Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, particularly the characters taken from the animated series, Code Lyoko. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The next few days passed uneventfully. Jeremie and Franz Hopper spent most of Jeremie's waking, non-school hours working on this and that. Ulrich and Yumi danced in their convoluted "we're just friends" romance, and Odd was, well, Odd.
Another person who wove their way through the group's life was the principal's daughter, Elizabeth "Sissi" Delmas. She was alternately the group's nemesis and butt of their collective humor, that is until recently. Sissi had accompanied Aelita to London for the SubDigitals concert, and though neither girl would admit it, the nature of their relationship started changing.
Usually, when Sissi would confront the group, she would attempt to worm her way into Ulrich's affections. He would quickly shut her down and the others, usually Odd, would snap off some snide remark and send her on her way. However, the first time Odd got snarky with Sissi after London, Aelita reached over and smacked the purple clad boy in the head. After she did, he turned to her and gave her a "what the heck" look, to which Aelita replied that he could be just a hair more civil with her. That raised Sissi's eyebrows as she walked off.
Sissi acted a lot different around Aelita, too. Before, the principal's daughter was quick with an insult, but after London, she generally said nothing, or was civil when she did speak. It didn't take the gang long to notice the change, and they asked Aelita what had happened, to which she replied nothing out of the ordinary.
What no one knew was, at times, and only when no one else was around, Aelita and Sissi actually had conversations, friendly conversations. If any of Aelita's friends ever saw them together, they would have dragged the girl to the Infirmary, because surely it meant that Aelita had lost her mind.
Today, the clandestine friends were sitting on the roof of the dormitory, talking.
"But of course Ulrich likes me," Sissi was saying, "if he really didn't, he wouldn't have gone out with me the few times he did."
"Sissi, the only reason Ulrich went out with you was because you blackmailed him," Aelita replied.
"But if he really didn't like me, he would have found a way to get out of it," the dark-haired girl replied, confident in her logic.
Aelita sighed in exasperation, then got a wicked idea.
"You know," she began, "if you really wanted to find out, you should probably hook up with someone close to him. If he really does like you, he'll eventually get jealous. Until then, at least you'll be close by. And who knows, maybe you'll have a good time."
"You know, I'd sooner date Herve than Jeremie," Sissi said.
"Touch Jeremie and you'll lose the hand you use at the shoulder," Aelita growled, causing Sissi to laugh.
"And what about Einstein?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject, "when are you two going to stop beating around the bush?"
"I don't know," Aelita replied, crestfallen, "I've tried making my feelings known to him for so long, and he either doesn't get the message, or he doesn't care. My father says he hasn't matured enough to be able to say what he feels, and that he says it in other ways."
"You talk to your father about Jeremie?" Sissi exclaimed.
"Yes, daddy knows Jeremie rather well," Aelita replied, "they've been, ahhh, working on some things together recently. Daddy likes him, I know that much."
"You know, I tried talking to daddy about Ulrich once," Sissi said, "he just grunted and turned the page of his newspaper. Sometimes, I just don't think he cares!"
"Just be thankful for one thing," Aelita said, "your father is here, and you can see him every day. Mine has only been around for a little while, and he's been too busy to spend a lot of time with me. And I just found out Sunday that he's going to have to leave soon."
Sissi was about to say something else when Aelita's cell phone rang. She quickly pulled it out and checked the display. She breathed a sigh of relief it wasn't Jeremie or one of the others. She answered it.
"Hello? Oh, hi Sophie!" she said, "yes, everything's been quiet. Yes, I think I can get away tomorrow afternoon, after class. At the studio? I'll be there. 'Bye!"
"So, Miss Pop Diva, was that the next step in your walk to fame?" Sissi asked.
"That was Sophie," Aelita replied, "before we left London, she told me that she'd wait a few weeks before calling me again, so all the excitement could die down. I'm going to meet with her tomorrow so she can tell me what we're going to be doing next."
"So, is it a record deal?"
"I don't think so. I think she's going to line up some performances for me locally, so I won't be away from school."
"You're still going to be available for school dances, aren't you?"
"Sure I will."
The next day, Aelita left school and went to the studio where the SubDigitals made their Paris Headquarters. She knocked, found the door opened, so she went in. Inside, it was empty, or so it looked. In the background, some of the band's music was playing. She walked around, looking for anyone. She turned a corner and stopped short.
Standing at the end of the hallway, locked in a very intimate embrace, were Sophie Delacort and Simon Groe!
"Oh!" Aelita squeaked, causing the couple to break up.
"Aelita!" exclaimed Sophie, still flush, "I didn't see you there!"
"I'm sorry," Aelita said, "I didn't think anyone was here. I should have called out."
"Don't worry," Simon said with a smile, "Sophie and I have been a couple for a while now, and we certainly don't hide it. You just caught us at an awkward moment, that's all. Well, I'd better get back to those tracks. The boys will be back later this afternoon, and I want to have them ready."
With that, Simon gave Sophie one last peck on the lips, and walked off to the sound booth, passing Aelita as he left.
"C'mon," the older woman said, "lets go sit and chat."
Aelita followed Sophie into her office and found a seat. Like the other times Aelita had been here, Sophie's office was barely organized chaos. There were documents and folders and pages piled on almost every horizontal surface above the floor, and a good bit of floor was covered too. The girl maneuvered around the clutter and sat down in the guest chair.
"I won't even begin to apologize for the mess," Sophie began, "it's been more hectic since we got back from London as it was before we left! But, that's a good thing; Chris and the others have got performance offers to cover the next three years, minimum. Plus, their record label is almost demanding a new album. That's what Simon is working on, pulling together some songs to demo to the suits. Well, chatting about the SubDigital's success was not the reason why I had you come down today. We need to talk about you."
Sophie paused for just a second, then continued, "all of those offers I just mentioned also included you. I've told them in no uncertain terms that you wouldn't be part of the package, at least right now. I meant what I said when we first started working together; I want to get you work locally for a while, so your school work isn't affected. And I think I may have the perfect thing."
"What is it?" Aelita asked.
"Simon and I have been talking with a man named Henri Bass. Bass owns and operates several nightclubs, and he's looking to expand into new areas. Just before we met you, he contacted us about an idea he had to open a youth nightclub in Paris. They would be almost like the nightclubs frequented by adults, but without the alcohol. As we've talked, he's refined the idea to be more of a rave type venue, instead of a nightclub. The way he describes it, the grungy, clandestine, abandoned atmosphere would be a big draw. Once again, no booze or drugs, just music and dancing, snacks and soda."
"Okay," Aelita said, "but what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, for the music part. I was thinking we could have you DJ at this club. Having Aelita Stones as a regular act, maybe with guest performances by the SubDigitals, would make the club a big success."
"It sounds interesting," Aelita said, trying not to commit to anything, "how often would I have to perform?"
"I'm not sure," Sophie replied, "that will be primarily up to you. I'll also be looking to attract other DJs to rotate with you, and I don't want you doing all night gigs, at least not unless you want to over the summer."
"Where is this club going to be?"
"Well, that's one of the most appealing aspects of this, Aelita. You know that old factory near your school? Henri is planning on setting up there. The main floor is perfect for dancing, he says. He's going to rope off most of the dangerous areas, lock the elevator down, and generally make sure that the kids can't accidentally hurt themselves falling into a hole. From what he says, he's looking to open up in about a month. So what do you think?"
Aelita kept her true opinion to herself. The factory?!
"It sounds like a good idea," Aelita said, keeping her voice neutral, "but I think I need to talk it over with my father before I can give you an answer."
"You go ahead and do that," Sophie replied, "I hate to rush you, but I really need an answer this week, so I'll call you on Friday if I haven't heard from you before then. In the mean time, how about we blow this stuffy joint and stretch our legs? I'm dying for some chocolate ice cream."