DETAILS CHANGED IN LIGHT OF SEASON 3!
It's about time I wrote something with this character. I had him for over a year! Anyway, here's "My Cousin, Ricky"!
My Cousin, Ricky
Chapter 1: Ricky's Arrival
Ulrich Stern stood outside the dorm building, yelling frantically into his mobile. "Yumi, come on! Can't we talk?"
In the Ishiyama bathroom, Yumi scowled and spat, "That's nothing to talk about. I'm fed up with your lying."
"But, I'm not lying! There's nothing going on between Sissi and me!"
"Oh, yeah, sure," she said sarcastically, then added, rather forcefully, "Goodnight!" and hung up.
"Yumi! Are you there? Yumi! Come on, let me explain! Yumi!" Ulrich couldn't believe it. He had an entire month of Sissi Delmas to deal with, and Yumi wouldn't even talk to him.
Clad in an Old Army American flag t-shirt, a small, 7-year-old boy trotted along the Paris airport. Little Patrick, or Ricky as he preferred to be called, was a little enthusiastic about this foreign exchange program that had him in France. A portion of his family lived in this country, so he already knew how to speak French.
Next to him was Mrs. Jacob, the exchange program official that was getting him settled into France. Ricky wheeled, behind him, a large suitcase, while Mrs. Jacob wheeled an even bigger one. Pretty soon, both spotted a man that held up a sign reading "AFFEBER".
Mrs. Jacob motioned her to follow and they approached the man with the sign. "Hello, you must be Mr. Davis," she said in fluent French.
The man nodded. "You're from Cosmo & Jones Student Foreign Exchange, right?" he asked. Mrs. Jacob nodded and Mr. Davis leaned over to look into the eyes of the 7-year-old. "And, that must make you Ricky."
"Hello, Exchange Daddy," he said with a rather silly grin.
"How about we take little Ricky over to your house so I can discuss the terms with you and your wife?" suggested Mrs. Jacob, in her business tone.
"Fine by me," said Mr. Davis before asking Ricky, "would you like anything when we reach what will be your new home for the next few years?"
Thought for a moment, then said, "I'd like a nice piece of apple-flavored 3.14!"
It took a while for Mr. Davis to register the joke.
Today was just about like any other day at the Kadic boarding school. Three of the foursome, that we've come to know, were in Jeremie's room. One of them was... eh, less than enthusiastic, contrary to the little boy we met earlier.
Jeremie Belpois sighed, not happy to see his friend in this mood, "Would it help if I apologized for all the trouble my actions caused?"
Ulrich sat on the bed and pressed his fingertips against his forehead. "It's not your fault, Jeremie," he said. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent my little deal with Sissi."
Odd Della-Robbia thought about this and said, "Well, you wouldn't have had to make that deal if Jeremie hadn't decided to send himself into Lyoko, even though he's the only one who can operate the scanners."
"Thank you, Odd," Ulrich mumbled through gritted teeth.
"What if I tried talking to Yumi?" a girl's voice piped up, from the speakers of Jeremie's computer.
Everyone's attention was now on the pink-haired virtual girl on the screen.
"Well, gee, Aelita, think you could?" Jeremie asked, pondering this idea.
She smiled and nodded. "You know very well I can tap into electronic signals, just as X.A.N.A. can... including telephone signals. I could call Yumi, on her mobile, under my own electronic ID. Surely she'll talk to me."
"Hmm... sounds like a good idea," concluded Jeremie. "What do you say, Ulrich?"
Ulrich sighed, thought about this, then allowed himself to smile, slightly, and say, "OK, Aelita. You can give it a shot."
As Aelita logged off, Ulrich thought to himself, hoping that she would be able to get through to Yumi. Odd chose this moment to say, "I still can't believe that down payment you gave Sissi."
Ulrich narrowed his eyes and mumbled, "Odd, do you enjoy having a mouth-full of teeth?"
Please review, along with a guess from anyone who thinks they can recognize the scene at the beginning of this chapter.