A week went by with no sign of Wade or Mrs. Possible. Kim was actually glad about it, for the most part. A lot easier to get over something like that when it wasn’t interfering with you every other day. The downtime was good in another way, as well – she and Shego had to prepare for college. Shego got a full football scholarship with Middleton University, and Kim had received a full cheerleading scholarship to MU back when she was a sophomore. It sort of helped to have saved the Dean of the school shortly after entering the scholarship contest… Shego was glad – about 90 of the Middleton High football team were also going to MU, and most of them had already been chosen to start come the next season. Brick Flagg, for instance, was starting at quarterback. In fact, it was anticipated to be the season with the most starting freshman for a MU team, ever. It was also anticipated to be a monster season for the MU team, what with Shego attracting nationwide interest from damn near every single school that had a football team. She’d even drew curiosity from some NFL teams – but she’d made up her mind long before the buzz around her began. She as going to stay with Kim, no matter what – and she wasn’t going to change her mind about that. As such, she ended up shattering the “rules” when she was accepted onto the MU team with nary a protest from even the most hardened of male football fans.
A month passed. No appearance by Wade or Mrs. Possible. Global Justice drew closer to completing all the repairs from Wade’s little attack on GJ headquarters the night of Graduation. Meanwhile, all the buzz around Shego and MU’s football team only grew louder with each passing day. Shego was already being pegged as a icon for women in sports. One of the College Gameday guys on ESPN called her the Mia Hamm for American football. Shego even granted SportsCenter’s request for an interview with her – but only if Stuart Scott or Chris Berman – or both of them – did the interview. She and Kim flew up to Connecticut instead of the channel dispatching a crew out to Middleton - mainly because Shego wanted to see Bristol for (surprisingly, considering Shego) the first time – but also because of two other factors: 1) Kim wanted to visit the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation in Bloomfield, whose President she’d saved from a rigged crosswalk training scenario a few years back, and in return had promised Kim to give her the grand tour of the facilities; 2) Kim didn’t want to put any more strain on her family than there already was, considering what had just recently transpired. It was only fair…
----
“Oh my god, we’re almost there!”
“Shego? You’re scaring me right now, you know that?”
“How?”
“Uh…Well…Okay - One: You’re smiling. I mean, like, you’re smiling in a way that it’s really scary. Two: You’re acting more and more like Ron whenever we get within ten yards of a Mucho Grande Bueno Nacho the closer we get to this place. Three: You’re smiling in such a way that it’s really scary.”
“Sorry, Kimmie, but I told you how much my family was into sports. This is pretty much the equivalent of Ron meeting Steel Toe for me. Hell, my first sentence was “He could…go…all…the…way!”, even.”
“Okay - mental note for gift-giving time: Shego is a sports geek…”
“Sports nut, Kimmie. Not a sports geek.”
“There’s a diff?”
“A sports geek drinks bottled water, Princess.”
“…and sports nuts drink…?”
“Beer or Gatorade.”
“Right…Is that why you’ve got an Aquafina bottle?”
“Ggt – I’d have a beer in my hand if someone weren’t so bent on following the law to a T, Missy…”
“No Gatorade?”
“Gah – Kimmie! Stop that!”
Kim giggled. “Sorry. It’s just you’re so cute when you’re frustrated…”
Shego sighed in exasperation. “Yeah, well…I’ll frustrate you later, Pumpkin.”
Kim giggled again, and wrapped her arms around Shego’s waist, resting her head on Shego’s shoulder, her face inches away from Shego’s. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to get back at me. You always do.”
“You know it, woman,” Shego grinned.
“Excuse me - I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Huh?” Kim looked up. A black man with glasses stood at the entrance to the ESPN Studios parking lot.
“Holy crap, you’re Stuart Scott!” Shego excitedly went over to shake his hand. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m actually getting to meet you in person! This is just so cool!” she gushed, with a huge smile.
Stuart looked at Kim with a raised eyebrow.
“Ah heh heh…” Kim blushed in semi-embarrassment. “Apparently, Shego’s a sports nut…”
Stuart looked at the drink in Shego’s hand. “Looks more like a sports geek to me.”
Shego cringed. “So Fidelco didn’t have Gatorade in the vending machines – is everyone gonna mock me about that, or do I have to remind people I can ignite my hands into green energy flames at any time?”
Stuart laughed. “Chill, girl – just playin’. Really, it’s cool to meet you, Shego. And Kim Possible, too.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Scott,” said Kim, shaking the man’s outstretched hand.
“C’mon!” he waved. “You’re kinda real early, so I can give you a lil’ tour before the interview begins.”
“Sweet!” Shego exclaimed, following Kim and Stuart inside the building.
----
Kim had never seen Shego the way she was now. It was so hard to believe that the woman in front of her with eyes as big as saucers, who was taking in everything that Stuart pointed out in their private tour with a look of awe only matched by that of a little kid who’d been brought to the zoo for the very first time – was the same woman who, two years ago, seemed to only be capable of the emotion of sour. Every time they ran into another sportscaster, Shego seemed to know their name, their entire biography – and every time, just absolutely gushed over the fact that she was getting the opportunity to meet them. Scott Van Pelt, Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, Linda Cohn – Kim nearly got a pad and paper out to get a list of all the names Shego introduced her to. She knew sports, but she still felt horribly out of place as Shego carried on a long conversation with Chris Berman about football that was filled with many a laugh. But she was glad she’d come along with Shego. She was on the verge of tearing up just seeing her so full of…joy. It felt awkward saying that, but that was pretty much how Shego was acting. And knowing that she most likely had the major hand in bringing that side of Shego back into the light – well, sufficient to say, it made Kim feel really good about herself, warming her heart from the inside out.
“No no, Remember – he dove for the ball - it slipped like a worm out of his grip – and that other guy-?”
“Oh, wait - you’re right! Ah hah hah hah! I completely forgot about that play!” Chris Berman laughed. “And then the guy ran it all the way back for the score! I like this woman! She really knows her stuff!”
“Uh, sorry to break up the water cooler talk here,” interrupted Stuart, “But Chris, you’re on in 60, and Shego and Kim got an interview with me I better get taped and in the bag before the broadcast tonight.”
“Oh, jeezus!” Chris quickly shook Shego’s hand. “Sorry about this, but I gotta jet!” He dashed off.
“No problem!” said Shego, waving. She was nothing but on Cloud 9 as Berman faded down the hallway. “Oh my god, I just talked to Chris Berman!” she suppressed most of her squeal by forcing gritted teeth.
“Okay, ladies, follow me this way, please, if you will…” Stuart led the women down the opposite hallway and into a medium-sized room with some lights and a camera set up, along with a few chairs.
“So…cool…” Shego looked about to explode with joy as she and Kim sat down.
“Aight, so, let’s begin!” said Stuart. “First, I gotta give a little flattering intro, as you know of course…”
“Eh-heh…Intro away!” Shego told him.
----
“So, how does it feel having Chris Fowler call you the Mia Hamm of American Football?”
“Well, it’s flattering, obviously. But I really don’t feel I should be a role model just yet. Maybe in a few years, but right now, Kim’s pretty much the only one here who should be considered a role model…”
“Kim, you look a little overwhelmed there – what’s up with that?”
“Nothing.” Kim wiped away a joyful tear. “It’s just – It’s just I’ve never seen Shego so…happy before. It is kind of -- rather overwhelming, now that you mention it…” Kim said, instinctively hugging Shego.
“Speaking of Kim…Shego – you two have been fairly blunt about your relationship since it first began. How has this affected your lives in any way?”
“Uh…well, there hasn’t really been much of a change, really…” said Shego. “We haven’t really encountered any protests about it. Oh, sure, we may not get a lot of calls from people in the South who want us to save them, but that’s not our fault…I mean, all we’ve done our whole lives is be ourselves. And by being ourselves, we just happened to find that we loved each other in the process. It’s no big.”
“Okay, moving on…You were scouted by several NFL teams, including, as I heard, your favourite team, the Green Bay Packers. How did it feel knowing you could’ve played with Brett Farve already, and why did you choose to go to MU instead?”
“Well, it was definitely an honour to be courted by Green Bay, but my mind was made up long before I graduated. I knew I was gonna stay with Kim, and Kim was going to MU. Wasn’t a hard decision at all. Plus – I never got the chance to go to college the first time around. I feel like I really missed out on a lot of stuff-”
“Like the frat parties?”
“Yeah! Exactly! Like the frat parties!”
“Ugh…” Kim smacked her head.
“Shego? Where are you? SportsCenter’s almost on!” Kim called out.
Hearing a quiet, but repeated, clicking, she followed it to the back room of the house.
Shego was hunched over the sewing machine, her glasses resting on her nose like bifocals, and she was grumbling something about the curve of the seam not being right when Kim opened the door. “Shego?”
“Aht-det-da! – Out, Kimmie.” Shego didn’t even look up. “Not for viewing yet.”
“I didn’t know you could sew.”
A blast of green energy right next to her head, and Kim quickly shut the door. “SportsCenter’s on in like five minutes, just to let you know!” she called out through the door. Hearing the sewing machine stop clicking, she smiled and walked back to the living room where Ron, Mr. Possible, and the Tweebs were watching the TV. “She’s coming. She’s just got to clean up a glass of Gatorade that she spilled first.”
Shego soon appeared, and sat down next to Kim on the couch.
“Now Shego – you did get Chris Berman’s autograph for me, right?” Mr. Possible asked.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Possible – I got like five autographs from him…” Shego laughed. “One for everybody.”
“Sweet!” Monique exclaimed.
“Shhh!” Kim hissed. “The show’s starting!”
A clip of Shego fighting Kim from a long way back came onto the screen. Scott Van Pelt’s voice came on next. “Shego: The name still conjures memories of incidents like these. But look at Shego today:”
The clip changed to an overhead of Shego shaking hands with all the sportscasters like a major fangirl.
“This was how the most talked about woman in sports since Brandi Chastain ripped her shirt off after winning the 1999 Women’s World Cup was earlier today, when she came in to sit down with Stuart Scott for the Sunday Conversation – coming up at the end of the hour! Now - This… is SportsCenter.”
“Oh - they coulda’ told us they were filming that…” Shego harrumphed.
“Well, you’ve been exposed as a sports nut, Shego…” Kim giggled. “You can deal with it.”
“Huh. So why’s she got a bottle of water in her hand?” asked Ron.
Kim put her hand on Shego’s to stop the pale-skinned woman from blasting Ron into oblivion.
----
The interview ended, and everything faded back to Stuart Scott in the studio. “Shego’s seen it all. She’s been through a lot of tough times. She didn’t always make the right decisions, and sometimes life handed her a rough card. But she stuck through it. And now, not only has she ended up a pioneer for many a young woman in the world of sports – but it’s away from the arena where she’s made her impact more well known. With her former enemy now by her side, Shego’s redeemed herself from her flawed past in the eyes of the world, and returned to being the true hero she started out as back in Go City. Having received a second chance, she’s learned, and set things right. As now-friend Ron Stoppable would say – “Booyah.” For the Sunday Conversation, I’m Stuart Scott. We’ll be right back.”
“Hey, he stole my line! – But in a good way,” said Ron, contentedly sitting back and crossing his arms.
“Oh, yeah - like he got it from you…” Kim rolled her eyes.
“Shhh! – Lakers game highlights are on next!” hissed Shego.
“Wade? Are you getting this?”
“Yep. Add them?”
“Oh…Why the hell not? How’s the training with the Centurion Project, honey?”
“Not bad, not bad…I figured out how to control the sniper rifle today.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! And Betts is alive and kicking?”
“With all the help you gave me? Oh, yeah – she’s gonna be up and kicking like you wouldn’t believe.”
“That’s great, sweetie! Just a few more months…and then we CRUSH TEAM POSSIBLE! AHAHA!”
As the maniacal laughter went on, a blue-skinned hand crushed a glass wine goblet into shards.
END CHAPTER ELEVEN (REWRITE)