walk with me, Suzy Lee
through the park, by the tree

...I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich heaved themselves out of the manhole in the park, returning to school from the factory at a very late hour on Friday evening.

"Something's not right," Jeremie said, dusting himself off. "Xana's been too quiet."

"I dunno," Odd said, "Maybe that last battle is making him reconsider his position."

Ulrich snorted. "Yeah, right. He must've had a sudden change in perspective and only wants to use his powers for good, now, is that it?"

"You never know..."

All three boys froze at the sound of something rustling nearby. The sound stopped, and a deathly silence fell, as if they and whatever was watching them were holding their breath.

"What was that?" Odd whispered.

Ulrich started tip-toeing in the direction of the sound. There was a large shrub next to a tree, but it was too dark to see if there was something hiding behind it.

"Wait!" hissed Jeremie, startling Ulrich. "What if it's an animal?"

The thought of stumbling across a large beast made Ulrich think twice. "Anyone got a really long stick?" he suggested.

Odd and Jeremie walked closer. Whatever had made the noise, it was perfectly still.

"Maybe it was just a mouse," said Odd. "It could've run away by now."

"We can't just leave it alone," Ulrich insisted. "What if there's a person? They would've heard us. ...Jeremie, what are you doing?"

"Looking for a rock." Jeremie was crouched low to the ground, trying -- without success -- to find a rock in the dark. "If we can throw something, and the sound actually was from an animal, we have a better chance of running away."

"Smart thinking," Odd commended, crouching down to do the same. "Here, found one."

The three boys took several steps back from the bush. Odd aimed at the shadowed foliage, and threw the rock.

He missed by several feet. The stone flew clear over the top-most leaves and landed somewhere beyond.

"Brilliant aim, Dead-eye," Ulrich muttered. "Let me try."

He knelt down, found another stone, and stood up. He aimed, threw, and hit the lowest tree branch instead.

Before Odd could fire a retort, there was a terrible screeching noise. All three boys shouted and jumped back as an owl swooped out of the tree and flew off.

They watched it go, then Odd started laughing. "Oh man... All that over a dumb bird!"

Ulrich started to chuckle, too, but Jeremie only managed a weak smile.

"Now that we've scared ourselves stupid," he said, "Let's head back to the dorms. I'm past ready for bed."

The three of them, still rattled, turned away and headed back towards the school.

On the other side of the bush, sharp, curious eyes watched their retreat.

--------------------

Monday morning dawned earlier than Odd liked -- but then, he never liked mornings, or Mondays, so it was never late enough for getting out of bed to be a good idea. Still, when Ulrich said, "Wake up, Sleeping Doofy, we've got to get to class," Odd forced himself to sit upright.

"If I'm still tired," he said, smirking, "It's because you snore."

Ulrich grinned. "Coming from the human chainsaw, that's a laugh. Do you want to get breakfast or not?"

The day carried on like any other until halfway through the morning, when the classroom door opened and Principal Delmas ushered in a pair of kids.

"Principal," addressed Mrs. Hertz. "To what do we owe this honor?"

"Simply showing our new students the school," he said. "They'll be joining your class starting today. Introduce yourselves, please."

The new students -- a boy and a girl -- stood on either side of the principal a the front of the classroom. The boy wore blue jeans and a grey button-down shirt over a black t-shirt. The girl wore a white zip-up hoodie whose zipper she couldn't seem to stop fiddling with, a black blouse, and a pink skirt with knee-high boots. They glanced at each other, and the girl finally stopped fidgeting. The boy spoke first.

"Luc Bouquet," he said. "My family has just returned to France after living in the United States."

"Mina Whitehawk," said the girl. Then, in strongly american-accented French, "Luc's adopted sister."

Explains why they look nothing alike, thought Odd. Mina had long, dark hair and tan brown eyes; Luc was blue-eyed and blond.

The teacher pointed to the empty desks near the back and invited them to take their places. "I'll give you textbooks before the end of class; right now, if everyone would please take out their notebooks, it's time for some note-taking."

A few students groaned.

------------------------

The rest of the morning passed as usual. When lunch began, Yumi caught up with Ulrich outside the cafeteria door.

"Hey," she said. "I heard there were some new students that came in this morning?"

"News travels fast," observed Ulrich.

"Bathroom gossip travels faster than the speed of light," Yumi joked. "Have you talked to them yet?"

He shook his head. "Haven't had the time. Odd tried passing a note to the girl, but the teacher started walking between the desks and he didn't have a chance to finish." He glanced up. "Oh, hey..."

Yumi followed Ulrich's line of sight to a pair of unfamiliar faces -- the new students. Both of them were carrying trays of cafeteria food, and they had the same lost expression on their faces.

"C'mon," Yumi urged, taking Ulrich by the wrist. "Let's go invite them to eat with us."

As they approached, Luc looked up and saw them. He tugged the edge of Mina's shirt to get her attention.

"Hey," Yumi said. "I'm Yumi. This is Ulrich. Welcome to Kadic Junior High!"

"Thanks," Luc answered, offering his hand to shake. "I'm Luc. This is Mina."

Mina gave a faint smile and a small, nervous wave.

"She's not confident, yet with her French," Luc explained. "And she's shy with new people, too."

"Hey guys!" called Aelita, hurrying over with Jeremie not far behind. "Oh, you have company." She smiled in greeting.

"Aelita and Jeremie," said Ulrich, "Meet Luc and Mina."

"Want to join us for lunch?" Jeremie asked.

Luc looked at Mina, who shrugged, then back to the group, smiling. "Sure."

Odd joined them at their lunch table, introduced himself emphatically to Mina, and immediately began regaling his new classmates with stories about their fellow students. He beamed when he got Mina to giggle.

A shrill voice made everyone shrink in their seats.

"Great, the class shrew," Ulrich muttered, as Sissi made her approach.

"Well, well, the new students!" Sissi began, her typically snooty voice even snootier than usual. "You probably know already, since I'm so popular, but I'm Elisabeth Delmas, the principal's daughter. Everyone calls me Sissi. You should probably know --" she directed this at Luc "-- that the company you keep will affect how people look at you." She shot a dirty look around at the rest of the people seated at the table. "You're welcome to make friends with me; it'd guarantee your position in the school's pecking order."

Yumi glared. "What are you talking about, Sissi? You're the only one who cares."

"Yeah," Jeremie added. "And since when do you invite anyone to join your goof troop?"

Sissi fumed. "Just because you're all too stupid to care about popularity doesn't mean everyone else is! Besides," she continued, eyeing Luc appreciatively, "I only like the beautiful people."

"Is that what you call those goons who follow you around all the time?" Ulrich said under his breath.

"Be fair," chided Aelita. "Maybe she sees them as beautiful."

Before Sissi could express her outrage, Luc intervened. "Thank you for your invitation," he said diplomatically, "But I must decline."

Sissi pouted. "But why?"

"You didn't invite Mina. I can't abandon her."

Sissi took a breath, then looked torn; clearly, she couldn't decide if scoring points with Luc was more important than getting a tag-along like Mina.

After several seconds of deliberation, she stalked off. "This isn't over!" she insisted.

Jeremie applauded. "Wow, Luc, I don't think I've ever seen someone chase Sissi off that easily."

"Thanks," Luc said, "But it was nothing. Besides, I really couldn't abandon Mina; she'd be utterly lost without me."

Mina shot him a dirty look and elbowed him in the ribs. Luc chuckled, raising his arms in mock defense.

"I wouldn't be lost," she defended. "I don't need you around all the time. If you want a girlfriend, I'd be more than happy to encourage you."

"Don't be like that," Luc soothed. "I'd never leave you to chase a girl. Besides," he added, winking, "If I got a girlfriend, who would you beat up on?"

She punched his shoulder. "I don't beat up on you! Just when you deserve it."

Luc laughed. "And I always make sure I've earned it."

The author's eternal gratitude to Lea Rocket for her invaluable canon-checking and beta-reading skills. ♥