatting as we walked down the school halls when suddenly someone ran in our direction. It was… the pretty red headed cheerleader! Why was she running in our direction?
"Ron!" she waved. Wait, she knew Ron?!
"KP!" Ron waved back at her. KP, he said? What did that stand for?
The redhead stopped in front of us and began talking to Ron. Not only did they know each other, but they seemed to be pretty close friends. They were incredibly comfortable with each other and shared a lot of inside references and jokes, it sounded. I just stood there stunned and looking like a deer in headlights. How did Ron, a fellow geek like myself, manage to chat with a popular hot girl like this red headed cheerleader?! And how did he not feel nervous and intimidated at all? And why did she even give him the time of the day? I thought girls like that wouldn't be caught dead talking to guys like Ron.
The redhead looked at me now and Ron smiled. "Oh, right, KP, this is my newest buddy, Rafael. He's new in Middleton and moved recently from Europe."
The redhead looked at me and smirked. "You're the guy who watched our cheerleading practice earlier today, aren't you?"
I blushed a bit at her question and looked away from her, since I was too embarrassed by the fact I ran away from them.
"I'm Kim Possible. Teen hero." She introduced herself. "Nice to meet you."
I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, and my silence became a bit awkward. Ron nudged me with his elbow slightly. "You ok, man?" he asked, a bit worried. I nodded slightly but didn't open my mouth.
"You're a shy one, aren't you?" Kim smiles.
I lowered my head a bit and blushed slightly.
"Don't worry, Rafael. KP and I aren't going to hurt you." Ron placed a hand on my shoulder.
"So, which European country are you from, Rafael?" Kim asked.
"Portugal…" I answered her with a low timid voice.
"How nice! Welcome to Middleton!" she smiled. "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me or Ron."
The bell rang and we had to finish our conversation. Also, what did Kim mean by calling herself a teen hero? Was that slang for something here in the USA? Having said that, she did seem nicer than I expected a girl like her to be. But I didn't really know her yet, so I was still a bit wary. I didn't expect her to physically hurt me or anything like that, though. As for other students, I hoped none would bully me. I've been through that in the past and I didn't want to go through such pain ever again. How would I deal with it if someone tried to bully me, though? I had some ideas up my sleeve, but hopefully I'd never need to resort to them…
I had been in this country for only a week so far and everything was still new to me. It's one thing to visit a foreign country as a tourist, which is something I've always loved to do. But to move to one and attend school in it to boot? That's a whole new layer of complexities and troubles to teenage life. Especially to a kid like me who's always been shy, awkward and has experienced bullying in the past. Not only would I be the new kid in school this time, but also the foreign kid with a funny accent, I bet. Plus, my mother was also going to teach in this school. So could you blame me for being highly anxious?!
We moved all the way from Portugal to the USA, more specifically to Middleton, Colorado. It's not as big as Lisbon, but it's also not a small city per se. It's part of what's called the tri-city area in the state of Colorado alongside Denver and Colorado Springs. Middleton is the smallest of the 3 cities, with a population of around 250000 inhabitants. Not a megalopolis by any means, but it would be a large city back in Portugal. Now, why did we move from Portugal to the USA? My mother got a job as a school teacher at Middleton High, so therefore she had to move and so did I. Also, why was I attending the same school she's going to work at? Because I'm 15 years old and have to attend school, it's not like I have a choice, and it wouldn't make sense for me to attend a much further away HS from the one my mother will be teaching at. So, I was doomed ever since my mother got greenlighted to teach at Middleton High, pretty much.
I was sitting on the living room sofa. The house we moved to here in Middleton was pretty nice. It had a small yard and a fence and everything. Outside it was white and had a dark grey/almost black roof. I kept staring at the TV even though it was turned off. You might be wondering why I was not trying to enjoy my last hours of freedom before going back to school, which was a fair question to make, truth be told. But, the thing is, I was an anxious guy, and when I dreaded something that's nearby, I basically became paralysed and found myself unable to do anything but sit down or lie down and overthink about it as the clock kept on ticking.
"Rafael?" my mother entered the living room. "Here you are." She stood to the side of the sofa.
"Need anything, mum?" I asked with a neutral expression, even though I had a feeling I knew what the kind of subject she's going to broach was.
"I just want to know how you're doing." She smiled softly.
"Oh… I'm alright, I guess" I scratched the back of my head.
"I don't want you to be nervous, dear. It's going to be fine." She tried to reassure me.
"I mean, it was just so fast, you know?" I sighed. "Moving from Portugal all the way to here and we've only been here for a week so far."
"I know." She sat down next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "But I'm sure you will adapt quickly, dear. You're a smart and strong boy."
"I'm just scared of this new environment, you know?" I lowered my head nervously.
"I know you've been through a lot, dear. But moving abroad can be the perfect opportunity for you to start over. And remember, we're in this together. I'll be working in Middleton High as well, so if you ever need my help don't hesitate to reach me, OK?" she smiled softly.
"I guess… but the USA? Why couldn't you pick a fellow European country to move to? There's English speaking countries in Europe too, like Ireland and the UK…" I look at my mother dryly.
"Well, Middleton High offered me a job. No school in Ireland or the UK did" she chuckled.
"The USA is so different from Europe as a whole, though…" I said tiredly.
"I know, dear. But perhaps we should take this as a learning opportunity." She ruffled my hair slightly. "Did you put everything in your backpack yet?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Have you seen the copy of your schedule yet? I left it on your room's desk the other day." she asked.
"Yeah, I have. Don't worry, I won't go in blind on my very first day." I reassured her.
"Good." she smirked. "Just wanted to make sure."
My mother stood up and told me she's going to start preparing dinner for later today. And also suggested I turn on the TV or play some video games to unwind. She did warn me not to start a new story-driven sort of game, however, since summer break ended tonight, naturally. I just turned on my Nintendo GameCube and played some Super Smash Bros. Melee until dinner. I loved this game!
Later that day, we ate some chicken, rice and vegetables for dinner and then, around 22h00, my mother told me I better go to bed. School started early tomorrow, at 8h00. Ouch! I didn't have any fight in me today, so I nodded and walked up to my bedroom, changed and slid between my bedsheets, turned the light off and looked at the ceiling for nearly an hour. I couldn't sleep due to my nerves. I kept turning in bed trying to find the best position to sleep. The last time I had been this nervous the night before a new school year was in 7th grade or something. I was now 15 and about to start 10th grade tomorrow and yet I was still a little kid, it seemed. Even though I was now about 175cm tall, going through puberty and only 3 years away from legally becoming an adult. Teenage years are so weird and lousy.
As I eventually fell asleep, I had rather intense and fast paced incoherent dreams like I usually do when I'm highly anxious or excited about something or when I'm ill. Unfortunately, I was not ill, so no chance of skipping school tomorrow… rats!
I suddenly found myself walking through a huge city that I didn't know, with wide plazas, tall buildings, large hotels and shopping malls and a never-ending metro system. Somehow my legs took me places automatically. Destination? Unknown. Suddenly I felt someone shaking my arm but didn't see anyone touching it?!
"Rafael! Wake up!" a voice told me. I looked around and it didn't seem to belong to any of the faceless people in the crowd walking around me.
"Wake up! Time for school!" I heard it again… mum?!
And then, suddenly my eyesight went blind and I stared at the back of my eyelids for a few seconds until I was able to open my eyes and feel my mother gently rocking my upper body in bed with her hands. It looked like it's morning already and time to get up and go to school on my first day.
"Good morning, dear!" Mum smiled softly at me. "Time to get up."
I slowly sat-up in my bed and rubbed my eyes. I still felt a little tired and sleepy. I let out a deep sigh and my mother gently tapped me in the back trying to give me strength and courage for me to get up and face the beginning of the school year in this foreign land. I stood up and walked to the bathroom to take my morning shower. It didn't take too long, but I washed properly. Then, I brushed my teeth and gargled. And then, I went back to my room and got dressed. Here in the USA, the school year started earlier than in Portugal. So, the weather was still hot since we were still in summer. We were in late August, for crying out loud! Therefore, I just put on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and sneakers. The t-shirt I was wearing today? My Slayer t-shirt. Might as well look badass on my first day of school!
I climbed down the stairwell and entered the kitchen to join my mother for breakfast. She was reading a newspaper while she drank her coffee mug. I took a seat and had a ham and cheese sandwich and a strawberry yoghurt in front of me waiting to get opened. I didn't waste time and ate my breakfast silently. As I finished eating my sandwich and my yoghurt and my mother finished drinking her coffee, she folded her newspaper and told me it was time to go. So, we headed to the garage and entered her car. She took the driver's seat, obviously, and I sat in the back. Sadly, public transportation in the USA was rudimentary in most places, so it was not feasible for me to take any form of public transportation to and from school. I was going to have to rely on my mother giving me rides. As suffocating as it was that she's working at the same school I was attending! It sucked having no choice. And school was a bit far from home to walk to every morning and Americans didn't build their cities for walking, but for driving around. Strange people…
Throughout the 30-minute car ride, I admired the scenery of Middleton's suburbs and the closer we got to the city centre. Lots of green areas, trees, nice houses and a sense of peace. It did seem like a nice and peaceful city overall. Then, we finally got to Middleton High. Mum drived to the parking lot to park the car, and when she's done parking it, she looked at me.
"Ready, dear?" She smiled softly at me.
"Do I have a choice?" I shrugged.
She chuckled. "I mean, do you feel nervous?"
"Don't think so, no…" I lowered my head as I answered her without sounding very convincing.
"You can get out. I'll get out of the car a bit later. I might as well let you walk to the school entrance alone on your first day in order to let you get used to it" she smiled softly.
"Oh…" I was a bit surprised at her statement. She was giving me some privacy and not letting every kid in school know from the first minute I stepped in Middleton High that I was the son of a teacher. That was surprisingly comforting from her. I nodded, opened the car door, took a quick look around the school parking lot, shut the door gently, took a deep breath, and walked to the school entrance.
Once I stepped inside Middleton High, I felt a bit overwhelmed. So many students! And the halls were long and wide too. So, this was an American high school… It was just like in the movies. So many kids were walking around and none seemed to notice me. I guess the school was so large that people couldn't easily tell who's new at first glance or something. I took out a small paper with the number of my locker. I was a bit excited since I never had a locker back home. Why did American schools have lockers, anyway? I needed my books and notebooks to take home with me to study and do homework. Were they meant to just store valuables to avoid them getting lost or stolen? Most likely. Anyway, I got to my locker and it was rather spacy. I put a lock on it and now I needed to pick a combination for it. I input 3-1-6, as in 'Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass' hehehe!
I just put my lunchbox in my locker. No point in carrying it around throughout the day. Now, I had to head to my first class of the day. I checked my schedule and it said I started with history in classroom nr. 40. I walked around the school looking for it and found it just a few minutes before the bell rang. Once it did, other students began entering the classroom and I followed suit. I sat in the back in order to go incognito. Plus, my eyesight was good and I was taller than average, so I didn't need to sit in the front rows. A few of my classmates were chatting as they waited for the teacher to arrive in the classroom. They either didn't notice my presence or didn't seem bothered by it, even if they didn't recognise me. Not even my Slayer t-shirt seemed to draw their attention, which led me to think they didn't even know the band or anything about heavy metal music. Plebeians!
I double checked my schedule to see if I was in the right place, and I was indeed. I did notice classes were only 1 hour long here, while back in Portugal they're usually 90 minutes long. It looked like the USA kept a similar runtime for classes to Portugal before the 2001/2002 school year. On the other hand, I noticed lunch break was only 30 minutes long, yikes!
A couple of minutes after the bell rang, the teacher entered the classroom. He was a tall, burly man with a big chin and short dark brown hair. He had a stern look on his face and wore a brown blazer and a black tie.
"Okay people LISTEN UP!" he commanded, and the whole classroom went quiet in their seats. "As some of you might not know yet, my name is Steven Barkin and I am your history teacher for this year and also am still Middleton High's football team coach in case any of you would like to try out for the football team this season!" He explained it loudly and authoritatively. "This year, in history, we'll learn about various topics such as the democratic revolutions, the industrial revolution, the rise of European imperialism and colonialism, WW1, the Great Depression and WW2."
Well, at least it was going to be an interesting curriculum! But this teacher sounded like he was pretty strict. And that could easily kill any student's enthusiasm for a class, no matter how interesting the subject matter might be. Barkin then began taking attendance, calling each student's name one by one in alphabetical order. We must raise our hand and say 'here' as he called our names. When he reached my turn, he mispronounced my name but I just raised my hand and didn't bother correcting him.
"You're an exchange student, right?" he asked me.
"Yes…" I nodded a bit shyly. I could now feel the whole classroom's eyes on me.
"What country are you from?" He raised his eyebrow.
"Portugal…" I replied short and quick.
"Well, welcome to the United States" he smirked. "If you have any questions don't hesitate in asking me, OK?"
I nodded and he resumed the attendance call. It looked like this Barkin fellow was not so bad after all? But I could tell he was a demanding teacher and I better make a good effort in his class.
The class went on normally. No one misbehaved and Barkin didn't yell at anyone either, fortunately. He just started telling us about the American and French Revolutions, mostly focusing on the American one. I had already learned about them back in 7th or 8th grade, so this was nothing new to me and it was easy to keep up with the material.
The bell rang at 9h00 and I had a 10-minute break until my next class. I left the classroom and didn't know where to go. After all, I didn't know any other kids yet so I could not hang out with anyone during break. I decided to explore the school a bit more and walk down the hallways. I reached two large doors eventually at the end of a hallway. They were ajar, so I took a peek in and it looked like they led to the school's gym. No class seemed to be ongoing, so I stepped in. The school gym had a basketball court, a volleyball court, bleachers and… I saw some people practicing something, but no teacher around? I walked a bit closer and saw a group of girls wearing colourful outfits that showed a significant amount of skin, exposing the girl's midriffs and showing off their legs. They seemed to be practicing some strange dance moves, and then it dawned on me… these were cheerleaders like the ones I saw in American movies! And they were practicing their routine at the moment. I took a seat on the bleachers and watched them for a bit. Taking a better look at them now, they wore purple outfits with a bit of orange and yellow as well. As for the cheerleaders themselves, they were all very physically attractive. They were all thin and in shape and had pretty faces.
They seemed to have a leader or captain, or whatever they're called. It was this stunning redhead with green eyes and smooth pale skin. It was hard to keep my eyes off her legs. She seemed to be guiding the other cheerleaders with her commands and they all seemed to respect her and do as she says. They then did something that looked like a human pyramid of some sort, with the gorgeous redhead standing on top of the other girls.
The practice seemed to be over and the girls were now chatting and giggling between themselves. I couldn't really make out what they're saying. Not that it mattered, really. Suddenly, one of the girls seemed to be walking in my direction. She had wavy sunny yellow, long blonde hair, blue eyes, a slender build, pretty face and nice legs. She was now standing in front of me and looked me in the eyes curiously.
"Enjoying the show?" she smiled as she cocked her head slightly to the side.
I just blinked fast, stunned at this smoking hot girl being so close to me and coming over to talk to me. That was not something I've ever truly experienced before.
"Cat got your tongue?" she giggled. "Don't worry. I don't bite." she smiled at me and I blush slightly, still unable to speak.
"Tara? What are you doing?" a voice came from behind the blonde and then another cheerleader showed up. This one was a tanned brunette with shoulder length hair in a shag cut, a slender albeit curvier body and with eyes that were either blue or green, I couldn't really tell. Regardless, they were gorgeous and hypnotic as much as their owner was. The brunette glanced at me. She had a strange aura to her. She emanated a more snobbish and intimidating energy than the blonde. Even though she was smirking at me, she came across as smug.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" she raised her eyebrow as she maintained her smirk.
"He was watching us practice, Bonnie." the blonde told her.
"Oh, really?" Bonnie's smirk widened. "Liked what you saw, boy?"
"Hum… it was cool…" I stuttered a bit embarrassed.
"He's so cute!" Tara giggled and I blushed again.
"Anyway" Bonnie cleared her throat "I don't recognise your face." She looked at me as if she was studying me. "Are you new in Middleton High?"
"Yeah…" I nodded a bit hesitantly.
"I knew it!" Bonnie put her hands on her hips triumphantly. "What's your name, new guy?" she asked with a sense of confidence that came more across as arrogance than self-confidence, but maybe I was just reading too much into it.
"Rafael." I replied curtly.
"Rafael?" Both girls blinked and exchanged glances. "That's an uncommon name." Bonnie raised her eyebrow.
"Where are you from?" Tara put her hands on her knees and bent over, her face now being close to mine, making me even more nervous.
"P-P-Portugal" I stuttered and sweat slowly dropped down my forehead.
The girls' eyes opened wide. "Oh, interesting!" Tara exclaimed. "How did you end up here in Middleton of all places in the US?" Bonnie asked me filled with curiosity.
I swallowed and prepared to answer them. I was not going to tell them the crucial detail of my mother getting a teaching job at Middleton High. That would automatically make me lame in front of two smoking hot babes. So, I decided to just tell them a half-truth. "Had to move here due to my parents getting a job in this city." I explained and hoped they were unable to tell I was withholding something more from them.
"Ah, makes sense." Bonnie nodded. It looked like that answer was good enough for her. Phew!
"Your accent is pretty cool!" Tara smiled at me.
"It is?!" I was surprised.
"Totally!" she nodded energetically.
I blushed yet again. Jesus, I'm dying here!
"What are you two up to?" another voice came from behind them, and suddenly another one of the cheerleaders cut between Tara and Bonnie. And it was none other than the gorgeous redhead who seemed to be their leader! She stared at me with an extremely confident aura that made me feel very self-conscious and insecure about myself. This was the type of girl that's the alpha female of her social group. A girl so popular and so hot that I'd never be able to get anywhere near her, since she'd just think of me as a lame loser geek. I felt paralysed as she stared at me and studied me, definitely judging me harshly even without speaking a single word or displaying any betraying facial expressions.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
The bell rang. I automatically jolted up from my seat and ran away out of the school gym in embarrassment with my face burning red. This was the most embarrassing moment I've experienced in a long time. I was now 'weak' in the eyes of 3 hot popular girls. What a horrible way to start my life as a HS student in the USA!
I slowed down as I got closer to my next classroom. I didn't even remember what class I was about to have. I only remembered the number of the classroom somehow. I entered it and took a seat. Not many empty ones left, so I sat down next to this blonde guy with freckles on his face who wore a short sleeved red jersey and a blue shirt underneath it. The teacher entered the classroom and class began. It looked like it was geography class.
Some minutes later I noticed a strange presence in the corner of my eye. I turned my head and noticed something pink on the blonde guy's shoulder… was that a rat?!
The blonde guy noticed me looking at the big rodent. "Oh, that's just Rufus!" he smiled. "He's harmless."
"Rufus?" I blinked. "What kind of animal is he?"
"Oh, he's a naked mole rat!" the blonde guy said it excitedly. He seemed to really care about his pet. But why bring a pet rat to school of all places?!
"By the way, Ron Stoppable is the name!" He pointed his thumb at himself.
"Rafael" I told him my name.
"Rafael… like the ninja turtle! Where are you from?"
"Portugal."
"Oh, cool. How long have you been here in Middleton?" he asked filled with curiosity to know more about me.
"Just a week." I shrugged.
"Ah so you're pretty new to the States." he realised. "Must be a huge change from back home, no?" he smiled softly now.
"Yeah, a bit. Hard to say how I feel so far, really…" I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Well, don't worry about it. We're friendly here in Middleton." he said reassuringly.
Class went on without anything noteworthy happening. The geography teacher was an older woman who seemed close to retirement and didn't have much energy left in her. Therefore, the class was a bit boring and a lot of my classmates barely paid attention to it and chatted with their classmates instead. The teacher didn't seem to care much. She looked like the type of teacher that was not very authoritative compared to Barkin, for example.
The bell rang and Ron asked me if I wanted to hang out with him during break. I shrugged and accepted it. He seemed nice and harmless. It looked like I've made my first friend at Middleton High!
We left the classroom and Ron suddenly asked me something. "Hey, didn't I see you in history class earlier today as well?"
"Oh? You have history with Barkin too?" I raised my eyebrow, not remembering Ron from the previous class I had.
"Yeah, he's the worst!" he threw his hands in the air.
"Oh?" I blinked and looked at Ron a bit concerned. Barkin indeed came across as a strict teacher, but was he really that bad?
"He gives me flack constantly!" Ron covered his eyes "It's like his job is to instill fear in my heart" and let out a sigh in defeat.
"Ah, that kind of teacher…" I rolled my eyes. "I hate those too."
"I know, right!" Ron nodded. "Trust me, Rafael. You don't want to get on his bad side." he warned me and I nodded understandingly.
"Yeah, he seems tough." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Anyway, tell me more about yourself, dude." Ron changed the subject to something more pleasant.
"Well, I like video games, anime, wrestling and heavy metal." I summed it up for him.
"Video games and wrestling? BOO-YAH!" he punched the air in excitement. "I'm a big fan of those myself too!"
"Cool!" I smiled.
"What kind of games are you into?" he asked, very eager to hear my answer.
"Oh, so many. Mostly Nintendo, Sega and Capcom games. I have a GameCube instead of an Xbox or a PS2, for example. I also have a Game Boy Advance." I added.
"Ah, I have a GBA too! Not a GameCube, though. I got the PS2 instead. What do you play on the GBA?"
"I don't have that many games for the GBA since it's not my primary system, so I basically have Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, Pokémon Ruby, Mario Kart Super Circuit, F-Zero Maximum Velocity, Super Mario Advance 2, Warioware Inc Mega Microgame$, Golden Sun and Super Mario Advance 4." I looked up in the air as I listed all my GBA games off the top of my head.
"Nice little collection." Ron flashed me a thumbs up. "I have Pokémon, Warioware and Mario Kart too! Who's your starter in Pokémon Ruby?"
"Torchic. Yours?"
"Treecko" he pointed his thumb at himself and flashed a cocky smile. "He's my spirit animal."
"You mean your spirit Pokémon." I chuckled.
"Whatever." Ron chuckled too.
We kept on chatting as we walked down the school halls when suddenly someone ran in our direction. It was… the pretty red headed cheerleader! Why was she running in our direction?
"Ron!" she waved. Wait, she knew Ron?!
"KP!" Ron waved back at her. KP, he said? What did that stand for?
The redhead stopped in front of us and began talking to Ron. Not only did they know each other, but they seemed to be pretty close friends. They were incredibly comfortable with each other and shared a lot of inside references and jokes, it sounded. I just stood there stunned and looking like a deer in headlights. How did Ron, a fellow geek like myself, manage to chat with a popular hot girl like this red headed cheerleader?! And how did he not feel nervous and intimidated at all? And why did she even give him the time of the day? I thought girls like that wouldn't be caught dead talking to guys like Ron.
The redhead looked at me now and Ron smiled. "Oh, right, KP, this is my newest buddy, Rafael. He's new in Middleton and moved recently from Europe."
The redhead looked at me and smirked. "You're the guy who watched our cheerleading practice earlier today, aren't you?"
I blushed a bit at her question and looked away from her, since I was too embarrassed by the fact I ran away from them.
"I'm Kim Possible. Teen hero." She introduced herself. "Nice to meet you."
I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, and my silence became a bit awkward. Ron nudged me with his elbow slightly. "You ok, man?" he asked, a bit worried. I nodded slightly but didn't open my mouth.
"You're a shy one, aren't you?" Kim smiles.
I lowered my head a bit and blushed slightly.
"Don't worry, Rafael. KP and I aren't going to hurt you." Ron placed a hand on my shoulder.
"So, which European country are you from, Rafael?" Kim asked.
"Portugal…" I answered her with a low timid voice.
"How nice! Welcome to Middleton!" she smiled. "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me or Ron."
The bell rang and we had to finish our conversation. Also, what did Kim mean by calling herself a teen hero? Was that slang for something here in the USA? Having said that, she did seem nicer than I expected a girl like her to be. But I didn't really know her yet, so I was still a bit wary. I didn't expect her to physically hurt me or anything like that, though. As for other students, I hoped none would bully me. I've been through that in the past and I didn't want to go through such pain ever again. How would I deal with it if someone tried to bully me, though? I had some ideas up my sleeve, but hopefully I'd never need to resort to them…
Student President Election
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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Today, I started my school day with English literature class. And it was the class my mother teaches. Back in Portugal, it's not legal for teachers to teach their own kids in public schools, but it looked like it was here in the USA, or at least here in the state of Colorado. This was really strange since I never had my mother as my teacher. Now, you might be wondering why a Portuguese woman was teaching English Literature in an American high school? Well, my mother was an English teacher back in Portugal, so she had a very good command of the language, barely had an accent and also loved reading. She knew all about the more well-known English literature authors from the USA, the UK and Ireland. Her personal hero being Oscar Wilde.
While going through the attendance call, I think everyone noticed my mother and I shared the same last name and came from the same country, so the cat was pretty much out of the bag. If this wasn't the most awkward and embarrassing moment in my entire life, then it was definitely in the top 3.
The class was… unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was so odd to have your own mother teaching you a class and you needing to separate both the fact she's your parent and your teacher. Plus, you had to call her Mrs. Last Name. So strange.
You could hear a pin drop during the class, since she knew how to command respect and make her students listen to her voice. No one dared to disrespect her.
After the bell rang, it was time for lunch. I picked up my lunchbox from my locker and felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and it was Ron.
"Hey, dude, come sit with me and Kim at lunch." he smiled as he invited me to have lunch with him and Kim Possible. I slowly nodded. Seemed perfectly innocuous.
We went to the school cafeteria and sat down across from Kim.
"So, Rafael…" Kim was definitely going to ask me something, and I had a feeling I knew what it was. I looked up at her, waiting for her to proceed.
"Our English Lit teacher… she's your mum, right?" and there it was, folks.
"Yeah…" I rolled my eyes.
"Woah, what?!" Ron gasped. I guess he was a little clueless and not just a bit of a goofball.
"Look, I'm just trying to have a normal HS experience, OK?!" I acted defensively.
"I guess it must be kind of awkward." Kim smiled sympathetically.
Oh, you had no idea, Kim! It was really awkward and embarrassing. But I couldn't overtly show it or else other kids might pick up on it and tease me for it.
"If we're your friends, will we get better grades?" Ron joked.
"RON!" Kim cried. "That's low!"
"Yo, chill, KP!" Ron waved his hands defensively. "I'm just messing."
"Let's change the subject, OK?!" I asked a bit firmly. Both Kim and Ron were a bit surprised by my borderline outburst, but they nodded and decided to honour my request.
"Sorry. Didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Kim smiled.
I opened my lunchbox and took out my homemade lunch. My mother made me some pastéis de bacalhau with rice and salad for today. Pastéis de bacalhau would be literally translated as codfish pastries, I guess. They're not sweet, mind you, but salty. Rufus stared at them intensely. I better watch out.
"Don't steal Rafael's food, Rufus!" Ron chuckled as he lectured his naked mole rat pet.
"Is that fish?" Kim asked.
"Yes, cod, to be more precise." I nodded.
We all ate our respective lunches and, a few minutes later, we got interrupted by one of Kim's cheerleader squad members. It was the hot tanned brunette with shoulder length hair. Bonnie was her name, if I remember correctly. Kim seemed to tense up a bit as Bonnie approached our table, for some reason. Or maybe it was just my impression.
"Hey, Kim." Bonnie smirked smugly.
"Hey, Bonnie." Kim replied with a slight frown on her face.
"I see you're hanging out with the new kid." Bonnie glanced at me quickly.
"So?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"What, are you trying to kiss up to our English Lit teacher by befriending her son or something?" Bonnie chuckled.
"So not the truth!" Kim shook her head. "Not everyone likes to use people, you know." and folded her arms.
"Yeah, Rafael is a cool dude. He's into games and wrestling like me, too!" Ron smiled.
"Oh, so he's just another dork." Bonnie rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "Why couldn't we get a foreign hottie this time like when we got Hirotaka and Wally?"
I couldn't help it but feel a bit hurt by Bonnie's comments. To have such a hot girl tear me down like this didn't do any good to my already low self-esteem.
"Anyway" Bonnie leaned in closer to Kim now. "Remember that elections for school president are coming soon. I've heard you're thinking of running, K." Smirked.
"Yes, I am. Why?" Kim raised her eyebrow in suspicion.
"Well, I think Middleton High deserves a better president than someone who's always away on missions saving the world, don't you think?" Bonnie flashed a smug grin at Kim.
"Really?" Kim stood up. "And who might that be?"
"Why, me, duh!" Bonnie touched her chest proudly with the palm of her hand.
"Is that so?" Kim slightly clenched her jaw.
"Prepare to get embarrassed before the whole school, Kim" Bonnie's nose practically touched Kim's as she challenged her with a determined look on her face.
"As if I'm going to lose to you!" Kim bit back.
"You'll see." Bonnie walked away with a smug smirk and tossed her hair behind.
"UGH!" Kim clenched her fists. "That girl is always trying to one-up me!"
"Don't worry, KP. You can easily beat Bonnie." Ron reassured her.
"I mean, isn't Kim the most popular girl in school?" I asked while scratching my head.
"Not exactly…" Kim sighed. "I'm popular, yes, but there's some people higher on the food chain than me. Mostly seniors and jocks. And Bonnie rivals me in popularity, as much as it pains me to admit it."
"Oh…" I took a final bite of my lunch and finished my water as I tried to process that information.
"When are the elections?" Ron asked.
"In 2 weeks. I have 2 weeks to prepare." Kim said. "I'm having posters and fliers being printed with my face on them as we speak." Smirked proudly.
"What exactly does the school president do?" I asked, a bit lost.
"Oh, he or she is basically the spokesperson for the school's entire student body." Kim began explaining it to me. "Also, they're responsible for giving ideas about future school events and help organising them as well. Events such as dances, parties, fundraisers, etc."
"And I can't think of anyone better than KP to do it!" Ron punched his palm enthusiastically and Rufus nodded in agreement.
"That sounds like a lot of work and responsibility." I shuddered slightly.
"It is." Kim nodded. "But I'm a very type-A kind of person."
It looked like the next couple of weeks of Middleton High would be interesting with the election campaign for school president. The battle between Kim and Bonnie might divide the school. Hopefully neither party would go overboard and take it down a nasty personal road. That wouldn't be good for anyone.
As I arrived at Middleton High the next day, I started seeing posters and fliers everywhere for both Kim and Bonnie. Anywhere you went in school and you saw their faces accompanied by 'VOTE KIM' and 'VOTE BONNIE' under their respective faces. I guess it was not a bad sight to have two of the prettiest faces in school plastered all over Middleton. I sure didn't mind and a lot of other guys most likely felt the same way, too. And I guess a lot of the votes each girl would get would not be based on their personalities or platforms but on their looks instead. Who was I going to vote for? Eh, I hadn't thought about it. Perhaps I'd just abstain. I didn't want to take part in this battle of egos. Politics weren't really my thing.
"Vote for Bonnie Rockwaller!" a girl handed me a flier with Bonnie's face on it. I accepted it automatically without remembering to say 'no, thank you'. I guess I could always toss it in the rubbish sometime later, but I might as well open it and read Bonnie's platform. As I opened it, I saw a few pictures of Bonnie posing with her cheerleader friends, some popular seniors and jocks. She didn't seem to add any particular substance in her platform for school president. She just promised more parties and a yearly fashion event, it seemed. Didn't look very appealing…
A bit later, I walked into Ron who was standing by a table stacked with brochures on top of it. He handed one over to me. "Hey, bud! Don't forget to vote for Kim!" Well, naturally, I couldn't refuse this one. It would be a rude thing to do to a friend. I opened it in front of him and Kim seemed to have a more detailed platform she was running on for school president. She promised a more transparent and efficient handling of student council funds in order for the school to organise better and more interesting events and to also have some spare funds left for higher school club funding and also the creation of more extracurricular activities. And also, more involvement from the students to improve their day-to-day school life, with the creation of a suggestion box. Kim was running on being an open president who listened to her fellow students' concerns and ideas.
"Oh, this is a good platform to run on." I nodded as I read it.
"I couldn't agree more, buddy!" Ron smiled. "KP will make a great president!"
"Have you read Bonnie's platform yet?" I asked him, curious about his take on it.
"Oh yeah, it's so lazy. A yearly fashion event, really?" he rolled his eyes. "Boring."
Later that day, Kim told us how confident she was feeling about her chances so far, when suddenly we noticed a commotion down the hall. As the crowd approached us, we saw Bonnie being accompanied by Brick Flagg, the school's American football team quarterback and a few of the cheerleaders.
"Oh my God! Bonnie is so cool and popular! I'm totally gonna vote for her!" one random girl said it excitedly as she marveled at the sight of Brick and the cheerleaders walking next to Bonnie.
"I know, right! Much cooler than Kim who only has her dorky friend, Ron!" another random girl added. I could feel Ron wincing at that comment even without looking at him. That's gotta hurt, ouch.
"And that weird foreign kid who hangs out with them a lot lately?" a random guy spoke about me now. "Who even listens to heavy metal these days?!" And he and the two girls laughed.
As the commotion walked away, the three of us were left looking at each other in low spirits.
"This is not going to be easy." Kim frowned.
"KP, you need to step your game up." Ron told her.
"Pfft, people who don't like heavy metal have no taste!" I protested, offended at that random guy's comment about me.
"This is so not fair!" Kim threw her arms in the air exasperated. "Bonnie's platform is so barebones compared to mine!"
"But she has Brick Flagg and cheerleaders endorsing her." Ron raised his index finger. "In HS, that's what truly gets you far in this kind of stuff."
"Yeah, I know." Kim frowned again. "It's all about the top of the food chain."
"Hey, you got your friends, KP! That's what counts, right?" Ron placed a hand on Kim's shoulder.
"Riiiight…" Kim nodded and smiled nervously.
A few days passed, and the campaign was going stronger and stronger. Kim now was showing off pictures of herself with a few handsome popular guys and hot popular girls. What?!
I went to find Kim during my first break of the day and found her chatting with several other students. I tried to cut in to get a word with her but I was unable to.
"Buzz off, pal! We're talking to Kim Possible here!" one random tall guy cried at me.
"Yeah, shoo!" One random girl in yoga pants waved her hand with a gesture that told me to go away.
Frustrated, I sighed and walked away with my head down. Kim probably didn't even notice me.
At lunch, I sat alone with Ron. Kim seemed to be having lunch with a larger group of people on the other side of the cafeteria.
"What's with Kim?" I asked Ron with a hint of annoyance in my voice as I pointed my thumb in Kim's direction.
"I don't know! It's like she's trying to emulate Bonnie's tactic of allying herself with hot and popular people to gain more votes!" Ron opened his arms in frustration and Rufus nodded with a sad look on his face.
I didn't like the sound of this one bit. Was Kim putting Ron and I, her friends, aside in exchange for votes?
After the last class of the day, I managed to catch Kim alone and I confronted her about it.
"Kim, why are you ignoring me and Ron today?" I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for her answer.
"I'm busy running my campaign, Rafael." she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, and it looks like you discarded Ron and I for more popular and aesthetically pleasing people." I folded my arms with an annoyed look on my face.
Kim stared at me and let out a deep sigh before justifying herself. "Look, I really want to win these elections, and I need the endorsement of popular people to help me get votes to defeat Bonnie."
"I thought you wanted to make Middleton High a better place and for every student voice to get heard." I frowned, not hiding my disappointment.
"Look, politics are complicated, OK?" Kim explained it, sounding a bit unsure.
"Sounds like you're ashamed of me and Ron, Kim." I shook my head.
"What?!" Kim's eyes opened wide. "That's absurd!" She said with a tone that suggested she found my accusation insulting.
"I guess you're not any different from other attractive and popular girls after all." I sighed.
"Excuse me?!" Kim bristled at my remark. "Are you comparing me to someone like Bonnie?!"
"Not literally, no…" I sighed again. "But you are starting to sound like you're too good to hang out with guys like me and Ron and would rather hang out with the hot and popular crowd just to get some votes."
Kim clenched her fists now. She's clearly offended by my accusations. Perhaps I did say too much…
"That's so not true!" she cried. "I'm not throwing Ron and you under the bus! I just need to win these elections and this is the only way for me to beat Bonnie!" she explained.
"Look, this argument is pointless." I facepalmed. "Have a nice weekend, Kim." I put on my cap and walked out of the school building.
Later that night at home, Kim lied in her bed pondering about the conversation she had with Rafael in school that afternoon. She was a bit confused and unsure. She did concede that she's sort of been avoiding both Ron and Rafael within the last few days, and she did feel a bit bad for it, but on the other hand, she wanted to win the election badly and beat her rival Bonnie, and objectively speaking, Rafael and Ron weren't popular and being in their company during the campaign period would not get her any significant amount of votes, especially ever since Bonnie decided to use popular people for her campaign as well. Kim was just trying to fight with the same strategy.
"What else am I supposed to do? Get myself crushed in the voting booth by my school nemesis?!" Kim sighed in frustration as she vented into her pillow.
The election day was only 48 hours away. Kim arrived at school and was shocked and angered at the sight she saw. A bunch of posters attacking her! "Kim is too busy being a hero", "Kim hangs out with a Nacho-eating guy and his naked mole rat", and also copies of an unflattering photo of Kim when she had a really bad hair day. What made matters worse was the fact today was the big debate between Kim and Bonnie!
Kim furiously took down some of the posters attacking her. She should have known Bonnie would use such immoral tactics to fight Kim during these school elections. But it was still a shock to actually see them.
Other students watched Kim in the school hallways with a mix of curiosity and hesitation. Was Kim really a reliable option for school president? She was indeed often going on her missions with Ron all over the world. And she was also always hanging out with Ron and his naked mole rat, even if she's been hanging out with other more popular people lately, but was it a genuine connection or just Kim trying to obtain more votes? Most students knew Bonnie was fake and not always the nicest girl around, but they knew what she was like and what to count on if she got elected school president. 'The devil you know', as the saying went…
Ron spotted Kim and ran up to her. "KP! Your debate against Bonnie today is very important." he warned her.
"I know, Ron." Kim sighed. "She's sinking so low with these attacks on me…"
"You can't let her win, KP!" Ron clenched his fists in determination and so did Rufus.
"I know!" Kim raised her voice slightly.
"By the way, have you seen Rafael today?" Ron changed the subject now.
"No." Kim shook her head "He and I had a little argument the other day." and frowned slightly.
"Oh?" Ron sounded surprised and looked concerned.
"Look, Ron, I'm sorry I haven't hung out much with the two of you lately. It wasn't my intention to discard you or anything." Kim said apologetically.
"Come on, Kim." Ron smiled reassuringly. "You know you and I go way back and how strong our friendship is."
"True." Kim nodded and smiled weakly. "But Rafael hasn't known me for long and thus we didn't spend enough time yet to get to know each other better and build trust."
"Hey, don't sweat it!" Ron placed a hand on Kim's shoulder. "Rafael is a good guy, but a bit stubborn and proud. I'll talk some sense into him."
"Thanks, Ron. You rock." Kim smiled.
"Now, go prepare yourself for your debate against Bonnie."
Kim nodded with a determined look on her face, seemingly regaining her confidence and competitive drive.
The bell rang and my algebra class was finally over. I hated Maths! I packed in my books and pencil and was one of the first students to leave the classroom. I went to the bathroom to do number 1 quickly, and when I got out, I had Ron waiting for me.
"Wassup, Ron?" I nodded.
"Dude, we need to talk." he said to me with a serious look on his face.
"Something wrong?" I raised my eyebrow warily.
"You were unfair to Kim the other day."
"All I did was tell the truth." *I folded my arms. "Kim has clearly abandoned us to go hang out with the more popular crowd in pursuit of her political ambitions."
"Kim would never do that!" Ron protested, and Rufus nodded.
"Oh yeah?" I rolled my eyes, not buying Ron's argument. "I saw it with my own eyes."
"Look, I know Kim might have made a mistake to get more votes, but that doesn't mean she's abandoned us." Ron tried to convince me.
"Why should I take your word for it, Ron?" I asked dryly.
"What do you mean? You don't believe me?!" Ron sounded a bit taken aback by my words.
"No, silly." I raised my hands defensively. "I just think you're being a little too naïve."
"Look, pal!" Ron pointed his index finger on my chest. "I've known Kim since Pre-K. You have only known her for less than a month."
"Well, maybe that's why I know not to trust her blindly like you do." I added.
"Look, Kim is my best friend, and I won't stand for you talking smack about her, OK?" Ron now seemed to be getting more irritated.
"If you want to remain friends with her, good for you." I sighed. "But if she wins the election and ditches you for more popular and hotter people, don't come telling me I didn't warn you."
"You're way too cynical, dude!" Dude threw his arms in the air in desperation.
"I have my reasons for being so!" I pointed my thumb at my chest.
"You're not always right, and you don't know everything!" Ron cried.
I just let out a deep frustrated sigh. Clearly talking to Ron was like talking to a brick wall. Seeing I didn't have anything else to add, Ron just let out a frustrated growl and walked away.
"Pffft!" …did Rufus just stick his tongue out at me?! I couldn't believe it! It was one thing to have Ron and Kim upset with me, but Rufus? Now, THAT hurts!
Time finally came and the debate between Kim and Bonnie was about to begin. Mr. Barkin acted as the moderator of the debate. The 3 were on stage and most of the audience consisted of Middleton High students, naturally. There was a lot of chatter among the audience.
"Okay people, LISTEN UP!" Mr. Barkin yelled on the microphone, immediately making the audience go quiet in fear. "It's now time for the school president debate between Kim Possible and Bonnie Rockwaller. As you all know, the former president of the student council graduated last school year, so the spot was left vacant and you, Middleton High students, have now the chance to decide between Miss Possible and Miss Rockwaller *pointed his open palms at both girls*. So, let's stop wasting time and start. My first question, ladies, is: What makes you the best choice for student council president?"
Mr. Barkin first looked at Kim. Looks like the first turn to speak was hers.
"Well," Kim cleared her throat. "I believe in making our school better for everyone. And the best way to ensure that starts by a more efficient and transparent handling of school funds. Then, we can have a good mix of activities for everyone. Parties, events, increased funding for clubs and a wider option of extracurricular activities. The cafeteria food also needs some improvement. Enough mystery meat on Wednesdays, for starters. And also, every student has the right to be heard and that's why I also want to implement a suggestion box in order to encourage my fellow classmates to send the student council their suggestions."
"Very well, Possible." Barkin now looked at Bonnie. "What about you, Rockwaller?"
"That's adorable, Kim. Really." Bonnie scoffed. "But, unlike you, I know exactly what Middleton High students want. More parties, more cool events like a yearly fashion event. But obviously, you wouldn't know that since you spend more time saving the world instead of socialising with your fellow classmates."
"Excuse me?" Kim raised her eyebrow with a tone of annoyance in her voice. "I am known to be very reliable by both my peers and the teachers alike. In spite of also being a hero who goes on missions often. In case you've forgotten, Bonnie, I'm also the captain of the cheerleader squad, the very same squad you're a part of."
"That only further proves my point, Kim." Bonnie waved her hand dismissively. "You're too busy saving the world and that even takes time from your captain duties as cheerleader squad captain. You're telling me you can add the school president to the mix and juggle all 3 of those responsibilities equally?"
"Why…" Kim hesitated a little. "Of course I can!" but quickly recovered. "And what's with the implication that my hero duties are taking precious time from my duties as the cheerleader squad captain?" Kim folded her arms and looked at Bonnie with a look of defiance, demanding to hear her reasoning.
"Well…" now it was time for Bonnie to hesitate a little. "You haven't been giving 100% to the cheerleader squad lately."
"Is that so?" Kim's eyes widened in slight irritation.
"Yeah!" Bonnie said it matter-of-factly. "You need to give it… 120% from now on!"
"LADIES!" Mr. Barkin raised his voice. "Stick to the point. This is about you running for school president/student council president of Middleton High. Not about the internal affairs of Middleton High's cheerleader squad.
"You're right, Mr. Barkin." Kim nodded. "I apologise."
"Alright, next question." Barkin looked at his notes. "How will you handle conflicts between students and the school administration?" He looked at Bonnie this time. Looks like she's the one who will have to answer Mr. Barkin's question this time around.
"Conflicts?" Bonnie scoffed. "When I become president, students will not get into any conflicts with the school administration since I'll be the greatest president Middleton High has ever had. My approval rating will be close to 100%!" She flashed a proud and smug smile.
"That doesn't answer the question, Rockwaller." Mr. Barkin rolled his eyes. Looks like Bonnie is beginning to test his patience.
"Indeed, it doesn't." Kim interjected "Because that's all Bonnie has been doing during her campaign. All she does is brag. She doesn't have a well-structured platform of any kind!" and accused Bonnie.
"Oh, like you have, Kim?" Bonnie scoffed in irritation.
"Have you even been listening?" Kim's voice raised in irritation. "The very first time I spoke in this debate I summed up my platform very clearly!"
"ORDER!" Mr. Barkin ordered.
"Order?" Bonnie looked at him dryly. "What are you, a judge?"
The audience laughed. Myself and Ron included.
"Watch your tone, Rockwaller!" Mr. Barkin pointed his index finger at Bonnie. "My point is, as the debate moderator it is my job to prevent it from becoming a catfight."
"CATFIGHT! CATFIGHT!" Ron stood on his seat and chants. Cringe…
"SIT DOWN, STOPPABLE!" Mr. Barkin yelled at Ron, who immediately slumped down on his seat and grinned nervously. Meanwhile, Bonnie just rolled her eyes and Kim facepalmed at her best friend's enthusiastic heckling.
"Possible." Mr. Barkin resumed the debate. "What about you? How will you handle conflicts between students and the administration?"
"I have a lot of experience mediating conflicts, Mr. Barkin." Kim smiled. "Not only since I'm a global hero, but also because I have leadership experience as captain of the cheerleader squad and as class representative, but I also believe in diplomacy and respect. I'm a good listener and any student can come up to me and talk to me about anything they'd like to discuss."
"A clear answer." Mr. Barkin smirked. "Anything you'd like to add, Rockwaller?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah." Bonnie scoffed. "I'm more popular than Kim Possible and have better connections with the popular crowd and other important people in our community thanks to my family ties. Therefore, someone like me is much better suited to represent Middleton High's students." She now places her hand-palm on her chest as she confidently makes her statement.
Chatter broke out in the audience. Middleton High's students are very much into the debate and arguing who might be the right choice for school president, after all. Naturally, Ron is all pro-Kim. Me? Well, I'd say Kim is better suited for the role too. I'd much rather be represented by her than by someone like Bonnie, yikes! But I'm not sure if Kim can beat Bonnie that easily.
"QUIET, PEOPLE!" Mr. Barkin barked his orders again. "So, Possible, Rockwaller; can both of you go more in detail about your propositions?"
"Absolutely. We need to improve the cafeteria menu. The mystery meat on Wednesdays is not something anyone would ever bring themselves to eat, let's face it. Students have the right to decent and edible food." Kim said.
"Oh please!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "This is a public school. The food being lousy is par for course. Just bring a homemade lunch instead."
"Not everyone has the financial conditions to bring a homemade lunch to school 5 days a week, Bonnie." Kim sighed in frustration. "That's the whole point of free meals in public schools, you know?"
"Then, if you want good cafeteria food, go attend a private school instead." Bonnie folded her arms.
"Are you kidding me?" Kim was now incredulous at Bonnie's ignorance. "If a student's parents can't even afford to make them a homemade lunch for school 5 days a week, do you honestly believe they can afford enrolling their kids in a private school?"
"Well, then maybe you should be less megalomaniac with your platform, Kim!" Bonnie pointed her index finger at Kim with an accusatory tone.
"Megalomaniac?!" Kim blinked in rapid succession. "That's a new insult. Even from you, Bonnie."
"You heard me, Kim!" Bonnie nodded with a stern look on her face. "You're making a lot of promises to improve Middleton High, but where do you think all the money comes from? Taxes. If you want to improve the cafeteria food options, increase club funding, add more extracurricular activities and organise events then you'll have to explain to all of our parents that their property taxes are going to increase!" Bonnie now scanned the audience with her index finger. The students now began chattering loudly amongst themselves again. Once again, Mr. Barkin ordered everyone to keep it down.
"That's why I'm also going to improve the handling and transparency of funds better if I become president!" Kim slammed her fists on her podium. "You're telling me you'd handle the school's funds better with your constant parties and your yearly fashion event? What, you're going to pay famous clothes designers with the school funds? Good luck with that!" Kim rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"What about the school image?" Bonnie changed the subject now. "Look at me and now look at you! I'm much better looking and dress much better than you. Plus, everyone has seen what you look like on a bad hair day." Smirked.
"You had no right to use that picture of mine to use it as a personal attack against me in your campaign!" Kim protested, raising her voice. Her irritation was palpable. "That was a new low, even for you!"
"Is that so, Miss hero outfit who hangs out with a dorky guy and his strange rat?" Bonnie sneered.
"HEY!" Ron stood up and protested. "Don't belittle Rufus!"
I pulled Ron down. This time Mr. Barkin did not need to order Ron to shut his mouth. So, I've saved him the embarrassment this time.
"Do you even care about the school and the students, Bonnie?" Kim asked. "This all feels like a vanity run for you."
"Look who's talking!" Bonnie chuckled. "You're captain of the cheerleader squad, a global hero, a class representative and a tutor already. Now you want to become school president on top of it all? Face it, Kim, you love the spotlight and have a highly inflated ego."
Kim's jaw clenched. She was getting angrier as Bonnie kept striking a nerve. Kim must not fall into Bonnie's little game.
"Alright! Keep it classy, ladies!" Mr. Barkin ordered. "Now, it's time for you to conclude. You first, Rockwaller."
"You want a fun and cool school? Vote for me, Bonnie Rockwaller." Bonnie smiled as she placed her hand-palm on her chest. "If you want a boring school that wastes resources on stuff no one cares about then vote for Kim Possible. Bonnie smirked at Kim as she took one final shot at her.
"No more personal attacks in this debate!" Mr. Barkin warned sternly. "Now, it's your turn to conclude, Possible."
Kim straightened up and calmed herself down. "At the end of the day, it's about making sure every student has a voice. A public school should be inclusive and the representative of its student body should be someone who is open to listening to the suggestions from any student, regardless of their background. If you want an inclusive school that makes students feel more comfortable and motivated to study and socialise, vote for Kim Possible. I will not help turn Middleton High into an elitist school!" Kim glanced at Bonnie quickly as she said her last sentence.
"Very well!" Mr. Barkin straightened his tie. "This concludes the debate. Thanks for your time, Possible and Rockwell. And everyone else" he then walked up to the edge of the stage with the mic on his hand to address the audience. "Don't forget to vote this Friday!"
Today was Friday, finally. Not only because it was the end of another school week but also because it was election day. And I've had enough of this drama surrounding the school president election pitting Kim and Bonnie against each other. My mother drove me to school as always, and as I stepped into the school building, I saw Ron having his hands full of small rectangular pieces of paper.
"Hey, Rafael!" Ron handed me one of those pieces of paper. I looked at it and it said 'Bueno Nacho coupon'.
"Oh, food discounts? Nice. But why are you giving them out?!" I asked, perplexed.
"Simple. It will convince people to vote for KP" Ron smiled proudly.
"Doesn't sound very 'legal'…" a drop of sweat fell down the side of my forehead.
"Hey! This is still way more ethical than anything Bonnie has done!" Ron reacted defensively.
"That's kind of a low bar to set, man." I chuckled.
Ron ignored me and went back to handing out the Bueno Nacho coupons. Rufus also hands them out. It is a funny sight, I admit. Should be a fun day…
Around lunch time, I spotted Bonnie giving money to a small group of people. So, she was buying votes? Wow. That's just… I couldn't even find the right adjective to describe it.
I saw the lines piling up to vote in the school's elections. Looked like a lot of people were adhering to it. I wondered if schools keep track of the abstention rate... anyway, I headed to my locker to place my lunchbox back in the locker, since I was done eating. I turned around and saw Kim standing behind me.
"Hey." she smiled weakly at me.
"Hey…" I replied not so energetically.
"You know…" Kim looked a bit embarrassed about something. "I wanted to apologise. I shouldn't have set Ron and you aside during my electoral campaign."
"Oh…" I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Could I trust her? "Well, Kim, you do seem sincere."
"I give you my word, Rafael." she smiled reassuringly. "Honestly, you were right. I did kind of forget momentarily that my decision to run for school president was with the intention of making Middleton High a better place and for every student's voice to be heard. I let Bonnie get too much to me and I began viewing this election as a personal battle between me and Bonnie, thus nearly forfeiting my principles." she lowered her head and sighed, clearly looking guilty.
"Look, it's OK, I forgive you." I raised my hands. "In fact, you did well in the debate against Bonnie."
"You think so?" Kim lifted her head and her mood improved slightly.
"I do." I smiled.
"So, does this mean I have your vote?" She now smiled at me mischievously.
"Oh, I haven't voted…" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"Really?" Kim raised her eyebrow and flashed a look of disappointment on her face.
"Well, I'm not much into politics…" I laughed nervously, hoping Kim would accept my reasoning, but I suspect she won't let me go so easily.
"So, you don't care about making the school you attend a better place?" Kim folded her arms and looked at me sternly.
"It's not that!" I waved my hands defensively. "It's just that…" I tried to come up with an excuse, but couldn't find one.
"For someone whose mother also works here as a teacher, I expected you to care a lot more about the way the school functions." Kim shook her head in disapproval. Ouch! That one hurt. All I can do now is break eye contact with Kim and feel a little embarrassed.
"Look." Kim took a deep sigh. "I am not telling you who to vote for. We live in a democracy, after all. But by abstaining, the message you're sending is that you don't care and also that you're running away from your duties and responsibilities."
"Running away?!" I was slightly taken aback at Kim's accusation.
"I'm telling it like it is." Kim smirked at me. Rats! Now she's the one who's got me cornered. "So, what's it going to be, Rafael? Are you going to run away, or are you going to make a decision, even if it might be one you end up regretting in the future?" she tapped her foot on the floor now.
"I don't owe you any explanation!" I blurted out nervously and ran away. I could overhear Kim shouting 'WAIT!' but I ignored her.
I ran into the boy's bathroom. No one else was in it right now, fortunately. I placed my hands on the sink and looked into the mirror as I breathed a bit heavily. Unfortunately, Kim was right. I was, indeed, running away. Which was something I've been doing my whole life. I was a coward. It hurts to hear it, especially from a friend, but it was even more painful when it was the truth. It cut deep, you know? Not that I liked being told what to do either, so I was currently having an internal struggle whether I would go vote or not. The voting booth ended in 3 hours. I had one more class today. So, I'd still have time to vote after I was done with my last class of the day.
As I was done with my last class of the day, it was time for me to make a decision: go home or go vote? I noticed my mother waiting for me right outside the school building entrance. I approached her warily.
"Rafael, how was your day?" She smiled at me.
"It was alright. The weekend is finally here!" I tried to sound as excited as possible.
"Did you vote yet?" she asked me.
"Erm… well…" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"No?" mum raised her eyebrow. "Well, go vote now, then. I'll wait here."
"B-but I don't…" I tried to tell her, but the rest of the words didn't come out of my mouth and I was unable to form a coherent sentence.
"You're not going to vote for your friend?" She looked at me with a slight frown. Obviously by friend she meant Kim Possible.
I just lowered my head and avoided making eye contact.
"You know." my mother sighed. "Friendship is a wonderful thing, Rafael. And being friends with someone isn't just hanging out with them during breaks. You're supposed to help them and support them when they need you."
"Meaning…?" I asked, even though I pretty much could guess what she was going to say next.
"What if Kim loses by one vote to Bonnie?" She looked at me very seriously now. "Will you still believe that you abstaining did not make a difference?"
I didn't answer her question. She did make a good point and I couldn't think of a counter-argument.
"Voting is not just a right, Rafael. It's also a duty." She lectured.
"I know, I know…" I sighed.
"Well, I will not force you to vote, but listen to your subconscious and follow your heart. You can't just run away forever." Geez, were mum and Kim suddenly sharing the same brain or something?!
"I'll be waiting in the car. Make your decision and then come to the car, and we'll go home. Take your time, but remember, there's less than 2 hours for you to vote." Mum turned around and walked away. I was left standing right outside the school entrance doorway filled with indecision.
A few minutes passed and I remained standing in the same place. Suddenly I felt something climbing up my pocket… I looked down and it's Rufus.
"Rufus? What are you…?" before I even finished my sentence, he picked up my wallet with his front teeth!
"Hey, don't touch my wallet!" I moved my arm trying to take it back from Rufus, but he just jumped and began running away with my wallet under his teeth! He ran into the school building and I chased him down the school halls, looking like an idiot. What is Rufus thinking?! Why the sudden interest in my wallet? He kept running away and then entered the school gym where the voting booths are. He jumped on top of one of the booths. Wait, don't tell me… this was all part of a plan to make me vote! I look at the booth and there's no line. I saw one guy leaving the voting booth. It looked like most people had voted already. Suddenly, my feet began moving on their own in the direction of the voting booth and I was now standing face to face with the voting ballot. Or well, a white piece of paper that had "Kim Possible" and "Bonnie Rockwaller" written on it with two empty boxes in front of them where you were supposed to mark 'X' with your vote. Couldn't expect something too fancy for a public high school. They needed to save money on printer ink. I picked up the pen and looked up at Rufus. He nodded as he looked at me. I ticked the 'Kim Possible' box, folded the paper, turned around, walked to the nearby table and slid the folded ballot into the box. As soon as I was done, Rufus jumped on the table in front of me and dropped my wallet on it. I quickly took it back and put it back in my pocket. Rufus nodded happily and we both walked out of the school gym together. And what do you know? Kim and Ron were both waiting for us and smirking at me.
"So, you did vote, after all." Kim said it with a hint of mischief.
"All he needed was a little push, KP!" Ron grinned proudly, as Rufus climbed to his hands.
"Well, what's done is done." I shrugged and chuckled.
And I went home. It looked like the results would only be known on Monday, since the votes would be counted that morning. And Monday morning came and the results were announced on the school P.A. system: "ATTENTION MIDDLETON HIGH STUDENTS! THE VOTING RESULTS OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT ELECTION ARE IN: KIM POSSIBLE - 300 VOTES. BONNIE ROCKWALLER – 299 VOTES. WINNER: KIM POSSIBLE!"
Kim celebrated effusively and Ron and Rufus were the first ones to congratulate her. Bonnie, obviously, seethed in anger as she heard the news she lost to Kim. As for me, it looked like if I had not voted, it would have ended at 299 votes for both candidates! So, it looked like my vote was decisive and that it was better for me to go vote, after all. I needed a pink rodent to steal my wallet momentarily in order to drag me to the voting booth, but hey, details, right?
While going through the attendance call, I think everyone noticed my mother and I shared the same last name and came from the same country, so the cat was pretty much out of the bag. If this wasn't the most awkward and embarrassing moment in my entire life, then it was definitely in the top 3.
The class was… unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was so odd to have your own mother teaching you a class and you needing to separate both the fact she's your parent and your teacher. Plus, you had to call her Mrs. Last Name. So strange.
You could hear a pin drop during the class, since she knew how to command respect and make her students listen to her voice. No one dared to disrespect her.
After the bell rang, it was time for lunch. I picked up my lunchbox from my locker and felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and it was Ron.
"Hey, dude, come sit with me and Kim at lunch." he smiled as he invited me to have lunch with him and Kim Possible. I slowly nodded. Seemed perfectly innocuous.
We went to the school cafeteria and sat down across from Kim.
"So, Rafael…" Kim was definitely going to ask me something, and I had a feeling I knew what it was. I looked up at her, waiting for her to proceed.
"Our English Lit teacher… she's your mum, right?" and there it was, folks.
"Yeah…" I rolled my eyes.
"Woah, what?!" Ron gasped. I guess he was a little clueless and not just a bit of a goofball.
"Look, I'm just trying to have a normal HS experience, OK?!" I acted defensively.
"I guess it must be kind of awkward." Kim smiled sympathetically.
Oh, you had no idea, Kim! It was really awkward and embarrassing. But I couldn't overtly show it or else other kids might pick up on it and tease me for it.
"If we're your friends, will we get better grades?" Ron joked.
"RON!" Kim cried. "That's low!"
"Yo, chill, KP!" Ron waved his hands defensively. "I'm just messing."
"Let's change the subject, OK?!" I asked a bit firmly. Both Kim and Ron were a bit surprised by my borderline outburst, but they nodded and decided to honour my request.
"Sorry. Didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Kim smiled.
I opened my lunchbox and took out my homemade lunch. My mother made me some pastéis de bacalhau with rice and salad for today. Pastéis de bacalhau would be literally translated as codfish pastries, I guess. They're not sweet, mind you, but salty. Rufus stared at them intensely. I better watch out.
"Don't steal Rafael's food, Rufus!" Ron chuckled as he lectured his naked mole rat pet.
"Is that fish?" Kim asked.
"Yes, cod, to be more precise." I nodded.
We all ate our respective lunches and, a few minutes later, we got interrupted by one of Kim's cheerleader squad members. It was the hot tanned brunette with shoulder length hair. Bonnie was her name, if I remember correctly. Kim seemed to tense up a bit as Bonnie approached our table, for some reason. Or maybe it was just my impression.
"Hey, Kim." Bonnie smirked smugly.
"Hey, Bonnie." Kim replied with a slight frown on her face.
"I see you're hanging out with the new kid." Bonnie glanced at me quickly.
"So?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"What, are you trying to kiss up to our English Lit teacher by befriending her son or something?" Bonnie chuckled.
"So not the truth!" Kim shook her head. "Not everyone likes to use people, you know." and folded her arms.
"Yeah, Rafael is a cool dude. He's into games and wrestling like me, too!" Ron smiled.
"Oh, so he's just another dork." Bonnie rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "Why couldn't we get a foreign hottie this time like when we got Hirotaka and Wally?"
I couldn't help it but feel a bit hurt by Bonnie's comments. To have such a hot girl tear me down like this didn't do any good to my already low self-esteem.
"Anyway" Bonnie leaned in closer to Kim now. "Remember that elections for school president are coming soon. I've heard you're thinking of running, K." Smirked.
"Yes, I am. Why?" Kim raised her eyebrow in suspicion.
"Well, I think Middleton High deserves a better president than someone who's always away on missions saving the world, don't you think?" Bonnie flashed a smug grin at Kim.
"Really?" Kim stood up. "And who might that be?"
"Why, me, duh!" Bonnie touched her chest proudly with the palm of her hand.
"Is that so?" Kim slightly clenched her jaw.
"Prepare to get embarrassed before the whole school, Kim" Bonnie's nose practically touched Kim's as she challenged her with a determined look on her face.
"As if I'm going to lose to you!" Kim bit back.
"You'll see." Bonnie walked away with a smug smirk and tossed her hair behind.
"UGH!" Kim clenched her fists. "That girl is always trying to one-up me!"
"Don't worry, KP. You can easily beat Bonnie." Ron reassured her.
"I mean, isn't Kim the most popular girl in school?" I asked while scratching my head.
"Not exactly…" Kim sighed. "I'm popular, yes, but there's some people higher on the food chain than me. Mostly seniors and jocks. And Bonnie rivals me in popularity, as much as it pains me to admit it."
"Oh…" I took a final bite of my lunch and finished my water as I tried to process that information.
"When are the elections?" Ron asked.
"In 2 weeks. I have 2 weeks to prepare." Kim said. "I'm having posters and fliers being printed with my face on them as we speak." Smirked proudly.
"What exactly does the school president do?" I asked, a bit lost.
"Oh, he or she is basically the spokesperson for the school's entire student body." Kim began explaining it to me. "Also, they're responsible for giving ideas about future school events and help organising them as well. Events such as dances, parties, fundraisers, etc."
"And I can't think of anyone better than KP to do it!" Ron punched his palm enthusiastically and Rufus nodded in agreement.
"That sounds like a lot of work and responsibility." I shuddered slightly.
"It is." Kim nodded. "But I'm a very type-A kind of person."
It looked like the next couple of weeks of Middleton High would be interesting with the election campaign for school president. The battle between Kim and Bonnie might divide the school. Hopefully neither party would go overboard and take it down a nasty personal road. That wouldn't be good for anyone.
As I arrived at Middleton High the next day, I started seeing posters and fliers everywhere for both Kim and Bonnie. Anywhere you went in school and you saw their faces accompanied by 'VOTE KIM' and 'VOTE BONNIE' under their respective faces. I guess it was not a bad sight to have two of the prettiest faces in school plastered all over Middleton. I sure didn't mind and a lot of other guys most likely felt the same way, too. And I guess a lot of the votes each girl would get would not be based on their personalities or platforms but on their looks instead. Who was I going to vote for? Eh, I hadn't thought about it. Perhaps I'd just abstain. I didn't want to take part in this battle of egos. Politics weren't really my thing.
"Vote for Bonnie Rockwaller!" a girl handed me a flier with Bonnie's face on it. I accepted it automatically without remembering to say 'no, thank you'. I guess I could always toss it in the rubbish sometime later, but I might as well open it and read Bonnie's platform. As I opened it, I saw a few pictures of Bonnie posing with her cheerleader friends, some popular seniors and jocks. She didn't seem to add any particular substance in her platform for school president. She just promised more parties and a yearly fashion event, it seemed. Didn't look very appealing…
A bit later, I walked into Ron who was standing by a table stacked with brochures on top of it. He handed one over to me. "Hey, bud! Don't forget to vote for Kim!" Well, naturally, I couldn't refuse this one. It would be a rude thing to do to a friend. I opened it in front of him and Kim seemed to have a more detailed platform she was running on for school president. She promised a more transparent and efficient handling of student council funds in order for the school to organise better and more interesting events and to also have some spare funds left for higher school club funding and also the creation of more extracurricular activities. And also, more involvement from the students to improve their day-to-day school life, with the creation of a suggestion box. Kim was running on being an open president who listened to her fellow students' concerns and ideas.
"Oh, this is a good platform to run on." I nodded as I read it.
"I couldn't agree more, buddy!" Ron smiled. "KP will make a great president!"
"Have you read Bonnie's platform yet?" I asked him, curious about his take on it.
"Oh yeah, it's so lazy. A yearly fashion event, really?" he rolled his eyes. "Boring."
Later that day, Kim told us how confident she was feeling about her chances so far, when suddenly we noticed a commotion down the hall. As the crowd approached us, we saw Bonnie being accompanied by Brick Flagg, the school's American football team quarterback and a few of the cheerleaders.
"Oh my God! Bonnie is so cool and popular! I'm totally gonna vote for her!" one random girl said it excitedly as she marveled at the sight of Brick and the cheerleaders walking next to Bonnie.
"I know, right! Much cooler than Kim who only has her dorky friend, Ron!" another random girl added. I could feel Ron wincing at that comment even without looking at him. That's gotta hurt, ouch.
"And that weird foreign kid who hangs out with them a lot lately?" a random guy spoke about me now. "Who even listens to heavy metal these days?!" And he and the two girls laughed.
As the commotion walked away, the three of us were left looking at each other in low spirits.
"This is not going to be easy." Kim frowned.
"KP, you need to step your game up." Ron told her.
"Pfft, people who don't like heavy metal have no taste!" I protested, offended at that random guy's comment about me.
"This is so not fair!" Kim threw her arms in the air exasperated. "Bonnie's platform is so barebones compared to mine!"
"But she has Brick Flagg and cheerleaders endorsing her." Ron raised his index finger. "In HS, that's what truly gets you far in this kind of stuff."
"Yeah, I know." Kim frowned again. "It's all about the top of the food chain."
"Hey, you got your friends, KP! That's what counts, right?" Ron placed a hand on Kim's shoulder.
"Riiiight…" Kim nodded and smiled nervously.
A few days passed, and the campaign was going stronger and stronger. Kim now was showing off pictures of herself with a few handsome popular guys and hot popular girls. What?!
I went to find Kim during my first break of the day and found her chatting with several other students. I tried to cut in to get a word with her but I was unable to.
"Buzz off, pal! We're talking to Kim Possible here!" one random tall guy cried at me.
"Yeah, shoo!" One random girl in yoga pants waved her hand with a gesture that told me to go away.
Frustrated, I sighed and walked away with my head down. Kim probably didn't even notice me.
At lunch, I sat alone with Ron. Kim seemed to be having lunch with a larger group of people on the other side of the cafeteria.
"What's with Kim?" I asked Ron with a hint of annoyance in my voice as I pointed my thumb in Kim's direction.
"I don't know! It's like she's trying to emulate Bonnie's tactic of allying herself with hot and popular people to gain more votes!" Ron opened his arms in frustration and Rufus nodded with a sad look on his face.
I didn't like the sound of this one bit. Was Kim putting Ron and I, her friends, aside in exchange for votes?
After the last class of the day, I managed to catch Kim alone and I confronted her about it.
"Kim, why are you ignoring me and Ron today?" I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for her answer.
"I'm busy running my campaign, Rafael." she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, and it looks like you discarded Ron and I for more popular and aesthetically pleasing people." I folded my arms with an annoyed look on my face.
Kim stared at me and let out a deep sigh before justifying herself. "Look, I really want to win these elections, and I need the endorsement of popular people to help me get votes to defeat Bonnie."
"I thought you wanted to make Middleton High a better place and for every student voice to get heard." I frowned, not hiding my disappointment.
"Look, politics are complicated, OK?" Kim explained it, sounding a bit unsure.
"Sounds like you're ashamed of me and Ron, Kim." I shook my head.
"What?!" Kim's eyes opened wide. "That's absurd!" She said with a tone that suggested she found my accusation insulting.
"I guess you're not any different from other attractive and popular girls after all." I sighed.
"Excuse me?!" Kim bristled at my remark. "Are you comparing me to someone like Bonnie?!"
"Not literally, no…" I sighed again. "But you are starting to sound like you're too good to hang out with guys like me and Ron and would rather hang out with the hot and popular crowd just to get some votes."
Kim clenched her fists now. She's clearly offended by my accusations. Perhaps I did say too much…
"That's so not true!" she cried. "I'm not throwing Ron and you under the bus! I just need to win these elections and this is the only way for me to beat Bonnie!" she explained.
"Look, this argument is pointless." I facepalmed. "Have a nice weekend, Kim." I put on my cap and walked out of the school building.
Later that night at home, Kim lied in her bed pondering about the conversation she had with Rafael in school that afternoon. She was a bit confused and unsure. She did concede that she's sort of been avoiding both Ron and Rafael within the last few days, and she did feel a bit bad for it, but on the other hand, she wanted to win the election badly and beat her rival Bonnie, and objectively speaking, Rafael and Ron weren't popular and being in their company during the campaign period would not get her any significant amount of votes, especially ever since Bonnie decided to use popular people for her campaign as well. Kim was just trying to fight with the same strategy.
"What else am I supposed to do? Get myself crushed in the voting booth by my school nemesis?!" Kim sighed in frustration as she vented into her pillow.
The election day was only 48 hours away. Kim arrived at school and was shocked and angered at the sight she saw. A bunch of posters attacking her! "Kim is too busy being a hero", "Kim hangs out with a Nacho-eating guy and his naked mole rat", and also copies of an unflattering photo of Kim when she had a really bad hair day. What made matters worse was the fact today was the big debate between Kim and Bonnie!
Kim furiously took down some of the posters attacking her. She should have known Bonnie would use such immoral tactics to fight Kim during these school elections. But it was still a shock to actually see them.
Other students watched Kim in the school hallways with a mix of curiosity and hesitation. Was Kim really a reliable option for school president? She was indeed often going on her missions with Ron all over the world. And she was also always hanging out with Ron and his naked mole rat, even if she's been hanging out with other more popular people lately, but was it a genuine connection or just Kim trying to obtain more votes? Most students knew Bonnie was fake and not always the nicest girl around, but they knew what she was like and what to count on if she got elected school president. 'The devil you know', as the saying went…
Ron spotted Kim and ran up to her. "KP! Your debate against Bonnie today is very important." he warned her.
"I know, Ron." Kim sighed. "She's sinking so low with these attacks on me…"
"You can't let her win, KP!" Ron clenched his fists in determination and so did Rufus.
"I know!" Kim raised her voice slightly.
"By the way, have you seen Rafael today?" Ron changed the subject now.
"No." Kim shook her head "He and I had a little argument the other day." and frowned slightly.
"Oh?" Ron sounded surprised and looked concerned.
"Look, Ron, I'm sorry I haven't hung out much with the two of you lately. It wasn't my intention to discard you or anything." Kim said apologetically.
"Come on, Kim." Ron smiled reassuringly. "You know you and I go way back and how strong our friendship is."
"True." Kim nodded and smiled weakly. "But Rafael hasn't known me for long and thus we didn't spend enough time yet to get to know each other better and build trust."
"Hey, don't sweat it!" Ron placed a hand on Kim's shoulder. "Rafael is a good guy, but a bit stubborn and proud. I'll talk some sense into him."
"Thanks, Ron. You rock." Kim smiled.
"Now, go prepare yourself for your debate against Bonnie."
Kim nodded with a determined look on her face, seemingly regaining her confidence and competitive drive.
The bell rang and my algebra class was finally over. I hated Maths! I packed in my books and pencil and was one of the first students to leave the classroom. I went to the bathroom to do number 1 quickly, and when I got out, I had Ron waiting for me.
"Wassup, Ron?" I nodded.
"Dude, we need to talk." he said to me with a serious look on his face.
"Something wrong?" I raised my eyebrow warily.
"You were unfair to Kim the other day."
"All I did was tell the truth." *I folded my arms. "Kim has clearly abandoned us to go hang out with the more popular crowd in pursuit of her political ambitions."
"Kim would never do that!" Ron protested, and Rufus nodded.
"Oh yeah?" I rolled my eyes, not buying Ron's argument. "I saw it with my own eyes."
"Look, I know Kim might have made a mistake to get more votes, but that doesn't mean she's abandoned us." Ron tried to convince me.
"Why should I take your word for it, Ron?" I asked dryly.
"What do you mean? You don't believe me?!" Ron sounded a bit taken aback by my words.
"No, silly." I raised my hands defensively. "I just think you're being a little too naïve."
"Look, pal!" Ron pointed his index finger on my chest. "I've known Kim since Pre-K. You have only known her for less than a month."
"Well, maybe that's why I know not to trust her blindly like you do." I added.
"Look, Kim is my best friend, and I won't stand for you talking smack about her, OK?" Ron now seemed to be getting more irritated.
"If you want to remain friends with her, good for you." I sighed. "But if she wins the election and ditches you for more popular and hotter people, don't come telling me I didn't warn you."
"You're way too cynical, dude!" Dude threw his arms in the air in desperation.
"I have my reasons for being so!" I pointed my thumb at my chest.
"You're not always right, and you don't know everything!" Ron cried.
I just let out a deep frustrated sigh. Clearly talking to Ron was like talking to a brick wall. Seeing I didn't have anything else to add, Ron just let out a frustrated growl and walked away.
"Pffft!" …did Rufus just stick his tongue out at me?! I couldn't believe it! It was one thing to have Ron and Kim upset with me, but Rufus? Now, THAT hurts!
Time finally came and the debate between Kim and Bonnie was about to begin. Mr. Barkin acted as the moderator of the debate. The 3 were on stage and most of the audience consisted of Middleton High students, naturally. There was a lot of chatter among the audience.
"Okay people, LISTEN UP!" Mr. Barkin yelled on the microphone, immediately making the audience go quiet in fear. "It's now time for the school president debate between Kim Possible and Bonnie Rockwaller. As you all know, the former president of the student council graduated last school year, so the spot was left vacant and you, Middleton High students, have now the chance to decide between Miss Possible and Miss Rockwaller *pointed his open palms at both girls*. So, let's stop wasting time and start. My first question, ladies, is: What makes you the best choice for student council president?"
Mr. Barkin first looked at Kim. Looks like the first turn to speak was hers.
"Well," Kim cleared her throat. "I believe in making our school better for everyone. And the best way to ensure that starts by a more efficient and transparent handling of school funds. Then, we can have a good mix of activities for everyone. Parties, events, increased funding for clubs and a wider option of extracurricular activities. The cafeteria food also needs some improvement. Enough mystery meat on Wednesdays, for starters. And also, every student has the right to be heard and that's why I also want to implement a suggestion box in order to encourage my fellow classmates to send the student council their suggestions."
"Very well, Possible." Barkin now looked at Bonnie. "What about you, Rockwaller?"
"That's adorable, Kim. Really." Bonnie scoffed. "But, unlike you, I know exactly what Middleton High students want. More parties, more cool events like a yearly fashion event. But obviously, you wouldn't know that since you spend more time saving the world instead of socialising with your fellow classmates."
"Excuse me?" Kim raised her eyebrow with a tone of annoyance in her voice. "I am known to be very reliable by both my peers and the teachers alike. In spite of also being a hero who goes on missions often. In case you've forgotten, Bonnie, I'm also the captain of the cheerleader squad, the very same squad you're a part of."
"That only further proves my point, Kim." Bonnie waved her hand dismissively. "You're too busy saving the world and that even takes time from your captain duties as cheerleader squad captain. You're telling me you can add the school president to the mix and juggle all 3 of those responsibilities equally?"
"Why…" Kim hesitated a little. "Of course I can!" but quickly recovered. "And what's with the implication that my hero duties are taking precious time from my duties as the cheerleader squad captain?" Kim folded her arms and looked at Bonnie with a look of defiance, demanding to hear her reasoning.
"Well…" now it was time for Bonnie to hesitate a little. "You haven't been giving 100% to the cheerleader squad lately."
"Is that so?" Kim's eyes widened in slight irritation.
"Yeah!" Bonnie said it matter-of-factly. "You need to give it… 120% from now on!"
"LADIES!" Mr. Barkin raised his voice. "Stick to the point. This is about you running for school president/student council president of Middleton High. Not about the internal affairs of Middleton High's cheerleader squad.
"You're right, Mr. Barkin." Kim nodded. "I apologise."
"Alright, next question." Barkin looked at his notes. "How will you handle conflicts between students and the school administration?" He looked at Bonnie this time. Looks like she's the one who will have to answer Mr. Barkin's question this time around.
"Conflicts?" Bonnie scoffed. "When I become president, students will not get into any conflicts with the school administration since I'll be the greatest president Middleton High has ever had. My approval rating will be close to 100%!" She flashed a proud and smug smile.
"That doesn't answer the question, Rockwaller." Mr. Barkin rolled his eyes. Looks like Bonnie is beginning to test his patience.
"Indeed, it doesn't." Kim interjected "Because that's all Bonnie has been doing during her campaign. All she does is brag. She doesn't have a well-structured platform of any kind!" and accused Bonnie.
"Oh, like you have, Kim?" Bonnie scoffed in irritation.
"Have you even been listening?" Kim's voice raised in irritation. "The very first time I spoke in this debate I summed up my platform very clearly!"
"ORDER!" Mr. Barkin ordered.
"Order?" Bonnie looked at him dryly. "What are you, a judge?"
The audience laughed. Myself and Ron included.
"Watch your tone, Rockwaller!" Mr. Barkin pointed his index finger at Bonnie. "My point is, as the debate moderator it is my job to prevent it from becoming a catfight."
"CATFIGHT! CATFIGHT!" Ron stood on his seat and chants. Cringe…
"SIT DOWN, STOPPABLE!" Mr. Barkin yelled at Ron, who immediately slumped down on his seat and grinned nervously. Meanwhile, Bonnie just rolled her eyes and Kim facepalmed at her best friend's enthusiastic heckling.
"Possible." Mr. Barkin resumed the debate. "What about you? How will you handle conflicts between students and the administration?"
"I have a lot of experience mediating conflicts, Mr. Barkin." Kim smiled. "Not only since I'm a global hero, but also because I have leadership experience as captain of the cheerleader squad and as class representative, but I also believe in diplomacy and respect. I'm a good listener and any student can come up to me and talk to me about anything they'd like to discuss."
"A clear answer." Mr. Barkin smirked. "Anything you'd like to add, Rockwaller?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah." Bonnie scoffed. "I'm more popular than Kim Possible and have better connections with the popular crowd and other important people in our community thanks to my family ties. Therefore, someone like me is much better suited to represent Middleton High's students." She now places her hand-palm on her chest as she confidently makes her statement.
Chatter broke out in the audience. Middleton High's students are very much into the debate and arguing who might be the right choice for school president, after all. Naturally, Ron is all pro-Kim. Me? Well, I'd say Kim is better suited for the role too. I'd much rather be represented by her than by someone like Bonnie, yikes! But I'm not sure if Kim can beat Bonnie that easily.
"QUIET, PEOPLE!" Mr. Barkin barked his orders again. "So, Possible, Rockwaller; can both of you go more in detail about your propositions?"
"Absolutely. We need to improve the cafeteria menu. The mystery meat on Wednesdays is not something anyone would ever bring themselves to eat, let's face it. Students have the right to decent and edible food." Kim said.
"Oh please!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "This is a public school. The food being lousy is par for course. Just bring a homemade lunch instead."
"Not everyone has the financial conditions to bring a homemade lunch to school 5 days a week, Bonnie." Kim sighed in frustration. "That's the whole point of free meals in public schools, you know?"
"Then, if you want good cafeteria food, go attend a private school instead." Bonnie folded her arms.
"Are you kidding me?" Kim was now incredulous at Bonnie's ignorance. "If a student's parents can't even afford to make them a homemade lunch for school 5 days a week, do you honestly believe they can afford enrolling their kids in a private school?"
"Well, then maybe you should be less megalomaniac with your platform, Kim!" Bonnie pointed her index finger at Kim with an accusatory tone.
"Megalomaniac?!" Kim blinked in rapid succession. "That's a new insult. Even from you, Bonnie."
"You heard me, Kim!" Bonnie nodded with a stern look on her face. "You're making a lot of promises to improve Middleton High, but where do you think all the money comes from? Taxes. If you want to improve the cafeteria food options, increase club funding, add more extracurricular activities and organise events then you'll have to explain to all of our parents that their property taxes are going to increase!" Bonnie now scanned the audience with her index finger. The students now began chattering loudly amongst themselves again. Once again, Mr. Barkin ordered everyone to keep it down.
"That's why I'm also going to improve the handling and transparency of funds better if I become president!" Kim slammed her fists on her podium. "You're telling me you'd handle the school's funds better with your constant parties and your yearly fashion event? What, you're going to pay famous clothes designers with the school funds? Good luck with that!" Kim rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"What about the school image?" Bonnie changed the subject now. "Look at me and now look at you! I'm much better looking and dress much better than you. Plus, everyone has seen what you look like on a bad hair day." Smirked.
"You had no right to use that picture of mine to use it as a personal attack against me in your campaign!" Kim protested, raising her voice. Her irritation was palpable. "That was a new low, even for you!"
"Is that so, Miss hero outfit who hangs out with a dorky guy and his strange rat?" Bonnie sneered.
"HEY!" Ron stood up and protested. "Don't belittle Rufus!"
I pulled Ron down. This time Mr. Barkin did not need to order Ron to shut his mouth. So, I've saved him the embarrassment this time.
"Do you even care about the school and the students, Bonnie?" Kim asked. "This all feels like a vanity run for you."
"Look who's talking!" Bonnie chuckled. "You're captain of the cheerleader squad, a global hero, a class representative and a tutor already. Now you want to become school president on top of it all? Face it, Kim, you love the spotlight and have a highly inflated ego."
Kim's jaw clenched. She was getting angrier as Bonnie kept striking a nerve. Kim must not fall into Bonnie's little game.
"Alright! Keep it classy, ladies!" Mr. Barkin ordered. "Now, it's time for you to conclude. You first, Rockwaller."
"You want a fun and cool school? Vote for me, Bonnie Rockwaller." Bonnie smiled as she placed her hand-palm on her chest. "If you want a boring school that wastes resources on stuff no one cares about then vote for Kim Possible. Bonnie smirked at Kim as she took one final shot at her.
"No more personal attacks in this debate!" Mr. Barkin warned sternly. "Now, it's your turn to conclude, Possible."
Kim straightened up and calmed herself down. "At the end of the day, it's about making sure every student has a voice. A public school should be inclusive and the representative of its student body should be someone who is open to listening to the suggestions from any student, regardless of their background. If you want an inclusive school that makes students feel more comfortable and motivated to study and socialise, vote for Kim Possible. I will not help turn Middleton High into an elitist school!" Kim glanced at Bonnie quickly as she said her last sentence.
"Very well!" Mr. Barkin straightened his tie. "This concludes the debate. Thanks for your time, Possible and Rockwell. And everyone else" he then walked up to the edge of the stage with the mic on his hand to address the audience. "Don't forget to vote this Friday!"
Today was Friday, finally. Not only because it was the end of another school week but also because it was election day. And I've had enough of this drama surrounding the school president election pitting Kim and Bonnie against each other. My mother drove me to school as always, and as I stepped into the school building, I saw Ron having his hands full of small rectangular pieces of paper.
"Hey, Rafael!" Ron handed me one of those pieces of paper. I looked at it and it said 'Bueno Nacho coupon'.
"Oh, food discounts? Nice. But why are you giving them out?!" I asked, perplexed.
"Simple. It will convince people to vote for KP" Ron smiled proudly.
"Doesn't sound very 'legal'…" a drop of sweat fell down the side of my forehead.
"Hey! This is still way more ethical than anything Bonnie has done!" Ron reacted defensively.
"That's kind of a low bar to set, man." I chuckled.
Ron ignored me and went back to handing out the Bueno Nacho coupons. Rufus also hands them out. It is a funny sight, I admit. Should be a fun day…
Around lunch time, I spotted Bonnie giving money to a small group of people. So, she was buying votes? Wow. That's just… I couldn't even find the right adjective to describe it.
I saw the lines piling up to vote in the school's elections. Looked like a lot of people were adhering to it. I wondered if schools keep track of the abstention rate... anyway, I headed to my locker to place my lunchbox back in the locker, since I was done eating. I turned around and saw Kim standing behind me.
"Hey." she smiled weakly at me.
"Hey…" I replied not so energetically.
"You know…" Kim looked a bit embarrassed about something. "I wanted to apologise. I shouldn't have set Ron and you aside during my electoral campaign."
"Oh…" I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Could I trust her? "Well, Kim, you do seem sincere."
"I give you my word, Rafael." she smiled reassuringly. "Honestly, you were right. I did kind of forget momentarily that my decision to run for school president was with the intention of making Middleton High a better place and for every student's voice to be heard. I let Bonnie get too much to me and I began viewing this election as a personal battle between me and Bonnie, thus nearly forfeiting my principles." she lowered her head and sighed, clearly looking guilty.
"Look, it's OK, I forgive you." I raised my hands. "In fact, you did well in the debate against Bonnie."
"You think so?" Kim lifted her head and her mood improved slightly.
"I do." I smiled.
"So, does this mean I have your vote?" She now smiled at me mischievously.
"Oh, I haven't voted…" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"Really?" Kim raised her eyebrow and flashed a look of disappointment on her face.
"Well, I'm not much into politics…" I laughed nervously, hoping Kim would accept my reasoning, but I suspect she won't let me go so easily.
"So, you don't care about making the school you attend a better place?" Kim folded her arms and looked at me sternly.
"It's not that!" I waved my hands defensively. "It's just that…" I tried to come up with an excuse, but couldn't find one.
"For someone whose mother also works here as a teacher, I expected you to care a lot more about the way the school functions." Kim shook her head in disapproval. Ouch! That one hurt. All I can do now is break eye contact with Kim and feel a little embarrassed.
"Look." Kim took a deep sigh. "I am not telling you who to vote for. We live in a democracy, after all. But by abstaining, the message you're sending is that you don't care and also that you're running away from your duties and responsibilities."
"Running away?!" I was slightly taken aback at Kim's accusation.
"I'm telling it like it is." Kim smirked at me. Rats! Now she's the one who's got me cornered. "So, what's it going to be, Rafael? Are you going to run away, or are you going to make a decision, even if it might be one you end up regretting in the future?" she tapped her foot on the floor now.
"I don't owe you any explanation!" I blurted out nervously and ran away. I could overhear Kim shouting 'WAIT!' but I ignored her.
I ran into the boy's bathroom. No one else was in it right now, fortunately. I placed my hands on the sink and looked into the mirror as I breathed a bit heavily. Unfortunately, Kim was right. I was, indeed, running away. Which was something I've been doing my whole life. I was a coward. It hurts to hear it, especially from a friend, but it was even more painful when it was the truth. It cut deep, you know? Not that I liked being told what to do either, so I was currently having an internal struggle whether I would go vote or not. The voting booth ended in 3 hours. I had one more class today. So, I'd still have time to vote after I was done with my last class of the day.
As I was done with my last class of the day, it was time for me to make a decision: go home or go vote? I noticed my mother waiting for me right outside the school building entrance. I approached her warily.
"Rafael, how was your day?" She smiled at me.
"It was alright. The weekend is finally here!" I tried to sound as excited as possible.
"Did you vote yet?" she asked me.
"Erm… well…" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"No?" mum raised her eyebrow. "Well, go vote now, then. I'll wait here."
"B-but I don't…" I tried to tell her, but the rest of the words didn't come out of my mouth and I was unable to form a coherent sentence.
"You're not going to vote for your friend?" She looked at me with a slight frown. Obviously by friend she meant Kim Possible.
I just lowered my head and avoided making eye contact.
"You know." my mother sighed. "Friendship is a wonderful thing, Rafael. And being friends with someone isn't just hanging out with them during breaks. You're supposed to help them and support them when they need you."
"Meaning…?" I asked, even though I pretty much could guess what she was going to say next.
"What if Kim loses by one vote to Bonnie?" She looked at me very seriously now. "Will you still believe that you abstaining did not make a difference?"
I didn't answer her question. She did make a good point and I couldn't think of a counter-argument.
"Voting is not just a right, Rafael. It's also a duty." She lectured.
"I know, I know…" I sighed.
"Well, I will not force you to vote, but listen to your subconscious and follow your heart. You can't just run away forever." Geez, were mum and Kim suddenly sharing the same brain or something?!
"I'll be waiting in the car. Make your decision and then come to the car, and we'll go home. Take your time, but remember, there's less than 2 hours for you to vote." Mum turned around and walked away. I was left standing right outside the school entrance doorway filled with indecision.
A few minutes passed and I remained standing in the same place. Suddenly I felt something climbing up my pocket… I looked down and it's Rufus.
"Rufus? What are you…?" before I even finished my sentence, he picked up my wallet with his front teeth!
"Hey, don't touch my wallet!" I moved my arm trying to take it back from Rufus, but he just jumped and began running away with my wallet under his teeth! He ran into the school building and I chased him down the school halls, looking like an idiot. What is Rufus thinking?! Why the sudden interest in my wallet? He kept running away and then entered the school gym where the voting booths are. He jumped on top of one of the booths. Wait, don't tell me… this was all part of a plan to make me vote! I look at the booth and there's no line. I saw one guy leaving the voting booth. It looked like most people had voted already. Suddenly, my feet began moving on their own in the direction of the voting booth and I was now standing face to face with the voting ballot. Or well, a white piece of paper that had "Kim Possible" and "Bonnie Rockwaller" written on it with two empty boxes in front of them where you were supposed to mark 'X' with your vote. Couldn't expect something too fancy for a public high school. They needed to save money on printer ink. I picked up the pen and looked up at Rufus. He nodded as he looked at me. I ticked the 'Kim Possible' box, folded the paper, turned around, walked to the nearby table and slid the folded ballot into the box. As soon as I was done, Rufus jumped on the table in front of me and dropped my wallet on it. I quickly took it back and put it back in my pocket. Rufus nodded happily and we both walked out of the school gym together. And what do you know? Kim and Ron were both waiting for us and smirking at me.
"So, you did vote, after all." Kim said it with a hint of mischief.
"All he needed was a little push, KP!" Ron grinned proudly, as Rufus climbed to his hands.
"Well, what's done is done." I shrugged and chuckled.
And I went home. It looked like the results would only be known on Monday, since the votes would be counted that morning. And Monday morning came and the results were announced on the school P.A. system: "ATTENTION MIDDLETON HIGH STUDENTS! THE VOTING RESULTS OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT ELECTION ARE IN: KIM POSSIBLE - 300 VOTES. BONNIE ROCKWALLER – 299 VOTES. WINNER: KIM POSSIBLE!"
Kim celebrated effusively and Ron and Rufus were the first ones to congratulate her. Bonnie, obviously, seethed in anger as she heard the news she lost to Kim. As for me, it looked like if I had not voted, it would have ended at 299 votes for both candidates! So, it looked like my vote was decisive and that it was better for me to go vote, after all. I needed a pink rodent to steal my wallet momentarily in order to drag me to the voting booth, but hey, details, right?
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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It's a Teen rated fic, so definitely do not expect explicit stuff. Kissing, though? Sure.
Arrowman
I trust you know where the happy button is?
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2021
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Thanks.It's a Teen rated fic, so definitely do not expect explicit stuff. Kissing, though? Sure.
Drakken's and Shego's Pop Trouble!
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
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- Mar 21, 2026
- Messages
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- Likes received
- 10
Ron and I were hanging out at his place and playing video games. I brought my GameCube over. What game were we playing? Super Smash Bros. Melee. I mostly have been playing as Fox and Mario, while Ron was mostly going for Captain Falcon and Link. I've been doing better than Ron, but he has beaten me a few times as well.
We then decided to take a break and snack on some cookies.
"Man, Smash Bros. is so fun!" Ron exclaimed as he took a bite of a chocolate chip cookie.
"I told you." I chuckled before I took a bite of my cookie. "Hum, these cookies are great!"
"My mum made them!" Ron grinned proudly. "She makes the best cookies in Middleton!"
"I believe you." I nodded. "Can't remember the last time I ate such good homemade cookies."
We kept on snacking and loving every bite of Ron's mum's cookies. I ended up letting out something in Portuguese: "Tão bom!"
"Huh?" Ron looked at me. "Did you say something, dude?"
"Oh, I blurted out something in Portuguese." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"Nothing nasty, I hope." Ron smirked, giving me a naughty look.
"Haha no!" I quickly denied it a bit defensively. "I just said 'so good!'"
"I told you. These cookies are the bomb!"
"Indeed they are."
"Anyway, maybe you can teach me some Portuguese, Rafael." Ron snapped his fingers, as if he had a brilliant idea.
"Oh…" I looked at him a bit surprised at his request. "I dunno, Ron. I'm not a teacher…"
"Right, that's your mum." Ron remembered. "Just repeat what you said a little while ago and I'll try to pronounce it."
"Oh, alright." I shrugged. "Tão bom!" I repeated it slowly.
"TOOW BON!" Ron said it in a funny way and I nearly choked on my cookie laughing.
"Dude, that's not how you pronounce 'tão' hahah!"
"Hey, now!" Ron starts acting defensively. "Foreign languages should be easier to pronounce. It's not fair!" and he folded his arms in annoyance.
"Pay attention, Ron. Tãããooo Bommm" I spoke it even slower this time to make sure Ron grasped it.
"TJOOOOE BAUUUU!" he tried to repeat it and sounded even funnier and more off this time around. I laugh again.
"Oh this is hilarious!" I punched the couch we're both sitting on as I laughed.
"Alright, forget about the Portuguese lesson!" Ron groaned. "Let's get back to gaming, OK?"
"Fine by me." I chuckled, still a bit amused by Ron's mispronunciation of my language.
At Dr. Drakken's Lab, Drakken was bragging about his scientific genius while Shego just nodded and rolled her eyes after every statement of his. So, business as usual.
Suddenly, something started to glow inside a pod. Both Drakken and Shego looked at it in surprise.
"Wait, what's this?" Drakken raised his eyebrow. "This ancient weapon we found last week is reacting to something."
"How?" Shego asked incredulously. "It's been inside that pod all week."
"It is a mystery, alright." Drakken scratched his chin pensively. "But, regardless, we can now see what it's capable of!" Drakken flashed an evil grin.
"Woopdidoo!" Shego exclaimed sarcastically.
"Shego! Stop being condescending and open the pod!" Drakken ordered her as he pointed at the pod the mysterious weapon was being held in.
"Alright, hold your horses, Dr. D!" Shego sighed and rolled her eyes again. She walked to the pod and pressed the button to open it. The weapon was now free again and hovering in the air while glowing red. Drakken ran up to it and gently picked it up with his hands. The weapon was a large and somewhat heavy hammer.
"Let's see what this baby can do now!" Drakken looked excited.
"Yeah, you're totally going to take over the world with a giant hammer." Shego rolled her eyes yet again. "What, you are going to hammer some nails harder or something?" And now she was frowning at Drakken.
"Bring me some titanium rocks, Shego!" Drakken ordered her, and she complied even if not particularly convinced of whatever this ancient hammer could do. No way a hammer could easily break titanium rocks, right?
Anyway, Shego placed a bunch of titanium rocks on a table in front of Drakken and folded her arms as she waited for him to do what he was about to do. Drakken grinned and took a swing with the hammer, slamming it down on the rocks. Result: the rocks broke into tiny pieces and dust.
"Woah woah, time out!" Shego waved her hands in a bit of shock. "Since where are you that strong, Dr. D?"
"It's not me, Shego!" Drakken grinned. "It's this ancient hammer!"
"How can a hammer be that powerful?" Shego asked incredulously. "What material is it even made of?"
"Steel, duh!" Drakken answered tersely, as if it was obvious.
"No way ordinary steel could do that!" Shego was now raising her voice. "And you know it!"
"Well, the fact it's called an ancient weapon means it's no ordinary hammer." Drakken shrugged.
"So, what is it? A Magic Hammer like the one from Zelda?" Shego rolled her eyes.
"Well, maybe!" Drakken replied defensively. "Who cares, anyway?! We now have a very powerful weapon in our hands!" He held it with one hand and raised it in the air.
"OK, so it's a stronger than average hammer." Shego folded her arms. "But how is that going to help us take over the world? It's not like you can fire a laser beam or cause mass explosions with a hammer."
"Well, for starters, it could help us defeat Kim Possible!" Drakken flashed an evil grin.
"Alright, fair point." Shego said it dryly. "But all it's going to take to defeat Kim Possible is some big ol' hammer?"
"Do you not have any faith in me or something?" Drakken felt offended by Shego's attitude.
"Considering your plans have failed, let's see… 500 times by now, can you blame me?" Shego put her hands on her hips and shot Drakken a defying look.
"Anyway, Shego! This is just the secret weapon."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been working on a plan to take over the world again!"
"Proceed." Shego widened her eyes.
Drakken turned the screen on. Footage of a factory-like building could be seen on it.
"This is a pop factory, Shego!" Drakken exclaimed excitedly.
"That's bad for your teeth, you know." Shego smirked.
"I'm not gonna drink it, Shego!" Drakken cried.
"Then, how do you plan on taking over the world with a pop factory?" Shego folded her arms with a look of amusement on her face. "That's a ludicrous plan, even for you, Dr. D."
"Simple." Drakken cleared his throat. "I'll flood Middleton with pop." He raised his index finger as he explained his latest evil plan to Shego.
"...why not just use water, instead?" Shego asked Drakken dryly.
"Because, Shego, water is not corrosive like pop is!" Drakken flashed his trademark evil grin. "And I've also been developing a substance to make pop even more corrosive than it already is. And no, it doesn't work on water. It cannot make a non-corrosive liquid corrosive, it can only make an already corrosive liquid even more corrosive." He explained.
"Ah, sounds fun!" Shego smirked.
"Basically, people in Middleton will not only have to worry about getting their homes and cars flooded with pop, but also will have to worry about the pop destroying their properties!" Drakken lets out an evil laugh.
It's another school day, and Ron, Kim, Monique and I are hanging out. Monique is a friend of both Kim and Ron who usually wears red and is a big fan of fashion and pro wrestling.
"Monique, this coat is gorgeous!" Kim's eyes opened wide as she looked into the magazine Monique was holding open.
"I told you, girl!" Monique smirked.
"A shame Club Banana doesn't sell it." Kim sighed.
"I know." Monique also sighed.
"Girls and fashion…" I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, you're telling me." Ron rolled his eyes as well, as did Rufus.
"Oh, we're boring you guys?" Monique looked at us dryly.
"As if you two would know good fashion." Kim smirked.
"I don't need to know it." I folded my arms. "I don't care about it at all."
"Yeah, we can see that, Rafael." Monique chuckled and Kim also did so. I just rolled my eyes, not letting their comment affect me. I like my heavy metal band hoodies and my video game related hoodies as well. No one can stop me from wearing them ever.
Suddenly, a ringtone went off. I did not recognise it. Looks like it's Kim's. She then pulled out the strangest looking mobile phone I had ever seen.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked the strange looking phone as she looked at it.
"Kim." A voice came out of the strange phone. Must have been the Wade guy Kim mentioned. "Drakken and Shego are in the outskirts of Middleton attacking a local pop factory."
"A pop factory?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "Why?"
"I don't know yet. But you and Ron better check it out." Wade warned her.
"Yeah, we can't let Drakken ruin the local pop industry!" Ron clenched his fists.
Kim and Ron nodded and ran away, leaving Monique and I alone.
"What just happened?" I asked, perplexed.
"What do you mean?" Monique raised her eyebrow at me.
"Where are they going?"
"They're going to stop Drakken's latest evil plan, duh!" Monique rolled her eyes, as if she was telling me something obvious.
"Evil plan?! What?!" I was getting more and more perplexed. Just what kind of people were Kim and Ron?!
"Kim is a teen hero who's saved the world countless times, Rafael." Monique stared at me in disbelief. "You didn't know?"
"Oh, wait, so she's literally a teen hero?!" My eyes nearly popped out of my face in realization.
"Yeah, dude." Monique nodded as she smirked at me, amused by my ignorance. "I know you're sorta new here, still, but it looks like you've been rather slow on the uptake."
"Erm…" All I could do now was scratch my head sheepishly. How embarrassing. But, really, who would expect 2 highschool kids to be superheroes who go out to save the world?! I guess that does explain Kim and Ron having a very close friendship. Things were starting to get clearer now.
Kim and Ron entered a van. The driver is a jolly and chubby middle aged man wearing a beanie.
"Thanks for the lift, Mr. Anderson." Kim smiled.
"Oh don't mention it Kim." Mr. Anderson let out a jolly laugh. "It's the least I could do after you helped my shipwrecked crew last spring!"
"Oh, that? No big!" Kim waved her hand, trying to play it down.
"I've almost gotten eaten by a shark!" Ron cried in horror at the memories.
"Shark?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "It was a dolphin, Ron."
"They both have big fins on their backs, OK?" Ron threw his arms up in the air. "It's not like I could tell at first glance."
"And we're here, kids!" Mr. Anderson stopped the van and let Kim and Ron out. Kim waved him goodbye and both her and Ron entered the pop factory.
At the factory, Drakken's henchmen took down the security guards and the factory employees to begin their sabotage in order to flood Middleton with pop. They are dropping the corrosive-raising substance in the pop tank before releasing all the pop in the factory into Middleton.
But, Kim and Ron have arrived and began taking down Drakken's henchmen.
"Kim Possible!" Drakken cried.
"I'll handle Kimmie-cakes!" Shego jumped and landed in front of Kim.
"We meet again, Shego." Kim put on a fighting stance.
"Missed me?" Shego smirked. But Kim did not answer and both girls began fist fighting like always.
"Get her, KP!" Ron cheered in support of Kim. "Guh-huh!" And so did Rufus.
Kim and Shego fought all over the factory for several minutes when Wade called Kim on her Kimmunicator again.
"Wade, I'm busy now." Kim answered as she dodged another one of Shego's strikes.
"Kim, it looks like Drakken put some corrosive-raising substance in the pop tank." Wade warned.
"Corrosive?!" Kim's eyes widened as she spoke with a concerned tone.
"Yes, it could cause a lot of destruction if it increases the corrosive nature of pop tenfold." Wade's expression turned even more serious.
Kim looked to her right and could see the soda in the big tank was acting funny. Clearly it had already been spiked with something from Drakken's henchmen. Then, Drakken pulled down a lever and the tank turned horizontal and the pop began spilling all over the factory and also leaving it. Ron, who was standing on the ground floor, did not jump at first, and as the pop hit his lower body, he was now left in his underwear.
"AH! NOT AGAIN!" Ron covered his underwear with his hands in embarrassment.
"The pop will melt Middleton away!" Drakken let out an evil laugh.
"That's horrible!" Kim cried as she dodged a kick by Shego.
"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it, princess?" Shego sneered.
Kim's expression hardened and she landed a kick in Shego's gut, which tossed her against the wall.
"Ron!" Kim shouted, looking for her friend and partner. "We need to save Middleton!"
"You cannot stop the flooding, Kim Possible!" Drakken announced victoriously. "It's too late!"
"What! You're lying, Drakken!" Kim was now getting angrier.
But Drakken seemed to be telling the truth. Both Ron and Kim could tell all the factory valves were sabotaged and there was no way to stop a single drop of pop from flooding Middleton now. So, all they could do now was head back to Middleton to prevent any further damage.
In Middleton Downtown, the pop washed over the streets and slowly melted the cars and bikes away, and also damaged the road and pavements. The pop also made its way to the suburbs, knocking down trees and melting bushes and yard fences away. And also melting clothes away, of course. Lots of people ended up in a similar situation to Ron's, without shoes and pants. Or even without upper body clothes!
"Come in, Wade!" Kim turned on the Kimmunicator, speaking with a clear sense of urgency.
"Kim, you and Ron need to go to a science lab 3 blocks away to find a formula that can neutralise the highly-corrosive substance that Drakken laced the pop with. It won't stop the flood, but it will make it way less destructive, which should be your priority for now."
"Gotcha, Wade." Kim nodded. "Ron, follow me!" Kim gestured at Ron with her hand. Ron nodded and ran after Kim, following her to whatever she was taking him. Both jumped on an improvised rafter to navigate through the flooded Middleton streets.
"Rufus made this rafter, KP!" Ron pets Rufus proudly.
"You rock, Rufus!" Kim smiled at Rufus.
"Huh-huh!" Rufus squealed happily.
The rafter took the duo… well, trio, down the pop flooded streets of Middleton towards the science lab. Of course, the rafter slowly melted away as it rode the highly corrosive pop, despite it being made of a thick and resistant titanium material. Just as the trio arrived in front of the science lab, they jumped out of the rafter in time as it sunk into the deep pop flood and most likely melted away under it. As Kim and Ron jumped off the rafter, Kim drew her grappling hook, held on to Ron, and fired it at one of the windows of the top floors of the science lab building, pulling both heroes onto the outside of said window.
"Phew, I thought I was gonna turn into Ron-nade!" Ron wiped his sweaty forehead in relief.
Kim just nodded and cut the window glass open. Both her and Ron entered the science lab. They knew they needed to hurry up before the pop would tear down the foundations of the building with them inside it. That or before the water le… pop level could rise all the way up to the top floor with them inside still and melt both teen heroes away. Kim and Ron frantically looked at various formulas and test tubes looking for something that could counter the highly corrosive substance, essentially an anti-corrosive agent. And, of course, Rufus also helped.
"It doesn't seem to be anywhere!" Kim let out a cry in frustration.
"For real!" Ron nodded in agreement as he kept digging into drawers.
"Squeek!" Rufus pointed at test tubes that were filled with liquids that were labeled 'anti-corrosive agents' below them on their shelves.
"Wade, is this it?" Kim held her Kimmunicator in the air, right in front of said shelves to show them to Wade.
"Yes!" Wade nodded. "Now mix them up in order to create a super powerful anti-corrosive agent to lower the corrosion levels of the pop to normal levels."
"Right on!" Kim nodded and got to work, as did Ron.
After they're done carefully mixing up all the anti-corrosive liquids from the test tubes into one large container, it begins acting wild, as if it was boiling.
"It looks like it's going to explode!" Ron held his face with his hands in horror.
"Let's throw it into the pop fast, then!" Kim grabbed the large container, ran over to the nearest window and threw it into the soda flood stream. After it landed in it, it quickly began lowering the anti-corrosive properties of the pop back to normal levels.
"We did it!" Kim and Ron high-fived each other. Kim then took out her Kimmunicator again to contact Wade. "Now what, Wade?"
"Well, I'm afraid now you have to wait until pop stops streaming into Middleton or clean the city of it somehow…" Wade scratches the back of his head a bit defeatingly.
"I think I know how!" Kim smirked, clearly coming up with a good idea. "Follow me, Ron!"
Now it was safe to touch pop again, but nonetheless, the streets were flooded and they couldn't just walk on the pavement yet, so Rufus made a wood rafter this time around. There was no danger of it melting away anymore, after all. Ron and Kim boarded it and Ron decided to put his hand into the pop and drink a little of it.
"Ron!" Kim scolded him. "I can't believe you!"
"Hey, this pop is good stuff, Kim!" Ron smiled.
"But it's dirty from flooding the city!" Kim grimaced a bit and was clearly grossed out that Ron drank a bit of it.
"Hey, pop has never hurt the Ron-man!" Ron said it cockily. And Kim could only roll her eyes.
"Anyway, what's your idea, KP? Where are we going?" Ron asked, confused.
"We need a bunch of tank trucks to suck up all the pop that's flooding Middleton." Kim explained.
"Oh right!" Ron nodded. "That makes sense."
Around 15 minutes later, they reach a parking lot with several tank trucks in the outskirts of Middleton that hasn't been affected by the floods yet.
"Hurry, Ron!" Kim motioned to him. "We each need to set up the hoses to fill in the empty tanks with the pop that will be arriving here anytime soon!"
Ron nodded and they got to work. They finished the job right at the last minute as the stream of pop was about to enter the parking lot. As it did, the hoses sucked it into the several tank trucks. There were about 30 of them parked in the massive parking lot, so they ended up being enough to stop the flood and suck all the pop off the streets of Middleton. The streets were safe to walk on again, even if they were sticky from the overtly sweet pop.
"We did it, KP! BOOYAH!" Ron pumped his fist in the air.
"Uh huh." Kim nodded. "But where did Drakken and Shego go? Are they still at the factory? Let's go!"
At the factory, Drakken was in shock at the live news coverage announcing the flood was over, and it was all thanks to Kim Possible. And not too long after, Kim and Ron entered the factory again for a final showdown with Drakken and Shego.
"Give it up, Drakken! Another one of your evil plans has been foiled!" Kim announced menacingly.
Drakken nearly panics, but then remembers… he still had the secret weapon. The big hammer! He picked it up and posed in front of Kim, holding it in front of him.
"Woah, look out, Kim!" Ron's jaw dropped at the size of the hammer.
Drakken charged and striked with the big hammer, missing Kim, but hitting a wall behind her and knocking it down, not just into pieces, but into dust.
"Woah!" Kim's eyes nearly popped out. "That's no normal hammer…"
"Indeed it isn't, Kim Possible!" Drakken grinned. "It can pulverise even titanium into dust. Imagine how easily it can shatter your bones!"
"AH!" Kim's mouth opened wide in fear. This hammer was trouble indeed. Drakken took another swing, and this one nearly hit Kim.
"Why is it glowing red?" Ron asked.
As Drakken prepared another swing, Kim was faster this time and gave Drakken a jump kick in the face, knocking him behind to the floor, making him drop the hammer.
"Ugh!" Shego facepalmed in frustration. "Leave the fighting to the professionals, Dr. D!"
Ron just couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "Like Rafael would say, 'TJOOE BAUUUM'" he shouted happily with a thick American accent, butchering the Portuguese pronunciation of the words 'tão bom' taught to him by Rafael.
"What is that loser sidekick even saying?" Shego rolled her eyes.
Kim was now standing over Drakken. She took a look at the hammer on the floor, and suddenly its red glowing light turned off.
"Huh?" Kim looked at it a bit perplexed. "It was glowing and no longer is it?" She picked it up and scratched her head.
Ron now joined Kim by her side. "That is weird, indeed."
But Shego rushed, knocking Kim down, and now the hammer is in her hands. "Don't party just yet, Kimmie!" she sneered.
"Shego!" Kim groaned in pain as she slowly got up.
Shego then launched at Kim with the hammer in her hands and took a swing at her, slightly missing her. The hammer hits the wall… but doesn't even crack it.
"HUH?!" Shego gasped. "I thought this thing was supposed to be super powerful?!" she looked at it incredulously as she landed on her feet.
"It stopped glowing, Shego!" Drakken cried. "I guess that means its powers have been deactivated!"
"But how and why?" Shego cried back in frustration. "How does this junk even work?!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Ron laughed hard. "This is TJOOOE BAAAU!" He repeated his butchered pronunciation of the Portuguese expression Rafael taught him recently.
And now, suddenly, the hammer is glowing a red light again, much to Shego's and Drakken's positively surprised expressions and Kim's horrified expression.
"Wait, what!" Kim cried with her hand covering her mouth in shock.
"Alright, you're toast!" Shego flashes a smug smirk and takes a quick swing at Kim, nearly missing her by a hair this time. Kim feared for her bones for a precious split second there.
"Why, you!" Shego groaned in frustration at Kim.
"Ron! Say those strange words again!" Kim looked in Ron's direction now.
"What words?" Ron raised his eyebrow.
"The words you said before the hammer began glowing red again!" Kim's face frowned as she nervously shouted in his direction.
"Oh TJOOE BAAAU?" Ron repeated the Portuguese expression again. "Why?"
And the hammer stopped glowing again.
"That's it! Those words activate the hammer!" Kim realised it. "Ron, NEVER say those words again!" Kim ordered him.
"OK! OK! How could two words Rafael taught me have such an effect?!" Ron was now more confused than ever.
"Rafael taught you those words?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"Yes! He told me it was a Portuguese expression!" Ron explained it.
Just as the two heroes were distracted arguing, Shego and Drakken escaped on their spaceship, leaving our heroes alone in the empty and damaged pop factory.
"Ugh!" Kim groaned in frustration. "They got away, again!"
"Well, at least they didn't take the hammer." Ron pointed at it lying on the floor.
"You're right, Ron." Kim slowly walked to it and gently picked it up. "We need to take this to an expert to tell us what kind of weapon this is. Seems like an ancient sort of weapon.
"Like Thor's hammer?" Ron smiled.
"I don't think so, no…" Kim shook her head. "I don't see anything that could be related to Norse mythology here.
Next day, in school, I ran up to Kim and Ron as soon as I saw them.
"I saw you guys on the news!" I quickly spoke. "You two really saved Middleton!"
"Hey, that's just what we do, man!" Ron smirked proudly.
"Yeah, so not the drama, Rafael." Kim waved her hand, trying to make it look less of a big deal than it was.
"So you two are literal teen heroes? Crazy!" I looked at both Kim and Ron in awe.
"Pretty cool, huh!" Ron's smirk was now getting more smug.
"By the way, Rafael." Kim now looked at me with a serious look on her face.
"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrow. What could Kim possibly want to tell me?
"Ron told me you taught him some Portuguese words recently." she folded her arms as she looked at me, almost as if she was studying me.
I looked up at her for a few seconds trying to remember what she could possibly be referring to and then I remembered it. "Oh yeah, I did. Why?"
"What exactly did you teach him to say?" Kim pressed.
"Nothing naughty!" I waved my hands defensively. "Just a regular expression: Tão bom. It simply means 'so good'. I was complimenting his mother's chocolate cookies, because they're delicious. Ever tasted them, Kim?"
"Oh yeah, I did. They are delicious." Kim smiled. "But wait, could you pronounce that again?"
"Tão bom?" I raised my eyebrow as I slowly repeated the two words to her.
"Those two words seemed to activate an ancient hammer weapon whenever Ron said them." Kim's eyes widened.
"Oh, that's because he butchered the pronunciation completely!" I laughed. "For all I know he might have said something supernatural in Sumerian or something."
"Hey! Not my fault Portuguese is a pain to pronounce!" Ron folded his arms in annoyance.
"Well, then don't say those 2 words ever again, Ron!" Kim warned him sternly.
I now smiled and remembered something that I knew I would regret, but it's worth it. "By the way." I smirked.
"Hum?" Kim looked at me again, this time a quizzical look on her face.
"There's also a feminine version of that expression. 'Tão boa'." I explained mischievously.
"Right, a lot of languages are different from English, having gendered nouns." Kim smiled, not realising what point I was trying to make here.
"Well, yeah, and Kim, you are tão boa, I must say" I smirked naughtily.
"I am so good? I know I am, but thanks, anyway." Kim shrugged.
"Wait, Rafael." Ron interjected. "Didn't you tell me the feminine version of the expression also had another meaning to it?"
"It does? What?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"Well…" I tried to spit it out but I couldn't find the guts to say it, but Ron clearly being the blabbermouth he is, was about to break it.
"KP, Rafael just said to you in Portuguese that you are 'so hot' or 'so fine'." Ron explained it nonchalantly.
"Oh yeah?!" Kim blinked fast in surprise and looked at me now with a slightly tense expression on her face. "Is that so, Rafael?"
"Well… yeah…" I began sweating.
"Say that again." Kim ordered me dryly.
"Why…?" I was a bit scared now. And for good reason, since Kim was now holding her backpack with one hand only and giving me a bit of an evil look.
"Is that a way to talk to a girl?" Kim raised her arm and I began running for my life as she ran after me throughout the school halls.
"I'm sorry!" I cried as I kept running away from Kim.
"No! No!" Kim kept a stern look on her face as she chased after me. "Tell me how hot I am, to my face again! Now in English!"
And Kim chased me down for a while until I reached a dead end and suffered the wrath of getting smacked in the head.
We then decided to take a break and snack on some cookies.
"Man, Smash Bros. is so fun!" Ron exclaimed as he took a bite of a chocolate chip cookie.
"I told you." I chuckled before I took a bite of my cookie. "Hum, these cookies are great!"
"My mum made them!" Ron grinned proudly. "She makes the best cookies in Middleton!"
"I believe you." I nodded. "Can't remember the last time I ate such good homemade cookies."
We kept on snacking and loving every bite of Ron's mum's cookies. I ended up letting out something in Portuguese: "Tão bom!"
"Huh?" Ron looked at me. "Did you say something, dude?"
"Oh, I blurted out something in Portuguese." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"Nothing nasty, I hope." Ron smirked, giving me a naughty look.
"Haha no!" I quickly denied it a bit defensively. "I just said 'so good!'"
"I told you. These cookies are the bomb!"
"Indeed they are."
"Anyway, maybe you can teach me some Portuguese, Rafael." Ron snapped his fingers, as if he had a brilliant idea.
"Oh…" I looked at him a bit surprised at his request. "I dunno, Ron. I'm not a teacher…"
"Right, that's your mum." Ron remembered. "Just repeat what you said a little while ago and I'll try to pronounce it."
"Oh, alright." I shrugged. "Tão bom!" I repeated it slowly.
"TOOW BON!" Ron said it in a funny way and I nearly choked on my cookie laughing.
"Dude, that's not how you pronounce 'tão' hahah!"
"Hey, now!" Ron starts acting defensively. "Foreign languages should be easier to pronounce. It's not fair!" and he folded his arms in annoyance.
"Pay attention, Ron. Tãããooo Bommm" I spoke it even slower this time to make sure Ron grasped it.
"TJOOOOE BAUUUU!" he tried to repeat it and sounded even funnier and more off this time around. I laugh again.
"Oh this is hilarious!" I punched the couch we're both sitting on as I laughed.
"Alright, forget about the Portuguese lesson!" Ron groaned. "Let's get back to gaming, OK?"
"Fine by me." I chuckled, still a bit amused by Ron's mispronunciation of my language.
At Dr. Drakken's Lab, Drakken was bragging about his scientific genius while Shego just nodded and rolled her eyes after every statement of his. So, business as usual.
Suddenly, something started to glow inside a pod. Both Drakken and Shego looked at it in surprise.
"Wait, what's this?" Drakken raised his eyebrow. "This ancient weapon we found last week is reacting to something."
"How?" Shego asked incredulously. "It's been inside that pod all week."
"It is a mystery, alright." Drakken scratched his chin pensively. "But, regardless, we can now see what it's capable of!" Drakken flashed an evil grin.
"Woopdidoo!" Shego exclaimed sarcastically.
"Shego! Stop being condescending and open the pod!" Drakken ordered her as he pointed at the pod the mysterious weapon was being held in.
"Alright, hold your horses, Dr. D!" Shego sighed and rolled her eyes again. She walked to the pod and pressed the button to open it. The weapon was now free again and hovering in the air while glowing red. Drakken ran up to it and gently picked it up with his hands. The weapon was a large and somewhat heavy hammer.
"Let's see what this baby can do now!" Drakken looked excited.
"Yeah, you're totally going to take over the world with a giant hammer." Shego rolled her eyes yet again. "What, you are going to hammer some nails harder or something?" And now she was frowning at Drakken.
"Bring me some titanium rocks, Shego!" Drakken ordered her, and she complied even if not particularly convinced of whatever this ancient hammer could do. No way a hammer could easily break titanium rocks, right?
Anyway, Shego placed a bunch of titanium rocks on a table in front of Drakken and folded her arms as she waited for him to do what he was about to do. Drakken grinned and took a swing with the hammer, slamming it down on the rocks. Result: the rocks broke into tiny pieces and dust.
"Woah woah, time out!" Shego waved her hands in a bit of shock. "Since where are you that strong, Dr. D?"
"It's not me, Shego!" Drakken grinned. "It's this ancient hammer!"
"How can a hammer be that powerful?" Shego asked incredulously. "What material is it even made of?"
"Steel, duh!" Drakken answered tersely, as if it was obvious.
"No way ordinary steel could do that!" Shego was now raising her voice. "And you know it!"
"Well, the fact it's called an ancient weapon means it's no ordinary hammer." Drakken shrugged.
"So, what is it? A Magic Hammer like the one from Zelda?" Shego rolled her eyes.
"Well, maybe!" Drakken replied defensively. "Who cares, anyway?! We now have a very powerful weapon in our hands!" He held it with one hand and raised it in the air.
"OK, so it's a stronger than average hammer." Shego folded her arms. "But how is that going to help us take over the world? It's not like you can fire a laser beam or cause mass explosions with a hammer."
"Well, for starters, it could help us defeat Kim Possible!" Drakken flashed an evil grin.
"Alright, fair point." Shego said it dryly. "But all it's going to take to defeat Kim Possible is some big ol' hammer?"
"Do you not have any faith in me or something?" Drakken felt offended by Shego's attitude.
"Considering your plans have failed, let's see… 500 times by now, can you blame me?" Shego put her hands on her hips and shot Drakken a defying look.
"Anyway, Shego! This is just the secret weapon."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been working on a plan to take over the world again!"
"Proceed." Shego widened her eyes.
Drakken turned the screen on. Footage of a factory-like building could be seen on it.
"This is a pop factory, Shego!" Drakken exclaimed excitedly.
"That's bad for your teeth, you know." Shego smirked.
"I'm not gonna drink it, Shego!" Drakken cried.
"Then, how do you plan on taking over the world with a pop factory?" Shego folded her arms with a look of amusement on her face. "That's a ludicrous plan, even for you, Dr. D."
"Simple." Drakken cleared his throat. "I'll flood Middleton with pop." He raised his index finger as he explained his latest evil plan to Shego.
"...why not just use water, instead?" Shego asked Drakken dryly.
"Because, Shego, water is not corrosive like pop is!" Drakken flashed his trademark evil grin. "And I've also been developing a substance to make pop even more corrosive than it already is. And no, it doesn't work on water. It cannot make a non-corrosive liquid corrosive, it can only make an already corrosive liquid even more corrosive." He explained.
"Ah, sounds fun!" Shego smirked.
"Basically, people in Middleton will not only have to worry about getting their homes and cars flooded with pop, but also will have to worry about the pop destroying their properties!" Drakken lets out an evil laugh.
It's another school day, and Ron, Kim, Monique and I are hanging out. Monique is a friend of both Kim and Ron who usually wears red and is a big fan of fashion and pro wrestling.
"Monique, this coat is gorgeous!" Kim's eyes opened wide as she looked into the magazine Monique was holding open.
"I told you, girl!" Monique smirked.
"A shame Club Banana doesn't sell it." Kim sighed.
"I know." Monique also sighed.
"Girls and fashion…" I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, you're telling me." Ron rolled his eyes as well, as did Rufus.
"Oh, we're boring you guys?" Monique looked at us dryly.
"As if you two would know good fashion." Kim smirked.
"I don't need to know it." I folded my arms. "I don't care about it at all."
"Yeah, we can see that, Rafael." Monique chuckled and Kim also did so. I just rolled my eyes, not letting their comment affect me. I like my heavy metal band hoodies and my video game related hoodies as well. No one can stop me from wearing them ever.
Suddenly, a ringtone went off. I did not recognise it. Looks like it's Kim's. She then pulled out the strangest looking mobile phone I had ever seen.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked the strange looking phone as she looked at it.
"Kim." A voice came out of the strange phone. Must have been the Wade guy Kim mentioned. "Drakken and Shego are in the outskirts of Middleton attacking a local pop factory."
"A pop factory?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "Why?"
"I don't know yet. But you and Ron better check it out." Wade warned her.
"Yeah, we can't let Drakken ruin the local pop industry!" Ron clenched his fists.
Kim and Ron nodded and ran away, leaving Monique and I alone.
"What just happened?" I asked, perplexed.
"What do you mean?" Monique raised her eyebrow at me.
"Where are they going?"
"They're going to stop Drakken's latest evil plan, duh!" Monique rolled her eyes, as if she was telling me something obvious.
"Evil plan?! What?!" I was getting more and more perplexed. Just what kind of people were Kim and Ron?!
"Kim is a teen hero who's saved the world countless times, Rafael." Monique stared at me in disbelief. "You didn't know?"
"Oh, wait, so she's literally a teen hero?!" My eyes nearly popped out of my face in realization.
"Yeah, dude." Monique nodded as she smirked at me, amused by my ignorance. "I know you're sorta new here, still, but it looks like you've been rather slow on the uptake."
"Erm…" All I could do now was scratch my head sheepishly. How embarrassing. But, really, who would expect 2 highschool kids to be superheroes who go out to save the world?! I guess that does explain Kim and Ron having a very close friendship. Things were starting to get clearer now.
Kim and Ron entered a van. The driver is a jolly and chubby middle aged man wearing a beanie.
"Thanks for the lift, Mr. Anderson." Kim smiled.
"Oh don't mention it Kim." Mr. Anderson let out a jolly laugh. "It's the least I could do after you helped my shipwrecked crew last spring!"
"Oh, that? No big!" Kim waved her hand, trying to play it down.
"I've almost gotten eaten by a shark!" Ron cried in horror at the memories.
"Shark?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "It was a dolphin, Ron."
"They both have big fins on their backs, OK?" Ron threw his arms up in the air. "It's not like I could tell at first glance."
"And we're here, kids!" Mr. Anderson stopped the van and let Kim and Ron out. Kim waved him goodbye and both her and Ron entered the pop factory.
At the factory, Drakken's henchmen took down the security guards and the factory employees to begin their sabotage in order to flood Middleton with pop. They are dropping the corrosive-raising substance in the pop tank before releasing all the pop in the factory into Middleton.
But, Kim and Ron have arrived and began taking down Drakken's henchmen.
"Kim Possible!" Drakken cried.
"I'll handle Kimmie-cakes!" Shego jumped and landed in front of Kim.
"We meet again, Shego." Kim put on a fighting stance.
"Missed me?" Shego smirked. But Kim did not answer and both girls began fist fighting like always.
"Get her, KP!" Ron cheered in support of Kim. "Guh-huh!" And so did Rufus.
Kim and Shego fought all over the factory for several minutes when Wade called Kim on her Kimmunicator again.
"Wade, I'm busy now." Kim answered as she dodged another one of Shego's strikes.
"Kim, it looks like Drakken put some corrosive-raising substance in the pop tank." Wade warned.
"Corrosive?!" Kim's eyes widened as she spoke with a concerned tone.
"Yes, it could cause a lot of destruction if it increases the corrosive nature of pop tenfold." Wade's expression turned even more serious.
Kim looked to her right and could see the soda in the big tank was acting funny. Clearly it had already been spiked with something from Drakken's henchmen. Then, Drakken pulled down a lever and the tank turned horizontal and the pop began spilling all over the factory and also leaving it. Ron, who was standing on the ground floor, did not jump at first, and as the pop hit his lower body, he was now left in his underwear.
"AH! NOT AGAIN!" Ron covered his underwear with his hands in embarrassment.
"The pop will melt Middleton away!" Drakken let out an evil laugh.
"That's horrible!" Kim cried as she dodged a kick by Shego.
"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it, princess?" Shego sneered.
Kim's expression hardened and she landed a kick in Shego's gut, which tossed her against the wall.
"Ron!" Kim shouted, looking for her friend and partner. "We need to save Middleton!"
"You cannot stop the flooding, Kim Possible!" Drakken announced victoriously. "It's too late!"
"What! You're lying, Drakken!" Kim was now getting angrier.
But Drakken seemed to be telling the truth. Both Ron and Kim could tell all the factory valves were sabotaged and there was no way to stop a single drop of pop from flooding Middleton now. So, all they could do now was head back to Middleton to prevent any further damage.
In Middleton Downtown, the pop washed over the streets and slowly melted the cars and bikes away, and also damaged the road and pavements. The pop also made its way to the suburbs, knocking down trees and melting bushes and yard fences away. And also melting clothes away, of course. Lots of people ended up in a similar situation to Ron's, without shoes and pants. Or even without upper body clothes!
"Come in, Wade!" Kim turned on the Kimmunicator, speaking with a clear sense of urgency.
"Kim, you and Ron need to go to a science lab 3 blocks away to find a formula that can neutralise the highly-corrosive substance that Drakken laced the pop with. It won't stop the flood, but it will make it way less destructive, which should be your priority for now."
"Gotcha, Wade." Kim nodded. "Ron, follow me!" Kim gestured at Ron with her hand. Ron nodded and ran after Kim, following her to whatever she was taking him. Both jumped on an improvised rafter to navigate through the flooded Middleton streets.
"Rufus made this rafter, KP!" Ron pets Rufus proudly.
"You rock, Rufus!" Kim smiled at Rufus.
"Huh-huh!" Rufus squealed happily.
The rafter took the duo… well, trio, down the pop flooded streets of Middleton towards the science lab. Of course, the rafter slowly melted away as it rode the highly corrosive pop, despite it being made of a thick and resistant titanium material. Just as the trio arrived in front of the science lab, they jumped out of the rafter in time as it sunk into the deep pop flood and most likely melted away under it. As Kim and Ron jumped off the rafter, Kim drew her grappling hook, held on to Ron, and fired it at one of the windows of the top floors of the science lab building, pulling both heroes onto the outside of said window.
"Phew, I thought I was gonna turn into Ron-nade!" Ron wiped his sweaty forehead in relief.
Kim just nodded and cut the window glass open. Both her and Ron entered the science lab. They knew they needed to hurry up before the pop would tear down the foundations of the building with them inside it. That or before the water le… pop level could rise all the way up to the top floor with them inside still and melt both teen heroes away. Kim and Ron frantically looked at various formulas and test tubes looking for something that could counter the highly corrosive substance, essentially an anti-corrosive agent. And, of course, Rufus also helped.
"It doesn't seem to be anywhere!" Kim let out a cry in frustration.
"For real!" Ron nodded in agreement as he kept digging into drawers.
"Squeek!" Rufus pointed at test tubes that were filled with liquids that were labeled 'anti-corrosive agents' below them on their shelves.
"Wade, is this it?" Kim held her Kimmunicator in the air, right in front of said shelves to show them to Wade.
"Yes!" Wade nodded. "Now mix them up in order to create a super powerful anti-corrosive agent to lower the corrosion levels of the pop to normal levels."
"Right on!" Kim nodded and got to work, as did Ron.
After they're done carefully mixing up all the anti-corrosive liquids from the test tubes into one large container, it begins acting wild, as if it was boiling.
"It looks like it's going to explode!" Ron held his face with his hands in horror.
"Let's throw it into the pop fast, then!" Kim grabbed the large container, ran over to the nearest window and threw it into the soda flood stream. After it landed in it, it quickly began lowering the anti-corrosive properties of the pop back to normal levels.
"We did it!" Kim and Ron high-fived each other. Kim then took out her Kimmunicator again to contact Wade. "Now what, Wade?"
"Well, I'm afraid now you have to wait until pop stops streaming into Middleton or clean the city of it somehow…" Wade scratches the back of his head a bit defeatingly.
"I think I know how!" Kim smirked, clearly coming up with a good idea. "Follow me, Ron!"
Now it was safe to touch pop again, but nonetheless, the streets were flooded and they couldn't just walk on the pavement yet, so Rufus made a wood rafter this time around. There was no danger of it melting away anymore, after all. Ron and Kim boarded it and Ron decided to put his hand into the pop and drink a little of it.
"Ron!" Kim scolded him. "I can't believe you!"
"Hey, this pop is good stuff, Kim!" Ron smiled.
"But it's dirty from flooding the city!" Kim grimaced a bit and was clearly grossed out that Ron drank a bit of it.
"Hey, pop has never hurt the Ron-man!" Ron said it cockily. And Kim could only roll her eyes.
"Anyway, what's your idea, KP? Where are we going?" Ron asked, confused.
"We need a bunch of tank trucks to suck up all the pop that's flooding Middleton." Kim explained.
"Oh right!" Ron nodded. "That makes sense."
Around 15 minutes later, they reach a parking lot with several tank trucks in the outskirts of Middleton that hasn't been affected by the floods yet.
"Hurry, Ron!" Kim motioned to him. "We each need to set up the hoses to fill in the empty tanks with the pop that will be arriving here anytime soon!"
Ron nodded and they got to work. They finished the job right at the last minute as the stream of pop was about to enter the parking lot. As it did, the hoses sucked it into the several tank trucks. There were about 30 of them parked in the massive parking lot, so they ended up being enough to stop the flood and suck all the pop off the streets of Middleton. The streets were safe to walk on again, even if they were sticky from the overtly sweet pop.
"We did it, KP! BOOYAH!" Ron pumped his fist in the air.
"Uh huh." Kim nodded. "But where did Drakken and Shego go? Are they still at the factory? Let's go!"
At the factory, Drakken was in shock at the live news coverage announcing the flood was over, and it was all thanks to Kim Possible. And not too long after, Kim and Ron entered the factory again for a final showdown with Drakken and Shego.
"Give it up, Drakken! Another one of your evil plans has been foiled!" Kim announced menacingly.
Drakken nearly panics, but then remembers… he still had the secret weapon. The big hammer! He picked it up and posed in front of Kim, holding it in front of him.
"Woah, look out, Kim!" Ron's jaw dropped at the size of the hammer.
Drakken charged and striked with the big hammer, missing Kim, but hitting a wall behind her and knocking it down, not just into pieces, but into dust.
"Woah!" Kim's eyes nearly popped out. "That's no normal hammer…"
"Indeed it isn't, Kim Possible!" Drakken grinned. "It can pulverise even titanium into dust. Imagine how easily it can shatter your bones!"
"AH!" Kim's mouth opened wide in fear. This hammer was trouble indeed. Drakken took another swing, and this one nearly hit Kim.
"Why is it glowing red?" Ron asked.
As Drakken prepared another swing, Kim was faster this time and gave Drakken a jump kick in the face, knocking him behind to the floor, making him drop the hammer.
"Ugh!" Shego facepalmed in frustration. "Leave the fighting to the professionals, Dr. D!"
Ron just couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "Like Rafael would say, 'TJOOE BAUUUM'" he shouted happily with a thick American accent, butchering the Portuguese pronunciation of the words 'tão bom' taught to him by Rafael.
"What is that loser sidekick even saying?" Shego rolled her eyes.
Kim was now standing over Drakken. She took a look at the hammer on the floor, and suddenly its red glowing light turned off.
"Huh?" Kim looked at it a bit perplexed. "It was glowing and no longer is it?" She picked it up and scratched her head.
Ron now joined Kim by her side. "That is weird, indeed."
But Shego rushed, knocking Kim down, and now the hammer is in her hands. "Don't party just yet, Kimmie!" she sneered.
"Shego!" Kim groaned in pain as she slowly got up.
Shego then launched at Kim with the hammer in her hands and took a swing at her, slightly missing her. The hammer hits the wall… but doesn't even crack it.
"HUH?!" Shego gasped. "I thought this thing was supposed to be super powerful?!" she looked at it incredulously as she landed on her feet.
"It stopped glowing, Shego!" Drakken cried. "I guess that means its powers have been deactivated!"
"But how and why?" Shego cried back in frustration. "How does this junk even work?!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Ron laughed hard. "This is TJOOOE BAAAU!" He repeated his butchered pronunciation of the Portuguese expression Rafael taught him recently.
And now, suddenly, the hammer is glowing a red light again, much to Shego's and Drakken's positively surprised expressions and Kim's horrified expression.
"Wait, what!" Kim cried with her hand covering her mouth in shock.
"Alright, you're toast!" Shego flashes a smug smirk and takes a quick swing at Kim, nearly missing her by a hair this time. Kim feared for her bones for a precious split second there.
"Why, you!" Shego groaned in frustration at Kim.
"Ron! Say those strange words again!" Kim looked in Ron's direction now.
"What words?" Ron raised his eyebrow.
"The words you said before the hammer began glowing red again!" Kim's face frowned as she nervously shouted in his direction.
"Oh TJOOE BAAAU?" Ron repeated the Portuguese expression again. "Why?"
And the hammer stopped glowing again.
"That's it! Those words activate the hammer!" Kim realised it. "Ron, NEVER say those words again!" Kim ordered him.
"OK! OK! How could two words Rafael taught me have such an effect?!" Ron was now more confused than ever.
"Rafael taught you those words?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"Yes! He told me it was a Portuguese expression!" Ron explained it.
Just as the two heroes were distracted arguing, Shego and Drakken escaped on their spaceship, leaving our heroes alone in the empty and damaged pop factory.
"Ugh!" Kim groaned in frustration. "They got away, again!"
"Well, at least they didn't take the hammer." Ron pointed at it lying on the floor.
"You're right, Ron." Kim slowly walked to it and gently picked it up. "We need to take this to an expert to tell us what kind of weapon this is. Seems like an ancient sort of weapon.
"Like Thor's hammer?" Ron smiled.
"I don't think so, no…" Kim shook her head. "I don't see anything that could be related to Norse mythology here.
Next day, in school, I ran up to Kim and Ron as soon as I saw them.
"I saw you guys on the news!" I quickly spoke. "You two really saved Middleton!"
"Hey, that's just what we do, man!" Ron smirked proudly.
"Yeah, so not the drama, Rafael." Kim waved her hand, trying to make it look less of a big deal than it was.
"So you two are literal teen heroes? Crazy!" I looked at both Kim and Ron in awe.
"Pretty cool, huh!" Ron's smirk was now getting more smug.
"By the way, Rafael." Kim now looked at me with a serious look on her face.
"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrow. What could Kim possibly want to tell me?
"Ron told me you taught him some Portuguese words recently." she folded her arms as she looked at me, almost as if she was studying me.
I looked up at her for a few seconds trying to remember what she could possibly be referring to and then I remembered it. "Oh yeah, I did. Why?"
"What exactly did you teach him to say?" Kim pressed.
"Nothing naughty!" I waved my hands defensively. "Just a regular expression: Tão bom. It simply means 'so good'. I was complimenting his mother's chocolate cookies, because they're delicious. Ever tasted them, Kim?"
"Oh yeah, I did. They are delicious." Kim smiled. "But wait, could you pronounce that again?"
"Tão bom?" I raised my eyebrow as I slowly repeated the two words to her.
"Those two words seemed to activate an ancient hammer weapon whenever Ron said them." Kim's eyes widened.
"Oh, that's because he butchered the pronunciation completely!" I laughed. "For all I know he might have said something supernatural in Sumerian or something."
"Hey! Not my fault Portuguese is a pain to pronounce!" Ron folded his arms in annoyance.
"Well, then don't say those 2 words ever again, Ron!" Kim warned him sternly.
I now smiled and remembered something that I knew I would regret, but it's worth it. "By the way." I smirked.
"Hum?" Kim looked at me again, this time a quizzical look on her face.
"There's also a feminine version of that expression. 'Tão boa'." I explained mischievously.
"Right, a lot of languages are different from English, having gendered nouns." Kim smiled, not realising what point I was trying to make here.
"Well, yeah, and Kim, you are tão boa, I must say" I smirked naughtily.
"I am so good? I know I am, but thanks, anyway." Kim shrugged.
"Wait, Rafael." Ron interjected. "Didn't you tell me the feminine version of the expression also had another meaning to it?"
"It does? What?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"Well…" I tried to spit it out but I couldn't find the guts to say it, but Ron clearly being the blabbermouth he is, was about to break it.
"KP, Rafael just said to you in Portuguese that you are 'so hot' or 'so fine'." Ron explained it nonchalantly.
"Oh yeah?!" Kim blinked fast in surprise and looked at me now with a slightly tense expression on her face. "Is that so, Rafael?"
"Well… yeah…" I began sweating.
"Say that again." Kim ordered me dryly.
"Why…?" I was a bit scared now. And for good reason, since Kim was now holding her backpack with one hand only and giving me a bit of an evil look.
"Is that a way to talk to a girl?" Kim raised her arm and I began running for my life as she ran after me throughout the school halls.
"I'm sorry!" I cried as I kept running away from Kim.
"No! No!" Kim kept a stern look on her face as she chased after me. "Tell me how hot I am, to my face again! Now in English!"
And Kim chased me down for a while until I reached a dead end and suffered the wrath of getting smacked in the head.
Kim's movie date
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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Kim and Ron were standing by the lockers and chatting. A common sight in Middleton High.
"I'm telling you, KP, Mr. Barkin must be an evil alien sent by a villain to make my school life miserable!" Ron said in a conspiratorial tone.
"Oh please, Ron…" Kim rolled her eyes.
"Come on! You know how he's always on my case!" Ron folded his arms.
"He's on everyone's case, Ron." Kim smirked.
"More on my case!" Ron protested.
"So not the drama." Kim sighed, her patience starting to wear thin.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
"Well, time for class!" Kim looked at her watch.
"What do you have now?" Ron asked.
"Philosophy." Kim smiled.
"Oh, that must be a great class for napping." Ron chuckled.
"Not at all." Kim shook her head. "It's pretty interesting, actually."
"How interesting can a whole subject dedicated to existential problems be?" Ron threw his arms in the air.
"It helps you develop better critical thinking and learn how to be more logical when debating or arguing." Kim explained. "Something you could really improve on." She smirked.
"Oh, please! I'm not a pseudo-intellectual, KP!" Ron raised his hand dismissively.
Kim just rolled her eyes in amusement and headed for the class. She couldn't get late again this month or else she could risk detention. Kim entered the classroom and spotted Rafael in the middle row. She plopped down on the seat right next to him.
Another Tuesday, another philosophy class in the middle of the morning. Admittedly, it is an interesting subject. I wouldn't say I like everything about it, though. School just makes a lot of interesting subjects boring to learn, somehow.
Kim always sat down next to me in this class. It's nice to sit next to a friend in class, especially if it's one who did not distract you and tended to let you focus. Having said that, I suppose Kim could be distracting in other ways, with her pretty face and lovely perfume. We're just friends, but as a teenage boy I was not 100% immune to her "aesthetics". Fortunately, the weather has been getting colder lately, so she's not showing off her bare midriff or her bare legs, thus making it easier for a guy to focus in class. Nevertheless, her pretty face, flippy red hair and smooth pale skin were still there. And her perfume smelled great as always. I couldn't deny, it was pleasant to sit next to her for an hour. It made the class easier to sit through and also more difficult at the same time.
Kim raised her hand a few times during class, answering questions and getting praise from the teacher, as always. Kim is like a model student, after all. My mother also often raves about Kim at home, going on about her being a top student, a very smart and polite girl. I admit, I feel a little jealous at times whenever mum brags about her favourite students. People often assume I'm a top student due to being a teacher's son, but actually, I'm not so much. I'm a rather average student, for the most part. With the scale weighing above average when it comes to English, German and history and weighing below average when it comes to advanced mathematics like algebra. I am not so bad at statistics, though. And since I will not be pursuing a hard science degree in university, I fortunately won't need to take a lot of maths classes.
The class finally reached its end, with the bell going off. I walked out alone, without waiting for Kim. Maybe it was rude of me, but I needed to go somewhere. Anyway, on my way to that 'somewhere', I kept thinking about my life ever since I moved to Middleton, Colorado, USA. I made two good friends with Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible, two kids teenagers who are world saving heroes. Also befriended their close friend, Monique. A girl who speaks interesting slang and is crazy about fashion. I must admit my adaptation hasn't been bad so far. No bad experiences with bullying or anything like that. But, at the same time, I still felt like I hadn't fully assimilated to life in this foreign land yet. As for Kim and Ron, they're an interesting duo. They're like opposites. Kim was very responsible and mature for her age and also quite popular, while Ron was rather immature, a slacker and unpopular… in other words, he was closer to me in terms of personality and social status. Having said that, I misjudged Kim early on. I expected her to be a stereotypical arrogant and spoiled mean girl, but quite the contrary. She was a very cool and down to Earth girl who didn't let her popularity and good looks get to her head. My experience with the popular crowd had mostly been negative back home in Portugal. They were often the biggest bullies around. Which is why school dramas and cartoon series always made me roll my eyes at how unrealistic they were. With the popular kids minding their own business and even giving a helping hand to the nerds and the bully victims, while the bullies were the kids who were bad students with rough home lives and also future felons. My real life experience was the complete opposite. Popular and well-scrubbed kids with top grades were often some of the most cruel. While the ones from more humble backgrounds and with worse home lives and poorer grades were often much nicer and accepting. Kim seemed to break that mold somehow. She was a very cool and nice popular hot girl. I haven't met her relatives, but I believe she comes from a good family. I guess one cannot really judge a book by its cover always, eh? Having said that, it did surprise me a bit how such a popular and attractive girl like Kim was single. Was it out of personal choice, or no guy that caught her eye has shown up yet? Who knew…
And I got to the bathroom… Yes, that was the 'somewhere' I needed to go to as fast as possible. So sue me. I did what I needed to do, washed my hands and left the restroom. As I was about to step out I bumped my nose into someone's back.
"Ouch!" I groaned as I rubbed my nose.
"Oh, my bad, dude!" The person standing outside the boy's bathroom turned around and it was a guy around my height with also dark brown hair and with medium brown eyes. He was a bit wider than me in terms of physique, and I don't mean he was fat, but, as in, he had a more athletic build.
"Don't just stand outside a door." I told him dryly.
"You're right, I spaced out." he smiled as he apologised to me. "My name is David, by the way." he extended his hand.
"Rafael". I shook his hand.
"I transferred here recently. This is my first day and I'm kind of lost, still." he chuckled.
"Ah, it all makes sense now!" I smirked. "I was a lost puppy on my first day in Middleton High too."
"Do you know where the school library is?" he asked.
"Oh, definitely. It's on the first floor. 2nd door on the left." I nodded and explained to him.
"Thanks, man!" he smiled.
"Hold on!" I cut in before he would leave. "It's your first day here and you're going to the library already?" I raised my eyebrow in surprise.
"Yeah. I need it for a project." he explained.
"Ah, gotcha." I nodded and didn't press any further.
"See ya, Rafael!" he smiled and waved as he left. Seemed like a nice guy, this David fellow. But hey, it was just our first meeting. The odds of us having classes together seem pretty slim in such a large school. So, meh.
My next class was biology. Neither Kim or Ron took the same biology class as me, so I always spent this class alone. 4 minutes into class, someone knocked on the door. The teacher told the person who knocked to come in and… it was David. David apologised to the teacher and scanned the classroom. The only empty seat left was right next to me, so he sat down next to me.
"Funny coincidence, huh?" he smirked at me.
"Yeah, small world." I nodded.
As David took out his textbook and notebook, I studied him a bit more carefully. I noticed he wore a maroon polo shirt with a car patch over the left side of his chest. The polo was rather tight, since this guy had rather broad shoulders. I wondered if he was some sort of athlete.
After the class, it was finally lunch time. As I was about to leave my seat, I decided it wouldn't be wrong to invite David to join me for lunch today.
"So, what if we had lunch together?" I invited him.
"Oh, that would be nice." he smirked. "I hope the food is decent here."
"Forget that!" I laughed. "It's dreadful."
"Why am I not surprised?" David feigned mock disappointment as he rolled his eyes.
"Hey, you'll survive. Just DON'T eat the cafeteria meatloaf. That stuff is nasty!" I warned him with a very serious look on my face.
"I see." he raised his eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind, then. So…" he flinged his backpack over his shoulder. "...shall we go?"
I nodded and told him to follow me. He reached the cafeteria and waited in line for our grub. The cafeteria lady gave us some macaroni and chicken with beans. Doesn't sound so bad, but it's usually a tad overcooked.
We managed to find two empty seats. I couldn't see Kim or Ron anywhere in the school cafeteria today. Perhaps they went on another one of their missions and were skipping lunch today. Good thing I invited David to have lunch with me today, or else I'd be eating alone now!
As we sat down, I decided to try and make some conversation in order to get to know this guy better. "So, David, where did you move to and how did you end up here?" I asked as I took a bite of macaroni.
"Well, I moved here from a small town in Nebraska due to my father getting a job here in Middleton as a consultant for one of the top companies."
"Oh, cool." I nodded but without sounding too enthusiastic. Not that I had an issue with his background, but I didn't find it particularly enticing either. I cared more about what kind of stuff he was into. "What kind of music do you listen to?" I asked as I took another bite of my food.
"I'm a big fan of Arctic Monkeys and The Killers. Also listen to some Eminem at times." he smirked proudly.
"Oh…" I couldn't help but sound a little disappointed. I had a faint hope he listened to some metal or metal-adjacent music. Looks like this wasn't the time I'd finally met a fellow metalhead in this school yet.
"What about you? That's a band t-shirt you're wearing, right?" he pointed at my Megadeth 'The System Has Failed' t-shirt.
"Yeah, Megadeth!" I threw up the horns.
"That's heavy metal, I think?" He raised his eyebrow.
"Oh yeah!" I flashed a cocky smirk.
"That stuff is too noisy and unpolished for me." he scoffed.
"Hey, now!" I protested, a bit offended by his remark. "Don't diss metal!"
"Whatever, man!" he shrugged and smirked. "I don't know how people can listen to that stuff."
"Let's change the subject, shall we?" I tried to keep my cool as I forced a smile through clenched teeth. "Do you play video games?"
"Of course I do!" he smirked. "GTA, CoD, SSX, Madden NFL, NBA Live; just to name some."
Wow, such a generic choice of games this guy has picked. This is getting more and more disappointing.
"What about tv series?" I asked now.
"Ah I'm a big fan of Prison Break and How I Met Your Mother," he replied.
"No cartoons or anime?" I asked, hesitantly.
"No, that stuff is for kids and nerds!" he scoffed. "What, you watch those?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah." I folded my arms defiantly. "So?"
"At least I hope the cartoons you watch are Family Guy and South Park."
"Well, I watch those too, sure."
"But you also watch ones for little kids?" he chuckled. "And anime? That's weird, man."
"Well, I'm a proud weirdo, then!" I slapped my chest proudly. "Anyway, it seems like you and I don't really have anything in common…" I was tapping my finger on the table now.
"Nah, maybe we do have something." He threw his arms behind his back. "Do you like sports?"
"Not really, no." I answered dryly. "Unless…"
"Unless…?" he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
"...Pro wrestling counts." I added, bracing myself for a frosty reception.
"Oh wrestling?" It was now his turn to look at me dryly. "That stuff is still on?"
"Of course it is!" I couldn't believe this guy's question.
"I dunno, man, that stuff was cool back in 1998-1999 or so when we were still little kids." he shrugged. "Then we got closer to our teen years and saw it for what it was and outgrew it."
"Well, I still watch it, even if WWE is not that great anymore. There's other wrestling out there, like TNA."
"Meh, suit yourself." he shrugged. "Anyway, wrestling does not count as a sport, no. As you might know, it's fake."
"You don't say…" I rolled my eyes sarcastically.
"Anyway, this food is lousy." he groaned.
"I told you." I shrugged.
"Gotta go now, man." He got up and bid farewell to me.
I still didn't know what to make of this David guy. He seemed laid back at first and cool but he also didn't have much in common with me in terms of hobbies and interests and he seemed more of the athletic type instead of the nerdy type like me. So I wasn't sure we could develop much of a friendship.
Next day, as I entered the school premises, I ran into David again.
"Yo." he greeted me.
"Hey, man." I nodded.
"You are having class now?" he asked.
"Hum, I still have time. I'm about to go to my locker. Wanna come too?" I shrugged.
"Fine." he smirked. That smirk of his was starting to annoy me a bit.
Anyway, we went to my locker and I spotted Kim and Ron down the hallway. They were busy talking to each other, so they hadn't spotted me yet. I was wondering if I should introduce David to them. It didn't seem like he had much in common with any of us based on his taste and hobbies alone.
"Dude" I felt a tap on my shoulder from David.
"What?" I raised my eyebrow a bit confused. What could it possibly be?
"Who's that?" he pointed behind me, down the hall. I turned my head and saw Barkin enter the teachers lounge.
"That's Barkin. History teacher." I said. "He's not a very fun teacher. Good luck with him." I chuckled.
"No, no; I don't mean him." he shook his head.
"Then who are you pointing at?" I asked him now even more perplexed. Was I supposed to know everyone in this school or something?!
"That redhead!" he smiled. I turned my head again and I could only spot a single redhead in the hallway.
"You mean that girl?" I pointed at Kim with my thumb.
"Yes, do you know her?" he asked me a bit eagerly.
"Yeah, it's Kim Possible. I know her." I shrugged as I answered him nonchalantly. "Why?"
"She's hot!" he grinned.
"Tell me something I don't know, man." I rolled my eyes.
"Could you introduce me to her?" he asked me now, surprising me a bit.
"Huh… OK." I nodded hesitantly. "I guess it won't hurt…" and I motioned for him to follow me as I walked up to Kim and Ron.
"Hey." I greeted my friends and they finally noticed my presence.
"Hey, man!" Ron greeted me with his usual enthusiasm.
"Hi, Rafael!" Kim smiled.
"Kim, Ron." I pointed my open hand palm at David. "This is David. He's new here."
"Hey, David." Ron grinned.
"H-hello!" Kim seemed to stutter slightly as she greeted David.
"So, Kim, right?" David stepped up and was now standing before Kim.
"R-right…" Kim stuttered a little once again. "And you're David?"
"That's my name!" he smirked. And this time his smirk came across as even more smug than usual.
"Well, welcome to Middleton." Kim seemed to regain his composure.
"Oh this place is nice." he grinned.
"You think so?" Kim giggled.
"Oh, I do! And it's just getting nicer." he winked.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
The bell rang and we dispersed to our classes. I sat down next to Ron and he began talking to me during class.
"Hey, Rafael." He whispered. "You noticed that earlier didn't you?"
"Noticed what?" I raised my eyebrow.
"The whole Kim and that David guy thing. Weird vibe…"
"You think?" I was a bit skeptical.
"I mean, it seemed like Kim was crushing on him, you know." Ron looked down at his notebook.
"Really?" I was a bit taken aback now. "No way!"
"Last time I saw Kim look at a guy like that was when she was crushing on Josh Mankey!" Ron groaned.
"Oh brother…" I sighed and buried my head in the palm of my hand.
"Something wrong, Rafael?" the algebra teacher walked up to me.
"No haha!" I laughed sheepishly.
"Good. Pay attention in class!" she raised her index finger as she scolded me.
Could Ron be right? Was Kim attracted to David? And if she was, then that meant he'd be hanging out with us from then on. I didn't like the sound of that and neither did Ron, from my interpretation of his tone and body language.
Professor Dementor was in his lair plotting his next evil plan. His numerous henchmen were doing work on their computers as usual, when Dementor suddenly blurted out something.
"How much longer will you take?! You need to work faster!" Dementor's voice let out a highly frustrated tone.
Some minutes later, one of his henchmen motioned for him to come closer and showed him on the screen that the work was done.
"AH EXPLENDID!" Dementor rubbed his hands. "With this hypnotic frequency I created, I can turn everyone into my minion! Hahahahahahaahah!" he let out his trademark evil laugh.
"Professor." One of Dementor's henchmen chimed in. "Where can we put it to use first?"
"Huummm…" Dementor scratched his chin. "Ideally, it should go on TV, but let's try out with movie theaters first. A big blockbuster debuts this week, so it will be the perfect opportunity to amass a large amount of minions!" he grinned.
Kim was at home and talking on the phone to Monique. Kim sounded very excited, and her friend was curious.
"What up, girl?" Monique raised her eyebrow. "You sound in high spirits today."
"It's that new guy, David." Kim smiled.
"Oh, right. You have been eyeing him, haven't ya?" Monique smirked.
"Well, he is kinda hot." Kim blushed.
"No argument there, girl." Monique chuckled.
"Anyway, just because I might be crushing a little it doesn't necessarily mean anything." Kim shrugged, trying to play it cool.
"Riiiiiight." Monique flashed a mischievous smirk. Luckily for her, Kim couldn't see it since both girls were talking on the phone. "I haven't seen you like this in a while, Kim."
"Like what?" Kim feigned ignorance.
"Crushing hard on a guy." Monique snickered.
"Well…" Kim blushed slightly. "It's the new guy effect, I guess."
"Yeah, a new hottie!" Monique chuckled.
"KIMMY! IT'S DINNER TIME!" Kim overheard her mother, Mrs. Possible, crying from outside.
"I gotta go now, Monique. Dinner is served." Kim excused herself and hung the phone. Quickly afterwards, she ran downstairs. She was starving! Kim entered the kitchen and took a seat. Mrs. Possible has put down a big plate with a delicious looking meatloaf in the center of the kitchen table and began filling in everyone's plates one by one.
"This looks yummy, honey!" Kim's father, Mr. Possible, smiled.
"Oh boy!" Kim's younger twin brothers, Jim and Tim, couldn't keep their tongues in their mouths and were nearly drooling.
"Thanks, mum!" Kim smiled politely as her mother filled her plate with the meatloaf and the vegetables.
"So, Kimmy, how was school today?" Mr. Possible asked Kim with his usual cheerful demeanor.
"Oh, it was fine, dad! So not the drama, you know?" Kim waved her hand and flashed a slightly goofy smile.
"You seem to be in a really good mood today, Kim." Mrs. Possible smiled. "Anything good happen in school today?"
"Oh, I got an A on my Chemistry test." Kim subtly bragged.
"You always get top grades, Kimmy!" Mr. Possible chuckled, amused at his daughter's not so subtle bragging. "Tell us something new."
"Well… a new student joined Middleton recently." Kim fidgeted a bit as she revealed this information.
"A new student?" Mrs. Possible was curious. "What are they like?"
"His name is David and he's kind of… handsome." Kim tried to say the last part quietly, but her family heard it clearly.
"Oh?" Mr. Possible raised his eyebrow. "Handsome, you said?"
"D-dad!" Kim blushed a bit.
"Kim's got a boyfriend!" the twins teased.
"No I don't, you tweebs!" Kim cried.
"Now, kids. Don't fight at the dinner table." Mrs. Possible scolded with a frown on her face. "So, Kim, you seem rather interested in this boy?"
"I just think he's good looking, mum!" Kim scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"Be careful, Kimmy!" Mr. Possible held his fork in the air. "Boys can be trouble!"
"Oh don't start, dad!" Kim rolled her eyes.
"Mum! Dad!" Jim and Tim interrupted in unison. "Will you take us to watch that new sci-fi movie?"
"I dunno, boys." Mrs. Possible frowned. "It's rated T for Teens. You two are a little young for it, still."
"Besides, you nearly set our garage on fire the other day, boys." Mr. Possible smirks. "You're grounded, remember."
"OH! Jim and Tim groaned in defeat.
"Serves you tweebs right!" Kim snickered.
Next Monday, we had a typical history lecture with Mr. Barkin. As you can imagine, it was incredibly fun… not. The class was 1 hour long but felt like it would never end. The bell ring felt like the sound of freedom for us. Although, our break after it wasn't that fun either since Ron and I kept hearing David brag about how good of a swimmer he was. This guy really had a bit of an ego.
"I think we get it already, dude." Ron rolled his eyes.
"What, you're jealous because you still swim in the kiddie's pool?" David smirked.
"HEY! I prefer shallow waters, alright!" Ron cried.
"Just say you can't swim, bro." David snickered.
"Anyway, David, I can swim too. Hardly a massive achievement." I raised my eyebrow. "What point are you even trying to make here?"
"That's different." David shook his head. "You swim what, 2 weeks a year on average? I have been doing it several times a week as a sport ever since I was 6!" He pointed his thumb at himself.
"OK, mister Olympian." I said dryly.
"Hey! I'm not aiming for the Olympics, man." he chuckled. "They're nearly impossible to make, let alone win a medal. I'm not THAT good!"
"At least you can admit that!" Ron grinned.
"Do you two even exercise?" David rolled his eyes. "And no, pressing buttons on your video game controller does not count."
"...Oh!" Ron had his index finger held up, but clearly he got shot down by David's disclaimer before he even managed to answer his question.
I just shrugged. Indeed I didn't do any sports. They've never been my thing. And I hated the exertion of physical exercise, anyway.
"Tsk." David shook his head. "You guys should reconsider that lifestyle."
"Why? Feeling lonely in your swimming pool, Dave?" Ron snickered.
"I hate crowded pools!" I groaned, remembering all those crowded hotel swimming pools during summer break.
"That wasn't my point." David sighed.
"Dude, you don't pee in the pool, do you?!" Ron's eyes widened in shock.
"PFFFT!" I was unable to hold my laugh back.
"WHAT?! NO!" David shook his head that had turned slightly red in embarrassment. "A) That's disgusting. B) I'm not a little kid anymore."
"So you were one of those kids who peed in the pool!" Ron pointed his index finger at David with an accusatory tone in his voice.
"That's gross, man…" I shook my head and smirked. It was good to have an upper hand over David in a discussion for once.
"That's not what I said at all, idiots!" David slapped his face with his hand-palm hard in frustration. "I'm here trying to have an intelligent conversation with you two about the benefits of sports and your minds are wandering into dirty territories!"
"Look how defensive he is, Ron!" I grinned as I pointed at David.
"Yeah, he'd be the worst at poker!" Ron giggled.
"Guh huh!" Rufus also giggled.
"Hi, guys. What's up?" Kim suddenly arrived and sadly our banter would come to an end.
"Oh, hi KP." Ron replied a bit disappointed with Kim's timing.
"What were you guys talking about?" Kim blinked.
"Oh, we were having a lot of fun!" I flashed a grin. "You see-" But David pushed me aside and got between me and Kim.
"Hi, Kim." he smiled.
"Hi, Dave." Kim smiled back.
"Looking good today." He complimented her. Ron and I just glanced at each other momentarily with dry expressions in our faces.
"Thanks." Kim laughed nervously. "So, how was your weekend?"
"It was awesome!" David lit up. "I improved my swimming time this Saturday!"
"That's great!" Kim nodded. And both walk away chatting, leaving Ron and I alone.
"KP! He pees in the pool!" Ron yelled across the hall, but clearly Kim didn't hear him.
"That guy really is trying to seduce Kim, eh?" I rolled my eyes.
"Kim will look past his cockiness eventually." Ron groaned.
Later that day, at lunch time, I sat with Ron and Kim when Kim suddenly dropped a bomb on us.
"So, guess who's going to the premiere of the upcoming big sci-fi movie this Thursday?" Kim smirked smugly.
"Wait, really?!" Ron slammed his hands on the table in excitement. "Alright! You got an extra ticket, KP?"
"Yeah, but…" Kim tried to elaborate but Ron did not listen to her.
"Yes! I've been so hyped for that movie ever since it's been announced!" Ron threw his arms up in celebration.
"Ron!" Kim frowned. "Will you listen to me?"
"What'" Ron looked back at Kim with a perplexed look on his face. This didn't look good. I was afraid of what Kim was going to say next, but it looked like Ron hadn't grasped it yet…
"Ron, I'm not going with you this time, I'm sorry." Kim looked down, feeling a little guilty.
"What? Who are you going with, then?" Ron asked, a bit hurt.
"David." Kim smiled nervously.
"DAVID?!" Ron and I cried in unison.
"He asked me out and I said 'yes'." Kim blushed slightly.
"Asked you out? On a… date?!" Ron's eyes widened.
"And you're actually going?" I raised my eyebrow, trying to hide my disappointment with Kim's decision.
"Yeah." Kim nodded. "He seemed nice and I'd like a chance to get to know him better."
"Oh great…" I groaned.
"What?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"That guy is a little too full of himself, KP!" Ron explained.
"Oh come on, now!" Kim sighed. "Don't be jealous, Ron!"
"I'm not jealous!" Ron cried. "I just think he brags a little too much at times."
"Yeah, guy also loves to take subtle shots at others." I added.
"I'm sure he's just joking around, guys." Kim tried to play our objections down. "Don't take it so seriously."
"That's because he's on his best behaviour whenever you're around, Kim." I said it dryly.
"Yeah, guy has had his eyes on you ever since he's met you." Ron added.
"Well, he's nice and also a hottie, so I'll give him a chance." Kim blinked.
"Ah, that explains it, of course." I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"Don't be like that, Rafael." Kim rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's just a date. And even if it works out, I'll still be friends with you two."
"Great… have fun, KP." Ron frowned.
"Wow, that's definitely the type of encouragement I expected from my best friend." Kim frowned as well.
"Oh well, don't tell us we didn't warn you." I smirked.
"It's like you want it to fail so that you can tell me 'I told you so'." Kim folded her arms and was starting to get almost angry at the two of us.
"No, no!" Ron shook his head energetically. "You got it all wrong, Kim! We do care about you!"
"Then let me be happy and mind your own business, guys!" Kim finished her meal, picked up her tray and left our table with an annoyed look on her face.
"Oh well, perhaps we spoke too much too soon." I scratched my head sheepishly.
"Yeah, perhaps there is a side of David we haven't seen yet." Ron shrugged.
Rufus looked a bit sad at both of us. He hated to see his human friends fight.
Thursday afternoon finally came and Kim was waiting for David by the city's multiplex theatre. Kim was a little nervous and also excited for the date. Even though she was a teen hero who fought bad guys on a regular basis and saved the world countless times, Kim would surprisingly get tongue-tied around guys she liked at times. Most notably her former crush, Josh Mankey.
"Hey." Kim turned her head to the right and there was her date for today, David.
"Hey." Kim smiled at him a bit shyly.
"Let's go get some popcorn and pop." David placed his hand on her shoulder, making Kim blush slightly and both walked to the food sales counter.
Meanwhile, Ron was hanging out at my place. We were playing some WWE SmackDown Here Comes the Pain in my living room. Ron brought his PS2 over with him, since I don't have one. Finally I got the chance to play one of the SmackDown series titles! And HCTP was OUTSTANDING! I especially loved playing as Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. And my favourite match type? The Elimination Chamber! The GameCube WWE games had a limit of 4 wrestlers per ring in a match at the same time, so there was no Elimination Chamber in WMXIX or Day of Reckoning.
"Ah! You hit me with the Goldberg spear again!" Ron panicked!
"You're down for the count, Ron!" My face beamed with determination and confidence.
"Kick out, RVD!" Ron furiously mashed all the buttons on his controller in order to kick out of the pinfall.
"1… 2… 3! Pinfall!" The referee counted and I won! Goldberg's theme song began playing.
"AAAAARGH!" Ron was distraught at his loss.
"Tough luck, Ronno!" I chuckled.
"It's not my fault! My fingers are tired from all the button mashing!" Ron used the classical excuse.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't play so often with submission specialists like Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit; then." I said it dryly.
"Hey, it feels good to make your opponent tap out!" Ron shrugged.
"That it does." I nodded. I couldn't really disagree with Ron's point.
"Anyway, you think Kim is having a good time on her date?" Ron changed the subject.
"How should I know?" I shrugged.
"Aren't you at least a little bit curious?" Ron asked.
"I guess, but I can wait until tomorrow to hear it from Kim's mouth." I shrugged. "I wasn't thinking of it now until you brought it up."
"I guess we better go back to playing some wrestling!" Ron smirked and picked up his controller again.
"Now you're talking!" I smirked as well. "I'll be Stone Cold Steve Austin in this next match.
"Well, that's perfecto! I'll be The Rock!" Ron grinned.
"OH a classic!" My pupils dilated. "Let's do it!"
"HELL IN A CELL!" Ron flashed an evil grin.
"BRING IT ON!" I closed my fist full of determination and fire.
Kim and David were watching the movie at the theatre. They were enjoying it so far, or at least David was. It's not that Kim wasn't liking the movie, but she was a bit nervous, especially since David decided to put his arm around her chair and both began sharing a popcorn bag.
Admittedly, Kim could tell that the movie was well made, even if she was not one to normally watch sci-fi movies. She just went to watch it on premiere night to boot due to David asking her out. Otherwise, she'd most likely had not watched the movie ever or would only watch it on DVD a couple of years later at home with her family, since Jim and Tim really wanted to see that movie.
As the movie was over halfway through, the theatre screen began going haywire, which led to unpleasant surprise reactions from the crowd in the room. Technical difficulties? How amateurish! Some seconds later, the footage came back and it was of a guy who hadn't shown up in the movie so far. He was wearing red and a black helmeted mask. No one recognised the actor playing the character either since he was not in the trailer nor was his name on the movie poster. Well, there was one person who recognised him, actually…
"DEMENTOR!?" Kim nearly jumped out of her seat in shock.
"Good evening, Middleton multiplex theatre!" Dementor smirked evilly. "You will now do as I say!"
"What?" "Who is this?!" "What's going on?!" several of the patrons in the room began protesting.
"This is weird." David raised his eyebrow.
"This isn't good!" Kim voiced her concern.
Then, Dementor pointed a device from the movie screen at the audience and some sort of ray began coming out from the screen in circles that would expand as they advanced to the back of the room. Kim quickly covered her eyes, since her experience taught her that she could be dealing with a hypnotic device of some kind and the preventive measure in such a situation was to either cover your eyes or your ears. As Dementor finished firing his ray, David's eye pupils and those of the people in the rest of the theatre had turned bright red. They were now under Dementor's command.
"Hahahahaha!" Dementor let out his trademark villain laugh. "That's right! Praise Professor Dementor as your supreme leader! Vow to serve me!" he ordered.
"PROFESSOR DEMENTOR IS OUR SUPREME LEADER! WE VOW TO SERVE YOU, PROFESSOR DEMENTOR!" the audience echoes.
Kim was the only one who hadn't been hypnotised, since she knew it was better to cover her eyes due to her years of experience in missions where she saw and even had been subjected to such evil tactics before. Kim tried to snap David out of his hypnotised state, but to no avail.
"David!" Kim shook him. "Snap out of it!" she pleaded.
And now Dementor noticed there was one person in the theatre who had not fallen under his hypnotic spell. And it was none other than Kim Possible.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Fraulein Possible!" Dementor sneered.
"Dementor! Turn these people back to normal, now" Kim demanded angrily.
"How about… nein." Dementor raised his eyebrow and smirked. "In fact, I have a better idea, Fraulein."
"Oh no…" Kim didn't know where this was going.
"ALL OF YOU!" Dementor pointed at Kim Possible. "SEIZE THAT REDHEAD TEENAGE GIRL! SHE'S A THREAT TO THE CAUSE!" he yelled out his order with an evil grin.
And, instantly, the entire audience turned toward Kim. A wave of hypnotised moviegoers started advancing on her. Some even grabbed popcorn buckets like they were helmets and others wielded soda straws as weapons. And to make matters worse, David was also under Dementor's control, so he also carried his orders. Kim was alone and trapped. David and a few other moviegoers grabbed Kim's arms and prepared to attack her, but she shook them off and took several backwards leaps over the rest of the patrons until she landed right in front of the exit. Kim had a hardened expression on her face and was breathing heavily as she looked at the entire theatre being under Dementor's hypnotic control and out to get her. She got out and hid behind the food counter.
"Wade! Please come in!" Kim took out her Kimmunicator.
"Hey, Kim. Is everything OK?" Wade asked with a tone of concern.
"I'm at the multiplex theatre and Dementor suddenly popped up on screen in the middle of the movie and hypnotised everyone in the room with some sort of device." Kim whispered.
"Oh, that's bad. Lemme see what I can do." Wade began typing intensely.
"Ok, but hurry!" Kim pleaded. "I cannot hold them back much longer."
Wade nodded and tried to work as fast as he could. Kim was on her own for now and had to resort to using the pop fountains to slow down the moviegoers who were ordered to seiRafael her. Kim, loaded her gun with pop from the food court fountains and shot it at the moviegoers. It would throw them back a bit and also not hurt them. Kim obviously couldn't hurt innocent people under the hypnotic control of Dementor. Kim now saw David approach her and he hesitated to fire some Pepsi in his face, but knew she had to do it to hold him back.
After a while, Wade called Kim and Kim answered her Kimmunicator as fast as the speed of light… almost!
"Wade, what's the sitch?" Kim asked, almost in a pleading voice.
"Kim, go to the projection room!" Wade said. "Dementor planted a Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter there. He must have hooked it up to the theatre's film reel."
"You got it, Wade!" Kim nodded and smiled. She turned off the Kimmunicator and dodged the moviegoers by jumping from them and hopping over them as well on her way to the projection room. As Kim reached the projection room, she spotted the Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter and it was indeed hooked up to the theatre's film reel. It was time to remove it, but as Kim was running toward it, a hologram of Dementor popped up right in front of her.
"Ah, Kim Possible about to ruin my moment! How typisch!" Dementor mocked.
"Give it up, Dementor!" Kim frowned as she pointed her index finger at him with determination. "I won't let you win!"
"Oh, that's what you think!" Dementor grinned. "Because this time, I am prepared!"
Kim looked around to see what Dementor was on about. She also looked out from the projection room window into the theatre room and saw a bunch of small round robots with 4 legs crawling on the movie screen and the chairs.
"What the–" Kim was taken aback by the sight.
"Kim Possible… I present to you the DOOMBOTS! Hahahahaha!" Dementor's hologram announced triumphantly by throwing his arms up and letting out his trademark laugh before disappearing.
And then, some Doombots also knocked down the projection room door and approached Kim. Our heroine was in a tough spot.
We finished gaming and it was getting late, so Ron had to go home soon. As he picked up his PS2 to bring it back to his home, I flicked through the channels to do some zapping and landed on the news. Apparently something was going down at Middleton's Multiplex Theatre.
"Wait, Rafael!" Ron exclaimed. "Don't change the channel!"
I nodded and it was on the news that something was going down at the multiplex, with moviegoers walking around with eyes glowing red as if they were under someone's control and also a bunch of ground level robots with four legs were crawling all over the place.
"That's the place Kim and David went to!" Ron cried at the TV.
"Wait, you sure?!" My eyes widened.
"Of course! It's the place where everyone in Middleton goes to see the most recent movies!" Ron explained. "I gotta run! Kim needs my help!" and he dashed out of my house quickly, leaving his PS2 and the wrestling game behind before I could stop him. I guess he had more pressing matters to attend to. Talk about bad luck, for a mission to sprout out of a date. I wondered if this was common for Kim. It would be quite amusing if it was an anime series and not real life.
Kim was again in the movie theatre room where she was watching the movie until Dementor interrupted it. She was kicking the doombots away and using tools to make them blow up. And now, several moviegoers were entering the movie theatre room again to get their hands on Kim, as Dementor had ordered them to do. Kim spotted David among them and had an idea.
"Sorry, David, but I gotta do this until you snap out of it." Kim sighed and then picked a rope off her backpack and tossed it, wrapping it around David, immobilising him. He fell on the floor and Kim quickly tied his hands with the rope behind his back.
"Now you stay there and be a good boy." Kim joked.
As Ron arrived in his blue scooter at the Multiplex, he had to get past the news crews and the police quickly. He had to help Kim. After all, he was part of Team Possible, too, being Kim's sidekick.
As Ron approached the entrance of the multiplex, he spotted someone in a small individual flying open ship. He took a closer look and he couldn't believe who was in it.
"Professor Dementor?!" Ron cried.
"Oh, look who finally decided to show up!" Dementor mocked. "Kim Possible's komischer sidekick!"
"Hey! I'm not 'komischer'!" Ron protested. "...whatever that means!"
"Whatever." Dementor shrugged. "MOVIEGOERS! ATTACK THIS TEENAGE BOY!" Dementor pointed at Ron as he gave out his orders to the moviegoers in the multiplex.
"Yikes! Easy folks!" Ron pleaded with a fearful smile on his face as sweat ran down his face.
Kim finished off the rest of the Doombots in the movie theatre movie and then called Wade again.
"Wade! How do I disable the Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter?" she asked.
"You need to hack into it and replay the movie, but this time in reverse." Wade explained as he typed fast on his keyboard.
"In reverse?" Kim raised her eyebrow perplexed. "But why?"
"It will scramble Dementor's subliminal signals and make the moviegoers snap out of it."
"Gotcha. I need to find a way to draw the rest of the moviegoers into the movie room again." she scratched her chin.
But, it looked like Kim didn't need to go to such trouble. Almost immediately afterwards, Ron ran into the movie room, running away from the rest of the moviegoers, filling the room in with everyone again.
"Ron!" Kim cried. She was happy to see him again.
"KP!" Ron cried back. "You OK?"
"I'm fine! Let's head to the projection room!" Kim pointed at the back of the movie room and began running towards the exit alongside Ron. As they left the movie room, they closed the moviegoers inside the room and blocked the door in order to prevent them from leaving it for now. Kim and Ron then head to the projection room and Kim begins hacking into the Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter, just like Wade had explained her to do. It took Kim some minutes, but she was successful and the movie began replaying, but this time in reverse. Within the next 10-15 minutes, the moviegoers trapped in the room slowly began snapping out of their hypnotic state and wondering what happened. All they remembered was Dementor popping up on the movie screen and after that it was all a blur. David, in particular, was wondering why he was tied up on the floor.
"Hey! Someone untie me!" he yelled, and a few of the equally confused moviegoers rushed to untie him.
"Thanks… where's Kim?" He looked around.
"Who?" One of the moviegoers, a middle aged bald man, asked him.
"My date!" David raised his voice. He was clearly nervous and agitated.
But the middle aged man just shook his head and shrugged. And no one else seemed to know about Kim either.
Kim and Ron then unblocked the movie room door and opened it.
"It's safe to come out now, everyone!" Kim cried into the room. The moviegoers run up to the exit. As David runs out, he spots Kim.
"KIM!" he cried. "You're OK?!"
"I'm fine, David." Kim smiled. "What about you?"
"I'm super confused!" he held the side of his forehead with his hand. "What's going on?"
"No time to explain, dude!" Ron interjected.
"What are YOU doing here?" David frowned.
"David, not now! I'll explain later! Let's go!" Kim grabbed David's hand and ran toward the exit of the multiplex alongside Ron and the rest of the moviegoers. But, it was not over yet. Dementor and a bunch of his henchmen were blocking the exit.
"Where do you think you're going, Fraulein Possible?" Dementor smirked.
"Dementor! You will pay for this!" Kim put on a battle stance.
"Men!" Dementor glanced at his henchmen and then pointed at Kim and Ron. "ATTACK!"
And his henchmen rushed toward Ron and Kim. The moviegoers took advantage of the dispersion to escape from the multiplex, since now the exit was no longer blocked. The only people left inside the multiplex now were Kim, Ron, Dementor, Dementor's henchmen and David. Kim was beating up Dementor's henchmen with her powerful kung fu kicks and punches. Ron also managed to take down a couple of them with a little help from Rufus biting their butts, but mostly cheered for Kim on the sidelines as he usually did. As for David, he just stood there looking scared. And then, just as Kim took down the last henchman, Dementor grabbed David from behind and pointed a gun to his head, making a hostage out of him.
"DAVID!" Kim cried, with fear on her face.
"One wrong move, Fraulein Possible, and your little boyfriend is a goner!" Dementor threatened with a smirk.
"He's not her boyfriend!" Ron protested!
"Ron…" Kim whispered, not denying Ron's statement.
"Whatever!" Dementor groaned and rolled his eyes. "I am not interested in such details! Regardless, one move from either of you and this boy is a goner!" he threatened once again.
David began shaking and even crying.
"Dude?" Ron raised his eyebrow, surprised at how David was reacting.
"Is he… crying?" Kim also was surprised.
"PLEASE SPARE ME!" David begged. "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"
"Hahahaha!" Dementor let out his trademark evil laugh. "I love it when they beg for their lives!"
"TAKE OUT THEIR LIVES IF YOU WANT TO!" David pointed at Kim and Ron as he raised his arm that was shaking like jelly. "BUT LET ME GO, PLEASE!"
"What?!" Kim was now incredulous.
"You're gonna ditch us?!" Ron's face flared up in anger.
"GRRR!" Rufus also was getting angry at David's words.
"Well, that's unexpected from a hostage." Dementor scratched his head with his free hand in confusion at what the situation had developed into.
"David, you can't be serious!" Kim frowned.
"I a-am s-s-serious!" David stuttered. "I just wanted to hook up with you, anyway!"
"WHAT?!" Kim's eyes have now widened in shock. She felt like she was stabbed in the heart.
"Y-yeah" David kept stuttering while justifying his attitude. "W-what, you t-thought I wanted to m-make you my girlfriend?! No! I just wanted to use you and then toss you aside for the next hot girl!"
"EXCUSE ME?!" Kim shouted and her face now went from a look of shock to a look of fury.
"Man, what a jerk!" Ron shook his head.
"Guh-huh!" Rufus nodded in agreement.
"ARGH! What a useless hostage!" Dementor cried in exasperation. "Go away!" and he pushed him away against the food counter. Kim Possible quickly jumped and landed right in front of Dementor.
"Now it's just you and me, Dementor." Kim seemed to regain her composure and confidence as she was flashing her well-known determined smile.
"Why you!" Dementor swung his arms, trying to hit Kim with a hard punch, but Kim's quick reflexes helped her dodge all of his punches and then she landed several kicks in his stomach and chest, knocking him down and defeating him.
"AAAAH!" Dementor cried in pain as he fell on his back on the floor.
"Well done, KP!" Ron cried in excitement and high-fived Kim.
"So not the drama." Kim downplayed the situation.
The police then rushed into the multiplex and arrested Dementor. Ron and Kim slowly walked out of the multiplex looking tired.
"So, did you enjoy the movie?" Ron asked.
"I'll let you know if I ever finish it one day." Kim smiled.
"We can fix that!" David came from behind and put his arm around Kim's shoulders. "How about we go watch it at a more quiet movie theatre next week, Kim?" he smiled.
But Kim, with a hard frown on her face, broke herself away from David's arm.
"Actually, no. That's never going to happen." she replied coldly.
"But why?" David raised his eyebrow.
"Dude, are you serious?!" Ron couldn't believe this guy's nerve.
"Ron, that's ok! I can handle this!" Kim raised her open palm in front of Ron's face and gave him a reassuring smile. Then she turned back to David and her expression hardened again. "You were going to sacrifice me and Ron to save your own butt, David!"
"Come on now! My life was under threat!" David explained. "Can you blame me?"
"Yes, I can! Ron and I were going to save you, no matter what. We would never let someone die!" Kim's patience was starting to wear thin fast.
"Well, most of us aren't power rangers or whatever the hell you two seem to be!" David was now getting slightly angry himself.
"You know what, David?" Kim's voice turned a bit cold now. "You're pathetic and clearly lack character."
"What?!" David was shocked at what he had just heard. "How can you say that, Kim?!"
"You were ready to throw me under the bus. It's understandable for you to be afraid, especially when you've never been in such a situation before, but you didn't mind someone else dying if it meant you being released. That is a strong sign of lack of character." Kim calmed herself down a bit and explained it.
"Look, I'm a teenager. I'm not ready to die, yet." David groaned. "You really think I was going to risk my life for a girl I went on a first date with?"
"That's not the point." Kim sighed in frustration. "You really don't get it, do you?"
"Look, Kim, there's plenty of girls in the world. You're not special enough for me to risk my life for you, sorry." David folded his arms.
"Why did you ask me out, then?" Kim's eyes widened as her frown remained on her face.
"I thought you were hot and I wanted to have some fun, happy?" David threw his arm up as he revealed his intention.
"Oh, so I was just another girl to add to your list of conquests and boost your ego?" Kim's anger was slowly building up again.
"Oh please, get off your high horse, woman!" David cried. "You never hooked up?"
"You know what, David? You've been very transparent today. Not only did you only view me as a girl to fool around with but you also revealed yourself to be a characterless coward. And that made you lose any attractiveness points you had until then. Having a handsome face and an athletic build do not make up for those lousy qualities." Kim said it coldly.
"What do you have to say for yourself now, Dude?" Ron smirked.
"No one is talking to you, Ron! As if a loserish geek like you is one to talk…" David groaned.
"Oh, and by the way, David." Kim's voice then turned icily cold. "It's ironic how you are calling Ron a loserish geek when he's clearly more of a man than you ever will be. He's saved my life many times in the past, unlike you who were willing to let me die in order to save your own butt."
"I… I… " David stuttered, trying to come up with a counterpoint to Kim's argument.
"Goodbye, David." Kim turned around. "Let's go, Ron." And both her and Ron walked away, leaving the multiplex and heading home. David was left alone in the multiplex, feeling defeated and like he had been completely humbled and exposed. He never thought a simple movie date would test his character and manhood the way it did that day. But it did and he failed miserably.
As both Kim and Ron were walking home, Ron decided to break the silence at some point.
"You OK, Kim?" Ron asked, a little concerned.
"Yes, I beat Dementor. You were there, remember?" Kim smirked and gave Ron a quizzical look.
"No, I mean, the whole David thing."
"Oh." Kim sighed. "Well, it was just one date and it ended poorly. So not the drama." shrugged.
"Rafael and I did try to tell you he was cocky, but we didn't expect him to be a coward who lacked character as well." Ron scratched his head sheepishly.
"Hey, he seemed nice and cute, so I gave it a shot. Fortunately, I got to see his true colours on our first date. So it was probably for the best." Kim smiled and shrugged.
"Yeah…" Ron smiled weakly.
"Anyway, bad judgement on my part. Sorry about that!" Kim sweatdropped a little embarrassed.
"No worries, Kim." Ron waved his hands reassuringly. "It happens to the best of us."
"Yeah, you don't have much room to talk either." Kim looked at Ron mischievously.
"Hey, let's not bring back embarrassing past stories, now!" Ron acted defensively.
"Then how about we drop the subject?" Kim suggested with a confident smirk.
"Sounds good to me." Ron nodded.
And both headed home and David's name was never mentioned again.
"I'm telling you, KP, Mr. Barkin must be an evil alien sent by a villain to make my school life miserable!" Ron said in a conspiratorial tone.
"Oh please, Ron…" Kim rolled her eyes.
"Come on! You know how he's always on my case!" Ron folded his arms.
"He's on everyone's case, Ron." Kim smirked.
"More on my case!" Ron protested.
"So not the drama." Kim sighed, her patience starting to wear thin.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
"Well, time for class!" Kim looked at her watch.
"What do you have now?" Ron asked.
"Philosophy." Kim smiled.
"Oh, that must be a great class for napping." Ron chuckled.
"Not at all." Kim shook her head. "It's pretty interesting, actually."
"How interesting can a whole subject dedicated to existential problems be?" Ron threw his arms in the air.
"It helps you develop better critical thinking and learn how to be more logical when debating or arguing." Kim explained. "Something you could really improve on." She smirked.
"Oh, please! I'm not a pseudo-intellectual, KP!" Ron raised his hand dismissively.
Kim just rolled her eyes in amusement and headed for the class. She couldn't get late again this month or else she could risk detention. Kim entered the classroom and spotted Rafael in the middle row. She plopped down on the seat right next to him.
Another Tuesday, another philosophy class in the middle of the morning. Admittedly, it is an interesting subject. I wouldn't say I like everything about it, though. School just makes a lot of interesting subjects boring to learn, somehow.
Kim always sat down next to me in this class. It's nice to sit next to a friend in class, especially if it's one who did not distract you and tended to let you focus. Having said that, I suppose Kim could be distracting in other ways, with her pretty face and lovely perfume. We're just friends, but as a teenage boy I was not 100% immune to her "aesthetics". Fortunately, the weather has been getting colder lately, so she's not showing off her bare midriff or her bare legs, thus making it easier for a guy to focus in class. Nevertheless, her pretty face, flippy red hair and smooth pale skin were still there. And her perfume smelled great as always. I couldn't deny, it was pleasant to sit next to her for an hour. It made the class easier to sit through and also more difficult at the same time.
Kim raised her hand a few times during class, answering questions and getting praise from the teacher, as always. Kim is like a model student, after all. My mother also often raves about Kim at home, going on about her being a top student, a very smart and polite girl. I admit, I feel a little jealous at times whenever mum brags about her favourite students. People often assume I'm a top student due to being a teacher's son, but actually, I'm not so much. I'm a rather average student, for the most part. With the scale weighing above average when it comes to English, German and history and weighing below average when it comes to advanced mathematics like algebra. I am not so bad at statistics, though. And since I will not be pursuing a hard science degree in university, I fortunately won't need to take a lot of maths classes.
The class finally reached its end, with the bell going off. I walked out alone, without waiting for Kim. Maybe it was rude of me, but I needed to go somewhere. Anyway, on my way to that 'somewhere', I kept thinking about my life ever since I moved to Middleton, Colorado, USA. I made two good friends with Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible, two kids teenagers who are world saving heroes. Also befriended their close friend, Monique. A girl who speaks interesting slang and is crazy about fashion. I must admit my adaptation hasn't been bad so far. No bad experiences with bullying or anything like that. But, at the same time, I still felt like I hadn't fully assimilated to life in this foreign land yet. As for Kim and Ron, they're an interesting duo. They're like opposites. Kim was very responsible and mature for her age and also quite popular, while Ron was rather immature, a slacker and unpopular… in other words, he was closer to me in terms of personality and social status. Having said that, I misjudged Kim early on. I expected her to be a stereotypical arrogant and spoiled mean girl, but quite the contrary. She was a very cool and down to Earth girl who didn't let her popularity and good looks get to her head. My experience with the popular crowd had mostly been negative back home in Portugal. They were often the biggest bullies around. Which is why school dramas and cartoon series always made me roll my eyes at how unrealistic they were. With the popular kids minding their own business and even giving a helping hand to the nerds and the bully victims, while the bullies were the kids who were bad students with rough home lives and also future felons. My real life experience was the complete opposite. Popular and well-scrubbed kids with top grades were often some of the most cruel. While the ones from more humble backgrounds and with worse home lives and poorer grades were often much nicer and accepting. Kim seemed to break that mold somehow. She was a very cool and nice popular hot girl. I haven't met her relatives, but I believe she comes from a good family. I guess one cannot really judge a book by its cover always, eh? Having said that, it did surprise me a bit how such a popular and attractive girl like Kim was single. Was it out of personal choice, or no guy that caught her eye has shown up yet? Who knew…
And I got to the bathroom… Yes, that was the 'somewhere' I needed to go to as fast as possible. So sue me. I did what I needed to do, washed my hands and left the restroom. As I was about to step out I bumped my nose into someone's back.
"Ouch!" I groaned as I rubbed my nose.
"Oh, my bad, dude!" The person standing outside the boy's bathroom turned around and it was a guy around my height with also dark brown hair and with medium brown eyes. He was a bit wider than me in terms of physique, and I don't mean he was fat, but, as in, he had a more athletic build.
"Don't just stand outside a door." I told him dryly.
"You're right, I spaced out." he smiled as he apologised to me. "My name is David, by the way." he extended his hand.
"Rafael". I shook his hand.
"I transferred here recently. This is my first day and I'm kind of lost, still." he chuckled.
"Ah, it all makes sense now!" I smirked. "I was a lost puppy on my first day in Middleton High too."
"Do you know where the school library is?" he asked.
"Oh, definitely. It's on the first floor. 2nd door on the left." I nodded and explained to him.
"Thanks, man!" he smiled.
"Hold on!" I cut in before he would leave. "It's your first day here and you're going to the library already?" I raised my eyebrow in surprise.
"Yeah. I need it for a project." he explained.
"Ah, gotcha." I nodded and didn't press any further.
"See ya, Rafael!" he smiled and waved as he left. Seemed like a nice guy, this David fellow. But hey, it was just our first meeting. The odds of us having classes together seem pretty slim in such a large school. So, meh.
My next class was biology. Neither Kim or Ron took the same biology class as me, so I always spent this class alone. 4 minutes into class, someone knocked on the door. The teacher told the person who knocked to come in and… it was David. David apologised to the teacher and scanned the classroom. The only empty seat left was right next to me, so he sat down next to me.
"Funny coincidence, huh?" he smirked at me.
"Yeah, small world." I nodded.
As David took out his textbook and notebook, I studied him a bit more carefully. I noticed he wore a maroon polo shirt with a car patch over the left side of his chest. The polo was rather tight, since this guy had rather broad shoulders. I wondered if he was some sort of athlete.
After the class, it was finally lunch time. As I was about to leave my seat, I decided it wouldn't be wrong to invite David to join me for lunch today.
"So, what if we had lunch together?" I invited him.
"Oh, that would be nice." he smirked. "I hope the food is decent here."
"Forget that!" I laughed. "It's dreadful."
"Why am I not surprised?" David feigned mock disappointment as he rolled his eyes.
"Hey, you'll survive. Just DON'T eat the cafeteria meatloaf. That stuff is nasty!" I warned him with a very serious look on my face.
"I see." he raised his eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind, then. So…" he flinged his backpack over his shoulder. "...shall we go?"
I nodded and told him to follow me. He reached the cafeteria and waited in line for our grub. The cafeteria lady gave us some macaroni and chicken with beans. Doesn't sound so bad, but it's usually a tad overcooked.
We managed to find two empty seats. I couldn't see Kim or Ron anywhere in the school cafeteria today. Perhaps they went on another one of their missions and were skipping lunch today. Good thing I invited David to have lunch with me today, or else I'd be eating alone now!
As we sat down, I decided to try and make some conversation in order to get to know this guy better. "So, David, where did you move to and how did you end up here?" I asked as I took a bite of macaroni.
"Well, I moved here from a small town in Nebraska due to my father getting a job here in Middleton as a consultant for one of the top companies."
"Oh, cool." I nodded but without sounding too enthusiastic. Not that I had an issue with his background, but I didn't find it particularly enticing either. I cared more about what kind of stuff he was into. "What kind of music do you listen to?" I asked as I took another bite of my food.
"I'm a big fan of Arctic Monkeys and The Killers. Also listen to some Eminem at times." he smirked proudly.
"Oh…" I couldn't help but sound a little disappointed. I had a faint hope he listened to some metal or metal-adjacent music. Looks like this wasn't the time I'd finally met a fellow metalhead in this school yet.
"What about you? That's a band t-shirt you're wearing, right?" he pointed at my Megadeth 'The System Has Failed' t-shirt.
"Yeah, Megadeth!" I threw up the horns.
"That's heavy metal, I think?" He raised his eyebrow.
"Oh yeah!" I flashed a cocky smirk.
"That stuff is too noisy and unpolished for me." he scoffed.
"Hey, now!" I protested, a bit offended by his remark. "Don't diss metal!"
"Whatever, man!" he shrugged and smirked. "I don't know how people can listen to that stuff."
"Let's change the subject, shall we?" I tried to keep my cool as I forced a smile through clenched teeth. "Do you play video games?"
"Of course I do!" he smirked. "GTA, CoD, SSX, Madden NFL, NBA Live; just to name some."
Wow, such a generic choice of games this guy has picked. This is getting more and more disappointing.
"What about tv series?" I asked now.
"Ah I'm a big fan of Prison Break and How I Met Your Mother," he replied.
"No cartoons or anime?" I asked, hesitantly.
"No, that stuff is for kids and nerds!" he scoffed. "What, you watch those?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah." I folded my arms defiantly. "So?"
"At least I hope the cartoons you watch are Family Guy and South Park."
"Well, I watch those too, sure."
"But you also watch ones for little kids?" he chuckled. "And anime? That's weird, man."
"Well, I'm a proud weirdo, then!" I slapped my chest proudly. "Anyway, it seems like you and I don't really have anything in common…" I was tapping my finger on the table now.
"Nah, maybe we do have something." He threw his arms behind his back. "Do you like sports?"
"Not really, no." I answered dryly. "Unless…"
"Unless…?" he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
"...Pro wrestling counts." I added, bracing myself for a frosty reception.
"Oh wrestling?" It was now his turn to look at me dryly. "That stuff is still on?"
"Of course it is!" I couldn't believe this guy's question.
"I dunno, man, that stuff was cool back in 1998-1999 or so when we were still little kids." he shrugged. "Then we got closer to our teen years and saw it for what it was and outgrew it."
"Well, I still watch it, even if WWE is not that great anymore. There's other wrestling out there, like TNA."
"Meh, suit yourself." he shrugged. "Anyway, wrestling does not count as a sport, no. As you might know, it's fake."
"You don't say…" I rolled my eyes sarcastically.
"Anyway, this food is lousy." he groaned.
"I told you." I shrugged.
"Gotta go now, man." He got up and bid farewell to me.
I still didn't know what to make of this David guy. He seemed laid back at first and cool but he also didn't have much in common with me in terms of hobbies and interests and he seemed more of the athletic type instead of the nerdy type like me. So I wasn't sure we could develop much of a friendship.
Next day, as I entered the school premises, I ran into David again.
"Yo." he greeted me.
"Hey, man." I nodded.
"You are having class now?" he asked.
"Hum, I still have time. I'm about to go to my locker. Wanna come too?" I shrugged.
"Fine." he smirked. That smirk of his was starting to annoy me a bit.
Anyway, we went to my locker and I spotted Kim and Ron down the hallway. They were busy talking to each other, so they hadn't spotted me yet. I was wondering if I should introduce David to them. It didn't seem like he had much in common with any of us based on his taste and hobbies alone.
"Dude" I felt a tap on my shoulder from David.
"What?" I raised my eyebrow a bit confused. What could it possibly be?
"Who's that?" he pointed behind me, down the hall. I turned my head and saw Barkin enter the teachers lounge.
"That's Barkin. History teacher." I said. "He's not a very fun teacher. Good luck with him." I chuckled.
"No, no; I don't mean him." he shook his head.
"Then who are you pointing at?" I asked him now even more perplexed. Was I supposed to know everyone in this school or something?!
"That redhead!" he smiled. I turned my head again and I could only spot a single redhead in the hallway.
"You mean that girl?" I pointed at Kim with my thumb.
"Yes, do you know her?" he asked me a bit eagerly.
"Yeah, it's Kim Possible. I know her." I shrugged as I answered him nonchalantly. "Why?"
"She's hot!" he grinned.
"Tell me something I don't know, man." I rolled my eyes.
"Could you introduce me to her?" he asked me now, surprising me a bit.
"Huh… OK." I nodded hesitantly. "I guess it won't hurt…" and I motioned for him to follow me as I walked up to Kim and Ron.
"Hey." I greeted my friends and they finally noticed my presence.
"Hey, man!" Ron greeted me with his usual enthusiasm.
"Hi, Rafael!" Kim smiled.
"Kim, Ron." I pointed my open hand palm at David. "This is David. He's new here."
"Hey, David." Ron grinned.
"H-hello!" Kim seemed to stutter slightly as she greeted David.
"So, Kim, right?" David stepped up and was now standing before Kim.
"R-right…" Kim stuttered a little once again. "And you're David?"
"That's my name!" he smirked. And this time his smirk came across as even more smug than usual.
"Well, welcome to Middleton." Kim seemed to regain his composure.
"Oh this place is nice." he grinned.
"You think so?" Kim giggled.
"Oh, I do! And it's just getting nicer." he winked.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
The bell rang and we dispersed to our classes. I sat down next to Ron and he began talking to me during class.
"Hey, Rafael." He whispered. "You noticed that earlier didn't you?"
"Noticed what?" I raised my eyebrow.
"The whole Kim and that David guy thing. Weird vibe…"
"You think?" I was a bit skeptical.
"I mean, it seemed like Kim was crushing on him, you know." Ron looked down at his notebook.
"Really?" I was a bit taken aback now. "No way!"
"Last time I saw Kim look at a guy like that was when she was crushing on Josh Mankey!" Ron groaned.
"Oh brother…" I sighed and buried my head in the palm of my hand.
"Something wrong, Rafael?" the algebra teacher walked up to me.
"No haha!" I laughed sheepishly.
"Good. Pay attention in class!" she raised her index finger as she scolded me.
Could Ron be right? Was Kim attracted to David? And if she was, then that meant he'd be hanging out with us from then on. I didn't like the sound of that and neither did Ron, from my interpretation of his tone and body language.
Professor Dementor was in his lair plotting his next evil plan. His numerous henchmen were doing work on their computers as usual, when Dementor suddenly blurted out something.
"How much longer will you take?! You need to work faster!" Dementor's voice let out a highly frustrated tone.
Some minutes later, one of his henchmen motioned for him to come closer and showed him on the screen that the work was done.
"AH EXPLENDID!" Dementor rubbed his hands. "With this hypnotic frequency I created, I can turn everyone into my minion! Hahahahahahaahah!" he let out his trademark evil laugh.
"Professor." One of Dementor's henchmen chimed in. "Where can we put it to use first?"
"Huummm…" Dementor scratched his chin. "Ideally, it should go on TV, but let's try out with movie theaters first. A big blockbuster debuts this week, so it will be the perfect opportunity to amass a large amount of minions!" he grinned.
Kim was at home and talking on the phone to Monique. Kim sounded very excited, and her friend was curious.
"What up, girl?" Monique raised her eyebrow. "You sound in high spirits today."
"It's that new guy, David." Kim smiled.
"Oh, right. You have been eyeing him, haven't ya?" Monique smirked.
"Well, he is kinda hot." Kim blushed.
"No argument there, girl." Monique chuckled.
"Anyway, just because I might be crushing a little it doesn't necessarily mean anything." Kim shrugged, trying to play it cool.
"Riiiiiight." Monique flashed a mischievous smirk. Luckily for her, Kim couldn't see it since both girls were talking on the phone. "I haven't seen you like this in a while, Kim."
"Like what?" Kim feigned ignorance.
"Crushing hard on a guy." Monique snickered.
"Well…" Kim blushed slightly. "It's the new guy effect, I guess."
"Yeah, a new hottie!" Monique chuckled.
"KIMMY! IT'S DINNER TIME!" Kim overheard her mother, Mrs. Possible, crying from outside.
"I gotta go now, Monique. Dinner is served." Kim excused herself and hung the phone. Quickly afterwards, she ran downstairs. She was starving! Kim entered the kitchen and took a seat. Mrs. Possible has put down a big plate with a delicious looking meatloaf in the center of the kitchen table and began filling in everyone's plates one by one.
"This looks yummy, honey!" Kim's father, Mr. Possible, smiled.
"Oh boy!" Kim's younger twin brothers, Jim and Tim, couldn't keep their tongues in their mouths and were nearly drooling.
"Thanks, mum!" Kim smiled politely as her mother filled her plate with the meatloaf and the vegetables.
"So, Kimmy, how was school today?" Mr. Possible asked Kim with his usual cheerful demeanor.
"Oh, it was fine, dad! So not the drama, you know?" Kim waved her hand and flashed a slightly goofy smile.
"You seem to be in a really good mood today, Kim." Mrs. Possible smiled. "Anything good happen in school today?"
"Oh, I got an A on my Chemistry test." Kim subtly bragged.
"You always get top grades, Kimmy!" Mr. Possible chuckled, amused at his daughter's not so subtle bragging. "Tell us something new."
"Well… a new student joined Middleton recently." Kim fidgeted a bit as she revealed this information.
"A new student?" Mrs. Possible was curious. "What are they like?"
"His name is David and he's kind of… handsome." Kim tried to say the last part quietly, but her family heard it clearly.
"Oh?" Mr. Possible raised his eyebrow. "Handsome, you said?"
"D-dad!" Kim blushed a bit.
"Kim's got a boyfriend!" the twins teased.
"No I don't, you tweebs!" Kim cried.
"Now, kids. Don't fight at the dinner table." Mrs. Possible scolded with a frown on her face. "So, Kim, you seem rather interested in this boy?"
"I just think he's good looking, mum!" Kim scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"Be careful, Kimmy!" Mr. Possible held his fork in the air. "Boys can be trouble!"
"Oh don't start, dad!" Kim rolled her eyes.
"Mum! Dad!" Jim and Tim interrupted in unison. "Will you take us to watch that new sci-fi movie?"
"I dunno, boys." Mrs. Possible frowned. "It's rated T for Teens. You two are a little young for it, still."
"Besides, you nearly set our garage on fire the other day, boys." Mr. Possible smirks. "You're grounded, remember."
"OH! Jim and Tim groaned in defeat.
"Serves you tweebs right!" Kim snickered.
Next Monday, we had a typical history lecture with Mr. Barkin. As you can imagine, it was incredibly fun… not. The class was 1 hour long but felt like it would never end. The bell ring felt like the sound of freedom for us. Although, our break after it wasn't that fun either since Ron and I kept hearing David brag about how good of a swimmer he was. This guy really had a bit of an ego.
"I think we get it already, dude." Ron rolled his eyes.
"What, you're jealous because you still swim in the kiddie's pool?" David smirked.
"HEY! I prefer shallow waters, alright!" Ron cried.
"Just say you can't swim, bro." David snickered.
"Anyway, David, I can swim too. Hardly a massive achievement." I raised my eyebrow. "What point are you even trying to make here?"
"That's different." David shook his head. "You swim what, 2 weeks a year on average? I have been doing it several times a week as a sport ever since I was 6!" He pointed his thumb at himself.
"OK, mister Olympian." I said dryly.
"Hey! I'm not aiming for the Olympics, man." he chuckled. "They're nearly impossible to make, let alone win a medal. I'm not THAT good!"
"At least you can admit that!" Ron grinned.
"Do you two even exercise?" David rolled his eyes. "And no, pressing buttons on your video game controller does not count."
"...Oh!" Ron had his index finger held up, but clearly he got shot down by David's disclaimer before he even managed to answer his question.
I just shrugged. Indeed I didn't do any sports. They've never been my thing. And I hated the exertion of physical exercise, anyway.
"Tsk." David shook his head. "You guys should reconsider that lifestyle."
"Why? Feeling lonely in your swimming pool, Dave?" Ron snickered.
"I hate crowded pools!" I groaned, remembering all those crowded hotel swimming pools during summer break.
"That wasn't my point." David sighed.
"Dude, you don't pee in the pool, do you?!" Ron's eyes widened in shock.
"PFFFT!" I was unable to hold my laugh back.
"WHAT?! NO!" David shook his head that had turned slightly red in embarrassment. "A) That's disgusting. B) I'm not a little kid anymore."
"So you were one of those kids who peed in the pool!" Ron pointed his index finger at David with an accusatory tone in his voice.
"That's gross, man…" I shook my head and smirked. It was good to have an upper hand over David in a discussion for once.
"That's not what I said at all, idiots!" David slapped his face with his hand-palm hard in frustration. "I'm here trying to have an intelligent conversation with you two about the benefits of sports and your minds are wandering into dirty territories!"
"Look how defensive he is, Ron!" I grinned as I pointed at David.
"Yeah, he'd be the worst at poker!" Ron giggled.
"Guh huh!" Rufus also giggled.
"Hi, guys. What's up?" Kim suddenly arrived and sadly our banter would come to an end.
"Oh, hi KP." Ron replied a bit disappointed with Kim's timing.
"What were you guys talking about?" Kim blinked.
"Oh, we were having a lot of fun!" I flashed a grin. "You see-" But David pushed me aside and got between me and Kim.
"Hi, Kim." he smiled.
"Hi, Dave." Kim smiled back.
"Looking good today." He complimented her. Ron and I just glanced at each other momentarily with dry expressions in our faces.
"Thanks." Kim laughed nervously. "So, how was your weekend?"
"It was awesome!" David lit up. "I improved my swimming time this Saturday!"
"That's great!" Kim nodded. And both walk away chatting, leaving Ron and I alone.
"KP! He pees in the pool!" Ron yelled across the hall, but clearly Kim didn't hear him.
"That guy really is trying to seduce Kim, eh?" I rolled my eyes.
"Kim will look past his cockiness eventually." Ron groaned.
Later that day, at lunch time, I sat with Ron and Kim when Kim suddenly dropped a bomb on us.
"So, guess who's going to the premiere of the upcoming big sci-fi movie this Thursday?" Kim smirked smugly.
"Wait, really?!" Ron slammed his hands on the table in excitement. "Alright! You got an extra ticket, KP?"
"Yeah, but…" Kim tried to elaborate but Ron did not listen to her.
"Yes! I've been so hyped for that movie ever since it's been announced!" Ron threw his arms up in celebration.
"Ron!" Kim frowned. "Will you listen to me?"
"What'" Ron looked back at Kim with a perplexed look on his face. This didn't look good. I was afraid of what Kim was going to say next, but it looked like Ron hadn't grasped it yet…
"Ron, I'm not going with you this time, I'm sorry." Kim looked down, feeling a little guilty.
"What? Who are you going with, then?" Ron asked, a bit hurt.
"David." Kim smiled nervously.
"DAVID?!" Ron and I cried in unison.
"He asked me out and I said 'yes'." Kim blushed slightly.
"Asked you out? On a… date?!" Ron's eyes widened.
"And you're actually going?" I raised my eyebrow, trying to hide my disappointment with Kim's decision.
"Yeah." Kim nodded. "He seemed nice and I'd like a chance to get to know him better."
"Oh great…" I groaned.
"What?" Kim raised her eyebrow.
"That guy is a little too full of himself, KP!" Ron explained.
"Oh come on, now!" Kim sighed. "Don't be jealous, Ron!"
"I'm not jealous!" Ron cried. "I just think he brags a little too much at times."
"Yeah, guy also loves to take subtle shots at others." I added.
"I'm sure he's just joking around, guys." Kim tried to play our objections down. "Don't take it so seriously."
"That's because he's on his best behaviour whenever you're around, Kim." I said it dryly.
"Yeah, guy has had his eyes on you ever since he's met you." Ron added.
"Well, he's nice and also a hottie, so I'll give him a chance." Kim blinked.
"Ah, that explains it, of course." I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"Don't be like that, Rafael." Kim rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's just a date. And even if it works out, I'll still be friends with you two."
"Great… have fun, KP." Ron frowned.
"Wow, that's definitely the type of encouragement I expected from my best friend." Kim frowned as well.
"Oh well, don't tell us we didn't warn you." I smirked.
"It's like you want it to fail so that you can tell me 'I told you so'." Kim folded her arms and was starting to get almost angry at the two of us.
"No, no!" Ron shook his head energetically. "You got it all wrong, Kim! We do care about you!"
"Then let me be happy and mind your own business, guys!" Kim finished her meal, picked up her tray and left our table with an annoyed look on her face.
"Oh well, perhaps we spoke too much too soon." I scratched my head sheepishly.
"Yeah, perhaps there is a side of David we haven't seen yet." Ron shrugged.
Rufus looked a bit sad at both of us. He hated to see his human friends fight.
Thursday afternoon finally came and Kim was waiting for David by the city's multiplex theatre. Kim was a little nervous and also excited for the date. Even though she was a teen hero who fought bad guys on a regular basis and saved the world countless times, Kim would surprisingly get tongue-tied around guys she liked at times. Most notably her former crush, Josh Mankey.
"Hey." Kim turned her head to the right and there was her date for today, David.
"Hey." Kim smiled at him a bit shyly.
"Let's go get some popcorn and pop." David placed his hand on her shoulder, making Kim blush slightly and both walked to the food sales counter.
Meanwhile, Ron was hanging out at my place. We were playing some WWE SmackDown Here Comes the Pain in my living room. Ron brought his PS2 over with him, since I don't have one. Finally I got the chance to play one of the SmackDown series titles! And HCTP was OUTSTANDING! I especially loved playing as Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. And my favourite match type? The Elimination Chamber! The GameCube WWE games had a limit of 4 wrestlers per ring in a match at the same time, so there was no Elimination Chamber in WMXIX or Day of Reckoning.
"Ah! You hit me with the Goldberg spear again!" Ron panicked!
"You're down for the count, Ron!" My face beamed with determination and confidence.
"Kick out, RVD!" Ron furiously mashed all the buttons on his controller in order to kick out of the pinfall.
"1… 2… 3! Pinfall!" The referee counted and I won! Goldberg's theme song began playing.
"AAAAARGH!" Ron was distraught at his loss.
"Tough luck, Ronno!" I chuckled.
"It's not my fault! My fingers are tired from all the button mashing!" Ron used the classical excuse.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't play so often with submission specialists like Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit; then." I said it dryly.
"Hey, it feels good to make your opponent tap out!" Ron shrugged.
"That it does." I nodded. I couldn't really disagree with Ron's point.
"Anyway, you think Kim is having a good time on her date?" Ron changed the subject.
"How should I know?" I shrugged.
"Aren't you at least a little bit curious?" Ron asked.
"I guess, but I can wait until tomorrow to hear it from Kim's mouth." I shrugged. "I wasn't thinking of it now until you brought it up."
"I guess we better go back to playing some wrestling!" Ron smirked and picked up his controller again.
"Now you're talking!" I smirked as well. "I'll be Stone Cold Steve Austin in this next match.
"Well, that's perfecto! I'll be The Rock!" Ron grinned.
"OH a classic!" My pupils dilated. "Let's do it!"
"HELL IN A CELL!" Ron flashed an evil grin.
"BRING IT ON!" I closed my fist full of determination and fire.
Kim and David were watching the movie at the theatre. They were enjoying it so far, or at least David was. It's not that Kim wasn't liking the movie, but she was a bit nervous, especially since David decided to put his arm around her chair and both began sharing a popcorn bag.
Admittedly, Kim could tell that the movie was well made, even if she was not one to normally watch sci-fi movies. She just went to watch it on premiere night to boot due to David asking her out. Otherwise, she'd most likely had not watched the movie ever or would only watch it on DVD a couple of years later at home with her family, since Jim and Tim really wanted to see that movie.
As the movie was over halfway through, the theatre screen began going haywire, which led to unpleasant surprise reactions from the crowd in the room. Technical difficulties? How amateurish! Some seconds later, the footage came back and it was of a guy who hadn't shown up in the movie so far. He was wearing red and a black helmeted mask. No one recognised the actor playing the character either since he was not in the trailer nor was his name on the movie poster. Well, there was one person who recognised him, actually…
"DEMENTOR!?" Kim nearly jumped out of her seat in shock.
"Good evening, Middleton multiplex theatre!" Dementor smirked evilly. "You will now do as I say!"
"What?" "Who is this?!" "What's going on?!" several of the patrons in the room began protesting.
"This is weird." David raised his eyebrow.
"This isn't good!" Kim voiced her concern.
Then, Dementor pointed a device from the movie screen at the audience and some sort of ray began coming out from the screen in circles that would expand as they advanced to the back of the room. Kim quickly covered her eyes, since her experience taught her that she could be dealing with a hypnotic device of some kind and the preventive measure in such a situation was to either cover your eyes or your ears. As Dementor finished firing his ray, David's eye pupils and those of the people in the rest of the theatre had turned bright red. They were now under Dementor's command.
"Hahahahaha!" Dementor let out his trademark villain laugh. "That's right! Praise Professor Dementor as your supreme leader! Vow to serve me!" he ordered.
"PROFESSOR DEMENTOR IS OUR SUPREME LEADER! WE VOW TO SERVE YOU, PROFESSOR DEMENTOR!" the audience echoes.
Kim was the only one who hadn't been hypnotised, since she knew it was better to cover her eyes due to her years of experience in missions where she saw and even had been subjected to such evil tactics before. Kim tried to snap David out of his hypnotised state, but to no avail.
"David!" Kim shook him. "Snap out of it!" she pleaded.
And now Dementor noticed there was one person in the theatre who had not fallen under his hypnotic spell. And it was none other than Kim Possible.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Fraulein Possible!" Dementor sneered.
"Dementor! Turn these people back to normal, now" Kim demanded angrily.
"How about… nein." Dementor raised his eyebrow and smirked. "In fact, I have a better idea, Fraulein."
"Oh no…" Kim didn't know where this was going.
"ALL OF YOU!" Dementor pointed at Kim Possible. "SEIZE THAT REDHEAD TEENAGE GIRL! SHE'S A THREAT TO THE CAUSE!" he yelled out his order with an evil grin.
And, instantly, the entire audience turned toward Kim. A wave of hypnotised moviegoers started advancing on her. Some even grabbed popcorn buckets like they were helmets and others wielded soda straws as weapons. And to make matters worse, David was also under Dementor's control, so he also carried his orders. Kim was alone and trapped. David and a few other moviegoers grabbed Kim's arms and prepared to attack her, but she shook them off and took several backwards leaps over the rest of the patrons until she landed right in front of the exit. Kim had a hardened expression on her face and was breathing heavily as she looked at the entire theatre being under Dementor's hypnotic control and out to get her. She got out and hid behind the food counter.
"Wade! Please come in!" Kim took out her Kimmunicator.
"Hey, Kim. Is everything OK?" Wade asked with a tone of concern.
"I'm at the multiplex theatre and Dementor suddenly popped up on screen in the middle of the movie and hypnotised everyone in the room with some sort of device." Kim whispered.
"Oh, that's bad. Lemme see what I can do." Wade began typing intensely.
"Ok, but hurry!" Kim pleaded. "I cannot hold them back much longer."
Wade nodded and tried to work as fast as he could. Kim was on her own for now and had to resort to using the pop fountains to slow down the moviegoers who were ordered to seiRafael her. Kim, loaded her gun with pop from the food court fountains and shot it at the moviegoers. It would throw them back a bit and also not hurt them. Kim obviously couldn't hurt innocent people under the hypnotic control of Dementor. Kim now saw David approach her and he hesitated to fire some Pepsi in his face, but knew she had to do it to hold him back.
After a while, Wade called Kim and Kim answered her Kimmunicator as fast as the speed of light… almost!
"Wade, what's the sitch?" Kim asked, almost in a pleading voice.
"Kim, go to the projection room!" Wade said. "Dementor planted a Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter there. He must have hooked it up to the theatre's film reel."
"You got it, Wade!" Kim nodded and smiled. She turned off the Kimmunicator and dodged the moviegoers by jumping from them and hopping over them as well on her way to the projection room. As Kim reached the projection room, she spotted the Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter and it was indeed hooked up to the theatre's film reel. It was time to remove it, but as Kim was running toward it, a hologram of Dementor popped up right in front of her.
"Ah, Kim Possible about to ruin my moment! How typisch!" Dementor mocked.
"Give it up, Dementor!" Kim frowned as she pointed her index finger at him with determination. "I won't let you win!"
"Oh, that's what you think!" Dementor grinned. "Because this time, I am prepared!"
Kim looked around to see what Dementor was on about. She also looked out from the projection room window into the theatre room and saw a bunch of small round robots with 4 legs crawling on the movie screen and the chairs.
"What the–" Kim was taken aback by the sight.
"Kim Possible… I present to you the DOOMBOTS! Hahahahaha!" Dementor's hologram announced triumphantly by throwing his arms up and letting out his trademark laugh before disappearing.
And then, some Doombots also knocked down the projection room door and approached Kim. Our heroine was in a tough spot.
We finished gaming and it was getting late, so Ron had to go home soon. As he picked up his PS2 to bring it back to his home, I flicked through the channels to do some zapping and landed on the news. Apparently something was going down at Middleton's Multiplex Theatre.
"Wait, Rafael!" Ron exclaimed. "Don't change the channel!"
I nodded and it was on the news that something was going down at the multiplex, with moviegoers walking around with eyes glowing red as if they were under someone's control and also a bunch of ground level robots with four legs were crawling all over the place.
"That's the place Kim and David went to!" Ron cried at the TV.
"Wait, you sure?!" My eyes widened.
"Of course! It's the place where everyone in Middleton goes to see the most recent movies!" Ron explained. "I gotta run! Kim needs my help!" and he dashed out of my house quickly, leaving his PS2 and the wrestling game behind before I could stop him. I guess he had more pressing matters to attend to. Talk about bad luck, for a mission to sprout out of a date. I wondered if this was common for Kim. It would be quite amusing if it was an anime series and not real life.
Kim was again in the movie theatre room where she was watching the movie until Dementor interrupted it. She was kicking the doombots away and using tools to make them blow up. And now, several moviegoers were entering the movie theatre room again to get their hands on Kim, as Dementor had ordered them to do. Kim spotted David among them and had an idea.
"Sorry, David, but I gotta do this until you snap out of it." Kim sighed and then picked a rope off her backpack and tossed it, wrapping it around David, immobilising him. He fell on the floor and Kim quickly tied his hands with the rope behind his back.
"Now you stay there and be a good boy." Kim joked.
As Ron arrived in his blue scooter at the Multiplex, he had to get past the news crews and the police quickly. He had to help Kim. After all, he was part of Team Possible, too, being Kim's sidekick.
As Ron approached the entrance of the multiplex, he spotted someone in a small individual flying open ship. He took a closer look and he couldn't believe who was in it.
"Professor Dementor?!" Ron cried.
"Oh, look who finally decided to show up!" Dementor mocked. "Kim Possible's komischer sidekick!"
"Hey! I'm not 'komischer'!" Ron protested. "...whatever that means!"
"Whatever." Dementor shrugged. "MOVIEGOERS! ATTACK THIS TEENAGE BOY!" Dementor pointed at Ron as he gave out his orders to the moviegoers in the multiplex.
"Yikes! Easy folks!" Ron pleaded with a fearful smile on his face as sweat ran down his face.
Kim finished off the rest of the Doombots in the movie theatre movie and then called Wade again.
"Wade! How do I disable the Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter?" she asked.
"You need to hack into it and replay the movie, but this time in reverse." Wade explained as he typed fast on his keyboard.
"In reverse?" Kim raised her eyebrow perplexed. "But why?"
"It will scramble Dementor's subliminal signals and make the moviegoers snap out of it."
"Gotcha. I need to find a way to draw the rest of the moviegoers into the movie room again." she scratched her chin.
But, it looked like Kim didn't need to go to such trouble. Almost immediately afterwards, Ron ran into the movie room, running away from the rest of the moviegoers, filling the room in with everyone again.
"Ron!" Kim cried. She was happy to see him again.
"KP!" Ron cried back. "You OK?"
"I'm fine! Let's head to the projection room!" Kim pointed at the back of the movie room and began running towards the exit alongside Ron. As they left the movie room, they closed the moviegoers inside the room and blocked the door in order to prevent them from leaving it for now. Kim and Ron then head to the projection room and Kim begins hacking into the Neuro-Subliminal Transmitter, just like Wade had explained her to do. It took Kim some minutes, but she was successful and the movie began replaying, but this time in reverse. Within the next 10-15 minutes, the moviegoers trapped in the room slowly began snapping out of their hypnotic state and wondering what happened. All they remembered was Dementor popping up on the movie screen and after that it was all a blur. David, in particular, was wondering why he was tied up on the floor.
"Hey! Someone untie me!" he yelled, and a few of the equally confused moviegoers rushed to untie him.
"Thanks… where's Kim?" He looked around.
"Who?" One of the moviegoers, a middle aged bald man, asked him.
"My date!" David raised his voice. He was clearly nervous and agitated.
But the middle aged man just shook his head and shrugged. And no one else seemed to know about Kim either.
Kim and Ron then unblocked the movie room door and opened it.
"It's safe to come out now, everyone!" Kim cried into the room. The moviegoers run up to the exit. As David runs out, he spots Kim.
"KIM!" he cried. "You're OK?!"
"I'm fine, David." Kim smiled. "What about you?"
"I'm super confused!" he held the side of his forehead with his hand. "What's going on?"
"No time to explain, dude!" Ron interjected.
"What are YOU doing here?" David frowned.
"David, not now! I'll explain later! Let's go!" Kim grabbed David's hand and ran toward the exit of the multiplex alongside Ron and the rest of the moviegoers. But, it was not over yet. Dementor and a bunch of his henchmen were blocking the exit.
"Where do you think you're going, Fraulein Possible?" Dementor smirked.
"Dementor! You will pay for this!" Kim put on a battle stance.
"Men!" Dementor glanced at his henchmen and then pointed at Kim and Ron. "ATTACK!"
And his henchmen rushed toward Ron and Kim. The moviegoers took advantage of the dispersion to escape from the multiplex, since now the exit was no longer blocked. The only people left inside the multiplex now were Kim, Ron, Dementor, Dementor's henchmen and David. Kim was beating up Dementor's henchmen with her powerful kung fu kicks and punches. Ron also managed to take down a couple of them with a little help from Rufus biting their butts, but mostly cheered for Kim on the sidelines as he usually did. As for David, he just stood there looking scared. And then, just as Kim took down the last henchman, Dementor grabbed David from behind and pointed a gun to his head, making a hostage out of him.
"DAVID!" Kim cried, with fear on her face.
"One wrong move, Fraulein Possible, and your little boyfriend is a goner!" Dementor threatened with a smirk.
"He's not her boyfriend!" Ron protested!
"Ron…" Kim whispered, not denying Ron's statement.
"Whatever!" Dementor groaned and rolled his eyes. "I am not interested in such details! Regardless, one move from either of you and this boy is a goner!" he threatened once again.
David began shaking and even crying.
"Dude?" Ron raised his eyebrow, surprised at how David was reacting.
"Is he… crying?" Kim also was surprised.
"PLEASE SPARE ME!" David begged. "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"
"Hahahaha!" Dementor let out his trademark evil laugh. "I love it when they beg for their lives!"
"TAKE OUT THEIR LIVES IF YOU WANT TO!" David pointed at Kim and Ron as he raised his arm that was shaking like jelly. "BUT LET ME GO, PLEASE!"
"What?!" Kim was now incredulous.
"You're gonna ditch us?!" Ron's face flared up in anger.
"GRRR!" Rufus also was getting angry at David's words.
"Well, that's unexpected from a hostage." Dementor scratched his head with his free hand in confusion at what the situation had developed into.
"David, you can't be serious!" Kim frowned.
"I a-am s-s-serious!" David stuttered. "I just wanted to hook up with you, anyway!"
"WHAT?!" Kim's eyes have now widened in shock. She felt like she was stabbed in the heart.
"Y-yeah" David kept stuttering while justifying his attitude. "W-what, you t-thought I wanted to m-make you my girlfriend?! No! I just wanted to use you and then toss you aside for the next hot girl!"
"EXCUSE ME?!" Kim shouted and her face now went from a look of shock to a look of fury.
"Man, what a jerk!" Ron shook his head.
"Guh-huh!" Rufus nodded in agreement.
"ARGH! What a useless hostage!" Dementor cried in exasperation. "Go away!" and he pushed him away against the food counter. Kim Possible quickly jumped and landed right in front of Dementor.
"Now it's just you and me, Dementor." Kim seemed to regain her composure and confidence as she was flashing her well-known determined smile.
"Why you!" Dementor swung his arms, trying to hit Kim with a hard punch, but Kim's quick reflexes helped her dodge all of his punches and then she landed several kicks in his stomach and chest, knocking him down and defeating him.
"AAAAH!" Dementor cried in pain as he fell on his back on the floor.
"Well done, KP!" Ron cried in excitement and high-fived Kim.
"So not the drama." Kim downplayed the situation.
The police then rushed into the multiplex and arrested Dementor. Ron and Kim slowly walked out of the multiplex looking tired.
"So, did you enjoy the movie?" Ron asked.
"I'll let you know if I ever finish it one day." Kim smiled.
"We can fix that!" David came from behind and put his arm around Kim's shoulders. "How about we go watch it at a more quiet movie theatre next week, Kim?" he smiled.
But Kim, with a hard frown on her face, broke herself away from David's arm.
"Actually, no. That's never going to happen." she replied coldly.
"But why?" David raised his eyebrow.
"Dude, are you serious?!" Ron couldn't believe this guy's nerve.
"Ron, that's ok! I can handle this!" Kim raised her open palm in front of Ron's face and gave him a reassuring smile. Then she turned back to David and her expression hardened again. "You were going to sacrifice me and Ron to save your own butt, David!"
"Come on now! My life was under threat!" David explained. "Can you blame me?"
"Yes, I can! Ron and I were going to save you, no matter what. We would never let someone die!" Kim's patience was starting to wear thin fast.
"Well, most of us aren't power rangers or whatever the hell you two seem to be!" David was now getting slightly angry himself.
"You know what, David?" Kim's voice turned a bit cold now. "You're pathetic and clearly lack character."
"What?!" David was shocked at what he had just heard. "How can you say that, Kim?!"
"You were ready to throw me under the bus. It's understandable for you to be afraid, especially when you've never been in such a situation before, but you didn't mind someone else dying if it meant you being released. That is a strong sign of lack of character." Kim calmed herself down a bit and explained it.
"Look, I'm a teenager. I'm not ready to die, yet." David groaned. "You really think I was going to risk my life for a girl I went on a first date with?"
"That's not the point." Kim sighed in frustration. "You really don't get it, do you?"
"Look, Kim, there's plenty of girls in the world. You're not special enough for me to risk my life for you, sorry." David folded his arms.
"Why did you ask me out, then?" Kim's eyes widened as her frown remained on her face.
"I thought you were hot and I wanted to have some fun, happy?" David threw his arm up as he revealed his intention.
"Oh, so I was just another girl to add to your list of conquests and boost your ego?" Kim's anger was slowly building up again.
"Oh please, get off your high horse, woman!" David cried. "You never hooked up?"
"You know what, David? You've been very transparent today. Not only did you only view me as a girl to fool around with but you also revealed yourself to be a characterless coward. And that made you lose any attractiveness points you had until then. Having a handsome face and an athletic build do not make up for those lousy qualities." Kim said it coldly.
"What do you have to say for yourself now, Dude?" Ron smirked.
"No one is talking to you, Ron! As if a loserish geek like you is one to talk…" David groaned.
"Oh, and by the way, David." Kim's voice then turned icily cold. "It's ironic how you are calling Ron a loserish geek when he's clearly more of a man than you ever will be. He's saved my life many times in the past, unlike you who were willing to let me die in order to save your own butt."
"I… I… " David stuttered, trying to come up with a counterpoint to Kim's argument.
"Goodbye, David." Kim turned around. "Let's go, Ron." And both her and Ron walked away, leaving the multiplex and heading home. David was left alone in the multiplex, feeling defeated and like he had been completely humbled and exposed. He never thought a simple movie date would test his character and manhood the way it did that day. But it did and he failed miserably.
As both Kim and Ron were walking home, Ron decided to break the silence at some point.
"You OK, Kim?" Ron asked, a little concerned.
"Yes, I beat Dementor. You were there, remember?" Kim smirked and gave Ron a quizzical look.
"No, I mean, the whole David thing."
"Oh." Kim sighed. "Well, it was just one date and it ended poorly. So not the drama." shrugged.
"Rafael and I did try to tell you he was cocky, but we didn't expect him to be a coward who lacked character as well." Ron scratched his head sheepishly.
"Hey, he seemed nice and cute, so I gave it a shot. Fortunately, I got to see his true colours on our first date. So it was probably for the best." Kim smiled and shrugged.
"Yeah…" Ron smiled weakly.
"Anyway, bad judgement on my part. Sorry about that!" Kim sweatdropped a little embarrassed.
"No worries, Kim." Ron waved his hands reassuringly. "It happens to the best of us."
"Yeah, you don't have much room to talk either." Kim looked at Ron mischievously.
"Hey, let's not bring back embarrassing past stories, now!" Ron acted defensively.
"Then how about we drop the subject?" Kim suggested with a confident smirk.
"Sounds good to me." Ron nodded.
And both headed home and David's name was never mentioned again.
School Trip to the Zoo
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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- 10
It was a cold Monday morning in November. Normally, I'd be in a sour mood on a Monday morning, but this week I was actually rather excited. How could that be? Was I sick? Not at all, in fact. I was excited because we were going on a school trip today. Where to? To the city zoo!
"All right, LISTEN UP PEOPLE!" Mr. Barkin yelled at us as he stood in front of the bus. "Time to board the bus. Hand in the signed permission from your parents before you climb into the bus." He ordered.
Students began boarding the bus one by one. My turn came and I showed Barkin the signed permission with my mother's signature.
"Very well, Rafael. Hop in!" Barkin nodded and pointed with his thumb at the open bus door, ordering me to climb in.
The interesting thing about school trips was how the place you decided to take a seat on inside the bus said a lot about you. If you sat up front near the teacher(s), you were a teacher's pet. If you sat in the middle, you were just a regular individual. If you sat at the back or near it, you were a rebel. Where was I going to sit? Halfway into the bus. I sat right behind Kim and Ron, who of course were sitting together, as always. Those two were inseparable, after all. A little too inseparable for a girl and a guy who were simply just friends, if you ask me, but whatever.
"Why is it always Mr. B the teacher who gets to supervise us on school trips?" Ron groaned in frustration.
"I don't mind it…" I shrugged. Ron and Kim both turned around and looked at me.
"Don't tell me you like Barkin, Rafael." Kim frowned, looking a bit disappointed with me.
"No, not particularly." I chuckled as I shook my head. "But I'd rather have him as the assigned teacher for our school trip than my mum."
"Oh right, that would have been mucho embarrassing for you." Ron realised. "It's bad enough your mum teaches at Middleton High already."
"Yeah…" I shuddered.
"Makes sense you'd rather even have Barkin instead, then." Kim chuckled.
As usual, the bus didn't take off after everyone took their seats. We stayed put for a little longer for whatever reason. Suddenly, we spot someone else climbing on board. It's… MOTHER?!
"Listen up, PEOPLE!" Barkin yelled again. "Your zoo trip will count with another teacher as well." he pointed at my mother with his open palm. My mother spotted me and waved at me and I felt really embarrassed and sulked down in my seat.
"Yikes, Rafael deserves our pity." I overheard Ron tell Kim with a sad tone in his voice.
"Indeed, poor guy." I overheard Kim shed a fake tear.
"This must be a REALLY bad dream!" I buried my head in my hands.
A large black van stopped right outside Middleton Zoo. Monkey Fist came out of it.
"The monkeys and apes in this city's zoo will add more monkeypower to my personal army!" Monkey Fist flashed an evil smirk as he rubbed his hands.
From the back of the van, the doors opened and the Monkey Ninjas jumped out. They all stood in attention awaiting Monkey Fist's orders.
"Monkey Ninjas." he cleared his throat. "We must be discreet while infiltrating the zoo. We can't let people notice us until it's too late."
"OOH OOH AAH AHH!" the Monkey Ninjas chattered.
"Excellent!" Monkey Fist smirked, clearly pleased by the fact his Monkey Ninjas understood his orders. "Let's go, now!" he motioned for the Monkey Ninjas to follow him as he climbed up the wall to enter the zoo without paying. They quickly followed suit and, in less than a couple of minutes, Monkey Fist and his Monkey Ninjas were in Middleton Zoo and had a frontal view of the several monkey and ape species in their respective cages. It was now time for phase two of the evil plan.
I was mute as a mouse throughout the entire bus ride. I just did not feel comfortable being 100% myself in such an awkward situation. As the bus arrived at the zoo entrance and we left the vehicle, Mum and Barkin ordered us to gather. I was a bit distracted, so I did not hear my name being called out at first.
"OLIVEIRA!" I felt startled as I heard Barkin yell my name. "Y-Yes?!" I stuttered slightly.
"Join your classmates, NOW!" he pointed at the rest of the class that was several metres aways from me, gathering together. I nodded and slowly walked up to them.
"He's so clueless." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "How does one of the best teachers in school have such a clueless kid?" and chuckled.
"Bonnie Rockwaller." My mother scolded her. "Be quiet while we wait to enter the zoo."
Bonnie cringed a bit and when my mother was no longer looking in our direction, she glanced at me and flashed a smug look.
"Momma's boy." she mocked. I blushed slightly. This was so embarrassing! Not that I liked Bonnie or anything, in fact she was rather annoying and arrogant, but she was also hot. And nothing worse for a teenage guy to be called a momma's boy by one of the hot popular girls in school, ARGH!
"Don't let her get to you, Rafael." Ron whispered to my ear, trying to comfort me. It did make me feel slightly better, but nonetheless…
"Alright, kids, it's time to enter the zoo!" my mother clapped her hands one time to get everyone's attention. "Also, form groups of 4."
"Groups of 4?" Ron raised his eyebrow.
"That's right." Barkin nodded. "We're not just here to look at animals, people! We're here to work on an assignment!" he explained.
"Each group must choose an animal to write an essay about." my mother explained.
Everyone was now scattering around forming groups of 4. Naturally, Kim and Ron immediately paired up.
"Hey now!" Barkin cried, and everyone turned their heads around. What could possibly be the problem? We were just doing what they told us to do.
"We didn't say you could choose who to group up with!" Barkin's eyes widened.
"What?!" Kim exclaimed in surprise.
"You heard me, Possible!" Barkin pointed his finger at Kim.
"But that's not fair, Mr. B!" Ron pleaded.
"Actually, Ron Stoppable." My mother looked at Ron. "It's a reminder that, throughout your adult life, you won't often be able to work alongside your friends or people you are close with. You will have to work with all kinds of people, including ones you don't like." she explained.
"Hello!" Bonnie rolled her eyes, clearly not being convinced by the idea. "Some people just shouldn't be forced together, Mrs. Oliveira."
"Watch your tone, Bonnie Rockwaller!" My mother scolded her. " You will do as we say or else you'll fail your assignment, understood?" she threatened.
"Fine…" Bonnie sighed in defeat.
"Anyway, people, I wrote down the groups during the bus ride already. So clean your ears and listen up!" he ordered. Everyone was feeling a bit nervous, wondering what kind of people they'd end up forming groups with.
"1st Group:" Barkin began reading off the list. The anticipation was making everyone tense. "Josh Mankey, Brick Flagg, Felix Renton and Marcella!"
None of the people in that assigned group protested. I don't think they were friends or particularly close to each other, but weren't enemies either. Josh and Felix were rather chill guys who didn't get in arguments with others. Brick was the naive type and Marcella… well, no idea about her, really.
"2nd Group:" Barkin was now smirking slightly. I didn't like the looks of this… "Zita Flores, Ron Stoppable, Mike and Jessica."
"Me and Z-Zita?!" Ron gulped nervously. Why?
"What's wrong with Zita?" I asked him, perplexed.
"Oh, nevermind him, Rafael." Kim rolled her eyes. "Ron's been crushing on Zita for a while and just can't bring himself to talk to her."
"Come on, KP! That's a bit of an exaggeration!" Ron protested as his slight blushing betrayed his words.
"Riiiiight!" Kim teased.
"Had no idea you liked a girl, Ron." I said.
"Well, now you do!" Ron threw his arms in the air in desperation.
"STOPPABLE!" Barkin yelled. "Go join your group, now!" he pointed at Zita, Mike and Jessica who were waiting for him, and he walked up slowly to them. As for this group, we already established that Ron had a crush on Zita. As for the other two elements, Mike was known as Big Mike in school. He was a really huge guy who often ended up in detention, but unlike his threatening appearance, he was actually a rather quiet guy. I never saw him bully anyone. Jessica was one of Kim's cheerleader friends and squadmates. She was a tall girl with long blonde hair, light blue eyes and freckles on her face. She was hot and also seemed rather energetic and friendly.
"Group 3:" Barkin resumed. What was going to happen this time? "Kim Possible, Junior, Malcolm Nevious and Alan Platt."
"Oh, just great!" Kim facepalmed in frustration.
"What's the problem, Kim?" I raised my eyebrow.
"Malcolm is this super bossy and arrogant know-it-all nerd and Alan is a weirdo who is constantly having detention." Kim groaned.
"What about Alan Platt?"
"Don't know him that well." She shrugged. "His parents almost chaperoned our ski trip last year, and he was just feeling just as down as you are today."
"Thanks for rubbing it in!" I groaned. Kim scratched the back of her head sheepishly and walked over to her group.
"Group 4:" Barkin again. "Bonnie Rockwaller, Monique, Vinnie and Rafael Oliveira!"
"No…" I gulped. I ended up in the same group as Bonnie?!
"Ugh, getting stuck for the rest of the day with losers!" Bonnie groaned.
Yeah, and I was going to get stuck with a spoiled bitch like you, Bonnie! Fortunately, Monique was also in my group. As for Vinnie, I never spoke to the guy. I just knew he was friends with Big Mike and Junior. I doubt he was worse than Bonnie, though.
The baboons were minding their own business in their cage when, suddenly, lasers melted the cage bars and now the baboons could escape. As they left their cage, they stopped in front of the Monkey Ninjas and communicated with them in monkey noises.
"Well done, Monkey Ninjas!" Monkey Fist gave praise to his simian underlings. "Now, go free the chimpanzees while I free the gorillas!" he ordered as he pointed at the chimps cage. The Monkey Ninjas ran toward it while Monkey Fist ran towards the gorillas cages. Once again, he fired a couple of red lasers off his small black handgun and again those lasers melted the front cage bars and now the gorillas were also free. As they stepped out, Monkey Fist stared at them with a commanding look in order to gain control over the big apes. Since Monkey Fist had hands and feet like those of a monkey, it wasn't so difficult for him to recruit other simians. Not to mention his appearance, demeanor and the sounds he could emulate could fool even the smartest of monkeys and apes. Monkey Fist motioned to the gorillas to follow him as he led them to the baboons, and also were quickly joined by the chimps and the returning Monkey Ninjas.
"My fellow simians!" Monkey Fist began speaking in a very confident and commanding tone. "We're going to take over this country from humans! First, we'll start with Middleton. I order you to spread terror all across this zoo!" He smirked.
"OOOOH OOOOH AAAAH AAAAH!" The apes and the monkey all cried in unisson, with the gorillas beating their chests with their fists. Clearly, they received Monkey Fist's message loud and clear.
After the initial regular zoo tour is over, the groups need to get on to their assignments. We needed to decide on what animal species to write our essay about. I wasn't confident, as usual, so I waited for another element of my group to speak up first.
"How about elephants!" Monique snapped her fingers in excitement. "They're so cool!"
"Elephants are nice, yeah…" I nodded a bit weakly.
"Oh please, they're too big and slow!" Bonnie crossed her arms.
"I suppose you have a better idea, princess?" Monique rolled her eyes.
"How about, kangaroos?" Bonnie smiled. "They're so cute!"
"Elephants are very smart, though." Vinnie raised his index finger.
"Who cares about that in an animal?!" Bonnie scoffed.
"You're afraid an animal might outsmart you, girl?" Monique teased.
"Oh please!" Bonnie exclaimed, slightly irritated at Monique's remark. "No animal can be smarter than me or most humans!" she protested.
"Actually…" Vinnie was about to retort, but Bonnie would quickly cut him off.
"You're right." Bonnie interrupted him with a smug look on her face. "I'm sure half of the world's animals are brighter than Kim Possible's loser friend, Ron Stoppable, for example!"
"Ron isn't even in our group, Bonnie. Why are you even bringing him up?" I asked her, perplexed.
"That's kinda her deal, Raphael." Monique rolled her eyes. "Talking smack about everybody."
"I can see that." I sighed.
"If you're a loser, I'll call you out on it. Solution: don't be one." Bonnie smirked.
Before Monique and I could protest, Vinnie interjected.
"People, we need to decide on an animal already and get to work." he reminded us of our assignment.
"Elephants!" Monique looked at Bonnie defiantly.
"Kangaroos!" Bonnie looked back at Monique also in defiance.
"Oh great!" I face palmed hard. "They will be arguing all day!"
"I have a solution!" Vinnie smirked and reached for his pocket, taking out a coin from it.
"Ah, the coin toss method…" I rolled my eyes. "Very original."
"Heads or tails?" Vinnie asked the two girls.
"Heads." Bonnie said.
"Tails." Monique said.
Vinnie performed the coin toss and the anticipation in the girls' eyes was quite something. Meanwhile, I was just waiting for the coin to land so that we could move on. As the coin finally landed, Vinnie announced the result.
"Heads." he said.
"YAHOO!" Bonnie celebrated by throwing her arms in the air. "I won!"
"Fine…" Monique groaned.
"Now, let's go observe the kangaroos, gang!" Bonnie said it smugly. "If I get a low grade on this group assignment, I'm going to blame you." and she walked away, expecting us to follow her.
"Someday, I'm going to say something I'll regret to that woman." I clenched my teeth.
"I'm with you on that." Monique nodded, also while clenching her teeth.
Ron was super nervous about ending up in the same group as Zita, his crush. He's been stuttering and sounding goofy throughout the whole assignment.
"You alright, buddy?" Big Mike placed his massive hand on Ron's shoulder. "You don't look so good."
"I'm f-fine, B-big M-Mike!" Ron laughed nervously.
"You sure? You look tense." Zita raised her eyebrow and her face seemed to show an expression of slight concern.
Ron just blushed as he looked Zita in the eyes and frantically waved his hands in front of his face dismissively. "N-no, n-no, Z-Zita! I'm fine!" he laughed nervously again.
"Uh huh…." Rufus muttered, not believing Ron at all.
"Guys!" Jessica interjected. "What if we chose a monkey species for our assignment?"
"M-MONKEY!?" Ron gasped.
"Which monkey species?" Zita asked.
"GORILLA!" Big Mike yelled in excitement.
"Gorillas are apes, Big Mike." Zita smiled.
"Oh…" Big Mike looked down a bit sad.
"NO! NO MONKEYS OR APES!" Ron cried.
"Why?" Jessica looked a bit sad at Ron's attitude.
"THEY'RE SCARY!" Ron cried.
"Ron, they will be inside a cage, don't worry." Zita reassured him.
"No, no! Absolutely no way!" Ron strongly denied as he waved his arms with an angry look on his face.
"Oh right, Ron is afraid of monkeys." Jessica remembered.
"Really? Why?" Zita asked, a bit worried.
And Ron went on his long traumatic stories of Camp Wannaweep where he had several traumatic experiences throughout the time he spent in that camp. Including a very scarring memory with Bobo, the chimp who was Camp Wannaweep's mascot with whom Ron had to share a cabin with. Bobo was very hyperactive and destructive, which scared the living hell out of Ron and made him terrified of monkeys and apes forever.
"Wow, that's heavy stuff, Ron. I'm sorry." Zita's mouth was wide open.
"Hey, we all have our phobias. I'm afraid of mice!" Big Mike shuddered at the thought.
"Come on, Big Mike, you're still afraid of Rufus?" Ron showed him Rufus on his palm.
"Don't put him near my face!" Big Mike took a step back with a look of fear in his eyes.
"Guys, please let's focus." Zita reminded them.
"Fine, no monkey assignment, then." Jessica smiled and shrugged.
"Thank you, Jessica!" Ron wiped the sweat off his forehead and let out a sigh of relief.
"What species shall we write our assignment about, then?" Zita scratched her chin.
"I know!" Ron clapped his hands excitedly. "Penguins!"
"Sure! They're cute." Jessica smiled and nodded.
"Fine by me." Big Mike smirked.
"Ok, penguins it is." Zita smiled at Ron. "Let's go, then." and she motioned the group to follow her.
Meanwhile, Kim was having a way worse time than Ron.
"Alright, I'm the leader!" Malcolm Nevious pointed at himself and flashed a smug smile.
"Says who?" Kim put her hands on her hips as she glared at Malcolm.
"I, the genius Malcolm Nevious say so!" Malcolm closed his fist.
"None of us voted for you, dude…" Junior rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, stoner!" Malcolm cried at Junior. "We're going to write our essay on snakes and that's final!"
"You shouldn't decide that on your own, Malcolm." Alan Platt said it sheepishly.
"Yeah, this is a group assignment." Kim folded her arms. "We're not working for you, Malcolm."
"Oh, I suppose you wanted to be the leader, Miss Cheerleader?" Malcolm sneered.
"Ad hominem fallacy, so-called genius?" Kim scoffed.
"Spare me your attempts at an intelligent discussion, Kim Possible!" Malcolm shook his head. " You can't outwit me.
"Why are you being so confrontational, Malcolm? Alan asked shyly.
"Trust me, Alan. We'll be better off not letting her get her way in this assignment." Malcolm whispered to Alan's ear.
"Hum, why?" Alan whispered back, perplexed.
"You know, I am here." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Impossible to ignore your presence." Junior's eyes scan all over Kim's body from head to toes.
"What do you want, Junior?" Kim took a small step back, clearly a bit uncomfortable with his gaze.
"Man, your skin is so clean and smooth and your body is so fit!" Junior was nearly drooling now as he stared at Kim's body.
"Eeew!" Kim grimaced and shoved his face with her hand palm. "Back off, weirdo!"
"See, Alan?" Malcolm pointed at Kim.
"See what, Malcolm?" Kim frowned, with her patience starting to wear thin.
"This is what I was talking about!" Malcolm sighed in frustration.
"What?" Kim asked sternly.
"People like you love being the centre of attention!" Malcolm groaned.
"Excuse me?!" Kim's eyes widened. "What do you base that on?"
"You popular people are all the same!" Malcolm escalated with another generalisation.
"Is that so?" Kim asked dryly with a frown on her face. "You're making a lot of assumptions about someone you barely even know, dude."
"Look, you might get to play superhero in your spare time, but this is academia we're talking about here, so don't steal my spotlight!" Malcolm warned her.
"Your spotlight?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "Sounds like you're the one who is the egocentric one here, Malcolm."
"Isn't Kim a top student as well?" Alan scratched his head. "Perhaps you should listen to her suggestions, Malcolm…"
"Plus, she's hot!" Junior was gazing at Kim again. "I'd rather follow her orders than yours, dude!"
"UGH!" Kim groaned in frustration. "Don't talk about me like that, Junior!"
Suddenly, the Kimmunicator made its trademark beeping sound.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim answered the call a bit surprised at the timing.
"Kim, Monkey Fist is causing trouble at Middleton Zoo." Wade said.
"Wait, really?" Kim's eyes widened.
"Yes, he's been breaking monkeys and apes out of their cages. You should head there before they hurt bystanders."
"Wade, I'm at the zoo already!" Kim smirked.
"Wait, how?!" Wade blinked fast.
"School trip." Kim smiled and shrugged nonchalantly.
"Well, OK, even better!" Wade smiled.
"But I haven't seen any monkeys or apes on the loose…" Kim turned her head both ways.
"AAAAAH!" Suddenly Malcolm let out a cry as an orangutan jumped on him and stole his Star Trek wallet before running away.
"Woah! Monkey trouble, peeps!" Junior's eyes widened.
Kim began running around the zoo and saw more and more monkeys and apes running amok. It was time to save the day!
And Monique was taking pictures of the kangaroos while I was writing down on my knee as Bonnie told me what to write in an authoritative tone, naturally. How typical of her.
"Slow down, will ya?" I asked her, a bit irritated.
"You're the one who's too slow, Rafael!" Bonnie groaned. "God, you're useless!"
"Must you always be so… bossy?" I was clearly going to say 'bitchy', but managed to hold back and keep my composure.
"If I get a bad grade, I'm telling Mrs. Oliveira, it was her useless son's fault." Bonnie looked at her nails.
"Excuse me?!" I was now starting to lose my cool. "This is a group assignment. It's not only about you!" I protested.
"Yeah, girl." Monique lowered her camera and looked at Monique dryly. "We're supposed to work as a group, you know."
"Aren't we running out of time?" Vinnie pointed as his watch.
"Oh, you be quiet, freak!" Bonnie cried. "You haven't done anything yet!"
"Actually…" Vinnie takes off a sheet of paper off his pocket. "I've taken several notes about kangaroos so far. I know some stuff from watching nature documentaries.
"Woah!" Monique looked at his notes impressed. "Sweet!"
"I bet it's a lot easier to work when you don't have someone yelling in your ear." I smirked as I looked at Bonnie sideways.
"What was that, momma's boy?!" Bonnie bristled.
"W-what?!" I stuttered a bit as I protested at her accusation. Not the first time she called me that today.
"Yes, you heard me, loser." Bonnie reaffirmed while crossing her arms and looking down on me with a steely look of contempt.
I blushed slightly. Damn Bonnie was embarrassing me like that. Even if her accusation was baseless, it was going to be difficult for me to argue myself out of this mess.
"Woah, a chimp is loose!" Vinnie's shout snapped me out of my thoughts.
"W..What?" I blinked fast twice and saw a chimp jumping on Bonnie's back. What was going on here?
"EEW!" Bonnie was visibly grossed out. "Get off me!"
"OOOH OOOH AAAH AAAH!" The chimp grabbed Bonnie's sweater tightly and tore off a piece of it from its collar down. And also tore a piece of her t-shirt underneath it as well, revealing the left cup of her hot pink coloured balconette bra.
"AAAH!" Bonnie screamed in embarrassment as the chimp jumped off her and ran away.
"What the hell!" Monique cried, perplexed at the whole ordeal.
My eyes were on Bonnie's half exposed bra. First time I saw a girl in her bra outside of TV, a magazine or the internet.
"What are you looking at, you pervert!?" Bonnie yelled angrily at me while she covered the left cup of her bra.
"S-s-sorry!" I blushed crimson red and was afraid she was going to smack me.
"Look!" Vinnie got our attention again and pointed at a bunch of monkeys wearing ninja-like outfits hopping in the distance.
"Woah, ninja turtles is something, but ninja MONKEYS?!" My eyes widened. That was a sight I never expected to see.
"Something really weird is goin' on here!" Monique said in a concerned tone. "How did a bunch of monkeys escape their cages?"
"I dunno, but THE ZOO IS GONNA PAY FOR THAT CHIMP TEARING MY CLOTHES!" Bonnie yelled angrily.
Ron and his group, however, were in an even worse situation, with a bunch of monkeys stealing their lunch off their backpacks.
"AAAAAAH!" Ron let out a terrified scream."MONKEY ATTACK!"
"Hey, let my backpack go!" Big Mike tried to hold on to his backpack as a monkey tried to pull it off him.
"AH! What do they want from us?" Jessica screamed as her and Zita were surrounded by monkeys.
"Someone help!" Zita cried out for help.
"Well, if it isn't Ron Stoppable!" Monkey Fist showed up and flashed an evil smirk at Ron.
"MONKEY FIST!" Ron cried angrily. "What are you up to this time?"
"Building the largest simian army the world has ever seen HAHAHAHAHA!" he let out an evil laugh.
"That's crazy!" Jessica was horrified as she hugged Zita in fear of the monkeys surrounding them.
"AAAAH!" Big Mike yelled as a gorilla picked him up with one arm and tossed him away.
"Big Mike!" Ron, Zita and Jessica cried in unisson.
Monkey fist just kept his evil laugh going. Victory seemed imminent.
As Kim ran throughout the zoo, she saw the havoc the several different monkey and ape species were wrecking. And how most of the people visiting the zoo at the time were running away in fear of them. Kim knew she had to stop this, but even she couldn't fight off against a bunch of monkeys and apes alone. She could fight off the Monkey Ninjas, but not super strong animals like gorillas.
"Wade, any ideas?" Kim looked at her Kimmunicator.
"You need to find a way to draw the monkeys and apes back into their cages." Wade scratched his chin.
"But how?" Kim asked. "There's so many of them."
"I'll send you over a large crate full of bananas. Give me some minutes to order a large crate full of them." Wade began typing on his computer.
"Roger, Wade." Kim nodded.
Suddenly, a group of Monkey Ninjas surrounded Kim and Kim got in a battle stance to fight them off. The Monkey Ninjas jumped at Kim, but Kim managed to dodge them or roundhouse kick them away from her.
"Where is Ron?!" Kim looked around. Then, she pulled out her mobile phone to send Ron a text message.
Meanwhile, Barkin was annoyed at all the noisy baboons running around him and emptying his pockets.
"DAMN YOU MONKEYS!" he yelled. "GIVE ME BACK MY WALLET!" He began chasing the baboons.
"He actually thinks he can outrun a baboon?" Mrs. Oliveira asked dryly.
"This is scary! What can we do, Mrs. Oliveira?" Marcella suddenly came up from behind and asked worriedly.
"We must go somewhere safe to hide. And we MUST NOT engage with the monkeys at all." Mrs. Oliveira explained firmly.
"Over here, lady!" a voice called from afar. A zoo worker motioned them to go to the zoo's souvenir shop. Mrs. Oliveira and Marcella nodded and ran inside. As they got inside, they saw other students already hiding in there. Such as Felix, Josh Mankey, Hope, Tara and Liz.
"Marcella! You okay?" Liz ran up to Marcella, her best friend, concerned.
"I'm fine, babe." Marcella smiled and hugged Liz.
"What about the rest of our classmates?" Hope looked at Mrs. Oliveira.
"I don't know, yet, Hope." Mrs. Oliveira shook her head, obviously looking disappointed to share bad news. "I'm calling Zé now to know if he and his group are fine. You kids try to contact the rest of your classmates as well."
Everyone obeyed and pulled out their mobile phones.
We were now in a rather scary situation. So many apes and monkeys were on the loose and we had to be careful not to inadvertently anger or provoke them. That was easier said than done.
RIIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
"Whose phone is that?" Monique asked as she looked at us.
"Mine." I told her as I reached for my jeans pocket. Obviously it was mum calling me.
"Mum, I'm fine. You?" I immediately told her what she most likely wanted to know.
"Glad to hear!" I could hear her sigh in relief. "What about your classmates?"
"They're fine too, don't worry." I looked over at my group.
"FINE?!" Bonnie yelled. "I got my clothes torn by those monkeys!"
"What was that?" Mum asked me on the phone.
"Oh it's nothing. Just Bonnie being Bonnie, mum…" I chuckled.
"What did you say?!" Bonnie bristled.
"Anyway, Rafael, you and your classmates need to head for the zoo souvenir shop to meet with us and safely hide." Mum told me on the phone with a very serious tone.
"Right, mum. We'll do so." I nodded.
"Be careful, please!" She warned me, worried.
"I know." I smiled. "Later."
I ended the call and explained to the others what we needed to do. Everyone got the message and we ran toward the zoo souvenir shop. It wasn't that far away from where we were.
Kim looked up at the sky and saw the crate finally coming down with a parachute attached to it. Once it landed, she rushed towards it and opened it. It was completely filled with bananas. She immediately closed it.
"How am I going to move such a heavy crate into a cage?" Kim scratched her chin.
"KP!"
Kim turned her head to the right and saw Ron and his group running in her direction.
"Ron!" Kim cried happily.
"This is all Monkey Fist's doing!" Ron told Kim under heavy breathing as he stopped in front of her.
"I know, Ron." Kim nodded and then looked at Ron's group. She realised that Big Mike was a part of it and his physical strength would be the key to push the large heavy banana crate into a cage to draw in the monkeys and apes.
"Big Mike, could you give us a hand here?" Kim pointed at the big crate. "Help us push this crate into that cage over there!" Kim then pointed at an empty cage.
"No problem, Kim." Big Mike gave her a thumbs up.
"Hurry! I can't handle all this monkey trouble anymore!" Ron screamed in fear. And Zita placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Ron." Kim said. "Let's get on to work."
Kim, Ron, Big Mike, Jessica and Zita all pushed the big crate into the empty cage. 90% of the work was naturally done by Big Mike since he's, by far, the strongest of the bunch, but all 5 Middleton High students working together to push the crate has saved them some short but precious time. as in a couple of seconds perhaps. Once the crate was fully inside the cage, Kim and Ron opened it fully to reveal the hundreds of bananas in them.
"HEY!" Kim shouted at the monkeys and apes after getting their attention with a whistle. "COME OVER HERE! WE HAVE TASTY BANANAS FOR YOU GUYS!" Kim smiled and pointed her open hand palm at the open banana crate.
"OOOOOOOH OOOOOOOOH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The several monkeys and apes in the vicinity excitedly chattered at the sight of delicious bananas and ran into the cage. The 5 human teenagers left the cage before the simians got in it. As minutes passed, the word had spread among the simians across the zoo and then the cage was filled with all of them. It was now time to close it, which Kim and Ron did.
"Great work, everyone!" Kim praised her classmates.
"Don't party just yet, Kim Possible!" And now the moment of truth had come. Monkey Fist himself finally dropped in front of Kim and challenged her to a fight.
The fight began, with both Monkey Fist and Kim Possible using their kung fu skills. Ron and Rufus and also the other classmates cheered on Kim throughout the fight.
"GO, KP!" Ron threw his fist in the air.
"GUH-HUH!" Rufus squeaked.
"Hang on, Kim!" Zita cried.
"Kick that monkey man's ass!" Big Mike closed his fist and smirked.
"Wow, I finally get to see Kim in action!" Jessica was in awe at Kim's fighting skills.
The fight went on for a little longer, until Kim started to gain advantage and landed a final blow with a strong roundhouse kick on Monkey Fist's chest, knocking him to the ground.
"OOOOOOUUUUCH!" Monkey Fist yelled in pain as he fell on his back.
"Give it up, Monkey Fist!" Kim commanded him with an authoritative tone as she confidently smirked at him. "The monkeys and apes are all locked in and you are all alone now and cannot beat me!"
"UGH! Fine!" Monkey Fist slowly got up. "But this won't be the last time you've heard of me, Kim Possible!" he pointed at her threateningly.
"Yeah, I know. You don't know when to quit." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Until next time, insolent young lady!" Monkey Fist shouted as he ran away.
"Way to go, KP!" Ron praised Kim as he offered her a high-fived, which she obviously accepted.
"Kim, you are awesome!" Jessica praised Kim too. Her eyes were wide in admiration. "That's our cheerleading squad captain!"
"So not the drama, Jessica!" Kim smiled and waved her hand trying to downplay her feat today. "Just another day in the office, you know."
Afterwards, everyone gathered together. No one got hurt, fortunately. But some people were still understandably a bit shaken up from the whole experience, especially Ron due to his extreme phobia of monkeys. I also wished my mother hadn't hugged me in front of everyone when I got to the zoo souvenir shop. That shit was embarrassing! As for the rest, Barkin was whining about one of the baboons stealing his wallet, apparently. Bonnie had to ask for help from Tara and Hope to cover her torn sweater and t-shirt. Vinnie and Monique were able to save our group assignment notes.
"Yo." Junior came up to me all of a sudden. What could he possibly want?
"Hey…" I nodded slowly.
"Bonnie is in your group, right?" he asked me.
"Yeah…" I nodded.
"So you got to see her naked?" his eyes widened.
"Eh no." I blushed slightly. "Just a sight of the left cup of her bra."
"How was it?" His face came closer to mine, looking very eager to know the answer.
"Hot pink balconette bra." I smirked.
"Damn, that's quite a visual." He smirked back.
"They do seem nicely shaped…" I chuckled a bit naughtily.
"Oh, I believe you, lucky bastard!" Junior nudged me with his shoulder.
"GUYS!" We looked behind us and Kim was eavesdropping on our conversation.
"Oh, hi Kim." I said, a bit sheepishly. "Good job today."
"Yeah, I love a woman who can kick my ass." Junior smirked while quoting Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop.
"Stop being such a perv, Junior." Kim frowned. "We girls aren't pieces of meat for you to ogle at."
Junior's face went pale with slight fear now and he walked away from us.
"What's with him?" I asked, perplexed.
"That goes for you too, mister Oliveira." She looked at me sternly.
"What?!" I asked, a bit surprised.
"Don't talk about girls as if we're objects." she warned me. "That's gross."
"Fine, sorry!" I waved my hands in front of my face. "It's not everyday a guy gets to see a clear look at a girl's bra, you know?"
"I bet Bonnie was really embarrassed." Kim chuckled.
"Oh very. She's threatening the zoo to pay for the damages to her clothes as we speak." I laughed.
"Anyway." Kim smirked. "I got my eyes on you, Rafael. You better not say something inappropriate again." and warned me.
"Alright! Alright! You win!" I sighed in defeat. Kim just laughed.
Everyone boarded the bus to go back to school. The school trip to the zoo was over and it was one we'd never forget for the rest of our lives.
"All right, LISTEN UP PEOPLE!" Mr. Barkin yelled at us as he stood in front of the bus. "Time to board the bus. Hand in the signed permission from your parents before you climb into the bus." He ordered.
Students began boarding the bus one by one. My turn came and I showed Barkin the signed permission with my mother's signature.
"Very well, Rafael. Hop in!" Barkin nodded and pointed with his thumb at the open bus door, ordering me to climb in.
The interesting thing about school trips was how the place you decided to take a seat on inside the bus said a lot about you. If you sat up front near the teacher(s), you were a teacher's pet. If you sat in the middle, you were just a regular individual. If you sat at the back or near it, you were a rebel. Where was I going to sit? Halfway into the bus. I sat right behind Kim and Ron, who of course were sitting together, as always. Those two were inseparable, after all. A little too inseparable for a girl and a guy who were simply just friends, if you ask me, but whatever.
"Why is it always Mr. B the teacher who gets to supervise us on school trips?" Ron groaned in frustration.
"I don't mind it…" I shrugged. Ron and Kim both turned around and looked at me.
"Don't tell me you like Barkin, Rafael." Kim frowned, looking a bit disappointed with me.
"No, not particularly." I chuckled as I shook my head. "But I'd rather have him as the assigned teacher for our school trip than my mum."
"Oh right, that would have been mucho embarrassing for you." Ron realised. "It's bad enough your mum teaches at Middleton High already."
"Yeah…" I shuddered.
"Makes sense you'd rather even have Barkin instead, then." Kim chuckled.
As usual, the bus didn't take off after everyone took their seats. We stayed put for a little longer for whatever reason. Suddenly, we spot someone else climbing on board. It's… MOTHER?!
"Listen up, PEOPLE!" Barkin yelled again. "Your zoo trip will count with another teacher as well." he pointed at my mother with his open palm. My mother spotted me and waved at me and I felt really embarrassed and sulked down in my seat.
"Yikes, Rafael deserves our pity." I overheard Ron tell Kim with a sad tone in his voice.
"Indeed, poor guy." I overheard Kim shed a fake tear.
"This must be a REALLY bad dream!" I buried my head in my hands.
A large black van stopped right outside Middleton Zoo. Monkey Fist came out of it.
"The monkeys and apes in this city's zoo will add more monkeypower to my personal army!" Monkey Fist flashed an evil smirk as he rubbed his hands.
From the back of the van, the doors opened and the Monkey Ninjas jumped out. They all stood in attention awaiting Monkey Fist's orders.
"Monkey Ninjas." he cleared his throat. "We must be discreet while infiltrating the zoo. We can't let people notice us until it's too late."
"OOH OOH AAH AHH!" the Monkey Ninjas chattered.
"Excellent!" Monkey Fist smirked, clearly pleased by the fact his Monkey Ninjas understood his orders. "Let's go, now!" he motioned for the Monkey Ninjas to follow him as he climbed up the wall to enter the zoo without paying. They quickly followed suit and, in less than a couple of minutes, Monkey Fist and his Monkey Ninjas were in Middleton Zoo and had a frontal view of the several monkey and ape species in their respective cages. It was now time for phase two of the evil plan.
I was mute as a mouse throughout the entire bus ride. I just did not feel comfortable being 100% myself in such an awkward situation. As the bus arrived at the zoo entrance and we left the vehicle, Mum and Barkin ordered us to gather. I was a bit distracted, so I did not hear my name being called out at first.
"OLIVEIRA!" I felt startled as I heard Barkin yell my name. "Y-Yes?!" I stuttered slightly.
"Join your classmates, NOW!" he pointed at the rest of the class that was several metres aways from me, gathering together. I nodded and slowly walked up to them.
"He's so clueless." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "How does one of the best teachers in school have such a clueless kid?" and chuckled.
"Bonnie Rockwaller." My mother scolded her. "Be quiet while we wait to enter the zoo."
Bonnie cringed a bit and when my mother was no longer looking in our direction, she glanced at me and flashed a smug look.
"Momma's boy." she mocked. I blushed slightly. This was so embarrassing! Not that I liked Bonnie or anything, in fact she was rather annoying and arrogant, but she was also hot. And nothing worse for a teenage guy to be called a momma's boy by one of the hot popular girls in school, ARGH!
"Don't let her get to you, Rafael." Ron whispered to my ear, trying to comfort me. It did make me feel slightly better, but nonetheless…
"Alright, kids, it's time to enter the zoo!" my mother clapped her hands one time to get everyone's attention. "Also, form groups of 4."
"Groups of 4?" Ron raised his eyebrow.
"That's right." Barkin nodded. "We're not just here to look at animals, people! We're here to work on an assignment!" he explained.
"Each group must choose an animal to write an essay about." my mother explained.
Everyone was now scattering around forming groups of 4. Naturally, Kim and Ron immediately paired up.
"Hey now!" Barkin cried, and everyone turned their heads around. What could possibly be the problem? We were just doing what they told us to do.
"We didn't say you could choose who to group up with!" Barkin's eyes widened.
"What?!" Kim exclaimed in surprise.
"You heard me, Possible!" Barkin pointed his finger at Kim.
"But that's not fair, Mr. B!" Ron pleaded.
"Actually, Ron Stoppable." My mother looked at Ron. "It's a reminder that, throughout your adult life, you won't often be able to work alongside your friends or people you are close with. You will have to work with all kinds of people, including ones you don't like." she explained.
"Hello!" Bonnie rolled her eyes, clearly not being convinced by the idea. "Some people just shouldn't be forced together, Mrs. Oliveira."
"Watch your tone, Bonnie Rockwaller!" My mother scolded her. " You will do as we say or else you'll fail your assignment, understood?" she threatened.
"Fine…" Bonnie sighed in defeat.
"Anyway, people, I wrote down the groups during the bus ride already. So clean your ears and listen up!" he ordered. Everyone was feeling a bit nervous, wondering what kind of people they'd end up forming groups with.
"1st Group:" Barkin began reading off the list. The anticipation was making everyone tense. "Josh Mankey, Brick Flagg, Felix Renton and Marcella!"
None of the people in that assigned group protested. I don't think they were friends or particularly close to each other, but weren't enemies either. Josh and Felix were rather chill guys who didn't get in arguments with others. Brick was the naive type and Marcella… well, no idea about her, really.
"2nd Group:" Barkin was now smirking slightly. I didn't like the looks of this… "Zita Flores, Ron Stoppable, Mike and Jessica."
"Me and Z-Zita?!" Ron gulped nervously. Why?
"What's wrong with Zita?" I asked him, perplexed.
"Oh, nevermind him, Rafael." Kim rolled her eyes. "Ron's been crushing on Zita for a while and just can't bring himself to talk to her."
"Come on, KP! That's a bit of an exaggeration!" Ron protested as his slight blushing betrayed his words.
"Riiiiight!" Kim teased.
"Had no idea you liked a girl, Ron." I said.
"Well, now you do!" Ron threw his arms in the air in desperation.
"STOPPABLE!" Barkin yelled. "Go join your group, now!" he pointed at Zita, Mike and Jessica who were waiting for him, and he walked up slowly to them. As for this group, we already established that Ron had a crush on Zita. As for the other two elements, Mike was known as Big Mike in school. He was a really huge guy who often ended up in detention, but unlike his threatening appearance, he was actually a rather quiet guy. I never saw him bully anyone. Jessica was one of Kim's cheerleader friends and squadmates. She was a tall girl with long blonde hair, light blue eyes and freckles on her face. She was hot and also seemed rather energetic and friendly.
"Group 3:" Barkin resumed. What was going to happen this time? "Kim Possible, Junior, Malcolm Nevious and Alan Platt."
"Oh, just great!" Kim facepalmed in frustration.
"What's the problem, Kim?" I raised my eyebrow.
"Malcolm is this super bossy and arrogant know-it-all nerd and Alan is a weirdo who is constantly having detention." Kim groaned.
"What about Alan Platt?"
"Don't know him that well." She shrugged. "His parents almost chaperoned our ski trip last year, and he was just feeling just as down as you are today."
"Thanks for rubbing it in!" I groaned. Kim scratched the back of her head sheepishly and walked over to her group.
"Group 4:" Barkin again. "Bonnie Rockwaller, Monique, Vinnie and Rafael Oliveira!"
"No…" I gulped. I ended up in the same group as Bonnie?!
"Ugh, getting stuck for the rest of the day with losers!" Bonnie groaned.
Yeah, and I was going to get stuck with a spoiled bitch like you, Bonnie! Fortunately, Monique was also in my group. As for Vinnie, I never spoke to the guy. I just knew he was friends with Big Mike and Junior. I doubt he was worse than Bonnie, though.
The baboons were minding their own business in their cage when, suddenly, lasers melted the cage bars and now the baboons could escape. As they left their cage, they stopped in front of the Monkey Ninjas and communicated with them in monkey noises.
"Well done, Monkey Ninjas!" Monkey Fist gave praise to his simian underlings. "Now, go free the chimpanzees while I free the gorillas!" he ordered as he pointed at the chimps cage. The Monkey Ninjas ran toward it while Monkey Fist ran towards the gorillas cages. Once again, he fired a couple of red lasers off his small black handgun and again those lasers melted the front cage bars and now the gorillas were also free. As they stepped out, Monkey Fist stared at them with a commanding look in order to gain control over the big apes. Since Monkey Fist had hands and feet like those of a monkey, it wasn't so difficult for him to recruit other simians. Not to mention his appearance, demeanor and the sounds he could emulate could fool even the smartest of monkeys and apes. Monkey Fist motioned to the gorillas to follow him as he led them to the baboons, and also were quickly joined by the chimps and the returning Monkey Ninjas.
"My fellow simians!" Monkey Fist began speaking in a very confident and commanding tone. "We're going to take over this country from humans! First, we'll start with Middleton. I order you to spread terror all across this zoo!" He smirked.
"OOOOH OOOOH AAAAH AAAAH!" The apes and the monkey all cried in unisson, with the gorillas beating their chests with their fists. Clearly, they received Monkey Fist's message loud and clear.
After the initial regular zoo tour is over, the groups need to get on to their assignments. We needed to decide on what animal species to write our essay about. I wasn't confident, as usual, so I waited for another element of my group to speak up first.
"How about elephants!" Monique snapped her fingers in excitement. "They're so cool!"
"Elephants are nice, yeah…" I nodded a bit weakly.
"Oh please, they're too big and slow!" Bonnie crossed her arms.
"I suppose you have a better idea, princess?" Monique rolled her eyes.
"How about, kangaroos?" Bonnie smiled. "They're so cute!"
"Elephants are very smart, though." Vinnie raised his index finger.
"Who cares about that in an animal?!" Bonnie scoffed.
"You're afraid an animal might outsmart you, girl?" Monique teased.
"Oh please!" Bonnie exclaimed, slightly irritated at Monique's remark. "No animal can be smarter than me or most humans!" she protested.
"Actually…" Vinnie was about to retort, but Bonnie would quickly cut him off.
"You're right." Bonnie interrupted him with a smug look on her face. "I'm sure half of the world's animals are brighter than Kim Possible's loser friend, Ron Stoppable, for example!"
"Ron isn't even in our group, Bonnie. Why are you even bringing him up?" I asked her, perplexed.
"That's kinda her deal, Raphael." Monique rolled her eyes. "Talking smack about everybody."
"I can see that." I sighed.
"If you're a loser, I'll call you out on it. Solution: don't be one." Bonnie smirked.
Before Monique and I could protest, Vinnie interjected.
"People, we need to decide on an animal already and get to work." he reminded us of our assignment.
"Elephants!" Monique looked at Bonnie defiantly.
"Kangaroos!" Bonnie looked back at Monique also in defiance.
"Oh great!" I face palmed hard. "They will be arguing all day!"
"I have a solution!" Vinnie smirked and reached for his pocket, taking out a coin from it.
"Ah, the coin toss method…" I rolled my eyes. "Very original."
"Heads or tails?" Vinnie asked the two girls.
"Heads." Bonnie said.
"Tails." Monique said.
Vinnie performed the coin toss and the anticipation in the girls' eyes was quite something. Meanwhile, I was just waiting for the coin to land so that we could move on. As the coin finally landed, Vinnie announced the result.
"Heads." he said.
"YAHOO!" Bonnie celebrated by throwing her arms in the air. "I won!"
"Fine…" Monique groaned.
"Now, let's go observe the kangaroos, gang!" Bonnie said it smugly. "If I get a low grade on this group assignment, I'm going to blame you." and she walked away, expecting us to follow her.
"Someday, I'm going to say something I'll regret to that woman." I clenched my teeth.
"I'm with you on that." Monique nodded, also while clenching her teeth.
Ron was super nervous about ending up in the same group as Zita, his crush. He's been stuttering and sounding goofy throughout the whole assignment.
"You alright, buddy?" Big Mike placed his massive hand on Ron's shoulder. "You don't look so good."
"I'm f-fine, B-big M-Mike!" Ron laughed nervously.
"You sure? You look tense." Zita raised her eyebrow and her face seemed to show an expression of slight concern.
Ron just blushed as he looked Zita in the eyes and frantically waved his hands in front of his face dismissively. "N-no, n-no, Z-Zita! I'm fine!" he laughed nervously again.
"Uh huh…." Rufus muttered, not believing Ron at all.
"Guys!" Jessica interjected. "What if we chose a monkey species for our assignment?"
"M-MONKEY!?" Ron gasped.
"Which monkey species?" Zita asked.
"GORILLA!" Big Mike yelled in excitement.
"Gorillas are apes, Big Mike." Zita smiled.
"Oh…" Big Mike looked down a bit sad.
"NO! NO MONKEYS OR APES!" Ron cried.
"Why?" Jessica looked a bit sad at Ron's attitude.
"THEY'RE SCARY!" Ron cried.
"Ron, they will be inside a cage, don't worry." Zita reassured him.
"No, no! Absolutely no way!" Ron strongly denied as he waved his arms with an angry look on his face.
"Oh right, Ron is afraid of monkeys." Jessica remembered.
"Really? Why?" Zita asked, a bit worried.
And Ron went on his long traumatic stories of Camp Wannaweep where he had several traumatic experiences throughout the time he spent in that camp. Including a very scarring memory with Bobo, the chimp who was Camp Wannaweep's mascot with whom Ron had to share a cabin with. Bobo was very hyperactive and destructive, which scared the living hell out of Ron and made him terrified of monkeys and apes forever.
"Wow, that's heavy stuff, Ron. I'm sorry." Zita's mouth was wide open.
"Hey, we all have our phobias. I'm afraid of mice!" Big Mike shuddered at the thought.
"Come on, Big Mike, you're still afraid of Rufus?" Ron showed him Rufus on his palm.
"Don't put him near my face!" Big Mike took a step back with a look of fear in his eyes.
"Guys, please let's focus." Zita reminded them.
"Fine, no monkey assignment, then." Jessica smiled and shrugged.
"Thank you, Jessica!" Ron wiped the sweat off his forehead and let out a sigh of relief.
"What species shall we write our assignment about, then?" Zita scratched her chin.
"I know!" Ron clapped his hands excitedly. "Penguins!"
"Sure! They're cute." Jessica smiled and nodded.
"Fine by me." Big Mike smirked.
"Ok, penguins it is." Zita smiled at Ron. "Let's go, then." and she motioned the group to follow her.
Meanwhile, Kim was having a way worse time than Ron.
"Alright, I'm the leader!" Malcolm Nevious pointed at himself and flashed a smug smile.
"Says who?" Kim put her hands on her hips as she glared at Malcolm.
"I, the genius Malcolm Nevious say so!" Malcolm closed his fist.
"None of us voted for you, dude…" Junior rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, stoner!" Malcolm cried at Junior. "We're going to write our essay on snakes and that's final!"
"You shouldn't decide that on your own, Malcolm." Alan Platt said it sheepishly.
"Yeah, this is a group assignment." Kim folded her arms. "We're not working for you, Malcolm."
"Oh, I suppose you wanted to be the leader, Miss Cheerleader?" Malcolm sneered.
"Ad hominem fallacy, so-called genius?" Kim scoffed.
"Spare me your attempts at an intelligent discussion, Kim Possible!" Malcolm shook his head. " You can't outwit me.
"Why are you being so confrontational, Malcolm? Alan asked shyly.
"Trust me, Alan. We'll be better off not letting her get her way in this assignment." Malcolm whispered to Alan's ear.
"Hum, why?" Alan whispered back, perplexed.
"You know, I am here." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Impossible to ignore your presence." Junior's eyes scan all over Kim's body from head to toes.
"What do you want, Junior?" Kim took a small step back, clearly a bit uncomfortable with his gaze.
"Man, your skin is so clean and smooth and your body is so fit!" Junior was nearly drooling now as he stared at Kim's body.
"Eeew!" Kim grimaced and shoved his face with her hand palm. "Back off, weirdo!"
"See, Alan?" Malcolm pointed at Kim.
"See what, Malcolm?" Kim frowned, with her patience starting to wear thin.
"This is what I was talking about!" Malcolm sighed in frustration.
"What?" Kim asked sternly.
"People like you love being the centre of attention!" Malcolm groaned.
"Excuse me?!" Kim's eyes widened. "What do you base that on?"
"You popular people are all the same!" Malcolm escalated with another generalisation.
"Is that so?" Kim asked dryly with a frown on her face. "You're making a lot of assumptions about someone you barely even know, dude."
"Look, you might get to play superhero in your spare time, but this is academia we're talking about here, so don't steal my spotlight!" Malcolm warned her.
"Your spotlight?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "Sounds like you're the one who is the egocentric one here, Malcolm."
"Isn't Kim a top student as well?" Alan scratched his head. "Perhaps you should listen to her suggestions, Malcolm…"
"Plus, she's hot!" Junior was gazing at Kim again. "I'd rather follow her orders than yours, dude!"
"UGH!" Kim groaned in frustration. "Don't talk about me like that, Junior!"
Suddenly, the Kimmunicator made its trademark beeping sound.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim answered the call a bit surprised at the timing.
"Kim, Monkey Fist is causing trouble at Middleton Zoo." Wade said.
"Wait, really?" Kim's eyes widened.
"Yes, he's been breaking monkeys and apes out of their cages. You should head there before they hurt bystanders."
"Wade, I'm at the zoo already!" Kim smirked.
"Wait, how?!" Wade blinked fast.
"School trip." Kim smiled and shrugged nonchalantly.
"Well, OK, even better!" Wade smiled.
"But I haven't seen any monkeys or apes on the loose…" Kim turned her head both ways.
"AAAAAH!" Suddenly Malcolm let out a cry as an orangutan jumped on him and stole his Star Trek wallet before running away.
"Woah! Monkey trouble, peeps!" Junior's eyes widened.
Kim began running around the zoo and saw more and more monkeys and apes running amok. It was time to save the day!
And Monique was taking pictures of the kangaroos while I was writing down on my knee as Bonnie told me what to write in an authoritative tone, naturally. How typical of her.
"Slow down, will ya?" I asked her, a bit irritated.
"You're the one who's too slow, Rafael!" Bonnie groaned. "God, you're useless!"
"Must you always be so… bossy?" I was clearly going to say 'bitchy', but managed to hold back and keep my composure.
"If I get a bad grade, I'm telling Mrs. Oliveira, it was her useless son's fault." Bonnie looked at her nails.
"Excuse me?!" I was now starting to lose my cool. "This is a group assignment. It's not only about you!" I protested.
"Yeah, girl." Monique lowered her camera and looked at Monique dryly. "We're supposed to work as a group, you know."
"Aren't we running out of time?" Vinnie pointed as his watch.
"Oh, you be quiet, freak!" Bonnie cried. "You haven't done anything yet!"
"Actually…" Vinnie takes off a sheet of paper off his pocket. "I've taken several notes about kangaroos so far. I know some stuff from watching nature documentaries.
"Woah!" Monique looked at his notes impressed. "Sweet!"
"I bet it's a lot easier to work when you don't have someone yelling in your ear." I smirked as I looked at Bonnie sideways.
"What was that, momma's boy?!" Bonnie bristled.
"W-what?!" I stuttered a bit as I protested at her accusation. Not the first time she called me that today.
"Yes, you heard me, loser." Bonnie reaffirmed while crossing her arms and looking down on me with a steely look of contempt.
I blushed slightly. Damn Bonnie was embarrassing me like that. Even if her accusation was baseless, it was going to be difficult for me to argue myself out of this mess.
"Woah, a chimp is loose!" Vinnie's shout snapped me out of my thoughts.
"W..What?" I blinked fast twice and saw a chimp jumping on Bonnie's back. What was going on here?
"EEW!" Bonnie was visibly grossed out. "Get off me!"
"OOOH OOOH AAAH AAAH!" The chimp grabbed Bonnie's sweater tightly and tore off a piece of it from its collar down. And also tore a piece of her t-shirt underneath it as well, revealing the left cup of her hot pink coloured balconette bra.
"AAAH!" Bonnie screamed in embarrassment as the chimp jumped off her and ran away.
"What the hell!" Monique cried, perplexed at the whole ordeal.
My eyes were on Bonnie's half exposed bra. First time I saw a girl in her bra outside of TV, a magazine or the internet.
"What are you looking at, you pervert!?" Bonnie yelled angrily at me while she covered the left cup of her bra.
"S-s-sorry!" I blushed crimson red and was afraid she was going to smack me.
"Look!" Vinnie got our attention again and pointed at a bunch of monkeys wearing ninja-like outfits hopping in the distance.
"Woah, ninja turtles is something, but ninja MONKEYS?!" My eyes widened. That was a sight I never expected to see.
"Something really weird is goin' on here!" Monique said in a concerned tone. "How did a bunch of monkeys escape their cages?"
"I dunno, but THE ZOO IS GONNA PAY FOR THAT CHIMP TEARING MY CLOTHES!" Bonnie yelled angrily.
Ron and his group, however, were in an even worse situation, with a bunch of monkeys stealing their lunch off their backpacks.
"AAAAAAH!" Ron let out a terrified scream."MONKEY ATTACK!"
"Hey, let my backpack go!" Big Mike tried to hold on to his backpack as a monkey tried to pull it off him.
"AH! What do they want from us?" Jessica screamed as her and Zita were surrounded by monkeys.
"Someone help!" Zita cried out for help.
"Well, if it isn't Ron Stoppable!" Monkey Fist showed up and flashed an evil smirk at Ron.
"MONKEY FIST!" Ron cried angrily. "What are you up to this time?"
"Building the largest simian army the world has ever seen HAHAHAHAHA!" he let out an evil laugh.
"That's crazy!" Jessica was horrified as she hugged Zita in fear of the monkeys surrounding them.
"AAAAH!" Big Mike yelled as a gorilla picked him up with one arm and tossed him away.
"Big Mike!" Ron, Zita and Jessica cried in unisson.
Monkey fist just kept his evil laugh going. Victory seemed imminent.
As Kim ran throughout the zoo, she saw the havoc the several different monkey and ape species were wrecking. And how most of the people visiting the zoo at the time were running away in fear of them. Kim knew she had to stop this, but even she couldn't fight off against a bunch of monkeys and apes alone. She could fight off the Monkey Ninjas, but not super strong animals like gorillas.
"Wade, any ideas?" Kim looked at her Kimmunicator.
"You need to find a way to draw the monkeys and apes back into their cages." Wade scratched his chin.
"But how?" Kim asked. "There's so many of them."
"I'll send you over a large crate full of bananas. Give me some minutes to order a large crate full of them." Wade began typing on his computer.
"Roger, Wade." Kim nodded.
Suddenly, a group of Monkey Ninjas surrounded Kim and Kim got in a battle stance to fight them off. The Monkey Ninjas jumped at Kim, but Kim managed to dodge them or roundhouse kick them away from her.
"Where is Ron?!" Kim looked around. Then, she pulled out her mobile phone to send Ron a text message.
Meanwhile, Barkin was annoyed at all the noisy baboons running around him and emptying his pockets.
"DAMN YOU MONKEYS!" he yelled. "GIVE ME BACK MY WALLET!" He began chasing the baboons.
"He actually thinks he can outrun a baboon?" Mrs. Oliveira asked dryly.
"This is scary! What can we do, Mrs. Oliveira?" Marcella suddenly came up from behind and asked worriedly.
"We must go somewhere safe to hide. And we MUST NOT engage with the monkeys at all." Mrs. Oliveira explained firmly.
"Over here, lady!" a voice called from afar. A zoo worker motioned them to go to the zoo's souvenir shop. Mrs. Oliveira and Marcella nodded and ran inside. As they got inside, they saw other students already hiding in there. Such as Felix, Josh Mankey, Hope, Tara and Liz.
"Marcella! You okay?" Liz ran up to Marcella, her best friend, concerned.
"I'm fine, babe." Marcella smiled and hugged Liz.
"What about the rest of our classmates?" Hope looked at Mrs. Oliveira.
"I don't know, yet, Hope." Mrs. Oliveira shook her head, obviously looking disappointed to share bad news. "I'm calling Zé now to know if he and his group are fine. You kids try to contact the rest of your classmates as well."
Everyone obeyed and pulled out their mobile phones.
We were now in a rather scary situation. So many apes and monkeys were on the loose and we had to be careful not to inadvertently anger or provoke them. That was easier said than done.
RIIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
"Whose phone is that?" Monique asked as she looked at us.
"Mine." I told her as I reached for my jeans pocket. Obviously it was mum calling me.
"Mum, I'm fine. You?" I immediately told her what she most likely wanted to know.
"Glad to hear!" I could hear her sigh in relief. "What about your classmates?"
"They're fine too, don't worry." I looked over at my group.
"FINE?!" Bonnie yelled. "I got my clothes torn by those monkeys!"
"What was that?" Mum asked me on the phone.
"Oh it's nothing. Just Bonnie being Bonnie, mum…" I chuckled.
"What did you say?!" Bonnie bristled.
"Anyway, Rafael, you and your classmates need to head for the zoo souvenir shop to meet with us and safely hide." Mum told me on the phone with a very serious tone.
"Right, mum. We'll do so." I nodded.
"Be careful, please!" She warned me, worried.
"I know." I smiled. "Later."
I ended the call and explained to the others what we needed to do. Everyone got the message and we ran toward the zoo souvenir shop. It wasn't that far away from where we were.
Kim looked up at the sky and saw the crate finally coming down with a parachute attached to it. Once it landed, she rushed towards it and opened it. It was completely filled with bananas. She immediately closed it.
"How am I going to move such a heavy crate into a cage?" Kim scratched her chin.
"KP!"
Kim turned her head to the right and saw Ron and his group running in her direction.
"Ron!" Kim cried happily.
"This is all Monkey Fist's doing!" Ron told Kim under heavy breathing as he stopped in front of her.
"I know, Ron." Kim nodded and then looked at Ron's group. She realised that Big Mike was a part of it and his physical strength would be the key to push the large heavy banana crate into a cage to draw in the monkeys and apes.
"Big Mike, could you give us a hand here?" Kim pointed at the big crate. "Help us push this crate into that cage over there!" Kim then pointed at an empty cage.
"No problem, Kim." Big Mike gave her a thumbs up.
"Hurry! I can't handle all this monkey trouble anymore!" Ron screamed in fear. And Zita placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Ron." Kim said. "Let's get on to work."
Kim, Ron, Big Mike, Jessica and Zita all pushed the big crate into the empty cage. 90% of the work was naturally done by Big Mike since he's, by far, the strongest of the bunch, but all 5 Middleton High students working together to push the crate has saved them some short but precious time. as in a couple of seconds perhaps. Once the crate was fully inside the cage, Kim and Ron opened it fully to reveal the hundreds of bananas in them.
"HEY!" Kim shouted at the monkeys and apes after getting their attention with a whistle. "COME OVER HERE! WE HAVE TASTY BANANAS FOR YOU GUYS!" Kim smiled and pointed her open hand palm at the open banana crate.
"OOOOOOOH OOOOOOOOH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The several monkeys and apes in the vicinity excitedly chattered at the sight of delicious bananas and ran into the cage. The 5 human teenagers left the cage before the simians got in it. As minutes passed, the word had spread among the simians across the zoo and then the cage was filled with all of them. It was now time to close it, which Kim and Ron did.
"Great work, everyone!" Kim praised her classmates.
"Don't party just yet, Kim Possible!" And now the moment of truth had come. Monkey Fist himself finally dropped in front of Kim and challenged her to a fight.
The fight began, with both Monkey Fist and Kim Possible using their kung fu skills. Ron and Rufus and also the other classmates cheered on Kim throughout the fight.
"GO, KP!" Ron threw his fist in the air.
"GUH-HUH!" Rufus squeaked.
"Hang on, Kim!" Zita cried.
"Kick that monkey man's ass!" Big Mike closed his fist and smirked.
"Wow, I finally get to see Kim in action!" Jessica was in awe at Kim's fighting skills.
The fight went on for a little longer, until Kim started to gain advantage and landed a final blow with a strong roundhouse kick on Monkey Fist's chest, knocking him to the ground.
"OOOOOOUUUUCH!" Monkey Fist yelled in pain as he fell on his back.
"Give it up, Monkey Fist!" Kim commanded him with an authoritative tone as she confidently smirked at him. "The monkeys and apes are all locked in and you are all alone now and cannot beat me!"
"UGH! Fine!" Monkey Fist slowly got up. "But this won't be the last time you've heard of me, Kim Possible!" he pointed at her threateningly.
"Yeah, I know. You don't know when to quit." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Until next time, insolent young lady!" Monkey Fist shouted as he ran away.
"Way to go, KP!" Ron praised Kim as he offered her a high-fived, which she obviously accepted.
"Kim, you are awesome!" Jessica praised Kim too. Her eyes were wide in admiration. "That's our cheerleading squad captain!"
"So not the drama, Jessica!" Kim smiled and waved her hand trying to downplay her feat today. "Just another day in the office, you know."
Afterwards, everyone gathered together. No one got hurt, fortunately. But some people were still understandably a bit shaken up from the whole experience, especially Ron due to his extreme phobia of monkeys. I also wished my mother hadn't hugged me in front of everyone when I got to the zoo souvenir shop. That shit was embarrassing! As for the rest, Barkin was whining about one of the baboons stealing his wallet, apparently. Bonnie had to ask for help from Tara and Hope to cover her torn sweater and t-shirt. Vinnie and Monique were able to save our group assignment notes.
"Yo." Junior came up to me all of a sudden. What could he possibly want?
"Hey…" I nodded slowly.
"Bonnie is in your group, right?" he asked me.
"Yeah…" I nodded.
"So you got to see her naked?" his eyes widened.
"Eh no." I blushed slightly. "Just a sight of the left cup of her bra."
"How was it?" His face came closer to mine, looking very eager to know the answer.
"Hot pink balconette bra." I smirked.
"Damn, that's quite a visual." He smirked back.
"They do seem nicely shaped…" I chuckled a bit naughtily.
"Oh, I believe you, lucky bastard!" Junior nudged me with his shoulder.
"GUYS!" We looked behind us and Kim was eavesdropping on our conversation.
"Oh, hi Kim." I said, a bit sheepishly. "Good job today."
"Yeah, I love a woman who can kick my ass." Junior smirked while quoting Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop.
"Stop being such a perv, Junior." Kim frowned. "We girls aren't pieces of meat for you to ogle at."
Junior's face went pale with slight fear now and he walked away from us.
"What's with him?" I asked, perplexed.
"That goes for you too, mister Oliveira." She looked at me sternly.
"What?!" I asked, a bit surprised.
"Don't talk about girls as if we're objects." she warned me. "That's gross."
"Fine, sorry!" I waved my hands in front of my face. "It's not everyday a guy gets to see a clear look at a girl's bra, you know?"
"I bet Bonnie was really embarrassed." Kim chuckled.
"Oh very. She's threatening the zoo to pay for the damages to her clothes as we speak." I laughed.
"Anyway." Kim smirked. "I got my eyes on you, Rafael. You better not say something inappropriate again." and warned me.
"Alright! Alright! You win!" I sighed in defeat. Kim just laughed.
Everyone boarded the bus to go back to school. The school trip to the zoo was over and it was one we'd never forget for the rest of our lives.
Christmas Season
New
EmperorOfHeavyMetal
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2026
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- 7
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- 10
Christmas break was finally here! The 1st semester was over and it was time to rest. My grades were fine for the most part. I was not top of my class by any means, but I passed all of my classes, including the ones that had mathematics in them. Well, those I passed just barely, I must admit. But whatever.
Anyway, I survived my 1st semester in Middleton High both academically and socially. Didn't have any major issues with other students. No fights or anything like that. A few arguments here and there but that was normal. The fact I managed to befriend people like Kim, Ron and Monique has massively helped me assimilate more easily into the school and not have a target on my back as an awkward kid for bullies to pick on.
It was great to see so much snow for the first time in my life. While it did snow in Portugal, it seldom snowed in Lisbon. I remember it only snowing one time in Lisbon in my lifetime one random day in late January. And it wasn't enough snowfall to make a proper snowball, let alone close down schools and roads. Snowfall in Portugal is rare in the major cities since they're mostly near the coast. In order to experience snowfall in Portugal you'd need to go more into the hinterland in Central and Northeastern Portugal, since they're the most mountainous areas in the country. Sadly, this was the first time I was experiencing a White Christmas in my lifetime. It was something I always dreamed of when I was a little kid due to how magical it looked in cartoons and movies, but Christmas in Lisbon was always just simply cold and cloudy or sunny or cold and rainy. Therefore, I have been gawking a lot at the snowfall in Middleton from the window and while walking down the streets of my neighbourhood. I genuinely felt like a little kid again.
As I was heading back home from my walk, I felt something cold hit the back of my head. I passed my hand on the back of my head and it was a bunch of snow. Someone threw me a snowball! I looked around frantically, trying to identify the source of such a snowball when I overheard a familiar laugh behind a trash can. I walked up to it hesitatingly and I spotted someone kneeling behind it and wearing a beanie hat. They lifted their head and our eyes met. It was none other than Ron Stoppable.
"Hey there, Ron." I raised my eyebrow. I admittedly was slightly amused.
"Hey, Rafael." Ron laughed a bit sheepishly.
"You know, that shit is pretty cold." I said.
"Well duh, it's snow!" Ron laughed.
"Anyway, how long do you plan on kneeling behind that trash can?" I pointed at the trash can.
"Oh." Ron stood up. "Well, I was hiding from you, but I guess I no longer need to do that hahaha" he chuckled.
"I was about to head back home." I said.
"Oh, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out and build a snowman or something."
"A snowman?" I raised my eyebrow. That was a very interesting proposition since it would be a whole new experience for me. But I didn't want to sound too eager, so I tried to play it off coolly. "I suppose we could build one."
"BOO-YAH!" Ron celebrated. And we began building a snowman together.
Meanwhile, Kim was leaving a younger couple's house after babysitting their 5 year old kid. Normally she'd do that at night, but today she babysat through the morning, since the couple had to do their Christmas shopping that morning and couldn't find anyone to look after their kid.
"Thanks for paying me double today, Mr. and Mrs. Tacchinardi!" Kim smiled very appreciative.
"Don't mention it, Kim." Mr. Tacchinardi waved his hand. "It was the least I could do after you saved my insurance company from being flooded last week."
"Oh, anyone could have easily prevented that flood." Kim smiled. "So not the drama."
Kim waved the nice young couple goodbye and started walking back home. Kim sometimes would babysit other people's kids in order to make some extra money. It wasn't difficult for Kim to get work as a babysitter since everyone in Middleton trusted her and knew she was a very responsible and capable girl for her age. After all, how many people could handle being a hero who saved the world on a weekly basis? Not even most adults could, let alone a teenager!
Kim was walking down a nice street in Middleton with interesting cafés and shops when she suddenly ran into Hope and Tara, two of her squadmates from cheerleading.
"Oh hi, Kim!" Tara, the bubbly blonde waved and smiled at her.
"Hey, girls!" Kim smiled back. "What are you two up to?"
"We're going for some coffee and croissants." Hope, the tomboyish girl with dusky olive skin pointed her thumb at the café door next to them. "This place is our favourite."
"Why don't you join us?" Tara offered.
"Sure!" Kim smiled and the 3 cheerleaders entered the nice and cozy café. They picked their table and the waitress, a nice young woman in her 20s, came up to them quickly, asking them what they'd like to order.
"A latte and a chocolate croissant for me, please." Hope said.
"I'll have a latte too and a ham and cheese croissant, please!" Tara said it excitedly.
"I'll have an espresso and a plain butter croissant myself, please." Kim smiled.
The waitress nodded after writing down the 3 girls' orders and walked away.
"Espresso?" Hope raised her eyebrow. "That's pretty strong, you know."
"Trust me, I know." Kim smiled sheepishly.
"When did you start drinking espresso, Kim?" Tara asked curiously.
"Well, Rafael sorta mentioned it to me and I decided to give it a go." Kim shrugged.
"Rafael? How so?" Hope asked.
"He is not a fan of the different types of coffee we have here in the US and thinks only espresso and cappuccino are worth drinking." Kim chuckled.
"Wow, really?" Tara was surprised. "Had no idea your cute friend was such a coffee elitist."
"Cute?" Kim raised her eyebrow in amusement. "What, you have a crush on him, Tara?"
"I just think he's interesting." Tara blushed slightly.
"Riiiiight." Hope nudged Tara, teasing her.
"Well, he is an interesting individual." Kim took a sip of her own espresso. "But a little too stubborn at times."
"More stubborn than Ron?" Hope chuckled.
"If you can actually believe it." Kim rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Oh, so he's got a bit of a temper?" Tara asked.
"Sometimes." Kim shrugged.
"You and Ron hang out a lot with him, Kim. He must be nice enough for you two to be friends with him." Hope added.
"Oh, definitely. He's cool." Kim now took a bit of her plain butter croissant. "Wow, this is really good."
"We told you!" Tara smiled and proceeded to take a bite of her ham and cheese croissant.
"Easy, Tara!" A sweat drop fell off Hope's forehead. "You'll choke."
Kim just smiled at the banter between Hope and Tara. Those two girls were best friends. Kim was also friends with them but as close to them as she was to Ron and Monique, her male and female best friends, respectively. Why? Well, Tara and Hope were also close friends with Bonnie and hung out with her rather often. And Kim and Bonnie, as everyone knows, did not get along. But the perplexing thing about all of this for Kim was that Tara and Hope were nice girls who got along fine with most people, so how exactly could they tolerate the company of a girl like Bonnie? It didn't make any sense at all.
"So, Kim…" Hope looked Kim in the eyes after taking a sip of her latte.
"Hum?" Kim looked back at Hope after taking another bite of her croissant.
"When do we start practicing for the upcoming state cheerleading competition in January?" She asked.
"Oh I'm glad you asked, Hope!" Kim smirked. "I was thinking of starting tomorrow."
"Tomorrow already?" Tara asked, a bit taken aback.
"Yes, Tara. The competition begins in the first week of January, after all. We must not wait until after Christmas to practice." Kim explained.
"We'll be competing against high school cheerleading teams from all over Colorado." Hope said after she finished chewing a piece of her chocolate croissant. "It's going to be tough."
"Indeed, Hope." Kim nodded. "Which is why we must practice as much as we can in the next 2 weeks."
"Isn't that going overboard, though, Kim?" Tara asked, a bit worried.
"See, Tara, our goal isn't just to take part in the state competition." Kim began explaining.
"Huh?" Tara raised her eyebrow.
"Kim, you don't mean." Hope's eyes widened.
"Our goal is to aim for the victory in the competition and bring the trophy to Middleton High!" Kim stood up and raised her fist in determination.
"That's a very bold statement, Kim." Tara scratched the back of her head nervously.
"Yeah, remember we're not one of the favourites to win it." Hope reminded Kim.
"Yeah, teams like Denver Alpha High, Colorado Springs High and a few others are the big favourites to win it." Tara looked down in defeat.
"Ladies." Kim placed her hands on her hips. "No winner is decided before a competition begins!" she said it confidently.
"That is true." Hope nodded slowly.
"And as captain of Middleton High's cheerleader team, I will not let us enter this state competition with a losing mentality!" She said it firmly.
"You really think we have what it takes for us to win the competition, Kim?" Tara lifted her head and looked Kim in the eyes, hoping she'd be sincere with her.
"Yes, I do." Kim nodded and smiled at Tara. "I believe in my ability as a captain and also believe in my squad."
"You know what?" Hope put down her coffee cup and stood up.
"Yes, Hope?" Kim smirked.
"You've convinced me, Kim!" Hope clenched her fists with a look of determination on her face. "Let's do this!"
"That's the spirit!" Kim cried. "What about you, Tara?"
Tara stood up slowly and looked at both Kim and Hope who awaited her answer. Tara was not as confident as other girls on the squad like Kim, Hope, Jessica and Bonnie were; but even she couldn't deny that she was starting to feel more energised by Kim's confidence and aura.
"Alright!" Tara smiled. "We can do it, girls!"
The 3 girls high-fived each other.
"Practice tomorrow at the school gym at 8h30!" Kim announced. "Let's all warn the rest of the squad as well."
"Uh-huh!" Hope and Tara said it in unisson and nodded.
"This is our snowman?" I pointed at the deformed snowman with a slight frown on my face.
"Yes, dude. Isn't it great?" Ron smiled proudly.
"Sure… if it was built by Pablo Picasso!" I cried.
"Hey now!" Ron raised his hands. "I know the Ron Man is good at building snowmen, but let's not exaggerate!"
"That wasn't a compliment…" I said dryly.
"Well, not all of us can be Calvin & Hobbes." Ron shrugged.
"Fair point." I chuckled.
"Woah, look at the time!" Ron checked his watch. "I better head to Bueno Nacho."
"Hum…" I also check my watch. "I probably should go eat something too."
"Why don't you come along?" Ron asked.
"Sure. I don't have anything else to do." I nodded.
"BOO-YAH!" Ron cried happily.
And we walked away to Bueno Nacho together.
We arrived at Bueno Nacho and Kim was already sitting at her and Ron's usual booth. Ron rushed over to the counter to get himself his trademark Naco, which he got quickly since he's the place's favourite customer. But Kim was… eating a salad?
"Hey, Kim…" I smiled. "You came to a fast food joint to order a salad?" I pointed at Kim's salad bowl with a mix of perplexity and amusement in my face.
"Hey, eating healthy is good for you!" Kim smirked. "And I also need to keep in top shape for the upcoming weeks.
"How so?" I asked.
"Oh you don't know, right." Kim realised.
"He's still rather new here, Kim." Ron shook his finger as if he was slightly scolding Kim.
"Cut me some slack, Ron." Kim rolled her eyes and smirked at the same time.
"What don't I know?" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"The state cheerleading competition is coming soon." Ron said as he stuffed his mouth with another bite of his Naco.
"Don't speak with your mouth full! Eeew!" Kim grimaced.
"Yeah, that's rude, man." I looked at Ron dryly.
"Anyway." Kim cleared her throat to get my attention. I was better off having her explain it to me, I figured. "The Middleton High cheerleading squad will take part in the state competition, and as captain of the squad, I'm ready to work very hard and make the rest of the squad work just as hard as well!" she smiled confidently.
"So, what does the competition consist of?" I scratched my head. "Does it have a panel of judges giving scores to each squad's choreography like the Olympics for ice skaters or something like that?" I took a wild guess.
"Pretty much, yeah." Kim smiled and nodded. "You must have an interesting choreography and you cannot miss a step or else they'll deduct points from your squad's final score."
"And don't forget having a cool mascot helps too!" Ron beats his chest proudly.
"Ron…" Kim sighed. "For the millionth time, mascots don't take part in this competition. So no foaming Mad Dog this time."
"But that's not fair!" Ron protested with a sad look on his face. "Middleton High loves me whenever I do that!"
"Middleton High's students aren't judges of a state competition, Ron." Kim smiled sympathetically. "I understand your passion, but mascots won't be allowed to participate."
"A shame." I said. "I bet it would have led to some hilarious moments."
"Yeah, I don't doubt that…" Kim said it dryly.
"Fine!" Ron folded his arms, still a bit bitter about not being able to take part in the competition. "So, when will you start practicing?"
"Tomorrow morning, actually." Kim replied. "This school year we'll be aiming to win the competition."
Ron spat out his drink in shock at Kim's revelation. And now Kim's face and hair were covered in Coca-Cola. If looks could kill, Kim would have been arrested for murder right there.
"Ouch…" I winced at the sight.
"Yiiip!" Rufus gasped.
"S-sorry, KP!" Ron apologised profoundly. "I was not expecting you to say you're aiming to win it this time."
"Gross!" Kim groaned angrily as she folded her arms. "Excuse me, boys." She got up and went into the bathroom. Only Ron could mess up Kim's pretty face and lovely red hair like that. Imagine going down in Middleton High's history as the guy who spat Coca-Cola in the face of Kim Possible. That had to be embarrassing. Even if she was your best friend.
Anyway, Kim seemed highly confident and ambitious about this upcoming cheerleading competition. Was it really that outlandish of her to make such a claim? Was there a ranking of HS cheerleader squads or something? I would never have guessed it to be so damn competitive. This country sure is peculiar…
It was 08h30 in the morning, and Middleton High's cheerleaders were gathering in the school gym right before practice started to listen to Kim's speech about the upcoming competition and their ambitions for it.
"Woah, you think we can win it, Kim?!" Jessica gasped in shock. "That's quite bold!"
"And rather naive, don't you think?!" Crystal cried.
"I have faith in the squad, Crystal." Kim said it assertively.
"Come on, Kim! Competition is very steep!" Liz tried to reason with Kim.
"I think we're selling ourselves short, girls!" Hope cried. "We're pretty damn good!"
"You know." Bonnie smirked. "I think no one doubts our skills as cheerleaders. "
"You too are being naive, Bonnie?" Crystal rolled her eyes.
"Not at all, girl." Bonnie waved her hand dismissively. "Some of you could just use more self-confidence in your own abilities, you know."
"Bonnie is right." Tara nodded. "With our skills and Kim leading us, we can very much challenge for the trophy."
"Weeeeeeeeell…" Bonnie grinned as she looked at Kim.
"What is it, Bonnie?" Kim raised her eyebrow, not liking Bonnie's tone.
"That depends on the kind of practice our captain here will put us through." Bonnie shrugged.
"Is that so?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "You're not happy with my practice methods, Bonnie?"
"More like saving the world and winning a cheerleading state competition are two completely different things." Bonnie added.
"Isn't saving the world way harder?" Tara put a finger on her chin.
"Bonnie." Kim took a deep breath. "You know very well I'm a great cheerleader and always give it all as squad captain."
"Does this mean you won't ditch us every couple of days in mid-practice to go off to Egypt or China to fight some creepy looking mad scientist?" Bonnie frowned as her face got closer to Kim's.
"Huh…" Kim hesitated a bit. She hated to admit it, but Bonnie caught her off guard with that question. She did make a good point. "I mean, the fate of the world is much more important than cheerleading, don't you agree?" Kim looked at the other girls hoping to rally some support.
"Can't argue with that." Hope nodded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to side with Kim on this one." Crystal nodded as well.
The rest of the squad nodded in agreement as well, even if they were less confident in their agreement.
"LOOK!" Bonnie cried in frustration. "All I'm saying is, I doubt the world will end if Kim decides not to take a call or two from her nerdy computer guy."
"His name is Wade." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Whatever!" Bonnie dismissed Kim's information. "Police and the military also need to do some work. You can't just deal with every little incident that happens across the globe."
"Fine!" Kim sighed, growing tired of this argument. "I will be fully committed to the preparation for the upcoming cheerleading state competition, are you happy now?" She placed her hands on her hips and looked Bonnie sternly in the eyes.
"I rest my case!" Bonnie gave Kim a snooty look before turning around. "So, are we going to practice or not?"
Kim hesitated for a few seconds, since she didn't appreciate Bonnie's snootiness, but she also knew it was pointless to keep on arguing with her. It would just waste precious time and the last thing the squad needed before the major competition was a toxic environment breaking it apart from within. So she had to let Bonnie's arrogance slide this time and begin practice. And the girls did practice throughout the rest of the morning without any more arguments.
Days passed and it was now Christmas Eve. Our house was filled with the lovely smell of traditional Portuguese Christmas sweets. Mostly rabanadas and arroz doce. I did think mum went a bit overboard this year, though. There's no way the two of us could eat them all alone. She clearly wanted to share them with some neighbours as well.
And, of course, we had the Christmas tree set up already and with the presents underneath it. That was truly the best part of Christmas. Getting presents! The food came close, though. And speaking of which, the smell of the turkey in the oven was also filling the house. I could hardly wait! And then we'd open our presents a few hours after dinner at around midnight like always.
DING DONG!
"Are you expecting someone, mum?" I asked, a bit taken aback from the doorbell ringing.
"No. Go get the door, Rafael." Mum told me from the kitchen.
I shrugged and slowly walked to the door. I peeped into the hole and I saw none other than Kim and Ron standing outside. I wondered what they'd want in the middle of Christmas Eve's afternoon.
"Hey, guys." I greeted them as soon as I opened the door. "I'm surprised to see you here today."
"Actually, it was kind of a last minute decision." Kim smiled mischievously.
"How so?" I raised my eyebrow.
"We couldn't help but notice the smell as we walked past your home." Ron grinned.
"GUH-HUH!" Rufus licked his lips.
"Wait, you don't mean…" I began sniffing the air outside and just as I had feared, the smell of the sweets was leaking out of our house. "Oh, you rascals!" I scolded them sarcastically.
"Guilty as charged!" Kim blushed slightly.
"Who's at the door, Rafael?" My mum walked over to us and saw Ron and Kim. "Oh hi there!" She smiled.
"Hi, Mrs. Oliveira!" Kim smiled politely.
"Kim, I must congratulate you on your top grade in my class." My mother commended Kim.
"Oh, it's no big deal, really." Kim smiled. "So not the drama!"
"As for you, young man." My mother smirked at Ron now. "Consider yourself lucky to have made it."
OUCH! Poor, Ron. This was embarrassing and awkward for him and for me as well. Didn't have to talk about school on Christmas Eve, mother!
"So." My mother was now going to change the subject to the elephant in the room. "I take it, you kids want some sweets?"
"If that's okay with you and Rafael, Mrs. Oliveira…" Kim said it shyly.
"Of course it is!" Mum smiled. "I made some extra ones. Come in!"
As mum motioned for Kim and Ron to enter our house, she went into the kitchen to bring them plates of rabanadas.
"Woah, what is this?" Ron was practically drooling.
"They're called rabanadas!" My mum explained. "A traditional Portuguese sweet eaten on Christmas. They are fried and crunchy on the outside and taste like cinnamon and lemon."
"Looks delicious!" Kim's eyes widened. "May I take a couple for my twin brothers as well, Mrs. Oliveira?"
"Sure thing, Kim!" Mum smiled.
Ron and Kim each ate a rabanada and they absolutely loved it, especially Ron. That guy will eat anything, pretty much. Except maybe snails. He thought those were gross and he simply couldn't understand why Portuguese people, French people and some other European nationalities ate them. Americans just didn't understand the act of eating snails, it seemed.
Also, Rufus got his own rabanada as well. The little fellow loved it as much as Ron loved it as well.
After they got done eating, My mother stored a few more for them to take home to their families and also gave each one arroz doce.
"Is this… rice?" Kim asked, highly curious.
"Yes, it's called arroz doce." I said. "It's awesome!"
"It's essentially rice pudding." My mother chuckled as she explained it to Kim and Ron. "It has a milky taste to it and, as you can see, it has cinnamon sprinkled on top of it. You can get very creative with the design!"
Kim and Ron nodded happily and thanked my mother for the sweets, and also wished us both a Merry Christmas before they left our house. I was glad they were warmly welcomed and that they enjoyed the sweets my mother gave them.
Later that day, mum and I had our Christmas Eve dinner and ate arroz doce each for dessert. And a few hours later, it was time for us to open our presents. I was so nervous, wondering what I'd get. I pretty much just tore through my presents as if I was an excited little boy again. The first present I opened was a DVD boxset of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. This was a present not just for me but for my mother herself as well, since she also really loved those movies almost as much as I did. The second present I opened was the video game Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the GameCube. This game did not come out in Europe, so it was now easier to obtain it here living in the USA. As for my PAL GameCube being able to play an American copy of a game, that's what the Action Replay Region Free disc was for, so no problems there! I was very happy since I had only played Mega Man 2 on the NES when I was a little kid and always wanted to play the other 7 Mega Man games from the traditional series. And the third and final present I opened was a set of wrestling figures of Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero with the WWE championship belt from their WrestleMania XX match. Yes, I still played with toys, got a problem with that? I also played with my Ninja Turtles action figures as well.
"Thank you so much, mum!" I thanked her, unable to mask my happiness and excitement in my voice.
"I knew you'd love these presents, Rafael!" Mum smiled at me. She really loved to see me happy above anything else.
As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day went on, the city of Middleton was generally in high spirits, celebrating the holiday. Including Kim Possible and her family, of course. The Possibles were known for having a very epic Christmas tradition. So much that even Ron would join them, despite being Jewish. Naturally, Kim always got him a Hanukkah present. So, pretty much everyone had a happy holiday season.
After Christmas was over, practice resumed for the Middleton High cheerleaders. Kim was, as always, super focused during the practice and guiding her squadmates whenever they'd have trouble doing something or messed up. She was not only the best cheerleader in school but also a confident, yet kind and patient leader, hence why she became the captain. Bonnie had challenged Kim for the squad captaincy before, but to no avail. Bonnie underestimated all the hard work required for a captain to do. Plus, she was way too bossy and selfish to make a good leader, anyway. So Kim was clearly the right choice for captain.
"Alright, squad! Let's take a 15 minute break!" Kim clapped her hands and everyone went over to the bleachers to pick up some water and light snacks from their backpacks.
"Kim is making us work hard Pheeew" Marcella wiped sweat off her forehead as she let out a deep breath.
"That's our captain!" Jessica giggled.
"We must be in top form in order to win the state competition!" Hope clenched her fists in determination.
"Your tomboyish nature is kinda scary sometimes, Hope." Liz gulped.
"Not as scary as Crystal's temper sometimes, though!" Tara grinned nervously while she hid behind Hope.
"You take that back!" Crystal pointed at Tara frowning.
Kim approached the squad and began asking them how their Christmas went. Everyone said positive things and mentioned the presents they got.
"I got the latest Linkin Park CD!" Hope grinned and threw a thumbs up. "And also new running shoes."
"I got the new Christina Aguillera CD!" Tara giggled. "Plus a few new pairs of socks from my grandma." she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"My parents bought me Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black pearl on DVD!" Jessica smirked. "Johnny Depp is so hot!" she blushed.
"Oh I got a new dress!" Bonnie flashed an arrogant smug. "Can't wait to show it to you."
"You always get the best stuff, Bonnie!" Crystal chuckled.
"What about you, Kim?" Marcella asked.
"Oh, I had the usual epic Christmas tradition with my family and Ron, you know. As for gifts, I got The Simpsons season 4 on DVD as my main gift plus a couple of books. No biggie." Kim smiled.
"Of course…" Bonnie scoffed.
"What's that supposed to mean, Bonnie?" Kim sighed. She was bracing herself for what Bonnie was about to give her shit for this time.
"Of course your loser friend joined the Christmas celebrations with your family." Bonnie smirked. "He follows you everywhere."
"Newsflash, Bonnie. He's my best friend." Kim rolled her eyes and replied dryly.
"Right." Bonnie also rolled her eyes. "It's becoming a tad pathetic, don't you think?"
"And why's that?" Kim frowned and folded her arms. Just what was Bonnie trying to say now?
"You're a cheerleader, our captain. You need to hang out with better company than Ron and Rafael." Bonnie lectured.
"Excuse me?!" Kim was starting to get slightly irritated. "I hang out with whoever I want to, Bonnie. Thank you very much."
"Ron isn't a bad guy, Bonnie!" Tara interjected, trying to defuse the situation.
"Tara, don't tell me you're crushing on him again!" Bonnie let out an exasperated sigh. "We've talked about this already, remember!"
"No, Bonnie…" Tara shook her head. "I've moved on from Ron eons ago. I have someone else on my mind now."
"Oh?!" The rest of the squad expressed in unison at Tara's revelation. Except Hope, since she had a feeling she knew who Tara was referring to.
"You do?" Bonnie smirked. "Who is it, girl?"
"Well, it's just a minor crush, really." Tara blushed slightly. "It's no biggie."
"Spit it out, babe!" Hope playfully nudged her best friend.
"Ouch!" Tara feigned pain on the side of her abdomen. "Don't make me talk, Hope!"
"Hey, relax!" Bonnie placed a hand on Tara's shoulder. "Tell us who's the hottie you got your eyes on, Tara."
"Well…" Tara cleared her throat. "I kinda think Rafael is cute." she blushed as she let out a weak smile.
"I knew it!" Hope grinned.
"Oh so it is true, after all." Kim raised her eyebrow in amusement. "You are crushing on him."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Bonnie cried, a bit taken aback. "You can't be serious, Tara!"
"...why would I joke about this?" Tara blinked fast while looking at Bonnie perplexed.
"RAFAEL? SERIOUSLY?" Bonnie threw her arms in the air as she raised her voice at Tara. She was expecting Tara to understand the message.
"What's wrong with him?!" Tara was feeling more and more perplexed at Bonnie's objection to her crush on Rafael.
"He's an awkward geeky guy who listens to heavy metal, duh!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Also, he's soooo average looking. His face is plain and he lacks meat in his body."
"Wow, Bonnie!" Kim frowned. "Could you possibly be any shallower?"
"Oh look at K." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Defending her other geeky male friend."
"If you actually took the time to get to know Rafael a little better, you'd realise he's actually an interesting guy, B." Kim sighed in frustration.
"Oh please, he's near the bottom of the food chain." Bonnie waved her hand dismissively with a snooty look on her face. "He's way below your league." Bonnie now looked back at Tara.
"I can't help who I'm attracted to, Bonnie." Tara shrugged as she tried to justify her crush on Rafael to her friend. "So what if he's not model material? You're making it sound like he's hideous, for goodness sake."
"Yeah, Bonnie. What matters is how Tara feels." Hope points at Tara. "And if Rafael is the guy she has a crush on, then we should support her."
"Shouldn't we go back to practicing?" Crystal folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor.
"You're right, Crystal." Kim snapped out of her thoughts. "Break's over, squad!"
And the cheerleaders resumed practice.
Anyway, I survived my 1st semester in Middleton High both academically and socially. Didn't have any major issues with other students. No fights or anything like that. A few arguments here and there but that was normal. The fact I managed to befriend people like Kim, Ron and Monique has massively helped me assimilate more easily into the school and not have a target on my back as an awkward kid for bullies to pick on.
It was great to see so much snow for the first time in my life. While it did snow in Portugal, it seldom snowed in Lisbon. I remember it only snowing one time in Lisbon in my lifetime one random day in late January. And it wasn't enough snowfall to make a proper snowball, let alone close down schools and roads. Snowfall in Portugal is rare in the major cities since they're mostly near the coast. In order to experience snowfall in Portugal you'd need to go more into the hinterland in Central and Northeastern Portugal, since they're the most mountainous areas in the country. Sadly, this was the first time I was experiencing a White Christmas in my lifetime. It was something I always dreamed of when I was a little kid due to how magical it looked in cartoons and movies, but Christmas in Lisbon was always just simply cold and cloudy or sunny or cold and rainy. Therefore, I have been gawking a lot at the snowfall in Middleton from the window and while walking down the streets of my neighbourhood. I genuinely felt like a little kid again.
As I was heading back home from my walk, I felt something cold hit the back of my head. I passed my hand on the back of my head and it was a bunch of snow. Someone threw me a snowball! I looked around frantically, trying to identify the source of such a snowball when I overheard a familiar laugh behind a trash can. I walked up to it hesitatingly and I spotted someone kneeling behind it and wearing a beanie hat. They lifted their head and our eyes met. It was none other than Ron Stoppable.
"Hey there, Ron." I raised my eyebrow. I admittedly was slightly amused.
"Hey, Rafael." Ron laughed a bit sheepishly.
"You know, that shit is pretty cold." I said.
"Well duh, it's snow!" Ron laughed.
"Anyway, how long do you plan on kneeling behind that trash can?" I pointed at the trash can.
"Oh." Ron stood up. "Well, I was hiding from you, but I guess I no longer need to do that hahaha" he chuckled.
"I was about to head back home." I said.
"Oh, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out and build a snowman or something."
"A snowman?" I raised my eyebrow. That was a very interesting proposition since it would be a whole new experience for me. But I didn't want to sound too eager, so I tried to play it off coolly. "I suppose we could build one."
"BOO-YAH!" Ron celebrated. And we began building a snowman together.
Meanwhile, Kim was leaving a younger couple's house after babysitting their 5 year old kid. Normally she'd do that at night, but today she babysat through the morning, since the couple had to do their Christmas shopping that morning and couldn't find anyone to look after their kid.
"Thanks for paying me double today, Mr. and Mrs. Tacchinardi!" Kim smiled very appreciative.
"Don't mention it, Kim." Mr. Tacchinardi waved his hand. "It was the least I could do after you saved my insurance company from being flooded last week."
"Oh, anyone could have easily prevented that flood." Kim smiled. "So not the drama."
Kim waved the nice young couple goodbye and started walking back home. Kim sometimes would babysit other people's kids in order to make some extra money. It wasn't difficult for Kim to get work as a babysitter since everyone in Middleton trusted her and knew she was a very responsible and capable girl for her age. After all, how many people could handle being a hero who saved the world on a weekly basis? Not even most adults could, let alone a teenager!
Kim was walking down a nice street in Middleton with interesting cafés and shops when she suddenly ran into Hope and Tara, two of her squadmates from cheerleading.
"Oh hi, Kim!" Tara, the bubbly blonde waved and smiled at her.
"Hey, girls!" Kim smiled back. "What are you two up to?"
"We're going for some coffee and croissants." Hope, the tomboyish girl with dusky olive skin pointed her thumb at the café door next to them. "This place is our favourite."
"Why don't you join us?" Tara offered.
"Sure!" Kim smiled and the 3 cheerleaders entered the nice and cozy café. They picked their table and the waitress, a nice young woman in her 20s, came up to them quickly, asking them what they'd like to order.
"A latte and a chocolate croissant for me, please." Hope said.
"I'll have a latte too and a ham and cheese croissant, please!" Tara said it excitedly.
"I'll have an espresso and a plain butter croissant myself, please." Kim smiled.
The waitress nodded after writing down the 3 girls' orders and walked away.
"Espresso?" Hope raised her eyebrow. "That's pretty strong, you know."
"Trust me, I know." Kim smiled sheepishly.
"When did you start drinking espresso, Kim?" Tara asked curiously.
"Well, Rafael sorta mentioned it to me and I decided to give it a go." Kim shrugged.
"Rafael? How so?" Hope asked.
"He is not a fan of the different types of coffee we have here in the US and thinks only espresso and cappuccino are worth drinking." Kim chuckled.
"Wow, really?" Tara was surprised. "Had no idea your cute friend was such a coffee elitist."
"Cute?" Kim raised her eyebrow in amusement. "What, you have a crush on him, Tara?"
"I just think he's interesting." Tara blushed slightly.
"Riiiiight." Hope nudged Tara, teasing her.
"Well, he is an interesting individual." Kim took a sip of her own espresso. "But a little too stubborn at times."
"More stubborn than Ron?" Hope chuckled.
"If you can actually believe it." Kim rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Oh, so he's got a bit of a temper?" Tara asked.
"Sometimes." Kim shrugged.
"You and Ron hang out a lot with him, Kim. He must be nice enough for you two to be friends with him." Hope added.
"Oh, definitely. He's cool." Kim now took a bit of her plain butter croissant. "Wow, this is really good."
"We told you!" Tara smiled and proceeded to take a bite of her ham and cheese croissant.
"Easy, Tara!" A sweat drop fell off Hope's forehead. "You'll choke."
Kim just smiled at the banter between Hope and Tara. Those two girls were best friends. Kim was also friends with them but as close to them as she was to Ron and Monique, her male and female best friends, respectively. Why? Well, Tara and Hope were also close friends with Bonnie and hung out with her rather often. And Kim and Bonnie, as everyone knows, did not get along. But the perplexing thing about all of this for Kim was that Tara and Hope were nice girls who got along fine with most people, so how exactly could they tolerate the company of a girl like Bonnie? It didn't make any sense at all.
"So, Kim…" Hope looked Kim in the eyes after taking a sip of her latte.
"Hum?" Kim looked back at Hope after taking another bite of her croissant.
"When do we start practicing for the upcoming state cheerleading competition in January?" She asked.
"Oh I'm glad you asked, Hope!" Kim smirked. "I was thinking of starting tomorrow."
"Tomorrow already?" Tara asked, a bit taken aback.
"Yes, Tara. The competition begins in the first week of January, after all. We must not wait until after Christmas to practice." Kim explained.
"We'll be competing against high school cheerleading teams from all over Colorado." Hope said after she finished chewing a piece of her chocolate croissant. "It's going to be tough."
"Indeed, Hope." Kim nodded. "Which is why we must practice as much as we can in the next 2 weeks."
"Isn't that going overboard, though, Kim?" Tara asked, a bit worried.
"See, Tara, our goal isn't just to take part in the state competition." Kim began explaining.
"Huh?" Tara raised her eyebrow.
"Kim, you don't mean." Hope's eyes widened.
"Our goal is to aim for the victory in the competition and bring the trophy to Middleton High!" Kim stood up and raised her fist in determination.
"That's a very bold statement, Kim." Tara scratched the back of her head nervously.
"Yeah, remember we're not one of the favourites to win it." Hope reminded Kim.
"Yeah, teams like Denver Alpha High, Colorado Springs High and a few others are the big favourites to win it." Tara looked down in defeat.
"Ladies." Kim placed her hands on her hips. "No winner is decided before a competition begins!" she said it confidently.
"That is true." Hope nodded slowly.
"And as captain of Middleton High's cheerleader team, I will not let us enter this state competition with a losing mentality!" She said it firmly.
"You really think we have what it takes for us to win the competition, Kim?" Tara lifted her head and looked Kim in the eyes, hoping she'd be sincere with her.
"Yes, I do." Kim nodded and smiled at Tara. "I believe in my ability as a captain and also believe in my squad."
"You know what?" Hope put down her coffee cup and stood up.
"Yes, Hope?" Kim smirked.
"You've convinced me, Kim!" Hope clenched her fists with a look of determination on her face. "Let's do this!"
"That's the spirit!" Kim cried. "What about you, Tara?"
Tara stood up slowly and looked at both Kim and Hope who awaited her answer. Tara was not as confident as other girls on the squad like Kim, Hope, Jessica and Bonnie were; but even she couldn't deny that she was starting to feel more energised by Kim's confidence and aura.
"Alright!" Tara smiled. "We can do it, girls!"
The 3 girls high-fived each other.
"Practice tomorrow at the school gym at 8h30!" Kim announced. "Let's all warn the rest of the squad as well."
"Uh-huh!" Hope and Tara said it in unisson and nodded.
"This is our snowman?" I pointed at the deformed snowman with a slight frown on my face.
"Yes, dude. Isn't it great?" Ron smiled proudly.
"Sure… if it was built by Pablo Picasso!" I cried.
"Hey now!" Ron raised his hands. "I know the Ron Man is good at building snowmen, but let's not exaggerate!"
"That wasn't a compliment…" I said dryly.
"Well, not all of us can be Calvin & Hobbes." Ron shrugged.
"Fair point." I chuckled.
"Woah, look at the time!" Ron checked his watch. "I better head to Bueno Nacho."
"Hum…" I also check my watch. "I probably should go eat something too."
"Why don't you come along?" Ron asked.
"Sure. I don't have anything else to do." I nodded.
"BOO-YAH!" Ron cried happily.
And we walked away to Bueno Nacho together.
We arrived at Bueno Nacho and Kim was already sitting at her and Ron's usual booth. Ron rushed over to the counter to get himself his trademark Naco, which he got quickly since he's the place's favourite customer. But Kim was… eating a salad?
"Hey, Kim…" I smiled. "You came to a fast food joint to order a salad?" I pointed at Kim's salad bowl with a mix of perplexity and amusement in my face.
"Hey, eating healthy is good for you!" Kim smirked. "And I also need to keep in top shape for the upcoming weeks.
"How so?" I asked.
"Oh you don't know, right." Kim realised.
"He's still rather new here, Kim." Ron shook his finger as if he was slightly scolding Kim.
"Cut me some slack, Ron." Kim rolled her eyes and smirked at the same time.
"What don't I know?" I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.
"The state cheerleading competition is coming soon." Ron said as he stuffed his mouth with another bite of his Naco.
"Don't speak with your mouth full! Eeew!" Kim grimaced.
"Yeah, that's rude, man." I looked at Ron dryly.
"Anyway." Kim cleared her throat to get my attention. I was better off having her explain it to me, I figured. "The Middleton High cheerleading squad will take part in the state competition, and as captain of the squad, I'm ready to work very hard and make the rest of the squad work just as hard as well!" she smiled confidently.
"So, what does the competition consist of?" I scratched my head. "Does it have a panel of judges giving scores to each squad's choreography like the Olympics for ice skaters or something like that?" I took a wild guess.
"Pretty much, yeah." Kim smiled and nodded. "You must have an interesting choreography and you cannot miss a step or else they'll deduct points from your squad's final score."
"And don't forget having a cool mascot helps too!" Ron beats his chest proudly.
"Ron…" Kim sighed. "For the millionth time, mascots don't take part in this competition. So no foaming Mad Dog this time."
"But that's not fair!" Ron protested with a sad look on his face. "Middleton High loves me whenever I do that!"
"Middleton High's students aren't judges of a state competition, Ron." Kim smiled sympathetically. "I understand your passion, but mascots won't be allowed to participate."
"A shame." I said. "I bet it would have led to some hilarious moments."
"Yeah, I don't doubt that…" Kim said it dryly.
"Fine!" Ron folded his arms, still a bit bitter about not being able to take part in the competition. "So, when will you start practicing?"
"Tomorrow morning, actually." Kim replied. "This school year we'll be aiming to win the competition."
Ron spat out his drink in shock at Kim's revelation. And now Kim's face and hair were covered in Coca-Cola. If looks could kill, Kim would have been arrested for murder right there.
"Ouch…" I winced at the sight.
"Yiiip!" Rufus gasped.
"S-sorry, KP!" Ron apologised profoundly. "I was not expecting you to say you're aiming to win it this time."
"Gross!" Kim groaned angrily as she folded her arms. "Excuse me, boys." She got up and went into the bathroom. Only Ron could mess up Kim's pretty face and lovely red hair like that. Imagine going down in Middleton High's history as the guy who spat Coca-Cola in the face of Kim Possible. That had to be embarrassing. Even if she was your best friend.
Anyway, Kim seemed highly confident and ambitious about this upcoming cheerleading competition. Was it really that outlandish of her to make such a claim? Was there a ranking of HS cheerleader squads or something? I would never have guessed it to be so damn competitive. This country sure is peculiar…
It was 08h30 in the morning, and Middleton High's cheerleaders were gathering in the school gym right before practice started to listen to Kim's speech about the upcoming competition and their ambitions for it.
"Woah, you think we can win it, Kim?!" Jessica gasped in shock. "That's quite bold!"
"And rather naive, don't you think?!" Crystal cried.
"I have faith in the squad, Crystal." Kim said it assertively.
"Come on, Kim! Competition is very steep!" Liz tried to reason with Kim.
"I think we're selling ourselves short, girls!" Hope cried. "We're pretty damn good!"
"You know." Bonnie smirked. "I think no one doubts our skills as cheerleaders. "
"You too are being naive, Bonnie?" Crystal rolled her eyes.
"Not at all, girl." Bonnie waved her hand dismissively. "Some of you could just use more self-confidence in your own abilities, you know."
"Bonnie is right." Tara nodded. "With our skills and Kim leading us, we can very much challenge for the trophy."
"Weeeeeeeeell…" Bonnie grinned as she looked at Kim.
"What is it, Bonnie?" Kim raised her eyebrow, not liking Bonnie's tone.
"That depends on the kind of practice our captain here will put us through." Bonnie shrugged.
"Is that so?" Kim raised her eyebrow. "You're not happy with my practice methods, Bonnie?"
"More like saving the world and winning a cheerleading state competition are two completely different things." Bonnie added.
"Isn't saving the world way harder?" Tara put a finger on her chin.
"Bonnie." Kim took a deep breath. "You know very well I'm a great cheerleader and always give it all as squad captain."
"Does this mean you won't ditch us every couple of days in mid-practice to go off to Egypt or China to fight some creepy looking mad scientist?" Bonnie frowned as her face got closer to Kim's.
"Huh…" Kim hesitated a bit. She hated to admit it, but Bonnie caught her off guard with that question. She did make a good point. "I mean, the fate of the world is much more important than cheerleading, don't you agree?" Kim looked at the other girls hoping to rally some support.
"Can't argue with that." Hope nodded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to side with Kim on this one." Crystal nodded as well.
The rest of the squad nodded in agreement as well, even if they were less confident in their agreement.
"LOOK!" Bonnie cried in frustration. "All I'm saying is, I doubt the world will end if Kim decides not to take a call or two from her nerdy computer guy."
"His name is Wade." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Whatever!" Bonnie dismissed Kim's information. "Police and the military also need to do some work. You can't just deal with every little incident that happens across the globe."
"Fine!" Kim sighed, growing tired of this argument. "I will be fully committed to the preparation for the upcoming cheerleading state competition, are you happy now?" She placed her hands on her hips and looked Bonnie sternly in the eyes.
"I rest my case!" Bonnie gave Kim a snooty look before turning around. "So, are we going to practice or not?"
Kim hesitated for a few seconds, since she didn't appreciate Bonnie's snootiness, but she also knew it was pointless to keep on arguing with her. It would just waste precious time and the last thing the squad needed before the major competition was a toxic environment breaking it apart from within. So she had to let Bonnie's arrogance slide this time and begin practice. And the girls did practice throughout the rest of the morning without any more arguments.
Days passed and it was now Christmas Eve. Our house was filled with the lovely smell of traditional Portuguese Christmas sweets. Mostly rabanadas and arroz doce. I did think mum went a bit overboard this year, though. There's no way the two of us could eat them all alone. She clearly wanted to share them with some neighbours as well.
And, of course, we had the Christmas tree set up already and with the presents underneath it. That was truly the best part of Christmas. Getting presents! The food came close, though. And speaking of which, the smell of the turkey in the oven was also filling the house. I could hardly wait! And then we'd open our presents a few hours after dinner at around midnight like always.
DING DONG!
"Are you expecting someone, mum?" I asked, a bit taken aback from the doorbell ringing.
"No. Go get the door, Rafael." Mum told me from the kitchen.
I shrugged and slowly walked to the door. I peeped into the hole and I saw none other than Kim and Ron standing outside. I wondered what they'd want in the middle of Christmas Eve's afternoon.
"Hey, guys." I greeted them as soon as I opened the door. "I'm surprised to see you here today."
"Actually, it was kind of a last minute decision." Kim smiled mischievously.
"How so?" I raised my eyebrow.
"We couldn't help but notice the smell as we walked past your home." Ron grinned.
"GUH-HUH!" Rufus licked his lips.
"Wait, you don't mean…" I began sniffing the air outside and just as I had feared, the smell of the sweets was leaking out of our house. "Oh, you rascals!" I scolded them sarcastically.
"Guilty as charged!" Kim blushed slightly.
"Who's at the door, Rafael?" My mum walked over to us and saw Ron and Kim. "Oh hi there!" She smiled.
"Hi, Mrs. Oliveira!" Kim smiled politely.
"Kim, I must congratulate you on your top grade in my class." My mother commended Kim.
"Oh, it's no big deal, really." Kim smiled. "So not the drama!"
"As for you, young man." My mother smirked at Ron now. "Consider yourself lucky to have made it."
OUCH! Poor, Ron. This was embarrassing and awkward for him and for me as well. Didn't have to talk about school on Christmas Eve, mother!
"So." My mother was now going to change the subject to the elephant in the room. "I take it, you kids want some sweets?"
"If that's okay with you and Rafael, Mrs. Oliveira…" Kim said it shyly.
"Of course it is!" Mum smiled. "I made some extra ones. Come in!"
As mum motioned for Kim and Ron to enter our house, she went into the kitchen to bring them plates of rabanadas.
"Woah, what is this?" Ron was practically drooling.
"They're called rabanadas!" My mum explained. "A traditional Portuguese sweet eaten on Christmas. They are fried and crunchy on the outside and taste like cinnamon and lemon."
"Looks delicious!" Kim's eyes widened. "May I take a couple for my twin brothers as well, Mrs. Oliveira?"
"Sure thing, Kim!" Mum smiled.
Ron and Kim each ate a rabanada and they absolutely loved it, especially Ron. That guy will eat anything, pretty much. Except maybe snails. He thought those were gross and he simply couldn't understand why Portuguese people, French people and some other European nationalities ate them. Americans just didn't understand the act of eating snails, it seemed.
Also, Rufus got his own rabanada as well. The little fellow loved it as much as Ron loved it as well.
After they got done eating, My mother stored a few more for them to take home to their families and also gave each one arroz doce.
"Is this… rice?" Kim asked, highly curious.
"Yes, it's called arroz doce." I said. "It's awesome!"
"It's essentially rice pudding." My mother chuckled as she explained it to Kim and Ron. "It has a milky taste to it and, as you can see, it has cinnamon sprinkled on top of it. You can get very creative with the design!"
Kim and Ron nodded happily and thanked my mother for the sweets, and also wished us both a Merry Christmas before they left our house. I was glad they were warmly welcomed and that they enjoyed the sweets my mother gave them.
Later that day, mum and I had our Christmas Eve dinner and ate arroz doce each for dessert. And a few hours later, it was time for us to open our presents. I was so nervous, wondering what I'd get. I pretty much just tore through my presents as if I was an excited little boy again. The first present I opened was a DVD boxset of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. This was a present not just for me but for my mother herself as well, since she also really loved those movies almost as much as I did. The second present I opened was the video game Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the GameCube. This game did not come out in Europe, so it was now easier to obtain it here living in the USA. As for my PAL GameCube being able to play an American copy of a game, that's what the Action Replay Region Free disc was for, so no problems there! I was very happy since I had only played Mega Man 2 on the NES when I was a little kid and always wanted to play the other 7 Mega Man games from the traditional series. And the third and final present I opened was a set of wrestling figures of Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero with the WWE championship belt from their WrestleMania XX match. Yes, I still played with toys, got a problem with that? I also played with my Ninja Turtles action figures as well.
"Thank you so much, mum!" I thanked her, unable to mask my happiness and excitement in my voice.
"I knew you'd love these presents, Rafael!" Mum smiled at me. She really loved to see me happy above anything else.
As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day went on, the city of Middleton was generally in high spirits, celebrating the holiday. Including Kim Possible and her family, of course. The Possibles were known for having a very epic Christmas tradition. So much that even Ron would join them, despite being Jewish. Naturally, Kim always got him a Hanukkah present. So, pretty much everyone had a happy holiday season.
After Christmas was over, practice resumed for the Middleton High cheerleaders. Kim was, as always, super focused during the practice and guiding her squadmates whenever they'd have trouble doing something or messed up. She was not only the best cheerleader in school but also a confident, yet kind and patient leader, hence why she became the captain. Bonnie had challenged Kim for the squad captaincy before, but to no avail. Bonnie underestimated all the hard work required for a captain to do. Plus, she was way too bossy and selfish to make a good leader, anyway. So Kim was clearly the right choice for captain.
"Alright, squad! Let's take a 15 minute break!" Kim clapped her hands and everyone went over to the bleachers to pick up some water and light snacks from their backpacks.
"Kim is making us work hard Pheeew" Marcella wiped sweat off her forehead as she let out a deep breath.
"That's our captain!" Jessica giggled.
"We must be in top form in order to win the state competition!" Hope clenched her fists in determination.
"Your tomboyish nature is kinda scary sometimes, Hope." Liz gulped.
"Not as scary as Crystal's temper sometimes, though!" Tara grinned nervously while she hid behind Hope.
"You take that back!" Crystal pointed at Tara frowning.
Kim approached the squad and began asking them how their Christmas went. Everyone said positive things and mentioned the presents they got.
"I got the latest Linkin Park CD!" Hope grinned and threw a thumbs up. "And also new running shoes."
"I got the new Christina Aguillera CD!" Tara giggled. "Plus a few new pairs of socks from my grandma." she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"My parents bought me Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black pearl on DVD!" Jessica smirked. "Johnny Depp is so hot!" she blushed.
"Oh I got a new dress!" Bonnie flashed an arrogant smug. "Can't wait to show it to you."
"You always get the best stuff, Bonnie!" Crystal chuckled.
"What about you, Kim?" Marcella asked.
"Oh, I had the usual epic Christmas tradition with my family and Ron, you know. As for gifts, I got The Simpsons season 4 on DVD as my main gift plus a couple of books. No biggie." Kim smiled.
"Of course…" Bonnie scoffed.
"What's that supposed to mean, Bonnie?" Kim sighed. She was bracing herself for what Bonnie was about to give her shit for this time.
"Of course your loser friend joined the Christmas celebrations with your family." Bonnie smirked. "He follows you everywhere."
"Newsflash, Bonnie. He's my best friend." Kim rolled her eyes and replied dryly.
"Right." Bonnie also rolled her eyes. "It's becoming a tad pathetic, don't you think?"
"And why's that?" Kim frowned and folded her arms. Just what was Bonnie trying to say now?
"You're a cheerleader, our captain. You need to hang out with better company than Ron and Rafael." Bonnie lectured.
"Excuse me?!" Kim was starting to get slightly irritated. "I hang out with whoever I want to, Bonnie. Thank you very much."
"Ron isn't a bad guy, Bonnie!" Tara interjected, trying to defuse the situation.
"Tara, don't tell me you're crushing on him again!" Bonnie let out an exasperated sigh. "We've talked about this already, remember!"
"No, Bonnie…" Tara shook her head. "I've moved on from Ron eons ago. I have someone else on my mind now."
"Oh?!" The rest of the squad expressed in unison at Tara's revelation. Except Hope, since she had a feeling she knew who Tara was referring to.
"You do?" Bonnie smirked. "Who is it, girl?"
"Well, it's just a minor crush, really." Tara blushed slightly. "It's no biggie."
"Spit it out, babe!" Hope playfully nudged her best friend.
"Ouch!" Tara feigned pain on the side of her abdomen. "Don't make me talk, Hope!"
"Hey, relax!" Bonnie placed a hand on Tara's shoulder. "Tell us who's the hottie you got your eyes on, Tara."
"Well…" Tara cleared her throat. "I kinda think Rafael is cute." she blushed as she let out a weak smile.
"I knew it!" Hope grinned.
"Oh so it is true, after all." Kim raised her eyebrow in amusement. "You are crushing on him."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Bonnie cried, a bit taken aback. "You can't be serious, Tara!"
"...why would I joke about this?" Tara blinked fast while looking at Bonnie perplexed.
"RAFAEL? SERIOUSLY?" Bonnie threw her arms in the air as she raised her voice at Tara. She was expecting Tara to understand the message.
"What's wrong with him?!" Tara was feeling more and more perplexed at Bonnie's objection to her crush on Rafael.
"He's an awkward geeky guy who listens to heavy metal, duh!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Also, he's soooo average looking. His face is plain and he lacks meat in his body."
"Wow, Bonnie!" Kim frowned. "Could you possibly be any shallower?"
"Oh look at K." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Defending her other geeky male friend."
"If you actually took the time to get to know Rafael a little better, you'd realise he's actually an interesting guy, B." Kim sighed in frustration.
"Oh please, he's near the bottom of the food chain." Bonnie waved her hand dismissively with a snooty look on her face. "He's way below your league." Bonnie now looked back at Tara.
"I can't help who I'm attracted to, Bonnie." Tara shrugged as she tried to justify her crush on Rafael to her friend. "So what if he's not model material? You're making it sound like he's hideous, for goodness sake."
"Yeah, Bonnie. What matters is how Tara feels." Hope points at Tara. "And if Rafael is the guy she has a crush on, then we should support her."
"Shouldn't we go back to practicing?" Crystal folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor.
"You're right, Crystal." Kim snapped out of her thoughts. "Break's over, squad!"
And the cheerleaders resumed practice.