Chapter 2: First Week

Kim's alarm clock blared at eight-thirty on the first morning of classes between Kim and Susan's beds. Kim reached over and shut off the alarm. Gradually getting herself out of bed, she showered and changed into a green turtleneck and black pants. She checked to the black dress she had draped over her desk chair. Well, it's no longer soaking wet, but it is still a little damp. Kim flipped the dress so the end that was on the chair was now facing up. Grabbing her backpack, she headed out of the residence hall towards the North Pole Dining Hall.

Kim gave her meal card to the dining hall's front desk attendant. After her card was scanned she headed to the closet serving line for some bacon and eggs. She grabbed an open seat and pulled out her schedule, reviewing it as she ate.

Okay, time to double check the schedule. I have COMMs 201: Public Speaking from 10:00 to 10:50 Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Philosophy 101: Critical Thinking on Monday night from 7:00 to 9:45… that's the class I actually share with Ron. On Tuesday and Thursday, I am taking MATH 125: Statistics from 9:30 to 10:45 in the morning followed by Introduction to Computer Applications from 11:00 to 12:15.

Those last two should be easy enough, especially Computer Applications. I may not be as good with computers as Wade, but I do know my way around one. If it wasn't a required class, I wouldn't even bother.

Only other class I have this semester is my BUSN 200: Introduction to Nonprofit Entrepreneurship. That's also a Tuesday/Thursday class. I'll be taking that from 2:30 to 3:45 in the afternoon.

Kim looked up at the clock as she finished nibbling on her bacon. 9:45 AM. Quickly grabbing her tray, she brought it to the dirty dish return area, dropped it onto the conveyor belt, and hurried out the doors. Hustling across Knowledge Way, she made a left in front of Amundsen Library and headed east towards Aristotle Hall, home of the Schools of English, History, and Philosophy, the Communications Department, and not coincidently, her first class.

It was 9:50 AM when Felix got out of his second class for the day. He'd just finished up his Engineering Drawing class in Cyber Hall. He then rolled east as a slight breeze picked up. He gave a passing wave at some ladies standing outside Einstein Hall, who were from his Geometry 8 o'clock morning class. Upon reaching Amundsen Library, he turned left and rolled across Knowledge Way. He slammed on his brakes just outside the North Pole Dining Hall doors when a couple of guys bolted out on their way to class. Running late on the first day, he shook his head in amusement. Felix continued to Summit Hall and made it back to his room just before 10 o'clock. He entered to find Ron still asleep on the top bunk.

Ron woke to a robotic claw poking at his forehead.

"Yo Ron man, it's about ten in the morning. Don't you have an 11 AM class?"

After sitting up and stretching as he yawned, Ron replied, "Yeah, Chemistry."

Felix looked up at him. "Interesting choice. Why are you taking that?"

Ron rubbed his face with his hands in an attempt to wake up. "Simple. Even though I'm doing a vocational degree, I still have to get some liberal arts credits. Kim said people use chemistry all the time when they bake, so I figured I would take that for some science credits. The only other class I have that's not cooking related is the philosophy class I'm taking with KP on Monday nights."

"Oh, yeah, Philosophy 101. I picked the Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1 PM section." Felix watched as Ron was climbing down from the top bunk for a moment, and then asked, "So… when are your cooking classes?"

"Tuesday and Thursday. Plating and Meal Presentation is in the morning right before lunch and the Basics of Baking from Scratch is after lunch," answered Ron as bolted to get a quick shower before his class started.

Felix let out an amused chuckle. Cooking classes sandwiched around lunchtime. That is so Ron.

When Ron got out of the shower and started putting on some clothes, Felix looked at the clock on his desk. 10:40 AM, "Ron-man, I don't think you're going to have time for breakfast before class."

Ron's head had just gotten through the top hole of his shirt. "I just go straight to class then and meet up with KP for lunch afterwards." As he put on his shoes, he added, "Our schedules are pretty similar this semester."

"While mine is pretty much the opposite of yours, guess I'll have plenty of time to relax when you two are busy. It won't be as exciting, but some serenity could be nice."

"Marinating is always a good thing my man." Ron looked up at the clock. "Well, later Felix." Ron ran out the door to try and make it to class on time.

"See you around."

Felix rolled over to his desk and turned on his computer. After it finished booting up, he logged onto a video communication program. Seeing the screen name he was expecting come up on his online friends list, the young genius beamed and took a breath to calm the excitement rushing through his veins. He stroked a few keys to start the connection. A familiar face came up on the screen. "Hey Zita, how did your morning classes go?"

Kim was walking by Amundsen Library from Aristotle Hall when she saw Susan approaching from the direction of Einstein Hall. Kim greeted her roommate, "Hey Susan! You done with your morning classes?"

Susan nodded at Kim as they started walking back to their dorm. "All done for today."

"Nice…I was surprised I didn't hear you get up this morning. You get points for being stealthy."

Susan chuckled. "You didn't hear me because my bed catches the early morning sun, so it woke me up five minutes before my alarm. The morning went by pretty fast. I had Standard Writing at 8 this morning in Aristotle. Then I walked to Einstein for my 9 o'clock Statistics class and stayed there for BIO 107. I'm done for the day. It will be similar for my morning classes tomorrow."

"Spankin'!, Which classes are you taking tomorrow?"

"Macro-sociology at nine-thirty and Intro to Social Work at eleven. I'll be taking both at Addams Hall."

"Addams Hall? Where's that?"

"Just to the east of Aristotle."

Kim stopped for a moment to picture the buildings in her head. "Which school is based out of Addams Hall?"

"The School of Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work."

"Right, and you are majoring in?"

"I'm a social work major. But, enough school talk though. How'd the date at Winter Wonderland go? You got back too late last night for me to ask you," said Susan as the duo reached the front door of their residence hall.

"It was really nice. Ron and I usually eat at casual dining places. In fact, I don't think we've been to a restaurant like that since the Lorwardian invasion. So it was fun to get dressed up and go out again. He wore one of his black suits and I wore a black dress that I hadn't put on since what Ron and I refer to as our Moodulator sitch."

"Yes, I saw the black dress…wait, did you say Moodulator?" Susan stopped at the door to the inside stairwell and looked at Kim quizzically.

"Long story, I'll explain later."

The duo started up the stairs as Kim continued. "I usually prefer something sparkly, but the black dress just seemed right for last night. It was a beautiful summer night too, so we ate out on the dock they have extended over Polar Bear Lake." With a wistful face, she added, "I wish we would have had any moon other than the new moon last night so it would have had a reflection in the water. The water looks crystal clear during the day, having a full moon reflecting in something that pristine would have really added to the moment. Aside from that, I don't think it could have been any better. During the walk back to campus, we even had a Ronmantic moment."

They exited the stairwell and crossed the hall to their room.

As Susan sat down on the edge of her bed, she shot Kim a befuddled look. "Ronmantic?"

"That's what I call moments that someone usually wouldn't see as romantic, but I feel the romance because it's Ron." Kim tossed her backpack on her desk chair and sat cross legged in the center of her bed.

"Okay, maybe this will help me understand. What exactly was last night's Ronmantic moment?"

Kim glanced over at the black dress fondly. "Last night's moment? Well, we were walking back from Polar Bear Lake after taking a romantic stroll through the woods near the restaurant after we finished eating. By the time we made it back to campus, it was close to midnight…"

"Are you getting a little tired KP?" asked Ron as they walked along a cobblestone path on the campus.

"No, I'm fine Ron," Kim answered as she wobbled a bit again. "You know these walkways really fit the architecture of the buildings here. It has that classic academia look to it all." She started to stumble again and looked down. In frustration she said, "It's just that my heels keep getting stuck in the crevices of the cobblestone paths. Let's just make it to the Great Lawn and walk on the grass."

The Great Lawn was the length of a football field, the width of two football fields, and located in the exact middle of the campus. It was bordered by the Amundsen Library on its north edge, the University's Chapel on its south edge, and the Administration Building to the west. The Student Union was almost on the east edge of the lawn. There was a fountain between the building and the lawn. The statue in the fountain was of a mother polar bear watching over her cubs as they were on an ice floe. The fountain itself was centered at the midpoint of the Great Lawn.

The path brought Kim and Ron to the south end of the Student Union. They stepped off the cobblestones onto the grass of the Great Lawn and started across it.

After making it about halfway across the lawn, Kim uttered, "I just can't win tonight! First the heels get stuck in all the crevices and now they're sticking in moist ground!"

"Hey, I've got an idea KP," Ron proclaimed as the duo reached the Polar Bear Fountain.

"What?"

Ron started to put his words into action even as he explained to Kim his ultra simple plan. Swooping one arm under her legs he said, "I'll just carry you."

"Wait, Ron…" Kim started to say before she made a noise that was a cross between her pronouncing a short 'a' vowel sound and gasping in surprise when she got lifted off her feet.

After securing her bridal style, Ron commented, "See, no problem." But as Ron started to walk, his left foot stuck to the moist ground for a moment causing him to stumble. As he tried to regain his balance he uttered, "whoa, Whoa, WHOA!" It was no good; Ron started to fall backwards into the fountain. "WHOOOAAA!"

"AAAHHH!" Kim shrieked as they fell into the water with a splash.

Kim rolled off Ron into the water and turned her head to look at him. Somehow in the course of falling and landing in the fountain, Ron's bowtie had come undone. It was now partially around his neck, with one end in the mouth of one of the baby polar bears. It had been designed to look like it was watching the fish in the water, but at that moment, Kim could have sworn it was staring amused at her boyfriend. To top it off, the water coming out of the mother polar bear's mouth was giving both her baby and Ron a misty shower. Kim could only giggle at it all.

Ron stood up to get the bowtie out the statue's mouth. He pulled on the fabric to no avail. Ron planted his right foot against the polar bear and began to futilely tugged and grunt. Kim was laughing so hard, she couldn't stand up. Her boyfriend now planted his left foot against the polar bear and yanked with all his might. Ron successfully regained possession of his bowtie, but lost his footing and fell back into the water right beside Kim.

Being splashed with water helped Kim gain enough control to stop her giggling. She instinctively took a deep breath to help her relax a bit after she could barely breathe while giggling. Letting out that breath with a sigh, she rolled over on top of Ron.

As she stared into his brown orbs, Ron just shrugged his shoulders and gave her his trademark goofy smile. Kim lowered her eyelids and then kissed him as she cupped the back of his head with her left hand. The young man pulled her into an embracing hug and kissed her with equal exquisite tenderness.

Breaking the kiss, Kim savored it a moment longer, something she noticed herself doing more of lately, before opening her eyes. "Ron, I think we'll be better off this time walking together instead of you trying to carry me," she teased.

Ron nodded good naturedly in response. Kim rolled off Ron and sat up in the fountain. Her boyfriend took the opportunity to stand up and help her up out onto dry land.

"…and that's a Ronmantic moment." Kim finished.

"I see what you mean. It's not the ideal romantic moment, but there is definitely romance to it," said Susan.

Looking over at the clock, Kim saw it was now quarter 'til noon. "Sorry to jet, but I'm lunching with Ron when he gets out of class. I've got to meet up with him outside Einstein Hall."

Grinning, Susan replied, "Don't worry, I understand. Have fun Kim and try to stay out of the kiddie pool."

"I'll try, but I think Ron enjoys the kidde pool. We'll chat again later Susan. Bye." Kim grinned as she left their room.

Kim and Ron walked into Room 123 inside Aristotle Hall for their philosophy course about five minutes before seven o'clock. There were about twenty other students in the class with them. The classroom itself was more of a mini-lecture hall. The seats were arranged in a horseshoe with the rows elevating above the one in front of them. There were thirty seats in total facing the whiteboard and table desk at the bottom of the room.

Ron and Kim took a pair of seats next to each other near the center aisle on the back row. After they sat down Ron told Kim, "Felix said he had the same professor for this course earlier today." With some confusion, Ron added, "He said the professor is quite a character. Something about the guy being tightly wound, but a bit eccentric at the same time."

Before Kim could reply, a professor with snow white hair and a balding spot walked into the classroom, put his briefcase on the desk, and started speaking in a precise manner. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen." Some of the class returned the greeting. The professor briefly adjusted his rectangular frame glasses and continued, "I'm Dr. Thomas Socrates and this is Philosophy One-oh-One, Critical Thinking, course time option three. If anyone is in the wrong place, don't bother to tell me. Just leave and get to where you need to be."

Seeing that no one left, Dr. Socrates opened his briefcase and pulled out the syllabi he had printed off. He handed the stack to a student in the front who took one and passed it along. As the students were getting their syllabus, the professor continued, "This syllabus contains almost everything you will need for this class. After the standard course details, honor code, my professional contact information and the other technicalities contained in all syllabi, you will find a schedule of assignments, readings for the class, and exam dates. If there any changes, I will notify you through your university email account. All readings and assignments are optional for this course. Attendance is also optional except for your mid-term and final exams. On those days attendance is mandatory."

Surprised murmurs rippled through the lecture hall. Dr. Socrates quickly said, "Focus! I have more information present." When the class settled down he continued. "The readings in your text will guide you through how to identify things like the parts of an argument, logical fallacies, et cetera. In the index of your syllabus you will find all the assignments for the course. Those will be the only copies of the assignments that you will get from me. It is your responsibility to not lose them. If you do not complete the given assignment for that Monday's class, don't bother showing up.

I will check to make sure everyone present has completed the assignment. We will then go over the entire assignment in class."

Dr. Socrates grabbed a red notebook out of his briefcase.

"You will each sign in every class in this notebook for an attendance record. If you miss a class for a legitimate reason, you can meet with me during my office hours to go over the assignment. Anything other than a health or family emergency is up to my discretion as to whether it was legitimate.

I will also record who is doing the assignments. That way I can see if there is any work you didn't complete that would prevent you from finding the answer on your own." The professor paused briefly to set the notebook back down.

"Are there any questions so far?"

The students muttered amongst themselves.

"This guy is definitely not one of those scatter brain professors."

"Definitely not a professor to baby his students."

"What have I gotten myself into?"

Kim whispered to Ron, "It's nice to get everything up front. It'll make getting ahead in the assignments easier in case missions get in the way."

"That sounds like a plan KP. I have to agree with Felix though, this guy is wound a bit tight.

Seeing that there weren't any raised hands, Dr. Socrates interjected, "If you have a question raise your hand. If not, quit your murmuring, we have more information to go over." The class quickly settled.

"Your mid-term will be working on the skills your textbook has you focus on during the first half of the course. It will be worth thirty percent of your total grade. For the second half of the semester, we will focus on taking what you learned in the first half and using all of it to make solid, logical arguments. To do this we will examine arguments presented in the news media and analyze them, then build arguments from your second half assignments. Your final exam will be one essay giving a logical argument why defending your chosen position on a topic I will give you that morning."

One of the girls in the front row asked, "So we're going to have to convince you that our opinion is right?"

The professor clarified, "No, you do not have to sway me. This isn't a persuasion course. You just have to construct a logical argument for your opinion. That essay will be worth seventy percent of your final grade."

Most of the students were shocked speechless. A young man in the front raised his hand and was acknowledged by the professor to speak.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"If you feel it's too much for you, then you can withdraw from the class by then end of the week without a grade on your transcript. You young men and women are adults now and I am going to expect you not to have your hands held or given easy grades to just help your GPAs. Now, are there any more questions on anything I've gone over this evening?" Seeing no hands raised, he continued, "Okay, class dismissed. I will remain here at this desk until 9:45 tonight. You are free to use this room to get started on next week's readings and assignments for the remainder of class time."

"One last thing. You will get as much out of this class as you put into it. Have a good night."

The majority of the class got up and left immediately to spend their Monday night in a more entertaining fashion. Kim stuffed the textbook in her backpack, stood up and looked over at Ron. To her utmost surprise, he was reading the first chapter of the course's textbook.

Well…Ron did tell me at lunch that he was going to do everything he could to do better than in high school. I'd actually forgotten how excited Ron looked when he told me how he this was a fresh start for him. Then again, I was trying hard to keep down my blushing as he talked about college graduation being another moment for us to share together. As well as I know him, somehow he always finds a way to surprise every now and then.

Kim smiled at her last thought before she sat down and opened up her textbook. She looked at the clock. 7:45 PM… hmmm, I guess we'll have about two hours to get a jump start on all this 'optional' work. Kim then looked down and started to read her textbook as Ron read his.

The next morning football practice had ended at 9:30. Between changing, getting back to his room, and grabbing a quick breakfast Ron was now rushing to make it to his 11 o'clock class.

He made it to Studio 102 in Careme Kitchen with five minutes to spare before class began. Inside the studio were sixteen different cooking stations arranged in two columns. The only open station was in the back row. Ron headed all the way back and took his seat. The student at the station next to him greeted Ron.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm George Garfield," he greeted as he stuck out his hand.

Ron stopped and stared. George was the same body-build and skin tone as the Eric synthodrone. He wasn't an exact duplicate - he had light brown hair, blue eyes, and slightly smaller chin. But it was so close to the…the thing that Ron froze.

After a moment, Ron nervously shook his hand. "Hi…I'm Ron Stoppable…eh, thanks for the warm welcome. So, uh, I'm from Middleton. Where are you from?"

"I'm actually from Mountainburgh. I grew up in the far west part of town." After taking a pause, George added, "Are you okay? You look as if you've seen some blast from the past."

Ron said hesitantly, "You look similar to somethi…er, someone I knew in high school."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I really didn't like the guy. Man, it's uncanny how much you look like him."

"So I have something close to an evil twin then?" George joked.

Ron hesitated just a moment, "I guess you could say you did."

"Did?"

"Long story."

"Fair enough. But since he was the evil twin, that means I'm good…right?"

Ron nodded halfheartedly. "I guess that makes sense."

Trying to change topics, George looked around at the other classmates. "I'm really surprised by the class demographics here. While a fair number of people associate cooking with the female gender, most chefs and restaurateurs are actually male. It's very strange that you and I would be the only guys in the class."

Looking around at the class, Ron noticed for the first time that he and George were indeed the only guys in the class. Before he could muster a response, the instructor, wearing a traditional chef outfit, walked confidently into the kitchen studio. Unlike the professors Ron had yesterday, the instructor didn't carry anything into the room. The average build, red-headed man then spoke with a distinct Irish accent.

"Good morning everyone, I'm Chef Hughes and I will be your instructor for this course. I would like to congratulate all of you for being a part of the inaugural Northern Shore University Culinary Arts Program. The sixteen cooks I see before me comprised what will be our initial graduating class. Most of you are freshman, a few are sophomores, but all of you were selected from a pool of over three hundred applicants to the culinary arts program. The Culinary Vocation Staff here has high expectations for all of you and we will spend the next four years pushing you outside your comfort zones. That way you will transform yourselves from outstanding cooks into extraordinary chefs."

After taking a pause to collect his breath he then continued, "Before class is over today, I am going to have you give me the number of the station you are sitting at. That will be your station for the next four years for all your classes. This entire studio will be the launch pad of your culinary careers. To begin I'll walk you through what this studio offers."

"On the sides of the room, you see ovens with stovetops. On the wall above each stove, there is a number. That number corresponds to the number at you counter. The four ovens with letters above them at each corner are extras in case one is having technical issues. In the drawer below each oven you will find most of your cooking pots, skillets, and pans. The wall behind me has the pantry, freezers, and refrigerators were all you food supplies will be kept. To the right of that storage area, you will see the special devices area. There you will find machines such as an ice cream maker, deep fryer, a chill blaster…"

Ron looked over at George and inquired in a quiet voice, "Dude, have you ever used any of those special devices? I don't even know what some of those things are or what they do."

"I've gotten the chance to use a few on special occasions. The others I've seen, but haven't used," answered George before the two guys turned their attention back to what their instructor was saying.

"…Food prep, dish washing, and, and hand washing sinks are located on the wall behind you. To the far sides of the sink row, you see two towers of metal shelves. Those have the cooking pots and pans that are too big to fit in the oven drawers."

Ron made a quick sidebar as he saw all the stainless steel shelves, pots, and pans. "Ooo shiny."

Chef Hughes shifted his orientation to the student's stations. "I'll now take you through a quick rundown of your stations. As you are now seated, all the drawers facing you will have all your cooking utensils, eating utensils, individual plating dishes, and group serving dishes." The students looked through their drawers as the instructor continued to speak.

"On the counter side facing the inside of the aisle between the stations, there is a small cupboard containing a bookshelf. On that shelf is your program manual. This holds the course guide for all the culinary courses you will be taking here. All course requirements, grading methods, and a written inventory of the supplies in the drawers you glanced through moments ago are in that manual. It is up to your discretion to keep any other books at your work station. You can take the manual out of the room if you want, but you have a storage space here for it. Now if you will get up, I'll take you on a tour of the rest of Careme Kitchen."

The class started to rise off their stools and head towards the front door. On the way to the door George whispered to Ron, "I've been curious about this building. It was closed because they were still doing the last construction touches during Freshman Orientation. It would have been nice to cook at one of those stations instead of using that portable kitchen outside when I did the meal for my application."

"That would have been nice, but wasn't exactly a big sitch," Ron replied as they headed out the door.

After everyone was in the hallway, Hughes pointed across the hallway and said, "That is Studio 101- our commercial kitchen. There you will get practice preparing foods for school organization banquets and other special functions. It also has a door directly to the outside that brings you out by the Student Union. It makes for a quicker trip when taking food over to the ballroom and banquet hall." Then he turned so the commercial kitchen was on his left and Studios 102 through 105 were on his right and walked down the hall, further into the building. "Studios 103, 104, and 105 are identical to Studio 102. They will be used for future graduating classes." As the group reached the door to Studio 105, the instructor pointed to his left. "That stairwell leads to the instructors' offices, including mine. At the beginning of each semester, we will post office hours on our doors. You can meet with any of us during those hours if you have any questions. We all know each other's courses, so if one of us is out, you can still ask another instructor for help with a cooking class."

Chef Hughes then pointed towards the end of the hall. "To your left and right at the end is a door that serves as another entrance and exit to this building. The double doors directly ahead of us lead to the practice kitchen." Walking through the double doors he led the class into the room. Inside was a kitchen more spacious than their work station with bigger counters and cooking appliances that were spaced a little further apart. It also had a small dining area in the back left corner of the room. "In this kitchen, you can practice what you are learning or cook a meal for some friends if no one is using it for class purposes. If you turn around you can see a sheet posted on this side of the door. That sheet is to sign up for using this area. You are to write down the time you wish to use it and whether it is educational or personal use. There is a pantry, refrigerator, and freezer for you to store supplies. You are to supply you own food for this room. Remember, be respectful of anything someone else is storing. Any questions?" Seeing that there weren't any, the instructor took the class back to Studio 102 to have a brief introduction to plating and meal presentation.

It was 3:50 on Tuesday afternoon when Kim walked out of Norman Hall, talking to her business professor and faculty advisor, Dr. Kyle Lawson. "…so that's why I decided on Nonprofit Entrepreneurship for my major instead of something like International Diplomacy."

"That's very ambitious of you and your friends, Miss Possible. I'm sure you will find our Business Major with a Non-Profit Concentration to be very helpful as you pursue those goals. Sometime over these next four years, you should talk with Norris Norman. His experience in founding Northern Shore University and serving as its first President should be of great value to you as you try and start your Team Possible nonprofit organization. He is on the campus grounds quite often. I'm sure you'll run into him eventually."

"But how would I recognize Mr. Norman? He's mentioned in a lot of documents, but I haven't seen his picture anywhere on campus. The few commemorative plaques only use a star instead of a bronze representation of him."

After briefly chuckling to himself, Dr. Lawson replied, "Just give it some time. Mr. Norman has specifically requested faculty to not point out who he is on campus. I can't say why, but he has his reasons. Don't worry too much though. I'm very confident that before your four years are over, you'll know who he is."

Kim raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Anyways I'll see you Thursday Dr. Lawson," Kim replied as she turned right to head east when Mr. Lawson turned left to head west towards the parking lot between Norman and Michelangelo Halls.

Kim headed towards Careme Kitchen. As she approached, she saw Ron...

Kim stopped and stared. Ron appeared to be talking with the Eric synthodrone.

That's not possible! she thought as she started to walk slowly toward them. As she got closer, Kim was taken aback by the similarities between this…person and that Eric… thing. She actually stopped and looked one more time to make sure that this wasn't some twisted nightmare.

Come on Kimberly Ann. It can't be him. I mean the hair color's wrong, and he has blue eyes…but still, that face…

Breaking her out of her stare was Ron waving his hand back and forth above his head, motioning for her to come on over. Kim put on an air of normalcy as she walked, but underneath her calm demeanor she struggled with feelings of confusion, wariness, and some lingering guilt. When she got over to the guys, Ron introduced his classmate.

"KP, this is George. He's my classmate in the Culinary Arts Program. George, this is Kim Possible- hero, gifted student, and the one I'm proud to say calls me her boyfriend."

"Uh, nice to meet you," Kim said.

"Same here, I have to say Ron here has a way with words. Everyone I know would have said something along the lines of 'she's my girlfriend', instead of referencing what you call him."

"He's definitely one of a kind."

"What can I say, my essential Ronness is a one of a kind thing," Ron chimed in, gloating.

An unexpected low rumble of distant thunder interrupted them. "Maybe we should continue this conversation inside before your essential Ronness gets caught in some rain," suggested Kim. The guys nodded in response and followed Kim's lead towards the Student Union. As the group walked, Kim got George's attention and asked, "So where are you from?"

"I grew up here in Mountainburgh. My family lives about twenty minutes from here on the western edge of the town."

"So you commute here?" inquired Ron.

"No, I wanted to get the on-campus experience. So I'm living in Glacier. You know…the first residence hall on your left when you drove down Knowledge Way."

"Badical! Kim and I are Summit."

As soon as the trio reached and entered the Student Union, the rain started, pouring down in sheets of water. "Spankin', we made it just in time," commented Kim.

Heading inside, they went up to the second floor where the student mailboxes, game area, and student organization meeting spaces were. They headed to the game area where other students were playing cards, air hockey, and some pool. George spotted an open billiards table. "Why don't you two grab that table? I'll go check out a ball set and we can play while we talk some more." Kim and Ron agreed.

As Ron and Kim set down their bags, Kim asked, "Is it me or does George sorta look like…?"

"You know who?" Ron glanced over at George waiting in line.

Kim nodded in response.

"Yeah, he kinda does, but he's not it…right?"

Kim hesitated before she answered. "True, but it's still extremely…"

"Awkweird?" Ron finished.

"Yeah, awkweird." Last thing I want is a repeat of that sitch. I feel so disgusted when I think about what I put Ron through. Kim closed her eyes to regain her slipping composure.

Ron looked back at George. Okay, but awkweird is something that'll probably pass. We just need to hang out a bit and get to know each other better. He turned and saw Kim close her eyes, then the faintest hint of a shudder. Uh-oh, KP seems a bit on edge about it. Time to change the subject. Ron asked, "So…how has your day been KP?"

Kim opened her eyes. "Huh?"

"How's your day been?"

"Busy," Kim replied with a smile. "It'll be nice to kick back and relax tonight."

"You're getting better at marinating, you know that KP?"

"Yeah, and your getting better at showing a little initiative. Maybe we're starting to rub off a little on each other."

"Interesting. A mixture of essential Ronness and Kimness. Now what exactly would you get with that? -Komness? -Rimness? -Kromness?" replied Ron as he started to go off on a tangent.

"Hey, Ron?"

"Yeah, KP?"

"You're thinking a bit too much. Anyways, George is back."

Ron looked over and saw George holding three cue sticks and a tray of pool balls. He grinned and shrugged at the same time. George, having overheard Ron's tangent, commented, "I think this might be the beginning of a very weird friendship."

Nick Alvah stroked his slick black hair as he exited the football locker room inside the Ice Block Complex. Standing right outside as she had been after the Sunday afternoon football practice was Kim Possible. The wide receiver once again put up his nice guy façade. "So… waiting for the new walk-on again?"

"Yes and his name is Ron. Shouldn't you know the names of your teammates?" Kim replied politely, a little perturbed at how, despite his polite tone, Nick's onyx eyes seem to be doing nothing more than lewdly checking her out.

"Yes, Ron. Sorry but I'm a little slow when it comes to names. I've always been good with faces, but it's a struggle to get names down."

"Really? Then I guess you'll learn the name Stoppable when you constantly see him running for touchdowns then."

At that moment, Ron exited the building and greeted the two of them. "Hey KP! Hi Nick."

Kim made it a prerogative to walk past Nick as she crossed to Ron and embraced him, giving him a quick, but deep chaste kiss.

It's sickening seeing the perfect fuck doll stuck on such a loser. If she's that dedicated to him, she'll be the ultimate trophy once I have her. Nick briefly shook his head to refocus himself and asked, "Hey Ron, I wanted to ask you during practice, but didn't get the chance, what -with coach running us to the bone. Some of the other seniors and me are putting together a party for after our first game next Saturday. It's something we do to build team unity and all. I got the job of inviting all the freshmen on the team. What do you say, can you make it?"

"I'll try and make it. Can't make any promises in case a mission comes up, but I'll try my best to be there."

"Excellent dude. See you there," As he walked away from the couple towards the parking deck Nick thought, that goofball's probably never been to a real party. It'll be the perfect chance to plant some 'cheating evidence'. Hmmm, I'd better get around to asking the other freshmen to attend though. Have to keep up the façade for this party.

As Kim and Ron headed towards the Student Union, Kim commented, "It's kind of creepy how many times I've crossed paths with him around campus these past three days. Are you sure you want to go to that party?"

Ron shrugged. "He seems friendly enough. If no missions come up, that might be a good night for you to do that Girls Night Out thing you've wanted to do with Susan."

"Yeah, I guess I could do that. Just try and stay out of trouble okay?"

"Kim, I'm the one that tries to avoid trouble, remember?"

"And yet it always seems to find you," Kim teased as they entered the Student Union. After checking their mailboxes, they found George, Felix, and Rufus playing a game of poker. As the duo got to the card table, Rufus laid down a straight flush to beat out Felix and George, who each had a full house. The naked mole rate then raked in the giant stack of candy in the middle of the table and took a dive into the pile.

"Dude, how many times have we lost to this naked mole rat tonight?" George asked Felix.

"I lost count. For all I know, that could have been the three hundred and seventy-eighth consecutive hand," answered Felix. Then he added, "I think that was my last bit of candy, too."

After staring at Felix for a moment, George looked up and saw Kim and Ron. "Hey you two, practice over with for the night?"

Ron replied, "Yeah, actually last one for the week. Coach Holler just runs three practices a week: one Sunday afternoon, one at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning, and one on Wednesday night. He makes us go full tilt the entire time though."

"Next you'll be telling us that you're starving," jested Felix.

"Well… -yes, I am. Kim and I walked over here to check our mailboxes, pick up Rufus, and then we were heading over to Mountain Man Pizza in the village. By the way, Felix, thanks for looking after the little guy while I'm at football practice. Coach wants absolutely no visitors during practice, so the little man can't come."

"No problem Ron. But, I don't think I'll be playing poker again with him anytime soon. Too bad Rufus just can't go and watch the cheerleaders practice on the opposite side of the football field since they practice at the same time the football team does."

"Sorry, Felix, but our cheer squad captain likes closed practices too. She says it helps keep everyone focused," Kim chimed in.

"Maybe we should just try a game of checkers next time," suggested George, then added, "If you two are heading over for a bite to eat, mind if we tag along? I'll treat everyone to the pizzas and soda."

Kim and Ron looked and each other and shrugged. "Sure, why not?" agreed Ron. George got up from the table as Felix rolled around it. Rufus tugged at Ron's sleeve and gestured to his candy winnings. Ron opened up his backpack and scraped the pile into the bag. As Ron closed it up, Rufus jumped onto his shoulder. The group then headed on over to the pizzeria.

Ron and George were debating about Ron's attempt at combining the nacho appetizer with taco pizza at the pizzeria last night when Chef Hughes walked into the classroom. As the class quickly settled in, he gave them their assignment for the morning. "Okay everyone, to get an idea of how well you grasped the basics we went over on Tuesday, today I want you to cook one of your favorite dishes. When you're done, I want you to make a single dish presentation for me to see at your work stations. Anything food you need should be in the pantry. I'll start judging plates with thirty minutes left in class, so pick a dish you can cook in the amount of time I'm giving you. Make enough food for about three plates as you will have the chance to sample the foods of your fellow chefs-in-training. Let's get moving cooks."

Chef Hughes observed the students as they got up from their work stations. Fifteen of the sixteen students started to make a beeline for the pantry area. Ron however walked in the opposite direction towards the sinks and started to wash his hands. By the time he was done, most of the other students had grabbed their food and made it back to their work stations. Ron went first to the refrigerator and pulled out a package of ground beef. After putting the ground beef onto his work counter, the blond went over to the pantry and pulled out a package of soft tortilla shells, a jar of nacho cheese, and some spices to make taco seasoning with. Not finding any nacho chips, he grabbed a box of crunchy taco shells.

When Ron got back to his station with the pantry goods he had picked up, George asked, "Why were you so late getting up to the front man?"

Ron stared at his cooking neighbor with a dumbfounded expression on his face. His tone clearly showing he thought the reason would be obvious, "I was washing my hands."

George gave himself a slight smack on the forehead. "Good call," he replied as he left his station to wash his hands. The sound of him smacking his forehead drew the attention of some other students, who upon noticing George washing his hands, walked over to the sinks to do the same. A few students were too wrapped up in cooking their favorite dishes to notice most of the class was now washing their hands.

Meanwhile, Ron pulled out of the oven drawer a skillet and small saucepan. He placed the skillet on the front left burner of the stove and the saucepan on the back right burner. Ron quickly went back to his work station and pulled a wooden spatula and spoon out of the cooking utensil drawer and grabbed the ground beef package off the station's counter. He placed the spatula on the stove's ledge and the spoon into the saucepan.

Ron took the ground beef out of the packaging and put it in the skillet. He threw the packing into a trash can by the sink and quickly washed his hands one more time. He turned on the front burner, grabbed the spatula and started to break up the beef so it would be smaller. After he determined the beef was at an appropriate size for tacos, Ron left the meat to simmer and cook in its own juices.

He grabbed the jar of nacho cheese from his work station. After pouring it into the small saucepan, he turned on the back burner. While the cheese slowly heated, Ron broke the hard taco shells into chip sized pieces by hand and dropped them into the saucepan. The pot was about forty percent taco chips and sixty percent cheese.

Ron went back and stirred the meat around to see if it had fully cooked yet. Seeing that it had, Ron grabbed the spices from his work station and seasoned the meat. Balancing one chunk of meat on the spatula, Ron tossed it into the air and caught it in his mouth. "HOT! Hot! Hot."

Some of the class turned to see what the commotion was, only to see Ron blowing on his tongue and panting like a dog. While all the girls shook their heads in disbelief and went straight back to their work, George set down the eggs that were in his hands, walked over and asked, "Are you okay man?"

Ron, having finished panting, answered "Yeah, just tasting the meat to see how the flavor is. Forgot to blow on the meat to cool it before I tossed it into the air." Making a circle with his thumb and pointer finger, Ron added, "The flavor is excellent though."

"You're quite a character, you know that?"

"It's all a part of my essential Ronness."

"Right," said George slowly drawing the word out as if he were pulling taffy. "I'm going to get back to my cooking."

"Ahh! My meat!" Ron quickly went back to the stove. He moved the skillet off that burner to the front right burner. After turning the front left burner down to its lowest setting, he placed a flat griddle skillet. As that skillet warmed, he went back and stirred the pot of cheese.

Getting back into his groove, he went over to his work station, Ron got out three plates that had raised edges so they were more like really shallow bowls, three spoons, and enough napkins so there would be a stack of about three napkins per plate. He went back to his stove and stirred the meat and cheese again.

At this point he took the soft tortilla shells and heated three of them one by one on the griddle skillet. As Ron finished each shell, he centered each on a plate. While he heated the third soft tortilla, he cut off the heat to the cheese and taco meat. After placing the third shell on the plate, Ron took the skillet of meat and started to hum the Flippies theme song as he distributed the meat onto each shell. Placing the skillet back on the stove, he grabbed the saucepan of cheese. Continuing to hum, he used the wooden spoon to put most of the cheese onto the three piles of taco meat. Placing the pot back onto the stove, Ron proceeded to head back to his plates and folded the shells so they look like volcanoes. For a final touch, Ron grabbed the saucepan one more time. As he glided around the counter to see different angles of his creations, he used a regular eating spoon to drizzle the rest of the cheese down all the sides of the naco. After putting the pot back on the stove for the last time today, Ron looked over at the clock and saw he finished with about two minutes to spare. With a slight cocky attitude, Ron whispered to himself. "A Boo and a Yah."

Returning to his stool, Ron sat down and looked around at what everyone else had been cooking. Three-quarters of the class were just finishing their cooking stage. The only other students who had plated their dishes besides Ron were two brunettes in the front of the class and George. One of the brunettes had cooked some nice grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. The other had made a full spaghetti dinner with a red three meat sauce, garlic bread, and Caesar salads. George had cooked some breakfast omelets.

"Okay everyone, your time is up," announced Mr. Hughes. The twelve students who had been cooking a few minutes ago collectively groaned. They were all done cooking, but none of them had finished their plating yet. Their instructor then commented, "Those of you who are still plating need to work on knowing your dishes. You should have a firm grasp on not only how long it takes you to cook a meal, but also on how long it takes you to plate that meal. You can finish plating while I look at those who finished in time. Before I do that though, I noticed that some of you didn't wash your hands the entire time you cooked. Remember your basic cooking safety. Now the four individuals, who finished, please come here to my desk." After gathering the students, he proceeded over the spaghetti dinner.

The brunette girl who created this dish stood at five foot five, but her confidence made her seem almost seven feet tall. Her charcoal eyes and impeccable tanned skin added to a sensual, powerful aurora about her. Mr. Hughes instructed her to introduce her dish.

"My name is Lima Dagon. I chose to create a meal I like to eat with my boyfriend a lot: the classic, romantic spaghetti dinner."

The professor then said, "Miss Dagon, I commend you for the layout of your meal. I do want to know one thing. What is the feeling are you trying to convey with your presentation?"

"I wanted to convey the traditional romantic sense that what gets from this meal."

"And how did you attempt to do that?"

"I just placed the food items like one usually sees in the movies in restaurant scenes."

"I see. Nicely done, but Miss Dagon if all you are going to do are presentation you've seen someone else do, you will be an above average chef at best. Try pushing yourself a little harder next time," suggested Chef Hughes.

Lima nodded as she fumed on the inside at the instructor's constructive criticism. Looks like this instructor is going to be a real pain this semester. At least I'll get more praise and less criticism than everyone else. Their meals look like so amateurish, especially the messy dish by the buffoon who burned his tongue earlier.

The next girl, Francine Pierce, struggled even more with Mr. Hughes's questions. She had gone for something simple to make, great tasting, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye for presentation layout. She hadn't given any thought to how she would do that and just tried to make it happen on the fly.

George knew what he wanted to cook, but he didn't have any feelings he had thought to convey with the layout of his food.

The group then came to Ron's dish.

"I'm Ron Stoppable and this is a naco. It's what happens when taco meets nacho. I used to make this on my own by ordering tacos and nachos at Bueno Nacho back in my hometown. Then when I worked there for about a month, I suggested this creation to the boys at corporate and they decided to add it to the menu."

"Interesting…for a finger food, it's an unorthodox layout to include a spoon. What is the feeling you wanted to convey with your presentation? How does the spoon aide in your attempt to convey that feeling."

"I wanted anyone who loves cheese to look at this meal and just go 'Booyah! Now that's the amount of cheese I'm looking for.' If for some reason the person just didn't want to lick it off the plate, the spoon would be used for eating any leftover cheese that drips onto the plate during the course of eating the naco."

After pausing for a moment, Chef Hughes said, "Excellent work, Mr. Stoppable. While I did not get that 'booyah' feeling from looking at the cheese oozing from your dish, I'm not that big of a cheese fan. You made your dish with a target audience in mind and I can see how your presentation would appeal to that particular audience. Also, good job at being the only person who thought to wash your hands on your own."

"Thanks," Ron replied simply.

The instructor took a step back and addressed the group. "Now, you four can taste each other's food if you want while I got back through the other student's presentations. You're free for the remaining twenty minutes of the period. Just be sure to wash your pots, pans, dishes, and utensils before you leave."

Lima, peeved at how Ron's 'amateurish dish' had somehow gotten more praise than her own, just left the group to start cleaning her pots and pans. Francine politely refused to try the naco, but did try one of George's omelets. George tried the naco as Ron was grabbing a bite of George's omelet..

"Hmm, Ron, this has more flavor than I thought it would. I was kind of expecting to only taste cheese, but the seasoning from the meat really compliments the cheese well."

"Thanks George. I like the cheese and even the variety of peppers in the omelet, which give it a southwestern kick. Maybe next time I'll try putting some into the naco."

"Interesting idea, but it will have to wait. We only have a few more minutes to clean up everything. Just don't scald yourself with the dishwater."

"Thanks for the concern, but I think I'll get the better of the dishwater."

Ron and Kim were having lunch at the dining hall Friday afternoon. "So Ron, since we're done with classes for the week, you want to hit the town? See what's where?"

"Sure that sounds like fun. What do you want to see first?"

"I thought we could go over and check out Club Banana: College Life in Mountaineer Village. They have all the university's official apparel. After that, why don't we go check out the historic downtown area?"

Before Ron could answer, the Kimmunicator on Kim's wrist went off. "What up Wade?" inquired Kim.

"I wanted to check in and see how you two were enjoying college. It's been a few years since I attended."

"Wade, you got you degree by acing all the online courses offered at your college in eight months."

Ron chimed in, "Yeah, not exactly the typical college experience. You didn't really get out much until our Senior Year."

"I was enjoying myself, but I have to say it is nice to get out every once and while."

Kim curiosity started to rise. "So, where are you going out to these days? I mean, since Ron and I aren't there."

"I head to the outskirts of Middleton and work with your brothers on some new gadgets. Nothing finished yet, but I think you'll like some of them."

Ron enthusiasm now started to rise. "New gadgets, gravy! Wait…Some of them? Why not all of them?"

"Let's just say, some of the inventions are designed to help your brothers when they have babysitting duty."

Kim looked curious, "Oh, really? Are any of those complete?"

"Well, more like complete failures. They don't seem to withstand first contact with Hana."

"They're not trying to hurt her are they?" asked Ron with heavy concern in his voice.

"No, mainly just ways to amp her down."

Kim was clearly amused at this point. "I guess karma does exist. Mom and Dad did say I was like those two at one point for babysitters. Then they were that way for me. Now it's their turn to deal with someone who jumps off everything like it was a launchpad."

"Speaking of launching, the Team Possible site was officially launched this morning."

"Spankin'! Zita and Monique have been working for months on the new design and layout of the website."

Ron chimed as he looked over Kim's shoulder, "So how 'bout showing us what it looks like?"

Wade pressed a key and the blue and green homepage came up on the Kimmunicator's screen.

Kim commented, "Looks sweet, Wade. Monique and Zita did an awesome job."

Wade replied, "I'm sure they'll appreciate the praise. I did have to take the website down on Monday for them to work on it this week. Since we changed the domain name from kimpossible to teampossible, an auto transfer was set up for people who type in the old site. Things should pick back up like usual in…huh."

Ron glanced at Kim, then at Wade. "What's 'huh'?"

"That was fast. We just got a hit from Global Justice. There was a laboratory break-in in Florida. They haven't been able to determine what of value was stolen." After hitting a few more keys, the super genius added, "I've sent the coordinates to the computer in your car. Dr. Director will meet you at the lab."

"A lab break-in where they don't steal anything? That's like making nacos, but forgetting the cheese."

Kim nodded. "Okay Wade, we're on it." She disconnected the Kimmunicator and looked at Ron. "Guess exploring Mountainburgh will have to wait. We've got our first mission as college students."

"College students going to Florida, Booyah!" added Ron.