The Magic Man- Chapter 1
A Code Lyoko Fan Fiction
"I can't believe my father is letting some bozo take over the auditorium for an entire period!"
A high, furious voice cut across the wreak room chatter like a butter knife, but no one turned around. After all, this was the forth time Elizabeth Delmas had uttered the same statement in the last five minutes. A pretty girl normally, her face was currently contorted in rage as she crossed her arms and glared sulkily at the only two students who were actually paying attention to her. One of them, sandy-haired Nicholas, made the mistake of smiling dully at her.
"Uh, don't you think it'll be fun, Sissy-"
"Fun? FUN?" Sissy's shriek made the sound of nails on chalkboard sound like a symphony, and poor Nicholas shrank back. "Are you that thick? Daddy promised we'd have a dance, and instead, he brings in some stupid, second-rate magician that no one's ever heard off, and expects me to just go along with it!"
Half way across the room, a five other students were sitting in a corner. One, a small petite girl with shocking-pink hair, smiled at the boy next to her, a skinny, tall blonde who was currently fiddling with his glasses. "Do you think the magician will be interesting, Jeremie?"
The boy in question hesitated, then shrugged. "I've never been to a magic show before. It's all just smoke and mirrors, of course, but it might be entertaining."
"As long as it's better than Odd's disappearing acts from science class," another boy, his brown bangs falling into his eyes as they always did, sniggered, and elbowed his seat mate. Odd, dressed from head-to toe in purple as always, glared at his best friend and roommate.
"Oh, shut up, Ulich. You're just jealous. They never noticed I was gone," he added, pretending to stick his nose in the air.
"Oh, sure they did," said the girl sitting on Ulrick's other side. Her almond shaped eyes crinkled in laughter. "When you're not there, people can actually breathe because they can't smell your feet!"
General laughter rang out after this, and even Odd, the butt of the joke as usual, giggled.
Just then, a bell rang, and as one, all five students got to their feet. Ulich grinned at Yumi. "Practice time," he told her, and she grinned back.
"You mean time for me to kick your butt again," she replied, shoving him playfully.
"Yeah, but if she hurts you, Ulich," Odd started, smirking slyly. "You could always just get Sissy to kiss your boo-boo all better for you." Ulick made a face and made a half-hearted swing at his friend. "Or maybe Yumi'd do it instead," Odd added, louder, and ran out of the room before the two now red-faced teens tackled him. Behind them, Aelita had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing, and Jeremie was sniggering into his laptop.
"You'd think after being a sophore and a junior in high school, those two'd actually admit they like each other," Jeremie muttered as soon as Yumi and Ulich had vanished, already shouting war-cries while in pursuit of Odd.
Aelita beamed at him. "Oh, they did," she reminded him, green eyes twinkling. "You weren't there at the Subdigitals concert last Saturday, when, well..." she trailed off, and just winked. Jeremie raised his eyebrows at her.
"When what?"
Aelita shook her head, still smiling. "I almost forgot. I promised Yumi I wouldn't tell." She raised a finger to her lips like she was promising a secret. Jeremie watched her, and blushed.
"Well-uh...when is the next concert anyway?" he asked, trying to change the topic before he turned any more red. He walked to the door, and opened it for her.
"Next Friday. I was going to ask you to come, but..."Aelita's face fell slightly, but she forced herself to forget about it. "I know you're so busy, applying for colleges already and all." Jeremie winced, and shrugged.
"It's not that. I should really go see you perform again." He smiled down at her. "And I'm not the only one applying for colleges. You never told me you got accepted to Berkley, all the way in America!" He hesitated, then slid his hand nervously in hers for a moment. "Congratulations!"
Aelita blushed, wondering vaguely of he could hear how loud her heart suddenly started pounding. She tried to make her suddenly foggy brain work. "Oh...that...Yumi told you? I guess...I haven't written back or anything, but, it's an interesting option. If I want to major in music, that is." She looked sidelong at him. "What do you think I should do?"
Jeremie blinked, surprised that she was asking him this. "Well, I-uh...Aelita..." Was this a test, he thought wildly? If he answered one way, she'd be mad, or...He hesitated, then went for the chicken answer. "Do what ever you feel is right, I guess." Taking his hand from hers, he spread his arms wide. "The whole world is your oyster, Princess," he said dramatically, grinning at her. Aelita giggled.
"Yeah, if Odd doesn't eat it first."
Jeremie smiled, then sobered. "Aelita, you know..." he blushed, unsure of what to say. Her gaze had focused on him, and as usual, he found he couldn't really breathe. "You're so talented, you can do anything." Aelita blushed at this, but he continued. "You're free to do what you want. You always have been."
To his dismay, her face darkened slightly. "Not always," she said softly, then shook her head. "But that doesn't matter anymore," she added, brightly.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, little lady," said a soft voice from behind her. "No one is ever totally free."