Yumi couldn't believe that he was going to talk. She was so absolutely blown away that she nodded too enthusiastically and then reddened at the realization.

Ulrich continued to stare daggers into the floorboards as he considered what he should say and how he should even begin to say it. A tense silence washed over the two teenagers for several minutes until he finally spoke up.

"My dad was even more fed up with my grades than the last time he visited the school," Ulrich explained. "He said that if I didn't start living up to his expectations that he'd pull me out of here for good." He paused and began fiddling with a loose thread on his cargo shorts. Yumi was quiet thus far, probably because she feared cutting him off meant the end of his explanation yet, he assumed she would have a lot to say by the end of it.

"Since I've apparently shown that I'm not going to do any better on my own, or so he says, he asked my uncle to move nearby and my father has been paying him to tutor me. The problem is my uncle takes his job very seriously and if I'm late to my sessions with him or if I miss one, he says he'll call my dad and tell him I'm a lost cause. Then it's bye-bye Kadic for me."

Somewhat uneasy, Ulrich shifted his weight and a leg so that he could prop his right elbow on his right knee. He was glad to finally tell another person, especially Yumi, about what had been burdening him so much but he was unsure of how she'd react.

"So then why didn't you fill us in Ulrich? We could've helped you study and laid off more when had to skip out on us for your uncle. It seems to me that you've been making all of this way more complicated than it needs to be." She really couldn't understand why he had to be so darn secretive when it came to his family. If he would have just said that if he didn't get his grades up he'd have to go back home then they all would've tried to help him out to the best of their abilities. This martyr behavior needed to stop.

Wincing at her words, Ulrich finally looked up from the floor and sent her a half-hearted glare. He should have known she wouldn't understand; that's why he didn't want to tell her anything in the first place.

"You don't get it at all do you?" he muttered angrily. "If I would have told you guys then there would have been even more pressure not to screw up. It wouldn't have been just my family members getting on my case about doing better in class, but all of you too! Things are bad enough the way they are, I can't imagine having to worry about my grades all the time." He didn't want to be angry that she'd come to that conclusion, yet he simply wanted her to understand. If his friends had constantly given him looks of pity when he told them how he'd done on all his tests and had kept him from going on missions to Lyoko because he "needed" to study, then he would've gone insane.

"Are your grades really bad enough that we would've been on your case all the time?" she wondered aloud. Yumi knew that he had always struggled in school, however she couldn't imagine that with all the time he spent being tutored and studying that he was failing anything.

"I have mostly A's and two B's."

Yumi couldn't help but beam at him. His grades were so much better than before that she almost couldn't believe it.

"That's great Ulrich! You've improved so much!" she exclaimed warmly; nevertheless, he didn't seem near as thrilled. He snorted one humorless laugh.

"I've improved but my grades still aren't good enough for my father," Ulrich said. Yumi frowned at this and forced herself not to roll her eyes.

"What does he expect you to be perfect or something?"

Eyes narrowing at her, he buried a hand in his hair and pulled roughly.

"Yes! That's why this is so frustrating and why it doesn't matter if I tell you guys or if you help me and it doesn't matter how much I try or do whatever it takes to study because I will never be good enough or smart enough for my father!"

Feeling even more physically and mentally drained than before, he huffed and let himself fall backwards with a thump. Laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, he realized just how helpless he felt about this whole situation.

"I don't know why I've even been trying so hard and putting up with all this anyways. My father's never going to be satisfied. I might as well pack my bags right now."

"No, don't say things like that," Yumi quietly replied before crawling closer to Ulrich's side. She couldn't stand seeing him so crestfallen yet she was at a loss at how to help. Tentatively she leaned over him and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Your father may not see how wonderful you are but we do. I won't let you give up on yourself."

Leaning back, Yumi held out a hand to Ulrich which he graciously took with a smile and she pulled him to a sitting position. Startled by how close their faces were to each other they both deeply blushed scarlet.

"We'll figure something out Ulrich, it'll be okay," she whispered. She sincerely hoped just as much as he did, that she was right.

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"Oh Ulrich, how nice of you to grace us with your presence!" Odd declared as soon as he saw his roommate approach the lunch table their group was sitting at. Ulrich avoided eye contact with Odd when he sat down because he knew his friend was probably still angry about their previous confrontation, but everyone else assumed that he was just upset by the outburst.

"Cut it out Odd," Yumi said while shooting him a glare. The last thing she needed right now was another conflict.

"I was just kidding jeeze! Everybody is so touchy today," Odd muttered before grabbing his tray and heading to get seconds. Jeremie and Aelita exchanged looks after he'd left and shook their heads simultaneously.

"So Ulrich," began Aelita cheerily, "how's your day been?" At first his only response was a glance in her direction, however Ulrich eventually sheepishly mumbled something about it being very tiring.

Lost in his own thoughts, Ulrich was completely jostled when Odd's hand slapped the middle of his back.

"Oh come on good buddy! After that three hour nap I thought you'd totally be re-charged" Odd, who no longer bore any ill will against Ulrich, good-naturedly exclaimed. Barely able to stifle a groan by biting his lip, Ulrich abruptly stood, left the table, dumped his untouched food in the trash, and briskly walked the lunchroom before anyone could stop him.

"Ulrich?"

"Hey, wait!"

Outright confused by his departure and unsure of whom to blame, Aelita, Yumi, and Jeremie shot pointed looks at Odd to which he laughed nervously and shrugged.

"Who would've known that would set him off? The guy is so moody, am I right?" Odd asked trying to redeem himself. Yumi dropped her head in her hands in exasperation.

"Odd, I just confronted him about what was bothering him! Of course something like that would piss him off!" she shouted.

"Well how was I supposed to know?" he argued back, "It's not like you're the only person who's tried to talk to him today." When he finished talking Odd looked up to see that the glowers pointed at him had only intensified.

"Wait-you had an intervention with Ulrich today too?" asked Yumi and Odd nodded in response.

"Odd!" Jeremie threw his arms up in the air, "We agreed last night that Yumi was going to try to talk to Ulrich today!" They had all met up last night in Aelita's room, excluding Ulrich of course, and debated over how they should attempt to help their friend. After much debate and discussion there was a unanimous decision that Yumi, being one of the people he would be more inclined to talk to, should be the one to confront him.

"I know, I know," Odd grumbled, "but you guys didn't see him when he got his history test back. He looked so crushed. I couldn't help but try."

"No wonder he didn't want to talk to me," Yumi interrupted, "he probably already felt ambushed. I barely got any information out of him and what he did say he made me promise not to tell you guys." She could tell from the looks on her friends faces that this was the last thing they wanted to hear, yet on the other hand she couldn't betray Ulrich's trust by telling them everything.

Aelita thoughtfully asked, "But did he actually tell you why he's upset?"

"It was weird, I mean, he told me why, but it didn't seem like it was something that he should be that bothered by."

Odd stared at the empty seat that Ulrich had been sitting in a few minutes ago. If he knew his roommate as well as he thought he did, he knew that he'd be heading to the showers to clear his head. He may not have known what his friend had told Yumi, but he was pretty sure he had an inkling as to what was wrong with him and that smack on Ulrich's back had only been further verification. Realizing that he'd zoned out of his friends' conversation, Odd decided it was as good as a time as ever to go take a shower. Wishing his pals a good night, despite the suspicious looks on their faces, he headed off to his room with a smirk on his face.

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That's it for this chapter! Sorry it was a little shorter than the last one but I'm super excited at all the feedback I got for the last chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed (: and don't worry, if you haven't figured it out Ulrich's problem will be revealed in the next chapter so stay tuned!