Created: 5-24-03THE ‘FUTURISTIC’ DREAM
It was the last week of school. Everyone was anxious to get out of school and their life out in the big open. The fun-loving students of Middleton High were enjoying a perfect ballroom night at Silk Harbour Hotel.
“Hey, Kim,” Monique asked, munching a drumstick she got from the buffet. “What do you want to be when you’re out in the big world?”
“You first,” Kim said.
“Don’t mind if I do. I’m definitely going to be the world’s greatest businesswoman. Maybe even become the Businesswoman of the Year!”
“I bet,” Ron commented with a grin. “With all that ludicrous ideas and your outrageous obsession about Club Banana collected in your brain, I bet you make a great businesswoman.”
“Are you accusing me of being crazy?!” Monique growled.
“Not exactly. But then again, if you ask about my dream, it’ll always be the world’s greatest actor, like Haley Joel Osment in Pay It Forward! Man, that show rocks! I’ve watched it 4 times and 4 times I cried at the end of the movie.”
“You are so emotional, Ron. You might be a good actor, provided you don’t forget the lines all the time like that incident during primary school!” Kim commented quietly, resulting in a venomous look from Ron.
“It’s a drag to grow up and get out into the big world,” Josh Mankey complained. “Being like this seemed pretty a-OK.”
“I bet Josh wants to be an artist or a painter of some sort. You do have talent, you know,” Ron suggested. Josh only scratched his head gingerly.
“It’s professional football for me,” Flagg voiced out.
“That is so lame,” Bonnie appeared out of the blue and butted in the conversation. “I have better things in mind, you know!”
“And what is it, pray tell, do you want to be, Bonnie?” Kim turned to Bonnie grudgingly.
“Me?” Bonnie had her hand on her chest dramatically. “Haven’t you noticed? I am going to the world’s most famous model, or maybe a professional cheerleader for all the hottest sports team. Once they have a craze over me, they’ll be begging to have me and I will dominate the whole industry!”
“Don’t get carried away. That is so not the original,” Kim said, waving the annoyed Bonnie away.
“Hey, not fair! We told you ours but you haven’t told us yours!” Monique complained, pointing her spoon at Kim. Kim held up her hands in surrender.
“OK, OK, I’ll spill,” Kim grinned. “There would be no reason to deny that my crime-busting days will never be over, but my hope is to be a fashion designer. The fashion today is so not the type. There is nothing in this industry that actually has the better black.”
“Great! Then once your designs are in the market, don’t forget to send them to Club Banana!” Monique squealed, resulting to an exasperated groan from Ron.
She also had another dream in mind, but she had no intention to say what it was. If the others could read her mind, they would probably see wedding bells and see her and Ron walking down the aisle, saying their vows and sharing a kiss.
Of course, she wouldn’t dare to let her crush Ron know or she’ll die of embarrassment, but she hoped that this dream will come true. Sure, she had a few crushes with Josh Mankey but it was not as deep as her crush on Ron since pre-school. Both of them came a long, long way and Kim had learned to cherish it. As her mother would say, “If you can’t love the one you want, love the one you’re with.”
Yet until now, she still hadn’t the guts to tell that to Ron.
“Kim! Kim, wake up! You’ll be late!”
Kim groaned as she pulled the covers over her. “Mom! Today’s class is not until 8.30! I don’t even think there’ll be much school left!”
“What are you talking about? Why would you want to go to school?” Mrs. Possible asked in a surprised tone. “You’re already 26 years old. You don’t need to go to school!”
“Huh?!” Kim woke up with a start. 26? That’s totally impossible! She sat up groggily and muttered, “Mom, don’t bug me. I’m not even 19 yet. I can’t be 26!”
“You’re already past 19, Kim! Go take a look at yourself in the mirror!”
Kim rushed to the mirror and saw that she looked more grown up and much more mature than she was when she was—is—18. Her hair has been cut short till shoulder-length, almost like Mrs. Possible. That night during the ballroom night it was still perfectly long.
‘This can’t be! My name is Kimberly Anne Possible, 18 years old, just graduated from Middleton High!’ Kim thought to herself. ‘I can’t be 26 now!’
Yet when she closed her eyes and thought back, the memories swam back to her. She began muttering to herself, “Oh yeah, I remember now…I’ve already out of Middleton High for years. I even graduated from college at Ireland and finished a secretarial course in Norway…Oh…right, I’ve been working as a secretary in a firm for…4 years…”
That’s when she almost snapped and shrieked in horror. She grabbed her office bag, put on her work clothes and dabbed on some lipstick, complaining as she went, “Mom! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?! I’m gonna be late!”
Mrs. Possible sighed with relief and said, “Now that’s my girl.”
Without finishing her breakfast, she dashed to catch the next subway train to get to her workplace.
Kim had a hard day at work as usual. Her boss scolded her for being late and her Head Secretary, who was (surprisingly) the one and only Bonnie, gave her tons and tons of work as punishment for being late. Kim’s colleague whispered that Bonnie was getting air-headed all over ever since she was promoted to Head Secretary by the boss, and she thinks that there must be something that spells ‘AFFAIR’ is going on between her and the boss. Kim found it hard to believe that the arrogant air-headed Bonnie who claimed that she’ll become a model would end up in this field.
Kim lay back for a while and thought back. Memories of her in Middleton High came running through her head, like it had just happened to her yesterday. In fact, everything that came through her mind seemed like yesterday.
“How can this be?” Kim whispered to herself. “I remember so much about the days in Middleton High, but I haven’t much a clue about my life right now. It’s as if I have changed immediately from an 18-year-old girl to a 26-year-old office secretary. This can’t be! This is not me! That’s right, this is not the real me!”
“What are you babbling to yourself about?” Kim’s colleague tapped her on the shoulder. “The Head is calling you.”
Kim turned around and saw Bonnie gesturing her with a phone handle on her hand. She walked towards her and Bonnie gave her a superior look before saying, “5 minutes.”
“Hello?” Kim answered the call.
“Hey, Kim! It’s me!” It was Monique on the phone. “I’m celebrating my 5th anniversary today! You’re invited, and I won’t take no for an answer!”
“Sure! I’ll be glad to go!” Kim said, relieved to hear someone familiar on the phone again. “Can I go there a little early? I wanna have a little chat.”
“No problem! Come as early as you want! We haven’t been talking for almost God-knows-how-many years now! It’s time to go down Memory Lane!”
“I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
It took her quite an effort to persuade Bonnie to let her leave early.
“Kim, I am so glad you’re here!” Monique rushed to hug Kim. Monique was so much fairer and more fashionably pretty that Kim felt as if she was a status lower than her.
“I’m glad to see you too,” Kim returned her hug and said, “Look, can we talk for a second?”
“Wait, I want you to check out this new lipstick commercial,” Monique said as she turned on the TV. When Kim turned to look, she saw a scene where a beautiful lady accidentally falls onto a handsome blonde man in a subway train and smudges her lips onto his collar, but the collar didn’t stain. When Kim looked a little closer, she saw that the handsome blonde was actually Ron!
“Cool, huh? Ron is a big hit among the entertainment line and he has been doing commercials all around the globe! Of course, you know that, anyway. He’s now about to do a movie with George Clooney, Van Damme, Vin Diesel and Chris Rock entitled ‘The Sex God’. Haley Joel Osment will be acting as well! Isn’t he lucky?”
“Yeah, he’s…doing real great,” Kim replied nervously. She was surprised to see Ron actually succeeded in following his dreams as an actor. And she was also surprised and a little jealous at Monique’s sudden obsession over him.
“So, what is it you want to talk about?” Monique asked as she led Kim to the nursery room. “Come in. I can change the kids’ diapers as we speak.”
The nursery room was a heavenly thing to see. It was decorated fit for a baby prince. Kim looked in awe.
“Cool, huh?” Monique asked. “I got these beauty room tips from Josh. He’s really good.”
“I can see that.” Kim was about to ask how come Josh suddenly turned out to be an interior designer but decided against it.
That’s when she noticed the kids: all three of them. She actually had triplets! Kim was surprised at what a used-to-be thin girl like Monique could ‘do’ to have these. As Monique fixed her kids, Kim told her everything.
“Let me get this straight. You think that you’re not the real you? Like your 18-year-old brain is sucked into a 26-year-old body?”
“That’s right,” Kim nodded.
“You got to be kidding me. Have you lost your memory or something? Too much work in the office, or are you trying to escape reality?”
“No, I’m not! I’m telling the truth; I don’t know anything much about us now! I can only remember the past, that’s it!”
Monique stared at her like some crazy woman and grinned, saying, “Come on, no time for your jokes anymore! Maybe later this evening during the party, a little champagne will help clear your mind.”
“But I’m…” Kim’s protest was cut short by a honking at the gate.
“Oh, that must be the big brother coming home. You wanna go see him?”
“You have…another kid?” Kim was really surprised at Monique’s fertility.
Once they went out of the house and to the gates, Kim noticed that the teacher of the kindergarten bus that sent Monique’s son home was none other than Josh! Kim almost gagged when she saw him carrying the boy with a smile on his face and handing him to Monique. As the bus drove off, Kim looked at Monique with questioning eyes.
“Don’t you remember? Josh quit his job as an interior designer when one of his houses he designed for an ambassador collapsed during a landslide. No one blamed him, of course—it was just an accident—but he kept blaming himself. He couldn’t stand the pain of having to see someone die by his own creation. He decided to take a much kinder job, which is to be a kindergarten teacher. He’s pretty a-OK now than before.”
As the minutes went by, Kim became more and more convinced that she was not the real her. If she was, how could she not remember any detail about her life after Middleton High and about her friends? How come the memory of the school was still fresh in her mind? That did not make sense!
“Hi, Monique! Sorry we’re late.”
It was Flagg and Bonnie. Flagg was almost a tad less muscular now and Bonnie was as arrogant as ever but much slimmer and prettier than before. Kim couldn’t help feeling amazed. She didn’t notice her change at the office. She was surprised that Monique actually invited her yet Bonnie pretended not to know about it. Kim felt exasperated with Bonnie’s attitude.
“No, you guys are just in time. The other guests haven’t arrived yet, unfortunately, and the man is no where to be found!” Monique joked.
“I got us some red wine,” Bonnie said as she handed the cold bottle to Monique, then turned to Kim and stressed, “Very exclusive. A 1940’s brand.”
“So how are the stocks going on?” Monique asked.
“Ugh! Not too good. The M&M’s and the Salt & Pepper are going down and the rival TicTacs are rising like wild. I had to sell out everything!” Flagg groaned as he waved away Monique’s question.
“You’re a stock broker?” Kim asked. “I thought you want to be a…”
“A professional football player? Not if you’ve dislocated both your knee and arm in 7 games straight! Doesn’t Bonnie update you or something?” Flagg said with an air of pride in him. “Your company’s shares are on my table, you know. I bet you don’t even know that Monique has already received The Silver Dragon Award for her great performance in her Club Banana company, huh?”
Kim wanted to say no but she’d rather just keep quiet.
“Ah, finally the husband’s here!” Bonnie exclaimed as she turned to the door. Kim turned to look. There he was, standing there, her dream prince, her crush: Ron. He looked so professional and smart with his shoulder-length blonde hair and his now freckle-less face. He looked so much more mature and handsome than the last time she saw him. Kim couldn’t help being mesmerized.
“Honey, where have you been?” Monique whined playfully as she held Ron’s arm around her.
“Sorry, Mon. I simply must get this roast,” Ron replied, kissing her on the forehead. “An anniversary is not complete without a roast, you know.”
Rufus popped out of his suit pocket and nodded, “Uh-huh, uh-huh!”
Kim’s world suddenly collapsed. How could this be? Why was Monique married to Ron? Why wasn’t it her? Like a thunderbolt, the bitter memory crashed through her mind: wedding bells, a walk down the aisle, vows made, kisses given…yet it was Monique and Ron doing all this and not her. She was part of the guests invited to attend their wedding! It wasn’t her wedding! It was Monique’s wedding! She remembered breaking up painfully with Ron after she went to college in Ireland, and now he has taken Monique as his lawful wedded wife instead!!
Kim couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out of the living room crying. Everyone was surprised at her sudden behaviour. As she dashed out of the gates, Monique called after her.
“Go and see him! You’ll remember everything then! I’m sure of it! Go and see him!”
Kim knew who she meant. It was Wade. He may not stand out much like the rest of the group (he never did anyway), but he had the brains, and he had a great memory. Surely he’ll update her on things.
When she went to his home for the first time, no one knew where he was. Everyone said that he and his family had moved out a few years ago to somewhere in the suburbs, losing contact with the rest of the world. No one knows how to get to him anymore. Kim tried to call him using Kimmunicator but realized from a bit of her adult memory that she had already stopped the crime-busting business for a very long time and all the gadgets she used to have were all dumped into the storeroom somewhere. Downcast, Jude left the house with a heavy heart.
At the gates where, she was greeted by two familiar faces. They were the twins. Her twin brothers have actually grown up so fast, and were actually quite handsome.
“Jim? Tim?”
“You’re looking for Wade, right?” Jim asked.
“Yeah. Do you know where he is?”
“Hop in. We’ll take you there.” Tim replied.
So saying, she went into the twins’ Volvo. They had a long drive down through the suburbs. After which seemed like a few hours, they finally reached the foot of a small hill. Kim got off the car and saw that on the hill was the most beautiful five floored medical house she had ever seen. There is no other design as beautiful as this.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Josh designed that clinic before he quit his job,” Tim said as he went back to their car. “Well, I’d best be going now.”
“Guys? Why? Aren’t you going to come with me to the house?”
“We loved to come with you,” Jim replied from the car, “but NASA back there needs us. We just came back for a while to ask Dad to provide us with some necessities.”
The twins drove off, leaving Kim to herself, surprising her again with their current achievements. Slowly she walked up the hill and towards the house. She saw Wade sitting at the porch with an old woman.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“Uh, hi, I’m Wade’s friend, Kim Possible. I believe this is the first time we met.”
“Kim Possible! I know you very well!” the woman smiled weakly and offered her a seat. “Wade told me all about you, and you have been partners with him for quite sometime. I’m Wade’s mother. Pleased to meet you.”
“What is he doing here? Wade, what…?”
Her words were cut short. She saw Wade thin and pale, his eyes staring into space, oblivious to everything around him. He had a bag of fluid hanging from the pole attached to the wheelchair he was sitting. On both his wrists were deep scars, like he was slashed by a piece of glass or some sort.
“What…happened…?”
“It’s not surprising that you don’t know,” Wade’s mother chuckled bitterly. “My son Wade has been here for years now. A few years ago, after you retired from the crime-busting job, he assisted a new crime-buster named Mike Trouble, yet he died when he was battling with some villain or some sort. It was an accident, really, but he kept blaming himself. He kept saying that he should’ve given Mike Trouble better gadgets or given him a better coordination to attack the villain or else he wouldn’t have died. He tried to commit suicide but we saved him just in time. Yet he lost too much blood and had too much pressure that his brain has sort of damaged. He can’t hear you now and probably won’t ever respond to you anymore than he responded to me.”
Kim broke into tears all over again. This cannot be happening! This just cannot be happening! It was bad enough that she wasn’t married to her crush. Now she had lost another best friend! This wasn’t fair! This wasn’t the life she expected it to be! This wasn’t her future; this was this Kim’s future, not the real Kim’s future! This wasn’t real! Not real at all!!!
“No! No, this can’t be happening! It’s not true!” Kim wailed, unable to take the truth that was in front of her eyes.
“I know it’s hard to accept this—I’ve been fighting this for quite a while. It is sad for my son, but reality is just so cruel.”
“No, it’s not supposed to happen! This is not the real me! I’m not 26 years old yet! I’m still 18, still studying in Middleton High! Give me back my life! I want my life back!!”
“K…P…KP…”
Kim looked up and was surprised to see Wade talking. She knelt in front of Wade, saying, “Wade? Wade, you’re talking! You’re talking! I can’t believe this!”
“Dr. Drakken…Took your soul…Shift you to…the future…Let you see…the bitter part…of your life…after school…This…future is not…impossible…”
“What? How did you know all this?” Kim was surprised.
“Felt electromagnetic…aura…Come here…” Wade was struggling to speak. Kim leaned nearer to Wade. He took out a notepad computer from under the blanket over his legs and, with a shaking hand, pulled out a plug and stuck it onto Jude’s shoulder and muttered, “I have…code…Destroy…the machine implanted on you…Goodbye, Kim…Create your own…future…”
Kim saw Wade clicking away on the notepad computer furiously. Though he may be weak, his fingers weren’t. She saw the small spider-like device burst out of her shoulder, squirting blood everywhere. The pain was excruciating, like she had been shot at close range. Before she slipped into unconsciousness, she saw Wade smiling kindly at her…
Kim woke with a start when she heard her alarm clock rang. She got up in a thrice and check her features. Same long auburn hair, same 18-year-old face, same everything. It was like everything that happened to her was just simply a dream. But when she saw her shoulder bleeding and the blood stains on her bed sheets, she knew that it was all true. Dr. Drakken must be very furious by now. She had to admit, this was Dr. Drakken’s best invention yet. She asked for her mother to bandage her shoulder before going to school. For once she wore a long-sleeved bellybutton T-shirt for this.
As she walked to school, she saw that everything was back to normal. Everyone was in their original selves: Monique, Ron, Josh, Flagg and even Bonnie.
“Morning, guys!” Kim said gleefully.
“You seemed awfully cheerful today,” Monique said. “Had a great dream last night?”
“Well…let’s just say I’m glad I’m awake.”
“Why? Afraid that you’ll never get to see your dear Ron again?” Monique grinned slyly. Everyone laughed at her joke. Ron protested loudly but Kim suddenly took his hand.
“Let them be. They…are quite right. I was afraid that…I’ll never see you again.”
Soon everyone oohed at Kim and Ron who were blushing redder than tomatoes.
