"Code: Insomnia"
By cdc100
Summary: Jeremie is having fits in his sleep. Aelita wants to know what's wrong with him and he insists that nothing is wrong. Find out what happens.
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or Playstation.
Note: I don't know if I'm spelling Jeremie's name right. I've seen it spelled, "Jeremie," and "Jeremy," so just bear with me. If anyone thinks I should change the spelling, send me a review. Yolande is pronounced, "Yo-lawn-duh."
Chapter Four
"Jeremie's Explanation"
Aelita and the others were sitting at their usual breakfast table once again talking about Jeremie's strange sleepwalking.
"I can't take anymore of this," said Aelita. "We have to take him to the infirmary! We have to!"
"We know, Aelita, calm down!" said Yumi.
"I swear, Jeremie is going to kill himself if this keeps up!" remarked Odd.
"Odd, stay," said Yumi.
"I'm not a dog, Yumi," said Odd.
"Yeah, well, people say the same thing to cats."
Odd scowled.
"What are we going to do?" asked Aelita. "I can't take a whole school year of Jeremie trying to throw himself out windows and off the top of buildings."
"Do you think any of us feel differently?" asked Ulrich.
"Did you find anything out about what he has, Aeltia?" asked Odd.
Aelita had been doing research on her computer during the night of Jeremie's latest sleepwalking episode.
"I checked Ask Jeeves for some kind of hint. I didn't find anything new," she replied.
"Ask Jeeves?! Nobody uses Ask Jeeves!" said Odd.
"Well, what else could I have tried?!" asked Aelita.
"Next time, try Wikipedia or Google," replied Ulrich.
"Oh, never would have thought of that," said Aelita.
Just then Jeremie entered the cafeteria. Everyone looked around and saw Jeremie at the entrance. The whole cafeteria got quiet.
"He looks like he slept real well," said Odd, a tone of sarcasm in his voice.
Indeed, Jeremie looked horrible. His hair wasn't combed, his glasses were askew, his shirt was only partway tucked in, and, most disturbingly, he had an imprint of big red squares on his forehead.
"He must have just pretended to go back to sleep, and then stayed up all night once again. Probably trying to figure out ways to modify the Skid, or bring back William," said Yumi.
"Good morning, everybody," said Jeremie, sitting down at their table with his breakfast.
"'Morning," replied the others simultaneously.
"So, did you guys get a good night's sleep?" asked Jeremie.
"No," answered the others.
Jeremie looked at the others with a confused look, and then started on his breakfast.
"So, how did you sleep?" asked Odd with a frown.
"Oh, I slept fine," answered Jeremie, taking a bite of toast.
"Oh, please, you are such a liar!" yelled Aelita.
"What?" asked Jeremie.
"Forget it, Jeremie. You can't deny it anymore," said Ulrich.
"What?" asked Jeremie again.
"You were sleepwalking on the roof last night!" said Aelita.
With that, Jeremie got up to leave. He wasn't about to listen to a lecture on his health from his friends.
"Jeremie! Listen to me! You are obviously not well!" said Aelita.
"I'm fine, you guys. You don't have to worry about me," said Jeremie.
"You are not fine! If you slept for one night, you would tell us that yourself!" protested Aelita.
"Look. I don't have time to worry about how much sleep I get at night. If I don't work, William can never be brought back, and XANA can never be defeated," answered Jeremie, now agitated.
"Well, well," said a snide voice. "The sleepwalker strikes again."
It was Sissi. She was standing there with another triumphant look on her face.
"What would possess you to try and jump off the roof?" she asked.
"It's none of your business, Delmas," he answered.
"I thought I told you not to talk to me like that!" she retorted.
"And I believe I told you not to bother me, don't you remember? Or has your brain shrunk since yesterday? At that second I believe it was the size of a sesame seed," he answered, calmly.
"UGH!" she turned around and walked off.
"Jeremie, you need to go to the infirmary, and if you don't, we will drag you there," said Ulrich.
"I am not going to the infirmary, and I sure as heck am not going to let you drag me there," said Jeremie. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked off, leaving the others agitated.
"Guys, we've got us a problem," said Odd.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," said Ulrich.
Yumi suddenly had an idea.
"We don't have to take him to the infirmary to find out what's wrong," she said.
Everyone looked at her. She was right. They hurried to the office to see Yolande Perraudin, the school nurse. They knocked on the door, and a woman with short blond hair opened the door.
"Hello, everyone."
"Hey, Yolande," said Odd.
"What can I help you with?" she asked.
"We came to ask you some questions," said Yumi.
"Regarding?"
"Jeremie Belpois," said Ulrich.
"I see. Care to elaborate?" she asked.
"Jeremie woke up in the middle of the night two nights ago- well, not exactly- and tried to open the window in his room. He succeeded, and he almost jumped out of it," said Aelita.
"And if it weren't for Aelita, he might not have been here the next day," said Odd.
"But, last night, he did the same thing, only he tried to jump off the roof. But before he had the chance, he woke up, and went back to his room without another word," said Aelita.
They then proceeded to tell the nurse that they believed the problem to be psychological, though they were mum as to the reason for that assumption. Yolande took out a clipboard and began scribbling some notes down. She looked like she had already thought of something.
"Did you notice anything that Jeremie did while in this state?" she asked.
"Well, he was always taking big, huge gasps for breath," said Ulrich.
"Interesting," said Yolande.
"He also had this glazed look in his eye, and he looked like he was trying to run from something," added Aelita.
"Nothing else?" asked Yolande.
"Before he gets up from his bed, he would let out a blood-curdling scream," said Yumi.
"Hmm. Alright, let me just look at a few things," said Yolande.
She went to her bookshelf, took down a book and began looking at it. She made her way to her office and turned around.
"I'll be out as soon as I can," she said.
She then went into her office and shut the door. Odd looked at the others.
"Do you think she knows something we don't?" he asked.
"Well, that's why we're here, isn't it?" asked Ulrich.
"Oh, yeah. Of course," answered Odd.
They waited for about a half hour, voicing their opinions on Jeremie's condition until Yolande came out of her office.
"I've found out what it is," she said, sitting down.
Everyone sat on the edge of their seat, and leaned in so as to hear her clearly.
"They're called night terrors, and as you suspected, they are psychological."
"Night terrors?" asked Odd.
Yolande nodded her head.
"Many people confuse these with nightmares, but believe it or not, there is a difference," Yolande explained. "First, they occur during the deepest levels of non-REM sleep, whereas nightmares occur during REM sleep. Basically, they are fast asleep when it happens. That's why they're not easily awakened. Mr. Delmas must have really been yelling in order to snap Jeremie out of it. Also, when someone tries to awaken the sufferers, they are not fully awakened. Another difference is that the sufferers often cannot remember whether they've had a night terror. The only thing they can remember is a brief feeling of significant fear. And nothing is dreamt during night terrors.
"Jeremie suffers from this?" asked Aelita.
"If what we assume is correct," answered Yolande.
"How are they brought on?" asked Aelita.
"Night terrors mostly occur in children. They can sometimes be hereditary, but more often, they are associated with stress. They can come in different forms. Some people sleepwalk, and some wake up screaming in the middle of the night. I happen to have a friend in Massachusetts who suffers from the exact same thing."
"Do you think that Jeremie knows that he gets them?" asked Ulrich.
"It's possible. They have been known to start in children, and some adults and early teenagers have been known to get them. Based on the behavior you just described to me, and his student file, Jeremie Belpois is a classic case," answered Yolande.
The gang looked at one another.
"Thanks for your help, Yolande," said Odd.
"Anytime, Odd," answered Yolande.
With that, they left the nurse's office, and went to find Jeremie in his bedroom.
"Hey, guys. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.
"We just went to the nurse's office," said Yumi, crossing her arms.
"You guys just cannot drop it, can you?" asked Jeremie.
"Can you at least give us an explanation? I think we deserve that much," interjected Odd.
Jeremie sighed and turned around in his chair. He decided that if it would make them shut up, he would tell them. He told them about his night terrors on the condition that they would do so. He told them that he started getting them when he was around eight. He said that the night terrors would come and go as they please, though they happened at least once every three days. He told them that it was caused by stress, and that being the smartest kid in the school, he was constantly bullied. It was very stressful for him as a kid to be bullied. He explained to them that this was the reason he was moved to Kadic Academy. He also told them that he was rarely ever bothered at Kadic, and eventually, the night terrors stopped. But they were back with a vengeance.
"So that is what you're suffering from?" asked Ulrich.
"I haven't had them since I was ten," answered Jeremie.
"You say that they are brought on by stress?" asked Odd.
"Yes. Though, I don't know what could be causing them now," answered Jeremie.
Aelita hung her head. She had a pret-ty good idea what it was that was causing Jeremie's newly-acquired night terrors.
"Now, if there is nothing else, could you guys go? I need to work on the Skid."
"Jeremie, this is serious!" said Yumi. "You sleepwalk when you have these night-hells, if you don't go to a hospital or the infirmary, you could seriously injure yourself, or worse, kill yourself."
"And then, who will help us on Lyoko?" asked Ulrich.
"Guys, this is the last time that I am going to say this, so listen good. I can take care of myself. There is no need for you to worry about these night terrors. Now, if you'll excuse me."
With that, he headed out of his room, taking his laptop with him.
"Now we really have a problem," said Odd.
"At this rate, he'll have ten night terrors by the end of this week," said Aelita with a tone of concern in her voice.
To Be Continued…