"Ulrich Stern, please report to my office immediately," Mr. Delmas said over the loudspeaker. Ulrich sighed, halfway through his drawing of a Krab. He was trying to capture its movements when it was almost intimidating, and not stumbling around from him stabbing it through the eye thing. Nowadays, though, he thought it looked more like a target than an eye.
He had just returned from a trip through the past, and was tired. It was a strange battle, too. Nothing attacked the school, or Jeremy, but had deactivated itself before Aelita had gotten to it. Now she was back, passing notes with Jeremy behind him, wondering all the whys. He didn't care so much, because it was less stress on him not to worry about Aelita.
As long as no one was seriously injured, he was alright.
Getting up, and ignoring Mrs. Hertz's amused face and Odd's hoot of laughter, Ulrich headed out the door and prepared to defend his less-than-stellar grades to his principal. They were better than usual, he's been studying, it's not his fault if Mrs. Hertz hasn't heard of the bell curve yet...He was doomed.
And then, slightly less doomed. Yumi was walking his way. He straightened his back a little and held his head higher as she approached. Then scolded himself. It's only Yumi, he thought.
"Hey Ulrich," she said, turning to walk with him.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" he asked. And mentally slapped himself. Hello, Yumi. How are you?
Yumi's eyebrow raised slightly, then replied, "I could ask you the same question. It's my free period."
"Oh. The principal wants to see me about something."
"About what?"
"Shoot me if I know! It's probably my grades, though," he added dejectedly. Yumi patted his shoulder.
"You should get a tutor," she suggested. "Come by my house tonight about seven. We'll get some damage control done on those grades."
"Will do!" Ulrich said, glad to spend more time with her...and knowing how Odd would take it. "See ya later!"
"Later!" Yumi said, and walked away, leaving Ulrich at the door to the principal's office.
Five minutes later, Ulrich was sitting in a chair opposite Delmas, looking at his drawn face and feeling very uncomfortable indeed. After a small stretch of silence, Delmas got up, picked up a sheet of paper, and turned to Ulrich, pity and regret written clearly across his face.
"Were you close to your parents, Mr. Stern?" he asked.
Baffled, Ulrich looked for his tongue, wondering if this was a trap and he'd get lectured if he spoke wrong.
"Uh, not close, but I still loved them,"he said cautiously. Delmas's face only increased to look more and more pitying, and left Ulrich feeling less and less comfortable. "What's wrong, sir?"
"I got an urgent message from your aunt just a moment ago," he said, just as carefully as Ulrich, just as unsure.
"What happened?"
"Your parents were electrocuted, son. They were on the computer together when and fuse blew. They're dead." He ripped out the message like ripping off a bandage – quick and painful.
"Dead?" The word, a stranger in Ulrich's mouth, soured it.
"Your aunt found something in the printer," Delmas continued. "Would you know this symbol, Stern?" He handed over the paper he held. Shivering, Ulrich turned it over.
It was the eye of XANA.