A/N: I wouldn't call this a multi-chap, but I wouldn't call it a series of oneshots either. It's somewhere in the middle. I warn you, it will not always stay this light. In fact, at times it will get downright dark. Updates will most likely take a while. Beware of gratuitous (not really gratuitous but there are quite a few of them) use of parentheses.
I'd like to thank Kelly, who is absolutely amazing and really helped out with this, whether she wanted to or not which resulted with an amazing prompt to fill out. And she encouraged me and listened to me blathering and I love her. And I'd like to thank Soul Jelly, who is awesome and English and helped me not sound like I'm completely ignorant.
There are two types of people in the world.
There are the people who like it when a teacher picks partners for them. (No awkward eye contact, no one is left out, they don't have to worry about hurting someone's feelings). And then there are the people who like picking their own partners. (They know how to work with their friends, they actually like the people they work with, no chance of getting Nicholas.)
Ulrich Stern was part of the latter group.
So, when the lovely yet elderly Suzanne Hertz had mentioned they were going to do a partner project, he had simply turned to the seat behind him and shared a nod with Odd. (Actually, Odd and he had both tried to nab Aelita and Jeremie first, but the two had been oblivious: already in a discussion about the newest model of the atom.)
And then, when she followed with "I will choose the groups." his world had promptly come to a screeching halt. Or, he was mildly upset.
You see, Ulrich was well liked. And even more, he knew he was well liked. And, when you were well liked, as Ulrich was, it also meant that you could get better grades with less effort.
For instance, Jeanne had a thing for Chemistry and Thomas had a photographic memory. And they would both do anything he asked, as long as it wasn't excessive. Excessive being 'try to kill Odd.' Of course, as an upstanding role model, Ulrich had never asked them to do that.
Not that Ulrich ever counted on this persuasion. But sometimes, knowing you had the power to not do something made the act of doing it so better.
Point in being, Ulrich was not entirely worried.
Mrs. Hertz, being an up and coming teacher, found an online sorter that would sort students into random groups of two ("Or," she had said, "seemingly random. You see, nothing in this world is truly random. The best we can do is base it these off events and algorithms that are as random as possible.") and used the new projector to show this in real-time to the class.
Ulrich stared at the screen in mild curiosity. Because he really didn't care who he got. (Jeremie and Aelita would be ideal, but the 'random' generator had paired those two together on the first drawing. Odd would be next, which was a little funny because he was the only person who worked less than Ulrich).
Slowly but surely, the list shrunk and shrunk, until only four people were on it. Ulrich smiled victoriously as Odd had made the cuts. Looks like this 'random' choosing would pay off well in the end.
And then Odd got paired with Theo. As he walked to join his new group, he sent Ulrich a regretful look like only Odd could pull off. The expression that had stemmed from years of watching Kiwi and practice imitating the apparent innocence of a cat. Then, he came face to face with Theo. The two high-fived and walked away.
The look, the betrayal. It made Ulrich sick.
"Well then, I guess you're with me, Ulrich Dear."
In horror, Ulrich turned away from where Odd had walked away to come face to face with none other than Sissi Delmas. As if in slow motion, he turned his eyes to the projector screen. The only two faces that remained unpaired were his and Sissi's.
Fantastic.
The next few minutes of his focus took place entirely in his head and were rather full of angst. Ulrich was not having a good day to begin with. His alarm clock had been unplugged by none other than Odd when he had wanted to charge that stupid game device late last night. Which meant he had woken up late to a fully clothed and ready-to-go Odd. His shoes had come untied and he tripped right in front of Yumi. And he was paired with Sissi for a science project.
It was one of those days where if XANA was still around, there would be a XANA attack. And not a normal one, either, a bloodsucking leech infest swimming pool XANA attack. The way this day was going, XANA would probably come back right before lunch.
So Ulrich, being a good Lyoko Warrior, turned his gaze to Jeremie. Jeremie seemed to be talking to Aelita. He said something quietly and she giggled and started to draw a diagram.
Einstein wasn't sweating. His hands were loose and relaxed. He seemed at ease and his conversation didn't seem too serious (though Ulrich had seen Jeremie argue against laws of nature like he was discussing the weather). He didn't look nervous.
But, again, Ulrich was a Lyoko Warrior, and protecting the world was his duty. So he bent in close to Jeremie and Aelita and whispered, "Did XANA launch an attack?"
Did he sound too hopeful?
Jeremie and Aelita stared at him. Then, Jeremie, who apparently thought he had interpreted what Ulrich had been meaning to ask, said, "J.J. Thomson. Plum pudding model." He put his hand on Ulrich's shoulder. "You can do this, Ulrich. Don't let her bring you down."
"We'll be praying for you," Aelita said.
Across the room, Odd and Theo sent a spitball that landed on Ulrich's cheek. The two put their heads down to hide their laughter but Ulrich could see their shoulders shaking.
At least he wouldn't get the lowest grade on this project.
Sissi tapped him on the shoulder. "Ulrich," she said, and he could tell she was starting to get annoyed. "If you're finished daydreaming, we should get to work. Now what do we know about plum pudding."
"I've never had it."
Sissi stared at Ulrich. Then, after long last, she said, "It's good."
"You've had it?"
Sissi shrugged and suddenly started tracing the outlines of the wood in her desk. "My mom was English and used any excuse she could to bake." Sissi wrinkled her nose. "She wasn't very good at it though, which is why she always supervised my father while he made it."
Ulrich smiled at the image: Principal Delmas baking as his wife watched eagerly on the side of the kitchen. Even though he had never seen Mrs. Delmas. Or their house.
Sissi pulled out a notebook with neat writing. "Here are all the notes that we've taken," she said. "Herve copied them down for me and I think he added some extra things in himself."
If Odd and he hadn't gone on missions to sneak into Jeremie's room, steal his notebook, sneak into one of the teachers' offices, and use the copier, Ulrich might have felt a bit guilty. As it was, he grabbed "Sissi's" notebook and flipped through. The columns were lined neatly up, helpful tips were written in the margins on the sides and the bottoms. And he didn't miss (though Sissi might have) the small heart on the inside cover.
Sissi stared at him. "Do you understand it?"
Ulrich shrugged as he flipped through the pages: diagrams precisely drawn, arrows carefully labeled. Across the room, he noticed Herve looking at them out of top of his gaze.
At this moment, Ulrich did a decidedly out of character thing and sent a small smile to Herve. Herve returned it with a stiff nod and then bent back down to scripple notes on his paper, leaving a confused Magali to flip through the textbook.
"I get the main idea," he responded.
Sissi seemed happy with this. "Oh Ulrich, not only are you handsome, but you're smart too."
Ulrich didn't sigh, but he really, really wanted to. A couple minutes. Sissi had been almost human for a couple minutes.
And then he was reminded why he didn't like her like a tidal wave, wiping out a sandcastle.
"Daddy and I are staying in a place not to far from school," Sissi said. "Maybe you should come with me after school sometime so we can work on this. So much better than the busy computer lab."
"I like the computer lab," Ulrich said. "We can stay there."
Sissi huffed and Ulrich couldn't help but look away and smile. At least he got more time to insult her.
He didn't notice the glint in her eyes.
The project was worth a good majority of their grade. Which meant it had a substantial amount of time that students could work on their project.
Now, to say that all students promptly took this time and threw it out the window in lieu of video games, sports, and romance (not necessarily in that order) would be to falsify the humble dedication of the students that grace Kadic.
(Aelita and Jeremie had all required aspects done by the end of the first weekend, and by the end of the second they were taking trips to the local university to explore the library there and interview the local expert in chemistry. Herve wasn't far behind them, with Magali slowly but surely learning more about chemistry than she ever wanted to know. And, she'd never admit it, but developing a love for it.)
It would be safe to say, however, that the rest of the school population did not make use of this time.
But averages for table-football rose two hundred and thirteen percent, according to Milly and Tamiya. (The team consisting of Odd Della Robbia, Ulrich Stern, William Dunbar and Theo Gauthier reigning as supreme champions, as decided in the Kadic Cup tournament.)
Needless to say, Ulrich didn't work on his either.
As the weeks and months slipped by, the still lovely and even more elderly Suzanne Hertz failed to mention the project. Jeremie insisted that she wanted the students to be responsible for their own actions. Later, Ulrich thought it was probably onset of senility.
Sissi, however, wasn't about to let a meeting with Ulrich pass her up, so, three weeks before the project was unknowingly due, she cornered him when his friends left him alone for a few minutes. (She had really been stalking him, waiting for the moment he was alone and vulnerable, for three days and had almost cornered him in the showers if it hadn't been for the timely arrival of Odd and William.)
"Ulrich," she said sweetly.
(Ulrich thought it sounded oddly like a snake, waiting to inject him iwth a horrible, incurable poison. Though he reasoned that he might have been biased. Then realized he wasn't biased, he was observant.)
"Yes Sissi?" he asked with a forced calm.
She smiled, put a finger to her lips, and stepped closer to him.
He took a step back.
"I seem to recall that we have a project to do," she said. "And if I were you, I'd do it. My father is very keen on me keeping my science grade up and if we were to fail, I might accidentally let slip that I'm having trouble studying due to a particular mutt that someone must have snuck into the school." She paused for a second and continued, "I mean, at first I thought I was hallucinating. Who would break a school rule like that? But then Odd is such a trouble maker. And from what I've heard, he's on probation right now, isn't he?"
"You wouldn't!" Ulrich snarled.
Sissi took a step closer to him. And, with her voice as light and innocent as ever, she said, "watch me."
Ulrich sighed. "What do you want to do?"
Sissi smiled victoriously. "There's a café not to far from here. They have great coffee. I could use a warm drink, especially since it's getting to be so cold outside. Take me on a date, Ulrich Dear."
Winter was setting in with an aggression.
Temperatures had gone from mild to chilly in a matter of days, and the grey sky seemed closed off and unforgiving. However, sitting in a warm restaurant, watching people scurry out the window was comforting and cozy. The restaurant had round tables and was a bright yellow, with brown accents.
In fact, Ulrich could almost enjoy it.
And then he remembered the girl sitting across from him. She had her notebook out but was currently drawing in it. Hearts and names littered the back pages, combined with drawings of outfits and lists of boys in order of their cuteness.
He saw his name too many times in that book to be completely comfortable.
Sissi slowly took a sip from her cup, savoring it. Then she turned her attention to Ulrich.
He had to act fast.
"So, the plum pudding model of the atom," Ulrich said. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper with the assignment written on it. There were a few words obscured because of a mysterious liquid that had spilled, but he could get the general idea in most places.
"It says we need to make a visual aid to help us explain this to the class," Ulrich read. "In addition, we need to make a poster." He narrowed his eyes. "And type a two page report."
"So what do we know?" Sissi asked as she took another sip.
Ulrich shrugged. "Um, the atom is positive with negative spots placed throughout."
"Those are the raisins and other fruits," Sissi said, reading from her notebook.
"Wouldn't they be plums? It's plum pudding."
Sissi rolled her eyes. "They're made with raisins or dried grapes more. Sometimes other fruit. Or at least that's what we do. I don't know why it's called plum pudding, but that's not the point, is it, Ulrich Dear?"
"So the raisins would be the electrons?" He checked the notebook. "No, corpuscles."
He looked up. "Corpuscles?"
Sissi stared at him. She shrugged and took another sip, waving her hand for him to move on. He sighed and kept skimming over the notes.
"That's the main point," he said. "So what do you suggest we do as our visual aid?"
"That's easy," Sissi said. "We make a plum pudding. Come over to my house this Sunday."
She handed him a sheet of paper with her address already written on it, and Ulrich suspected this is what she had been planning all along.
"I'll see you there," she said. She took yet another sip and held her cup there as he left to go back into the howling wind and bleak skies.
That Sunday, Ulrich went to Jeremie's room, found directions to the address, and amidst the disbelieving stares of his roommate and the Einstein, he calmly left. Of course, he didn't tell Odd about any of Sissi's threats, because then he would have to admit he was spending time with Sissi to save Odd and that was much too emotional for an adolescent boy to do.
Her house was just outside the main gates of campus, hidden behind some trees (including many evergreen). It was large but not huge. He walked up the path and knocked on the door. In seventeen seconds (he had figured that if counted to thirty with no answer, he could leave) the door opened to reveal Jean-Pierre Delmas himself.
"Sissi told me to come because we're working on a project," Ulrich said.
Mr. Delmas nodded. "She mentioned something about that. She will be here in a few minutes. Meanwhile, have a seat."
The man had motioned to a room to the left of the door. It had several sofas and fluffy chairs. Each was a different color from the rest, several close shades of pink followed by pale yellows and dark blues. In the middle, there was a small table that was a light tan and at the far end of the room, there was another, larger table of the same wood with matching chairs set around it. The walls were a light grey. Not a grey like the angry clouds outside the ruffled the leaves that were still left on the trees, but a subtle, almost light blue grey, just a shade darker than the carpet.
Somehow, it all worked. Even the floral pattern drapes.
Ulrich sat in tense silence with the principal for a bit before the other man abruptly stood up. "I have some business I should take care of," he said, and retreated into a room off the one they were in. It had a wooden door and Ulrich could just catch a glimpse of a computer and a dark wooden desk.
Ulrich heard typing as he continued to sit, but he could swear he could also make out the telltale signs of a game that Odd had been obsessed with a few weeks prior.
A sound at the front door turned his attention away. It was the scraping sound, of someone trying to fit a key into the keyhole. Delmas must have locked the door as Ulrich had examined the room.
Finally, the door swung open and Ulrich heard boots walking on the wooden floor of the entryway. Sissi had arrived.
She walked over to the sofa he was sitting on and promptly sat down next to him, resting her arm over his shoulders.
He knew he should have taken the chair.
She had gone all out: make up applied perfectly, a combination of casual yet stylish clothes, and hair slightly curled. Ulrich wasn't impressed.
Sissi rolled her eyes and stood up, walking away without waiting to see if he was following her. He almost took this chance to run, but today Odd had bought him a coffee from the vending machine and he didn't want his roommate suspended for the time being.
So he followed her and felt like he was being led to the guillotine, twenty years too late.
She led him down the halls, which were a pale blue and to the very back of the house. The kitchen. The appliances were new, and the entire back wall seemed to be a window with a view of the trees and skies. The floor was stone here and there was a small table made with the light wood in the middle of the room for preparation.
"What are we doing?" Ulrich asked.
Sissi made her way to the pantry and emerged with two bowls, a couple bags, and some boxes, balanced precariously on her arms.
"It's the plum pudding model." She tossed (more like hurled) a bowl to him while putting her own on the counter in a mountain of supplies. "We're making a plum pudding."
She set down an old piece of paper with a handwritten recipe on it. She retrieved all of the ingredients from the kitchen as he measured them out and put them into the bowls. Finally, when all the ingredients were added, Sissi took two small coins that she had set on the edge of the table and tossed one into each of the bowls.
"They're for luck," she explained. "Whoever gets the piece with the coin in it is supposed to experience good fortune."
Instead of using the wooden spoon she was holding, she walked out of the kitchen and called, "Daddy, we're ready to stir."
In a few minutes, Jean-Pierre came into the kitchen. Sissi smiled and turned to Ulrich. "We each stir and you make a wish while you do it."
She went first, followed by Mr. Delmas, and then Ulrich.
Now, Ulrich didn't really want to be here, so his wish went something along the lines of: 'I hope Sissi and I do well on this project and I can get out of this house as soon as possible and I never have to deal with her again.'
But, three weeks later, when they had made a poster, and talked to the class, somehow gotten a good grade, and passed out the slices of plum pudding, he didn't get the piece with the coin.
Why would he? Luck had never been on his side.
And one day, he would look back and think of the time when his biggest worries were an assignment and a snob.