Disclaimer:
For some more information on the OC characters in this story, visit me on deviantArt: ~lyokoluver94
Code Lyoko © Moonscoop, Taffy Entertainment, and its creators
"All right, all right, settle down. I said that's enough!" said Mrs. Joule, beginning to lose her patience. "The bell has rung, now sit down!" Her students settled into their seats and turned forward, still snickering. Their teacher gave the room a hard look as she turned to the chalkboard. With a no-nonsense manner, she said briskly, "By now you all know who I am and what we're here for, so let's not waste any more time." She brought a piece of fresh chalk up to the board and swiftly started writing.
As Mrs. Joule's science students opened their notebooks and retrieved their pens and pencils, one boy sitting near the back of the room sat with his head resting in his cupped hand, attention turned out the broad window. The kid sitting behind him, an acquaintance of his sticking to the unspoken kid code, kicked the daydreamer's chair with enough force to get his attention. A bit startled, he looked away from the window, opened his notebook, and began copying notes with very little enthusiasm.
He normally didn't mind school and had even enjoyed some of his last few years; but this time around, he truly did not wish to be sitting in yet another classroom writing down material for an umpteenth time. Summer had ended much too quickly. It seemed like only the day before that he'd been holding the first place trophy from his soccer summer camp high above his head, his teammates cheering and patting him on the pack, his parents' proud faces…
But now that was over, and it was back to books and classes, lectures and homework. And as if it weren't awful enough already, he thought glumly, he attended a boarding school, where nothing exciting ever happened.
"Mr. Belpois?"
He quickly looked up with his eyebrows raised and found his teacher (along with the rest of the class) watching him expectantly for an answer to a question he hoped he hadn't already been asked. Luckily, Mrs. Joule continued with her inquiry. "David, can you tell me what comes next in this formula?" she gestured to the blackboard.
"Umm…" David mentally sifted through the scientific equations stored in his head that he'd learned over the last few years. The one in question did look familiar, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what…
There was a soft knock on the door that caused all heads to snap a 180. Class interruptions were always welcomed warmly. Mrs. Joule walked to the door and opened it. David, thankful for the interruption, looked interestedly at the guest who now stood in the doorway.
A girl with long, straight black hair and quiet, hard eyes silently handed a piece of paper to Mrs. Joule. She quickly looked it over and then said to the girl, "New student on the third day?"
"My papers got a little mixed up," was the girl's response. She had a quiet voice, but it didn't sound nervous or intimidated. Her volume was low, but her tone was sure. She looked up at Mrs. Joule with an impassive expression until the teacher nodded her head and told the girl to take an empty seat in the back of the room.
The puzzling new student turned and walked down the first aisle to one of the empty lab tables and pulled out the stool.
"You'll have to pick up a few things even though the year's just started, Miss…" Mrs. Joule searched the slip of paper still in her hand.
"Stern," the girl spoke up as she slid her bag down her arm and let it drop softly on the floor beside her table.
"Yes, thank you," Mrs. Joule said, slipping the paper into the pocket of her white lab coat. "Now, back to our formula-"
"It's HCl + Mg, ma'am" David called to her, who'd also used the short distraction to check his textbook.
"Ah, yes, yes. Thank you, Mr. Belpois," she turned back around and picked up the chalk from the ledge. "Now, based on what you learned yesterday…"
It was hot in the room. But that could have just been the nerves making her sweat a little. The room also smelled weird, like wet dog and cologne. A girl of twelve sat in a stiff, straight-backed chair in a rather unfriendly office. In front of her chair was an old, yet highly polished wooden desk and large matching chair, occupied by a woman scribbling her signature on papers and shuffling some others in her hands. The girl was visibly uncomfortable, though she hid it the best she could. She preoccupied herself by picking at her fingernails and lightly swinging her feet below her chair. Her eyes traveled around the room, looking at the few pictures and bookshelves that decorated the otherwise blank walls. The older woman at the desk patiently marched her pen across her papers, not making any other sound. A soft, but persistent tick-tick-tocking crept though the office, coming from some unseen clock. It held the girl's attention and she'd tried counting the seconds for a while, but got lost after about four hundred.
Finally, there came a hesitant knock on the wooden door, along with the soft shuffling of feet. The woman behind the desk looked up and said, "Come in." After a beat or two, the door clicked open and the girl quickly looked down at the rug.
The older woman pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and stood. She extended a business-like hand over her desk and the man that had entered the room shook it briefly.
"Mr. Della Robia, thank you for coming in on such short notice."
He nodded and took a seat in an equally uncomfortable chair next to the girl, whom he eyed with an unspoken question. "So what's this all about?" he asked the Headmistress.
"Well," she started, checking a leaf of paper that sat on top of the small stack in front of her. "Your niece started a bit of an uproar in the cafeteria this afternoon. That, on top of being caught skipping classes on two different occasions, isn't exactly the most ideal way to start off a new school year."
The man shifted slightly in his seat and threw a sideways glance at the silent girl, who kept her eyes fixed away and down at the carpet. When neither of them spoke, the Headmistress continued. "I normally don't meet with parents when a student gets into trouble, but having only been at Kadic for not even one week and already earning five hours of detention… Well, I felt I should make an exception to that position."
The man was still at a loss for words and turned to look at his niece next to him, who had moved her gaze from the carpeting and was pointedly studying a picture of field on the wall behind her principal.
"Mr. Della Robia?" the Headmistress said. "Maybe it would be better if the two of us could have a word alone for a minute, try to sort this matter out a bit better. Anaïs?" She turned her head to the girl, who got up and swiftly walked out the door, determinedly averting her eyes from her uncle.
The outside air felt immediately cool on Anaïs's face. She let out a breath and leaned her back against the corridor wall. She looked upward at the slightly arched ceiling and stared at the patterns in the stone.
"How much trouble are you in?"
Anaïs looked over to the break in the outside hallway. The boy standing in one of the doorways had one hand in his pocket and walked over to where Anaïs was standing as she shrugged.
"That's probably what they're talking about right now." She slumped back against the cool bricks.
The boy she was talking to leaned his back against the wall opposite her and asked, "Did Uncle Odd seem mad?"
Anaïs let out a short laugh. "No, he's never mad. He just looked sort of confused, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do."
"I'm sure Ms. DuVaire will suggest a few things."
The frown on Anaïs's face fell further down at this statement. "Well, it's not like he can even do anything all the way from his house. If it's too far away for us to stay there, then it's too far away to be punished from."
At least she didn't rule out his ability to punish her at all, the boy thought to himself. Uncle Odd might appreciate that. "Yeah, I guess so," was the reply he gave her.
Anaïs opened her mouth to say something more, but the door to the Administration Building opened then and their uncle came out with the Headmistress behind him.
"Thank you again for coming today, Mr. Della Robia," she was saying. "I believe this little meeting was very necessary and successful." She gave a small principal's smile and backed through the doorway as Odd grunted/mumbled his goodbye, finishing with a slight cough.
Anaïs tuned away from the adults and directed her attention to her brother. "You should probably head back to class. You've 'been in the bathroom' long enough." He gave his sister a half smile, offered a full one to Odd, then turned around and walked back down the hallway.
Anaïs, hanging close to the wall, swayed her arms by her sides, still avoiding her uncle's searching gaze.
"Anaïs-"
"Come on, Uncle Odd, I really don't feel like talking about this."
Odd, still fairly new and ignorant to the aspect of parenting, hesitated before trying once more. "Ana, I know you can't be feeling too great about this, but I'm still a little in the dark here. What happened? I want your side of the story."
A small sigh of exasperation escaped her lips and she gave a murmured response.
"You're going to have to do a bit better than that, I'm afraid. Your uncle is a tad hard of hearing."
Anaïs grumbled at her uncle's attempt at humor and pushed herself away from the wall. She shuffled down the corridor in front of Odd, who was still awaiting her explanation.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Anaïs said, crossing her arms. "All I did was tell that stupid 9th grader to mind his own business. He didn't have the right to tell me where I could and couldn't sit."
Odd frowned and stopped walking as Anaïs did the same. He leaned one shoulder against the brick wall and stuck his hands in his pockets. To be quite honest, he didn't have the slightest clue as to what he should do. He hadn't even been in charge of these kids for two months and already they were overwhelming him. He knew he shouldn't think of the situation like it was their fault, and suddenly felt a wave of sadness for his sister. And these poor kids, having to start all over in a new town and with no mother… Odd desperately wished he knew what to do, what to say. He bet good old Yumi would know how to handle this; she was probably a great mom. As more sadness hit him, he decided to tuck that bit away as a reminder to catch up later, after this was taken care of. If he could get it taken care of.
"Um… Well-" he started, but stopped.
Anaïs had reluctantly turned to face him, keeping her gaze pointed off to the side. Odd knew there was more to this story, having been filled in more thoroughly by the Headmistress. But as he looked down at his niece (who looked so much like her mother, it hurt), it actually made him think about his time at Kadic, how he'd stood where she was right now, waiting outside the principal's office so many times before, and he let the matter drop. Odd offered her a smile. "Personally, I think that that Headmistress has her bun a little too tight. She made this whole thing sound way worse than it really is."
Anaïs grinned, her face brightening with the pressure relieved. "I knew you would see it that way, Uncle Odd. Thanks for understanding." She made a slight movement forward, as if, Odd thought, she were going in for a hug. But she remained where she stood and tried not to make the situation any more awkward.
The bell rang then, sounding across the campus and right over their heads in the hallway. Odd gave a little cough. "Well, I guess you'd better get to your class."
"It's dinnertime now, actually," Anaïs said, folding her hands behind her back. All of the nerves she'd had had made her quite hungry. Odd nodded, not really knowing what else to do.
"Well, see you later then, Uncle Odd," said Anaïs as she backed up a few steps casually to the two open doorways in the corridor.
Odd nodded again and said, "All right, see you and Adrien at Christmas."
Anaïs turned her head and gave her uncle a small wave before trotting out of sight toward the cafeteria. Odd absentmindedly scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. It was times like these that made him miss being a carefree kid himself and not in the shoes of an adult with responsibilities. Two living, breathing, sometimes difficult responsibilities. Sometimes these shoes seemed too big and awkward, like they'd just been thrown onto his feet without his consent. He longed for the simple and worry-free days he had spent at Kadic years ago. He let out a small chuckle at that last thought. Well, maybe his time at Kadic hadn't been simple and worry-free exactly…