Hey everyone. I recently got a new idea for a story… and despite me not wanting to start another till I finished The Perfect Summer… I just had to write it. Let me know what you think please.

Chapter One- Congratulations

A tall, handsome brown haired, chocolate-eyed young man 23 years in age was being applauded and congratulated by his friends and family. He had just graduated from college, as a major in sports journalism. It was a great day; a day he spent celebrating with his friends, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie, and family. They had thrown him a surprise graduation party at his house, which he had purchased with little help from his parents when he was a sophomore in college.

Ulrich was wandering around his yard, looking at all the decorations his friends and family had put up for him. It was quite an extravagant party, but was still had a very laid back atmosphere. Plenty of refreshments were set up on four long tables on the nearby deck, and Ulrich stopped to take a look. Bowls of popcorn, chips, and a bunch of other junk food as well as healthier veggie platters and sandwiches took up pretty much every inch of three tables. The fourth was where the drinks were, with soda, punch, water, and bottle or two of wine.

Music played from the back patio, and a handful of couples danced to the fast-paced songs. A familiar face was the DJ, Sam, Odd's ex-girlfriend, and Ulrich's friend. She and Odd had broken up their senior year, but sill stayed really close friends. They often skateboarded together, testing out new tricks on each other as well as teaching each other. Sam looked up from DJ'ing and waved to Ulrich, who waved back.

A bunch of Ulrich's other friends from college were there too.

"Hey, Ulrich!" his blonde haired best friend Odd shouted. "Come over here for a group picture!" he shouted, and Ulrich turned around to the voice. Odd was motioning Ulrich over in front of a huge tree, where his girlfriend Jenny, a sweet girl with brown curly hair, and two more of Ulrich's best friends, Aelita and Jeremie, stood.

Ulrich joined his friends, in the middle of the group. To his left stood Odd and Jenny; to the right were Aelita and Jeremie. His mother was he photographer, and snapped the picture.

"Let me see," Ulrich said, as his mother gave him the camera. The group stood around Ulrich as he reviewed the picture.

"Great picture, Odd commented.

"Yeah. There's just one person who I wish was here," Ulrich said. Everyone knew who he meant.

After Yumi graduated high school, a year before Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie, her life took a different course. Her promises of staying around her friends were broken, and she ran off with a new boyfriend. She didn't keep in contact with really any of her friends, and everyone believed she was happy, healthy, and was just in love, with other plans than to wait around a year for her friends when she had the guy of her dreams.

They had tried to contact her many times, various ways, but nothing ever worked. Her cell phone was disconnected, and she had a new number. She moved away. Her email was cancelled. And, her family was back in Japan, so they couldn't even find out through them. Even the internet's vast capabilities couldn't help figure out where she was. It just sent them in circles. So, eventually, they gave up and stopped searching.

"How about we go get something to drink and sit down for a bit?" Ulrich proposed.

"Alright."

"Sure. Sounds good to me."

The group migrated to the deck, and everyone took a plate of something. Odd took a handful of just about everything- everything except the veggies. How surprising. He took a big glass of soda, too. And, of course, he took the most sugary, unhealthy soda there was. That wasn't surprising either. Aelita, who had a plate of carrots, celery, and little tomatoes, just shook her head and laughed slightly. The group sat down one of the tables set up on the back lawn.

"Yeah..." Odd said, taking a sip of his soda and finishing up his potato chips. "It's too bad Yumi didn't stick around. Guess her boyfriend was pretty amazing for her to just take off like that," Odd said.

"Yeah. I wish I knew who it was. Never did find out," Ulrich said.

"How much do u wanna bet it's that jerk William?" Aelita asked.

Ulrich laughed. "You said it, Aelita. He was a jerk. But something's telling me it's not William. My money's on that guy she was dating in her senior year. What's-his-face."

"Theo?" Odd said, his mouth full of popcorn.

Ulrich shook his head. "No, no, the blonde one after Theo. In her grade."

Everyone thought for a moment.

"Her chemistry partner?" Aelita asked. "James?"

"Yeah. Him. James. That's who I was thinking about."

Jeremie cleared his throat. "Actually, my hypothesis is that the mystery guy was William. It's highly unlikely that she would be with James," he chimed in.

Odd and Ulrich raised an eyebrow. "Why's that, Jeremie?"

Jeremie pushed his glasses up further on his nose and then continued. "Statistically speaking, it is unlikely because they were too different. He was a high class French guy, planning to be a painter or something like that. She was a pretty, bright Japanese girl who wasn't sure what she wanted to do after high school. Her parents wanted her to be something really successful, like a doctor, or a lawyer, right? They seemed highly incompatible."

Ulrich shook his head. "She really liked him, and I think they stayed together after high school. That's when she distanced herself and disappeared."

"Eh, if she's happy, that's good... Right?" Aelita said.

"Yeah. And that's all that should matter."

"I wish I could have met Yumi. She sounds like she was a pretty cool person," Odd's girlfriend Jenny said.

"She was," everyone agreed.

Just then, everyone's favorite song came on, and Jenny stood up next to Odd, taking his hand.

"Come on, Odd, let's dance! I love this song!" Odd glanced at his food on the table, and hen back to Jenny. He surrendered when she smiled.

Odd stood up, and she hugged him. "Alright."

"Yay!" she said excitedly. The rest of the group watched on what would have been disbelief because he gave up food. But, ever since he started dating Jenny, he would give up anything as long as she was happy.

With Jenny and Odd gone, Ulrich looked to Aelita, a her eyes flashed to Jeremie. "Shall we dance, Jeremie?" she questioned softly. Jeremie wasn't a big fan of dancing, but he said yes anyways. They followed behind Odd and Jenny to where a lot of the other guests were.

Ulrich was watching all of the many couples dance, while he still sat at the table, now alone. He took a sip of soda, and then felt someone tap his shoulder from behind, so he turned around to see Sam standing there.

"Oh, hey, Sam. What's up?"

"Well, I figure that the honorary graduate shouldn't be left without a dance partner at his own party. Wanna dance?" she asked.

"Sure. Thanks," he said, and they went and danced for a while. One of Sam and Ulrich's friends Michael covered the job of DJ'ing so Sam could take a break and actually hang out with her friends for a while.

After about two hours of everyone dancing, they got tired and went back to the table for some food and a break. There were giant pans of things like homemade mac & cheese, pasta, and salads out now, as well as burgers freshly cooked on the grill for dinner.

When dinner was over, Ulrich's mother and father took the attention of everyone for a few moments, up on the deck with the microphone.

"Ulrich, we'd just like to say how proud we are of you for completing college at the grades you recieved. We always knew you could do it, but you blew our minds anyways," his mother said, her eyes sparkling with a tiny hint of tears, and lots of joy.

"You worked so hard to achieve that goal, and you stuck with it even when it was tough. We're so proud to have you as our son, Ulrich," his father said. Odd stood up next, and the group followed behind him, taking the mic from his father. The lined up in a row, facing the guests at the party.

"First off, buddy, congrats! You're an excellent student," Jeremie added, and passing the microphone down the line.

"A magnificent writer," Aelita added, and handed the mic to the next person.

"A hell of a soccer player," Sam added, passing the mic. The guests laughed at her comment.

Odd was the last one in the line. "And, dude, you're an awesome person and friend to everyone. You rock!" The line started clapping, and the rest of the guests soon joined in unison. When the clapping ceased, they pointed to Ulrich, and motioned for him to come on the deck with them. He followed, and stood next to Odd.

"So, what are your plans now that you're a graduate?" Odd questioned.

Ulrich said, "Well, I actually have a job interview tomorrow afternoon at a local place that publishes sports magazines and short books."

"Really? That's awesome! Congrats!" everyone chimed in.

"Thanks, everyone."

Aelita put her hand on Ulrich's shoulder and said, "You'll definitely get the job."

Ulrich laughed. "I hope so."

The party went on for a few more hours, into the beginning hours of the nighttime. The last people there were Ulrich's parents and Odd, Jenny, Aelita, and Jeremie. They helped clean up the rest of the food that wasn't eaten or taken home and helped put away things that needed to be stored overnight, like the electronic equipment. They agreed to come back the next day before Ulrich's interview to finish cleaning the rest of the yard up.

Around 11:30, Ulrich said goodbye to his friends and family, and called it a night. He trudged up the stairs, exhausted from the party, and went to bed.

Alright, there you go. I'm working on chapter two now, as well as The Perfect Summer, and another one-shot too. The next chapter of this and TPS as well as the one-shot should be up soon. Review, please!