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The fading sun slowly slipped beneath the Brew and Bloom café windows as Kim, Ron, and Shego pushed the glass door open, still catching their breath. Shego’s idiotic—but unfortunately still dangerous—wannabe villain brothers were somewhere far enough away that the spring air finally felt safe.
“Coffee,” Shego said simply, striding to the counter. “Strong. Black. Extra hot. Oh—and strong, hot coco-moo for them.” She gestured back at the teens.
They both stared at her, confused.
“I don’t know if you like coffee,” she added flatly. “Besides, as your teacher, I don’t want to do something that might make your parents angry at me.”
Ron frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks… I think.”
Shego’s calm, collected presence made the café feel… normal. Almost peaceful. Kim followed her to a table, Ron carefully juggling the drinks, while Shego settled into her chair like she’d been coming here for years.
She took a slow sip of her coffee and leaned back. “Look—just because I’m not actively furious doesn’t mean I’m suddenly sunshine and hugs,” she informed her students-slash-enemies.
Kim chuckled. “Wouldn’t expect that.”
Shego’s smirk softened just a fraction. “Careful, Possible. I can still say things.”
Ron raised an eyebrow. “Okay… but you’re way less… glowy than usual.”
Shego shrugged casually. “That’s called emotional regulation. You should try it sometime, Ronnie.”
Kim tilted her head. “So… teaching? Really? You?”
Shego stirred her coffee before speaking, her voice quieter. “My mom was a dean.”
Ron blinked. Rufus mirrored him. Both looked like they needed their jaws surgically reattached.
“Wait… what?” Ron said.
Kim’s mouth parted. “Seriously?” After meeting Shego’s bumbling, chaos-magnet brothers, this was not what she’d expected to hear about her mother.
“My mom—Thea—took academics seriously. Everything seriously,” Shego said. “So I figured… if I was going to do anything ‘normal,’ I might as well do it right.”
She shrugged, finally meeting their eyes. “I got my degree because I wanted to make her proud. She’s my hero.” A faint blush crept onto her face.
Kim let out a soft, impressed breath. “Wow. You know my parents are a brain surgeon and a rocket scientist. I never imagined your mom was a powerhouse, too.”
Shego huffed quietly. “Thanks for the compliment, Kimmy. You’d like my mom—and she’d love you.” Her gaze dropped to her mug. “Honestly, she always said she never felt prouder than when a student reached their full potential.”
She glanced back up. “After graduation, you should seriously consider applying to Harrington. It’s where Mom was dean. It’s where I graduated. You’d thrive there.”
Ron, still catching up, managed, “That’s… actually really cool.”
Shego smirked, like she’d been caught off guard by kindness. “Don’t get used to it.”
She sighed, took a bite of her bagel, then added more quietly, “My brothers, on the other hand? Didn’t take school seriously. Four sons. All dropped out.”
Ron winced. “Oof.”
“Yeah,” Shego said. “Kind of embarrassing for a former dean. Let’s just say it’s something my mom doesn’t like to talk about. She was respected—and it wouldn’t help her reputation if that got more public.”
She lifted her mug again. “Anyway. More coffee?”
The three of them laughed softly, the café feeling like a small island of calm.
Later, Shego’s temporary apartment—the small, furnished place the school insisted on providing for new and substitute teachers—was quiet. Her hair was loose, the faint hum of the city drifting in through the window. She sat at the table grading papers, red pen scratching lightly across the margins.
Her phone buzzed.
Voicemail.
She hesitated. Then pressed play.
“Mom here. I won’t keep you. I just wanted to say… I’ve heard how your students talk about you, Greenbean. You’re doing good work, sweetheart. I’m proud of you.”
Silence.
Shego set the phone face-down and exhaled slowly.
“…Figures,” she muttered.
She picked up her pen and kept grading—steady, focused, quietly exactly who she was meant to be.