"Okay, you can do this. You've saved the world countless times, dealt with unimaginable teenage drama, and now, graduated high school. If you survived Mr. Barkin, you can survive anything that this school has to offer."

Kim ran a comb through her long, red hair as she gave herself a pep-talk. It was traditional for her to go say hi to her new teachers every school year before the school day actually began- it left a good first impression- but attempting small talk with college professors was a lot more intimidating than her old elementary school (or even high school) teachers. Maybe it was just her imagination, or maybe it was the fact that every teacher she'd met so far had known of her or her parents through some connection, and it seemed the high expectations were already weighing on her.

"Well, there's no way they can ALL know you. Maybe this one will be a fresh start." She took a deep breath and walked down the hallway to the last classroom on her list. She was glad she hadn't chickened out of meeting her professors early- for one, this particular classroom had taken several wrong turns and a good half-hour to find. At least on her first day she'd know where she was going.

Kim reached for the door to knock and make sure someone was inside, when she heard a voice coming from who had to be the teacher. Perhaps by habit of spying on villains so much, she leaned her ear against the door to hear what the voice was saying. To her surprise, the little mumbling she could understand sounded to her like a pep talk. She also didn't hear anyone else in the room. That meant the teacher must be talking to themselves. Kim perked up- maybe she had something in common with this teacher. That had never hurt before. With a new confidence, she swung open the classroom door confidently and stepped inside.

It wasn't until after the door had shut behind her that Kim Possible started to realize the familiarity of the voice she'd just eavesdropped on.

The teacher- who had been pacing back and forth, another trait shared with Kim- swung around in surprise, clearly not having heard Kim's footsteps in the hallway. She gasped in unison with her pupil.

The two stared at each other for an awkward moment, then-

"Shego?!"

The teacher cleared her throat nervously, dusting herself off. "Uh, yea… that's my name. I mean, technically right now, it's Professor Go, but…"

Kim rubbed her eyes. She had to be dreaming- she'd never found herself at a loss for words before.

"So… is this a part of some sort of a new evil scheme, or…?"

Shego laughed nervously, tugging at her old teaching outfit. Her nervousness made her look younger somehow- she looked like she couldn't have been in college too long ago herself.

"No, not this time."

"Then what are you doing here?" Kim's voice wavered, with just a hint of suspicion (and a whole lot of plain out disbelief.)

"Teaching." Shego restrained herself from starting to pace again, as she usually did when she was anxious. She hadn't planned on THIS, but then, it was her own fault for not thoroughly reading through the class roster.

"And you are teaching here… why?"

"Well…" She sighed. She really didn't want to admit what was going on, especially since it had all just happened. But Kim had a pretty good record of finding out when people were lying, and Shego didn't want to risk being kicked out of the school, which Kim could have happen semi-easily if she pulled out Shego's track records. She eventually decided honesty was the best policy, at least in this scenario.

"See… Dr. D kind of quit being evil after the whole alien fiasco- you know, back on your graduation day- to re-open his cupcake shop. But he's only got one store right now, so he can't hire a very big staff- not that I'm any good at that sort of thing, anyway." After she started talking, she couldn't seem to get herself to shut up.

"He couldn't keep me hired for doing something that he wasn't interested in anymore, so I was sort of forced to find a new source of income. I figured, since I HAD done teaching before, maybe I could find an open slot at a school, at least as a sub. Turns out, they had an opening at this college for a full-time English Professor, which I was qualified for. So I submitted an application and I guess I got the job." After she was done, Shego desperately wished that she hadn't sounded so unsure of herself, but it was a little hard to keep a clear mind, given that she was now apparently supposed to teach someone whom she had both beaten up multiple times and yet still saw as a younger sister.

"Whoa, um, okay then- wait, hold up. Go back a little? You said Drakken QUIT being evil?!" At this point, Kim had forgotten all about the fact that she was supposed to be talking to her future professor.

"Yea. As it turns out, the reason he failed so badly at being evil was because he's actually a pretty skilled good guy." She almost spilled that she was actually weirdly glad for his transformation, but she bit her tongue.

"Well… guess I've been a little behind in the saving-the-world news amidst trying to prepare for college."

"Yea, you have. So… now it's your turn, princess." She felt her old sarcasm and quick wit coming back, which she was thankful for, but she was also genuinely curious to hear Kim's answer. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I'm kind of in this class?"

"Oh." There was a long pause, until Shego remembered something. "Wait, but class itself doesn't start until tomorrow. Or did you forget to double-check your schedule?"

"No, I checked. See, I kind of have a tradition-" suddenly, the irony of the situation hit Kim, and she broke out smiling. She had to try her hardest not to laugh.

"You have a tradition to arrive to class almost twenty-four hours early?"

"No, I have a tradition to go meet all my teachers- I mean, professors- before I meet them in class. You know, to set a first good impression." She couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Only, I guess in this case, it's a little late for that."

"Oh." She cracked a smirk at the younger girl. "Yea, it's a little late for first impressions."

Kim, trying to avoid another awkward silence, managed to formulate an escape plan. "O-oh, well, I should probably get going. I'm supposed to call Ron and let him know how it went."

Without thinking about it, Shego smiled- a genuine, actual smile. "Oh, alright then." Then, half-joking, she added, "Tell him one of your old arch-enemies says hi."

Kim grinned as she opened the door to leave. "I will."

"Oh, and- Princess?"

She stopped halfway through the doorway and turned her head. "Yea?"

"You'd better prepare to work your butt off, 'cause I'm not going any easier on grading you than I do fighting you."

Kim smiled, her confidence rushing back to her in the presence of familiar banter.

"Well you'd better prepare to grade your butt off, because I'm not going easy. And if I recall correctly, I usually WIN during our fights." With that, she hurried out the door, shutting it before Shego could come up with a comeback.

—

Outside, on the edge of the campus, Kim tapped her Kimmunicator and called Ron. She had gotten him his own version of her device so that they could keep in touch, being at different colleges and all. He answered right away; his face popped up on the screen.

"Kim! I was just about to call you!"

"Really? What's the sitch?"

"You'll never believe where I am right now."

Kim rolled her eyes. "JP Bearymore's Pizza Party-torium?"

His face was lit up with excitement. "No, better."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows, amused. "What could possibly be better than burnt pizza?"

"This." He raised his wrist up to the building behind him so that she could read the sign.

"Hank's Cupcakes- the grand re-opening. Oh! Doctor Drakken is taking on the cupcake business full-time, right?!"

Ron's jaw dropped. "Well, I mean, that's what he claimed in his interview- I didn't know whether to believe it or not, that's why I was calling you, but- how did you know about it?!"

"Oh, Shego told me."

Ron squinted. "You were talking to Shego? Since when?"

"Oh, um…" Although she was smiling, her face felt hot from the awkwardness of the situation. She desperately hoped that she wasn't blushing.

"I kind of have her as my english professor."

There weren't enough words in any of the languages Kim had heard of to express the look on her boyfriend's face.

"Sh-SHEGO? Is your… TEACHER?!" In the background, Kim heard Rufus faint dramatically.

"Yea, it seems like it. She filled me in on Drakken. Apparently, after he quit being evil, she needed new employment. Oh, and she said to say hi, by the way."

He looked a little nervous. "That's a little uncharacteristic of her. Aren't you scared? Or angry? Or at least suspicious?"

Kim sighed, sitting down under the shade of a nearby tree. "That's the weird thing. I know I SHOULD be, but…" She felt a little nervous spilling her guts to Ron. They'd gone through a lot together, and usually understood each other's emotions, but she couldn't help but remember how Ron felt the last time Shego had turned good.

"Well… here's the thing. I know that you weren't all too thrilled the last time Shego was our teacher. You didn't even like her being on the same side as us. But… even before that happened… even while we were battling and stuff… I always kind of thought of her as a big sister."

"It was really weird the first time she turned good. That was because she was under the influence of a machine; she wasn't acting like herself. But this is a conscious decision that she's making. She told me she just needed a source of income, but… I don't know. She didn't seem too concerned or angry when she mentioned Drakken becoming a good guy- I think she might even be headed down the same path." She paused to brush back her hair. "Ron… I know that sometimes you feel like I place other friends above you."

He looked down guiltily. "Yeah…"

"But the truth is, we've both done that to each other, and we've both felt that way. But you know what I've noticed? Every time that one of us feels threatened by another person, we end up being at least okay with them. I mean, you and Monique have become wrestling buddies, and now you're even going to the same college."

Ron smiled. "Yeah! She's coming over to my dorm later tonight to help me get psyched for the big match coming up!"

Seeing Ron look so happy reassured Kim. "I'm glad. But do you see my point? You used to feel jealous of Monique, remember?"

He laughed a little, knowing she spoke the truth. "Yea."

"My point is, if Shego really does decide to continue down the path of good…" she took a deep breath. "Well, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but we might actually start talking again, and maybe even hanging out sometimes. But if that does happen, I want you to know that you aren't being replaced." She gave him a nervous smile; he sheepishly smiled back.

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll try not to go all crazy like before."

She laughed. "Thanks."

On the other end, Rufus climbed up on Ron's shoulder and squeaked something in his ear.

"Hey, good idea, little buddy." He turned his attention to Kim. "Hey, KP? Would you be okay with me and Rufus going inside and getting something to eat? I mean, if Drakken is good now and all, then that means those cupcakes are safe, right? Cuz I remember the last time the store was open, there was this really good looking peanut butter flavored kind, and—"

Kim laughed. "Of course. Knock yourself out."

Ron's face lit up as he rushed into the shop, while yelling, "Thanks KP! Call you later!" Kim smiled as her screen went black.

As she headed back to her car to go get dinner for the night, Kim mused over how much had happened in so little time. While she was still nervous about college- she was scared straight- she couldn't help but be excited about the future. Even then, she still wasn't fully aware of how many things other than her college education were taking root. All she knew was that she was heading into a brighter future than she ever could have imagined.