And we're back, on our normal schedule. Let me fill you in on the results of last week's vote. Both votes I recieved agreed that there should be romance in the story. However, Amaherst suggested XxW, while Sky said that the couple should be XxO. I found it impossible to choose which couple I would use, so I came to this conclusion.
I will write a love triangle between Odd and William. (Honestly, I couldn't be happier that this is how the votes turned out. I love writing love triangles.) Sometime in the eventual future, (not saying when, I don't know) I will ask you guys to vote on which person should win Xandra's affections.
Enough talk. On with the story.
It did not take long for Xandra to get settled in. Principal Delmas promised that by the time that Xandra returned to the room in the evening, Jim would have her bed ready. Sissi did not look at all happy when he explained to her that she was going to have to make enough room for Xandra's bed, however.
"Here's your schedule," the principal said at last, handing Xandra a sheet of paper. Xandra skimmed the list. She got as far as Tuesday classes before giving up. Going to school here seemed like it would be a lot of work.
"Of course, you don't need to worry about going to classes today," Delmas continued, waving an airy hand.
"Thank you, sir," said Xandra, though privately, she wondered what she could do with her day off. After all, there was no hanging out in her room, and she didn't really know any off-campus place, aside from the factory. At last, she decided just to go to the library. After asking Sissi for directions, (which she was very reluctant to divulge. Xandra guessed that Sissi might be jealous because she still had to go to school) Xandra started off for the library. She got lost twice, ending up in a classroom by accident once, but eventually, she found her way into the quiet of the library. Xandra looked around the shelves for a book, at last choosing one by an author named John Green. She was halfway into chapter fourteen when the bell rang for lunch. Deciding that she may as well get something to eat, Xandra replaced the book in it's space on the shelf and left the library.
Thankfully, the lunch room was not difficult to locate. It only took Xandra a few minutes to find it. She pushed open the door and walked inside. Compared to the peacefulness of the library, the constant babble lunch room seemed to be almost deafening. Allowing her ears to adjust to the new noise level, Xandra got in line.
"Well, I haven't seen your face around here before," said an accented voice. Xandra looked up at the lunch lady, a heavy woman with a kind face. "What's your name?"
"I'm Xandra," Xandra replied. "I'm new here."
The woman smiled as she spooned a dollop of food onto Xandra's plate. "Welcome to Kadic, Xandra. I'm Rosa."
"Nice to meet you," Xandra mumbled. Rosa smiled again and turned to the next person in line. Xandra moved on.
Xandra looked around the packed lunch room. It would be difficult to find any place to sit. She noticed empty seats at Sissi's table, but one look at her roommate's face was enough to tell her that sitting down would be a bad idea. Instead, Xandra came up next to the Lyoko warriors' table. "Um, hi," she said, suddenly a little shy. "Would it be okay if I sat with you guys?"
"Yeah, no problem," said Odd, scooting over to give Xandra a space. Yumi, however, glared daggers. Jeremie did not seem to want her to sit down either.
Xandra recoiled automatically at this sudden hostility. "A-Actually, I changed my mind," she stammered. "Thanks anyway." She walked away quickly, and, knowing that there was no space for her elsewhere, went back up to the lunch line. "Uh, Miss Rosa?"
"Just Rosa," Rosa answered, still serving as she spoke to Xandra.
"Rosa," Xandra amended quickly. "Would it be okay if I just ate outside instead? The noise kind of bothers me."
Rosa paused for a moment, her ladle hovering above the next person's plate. "Y'know, no one's ever asked me that," she said thoughtfully. "Sure, why not?"
Xandra thanked Rosa before picking up her tray and heading outside. She sat down under the shade of a tree, feeling more than a little lonely. But no sooner than she had picked up her fork and begun to eat than a noise from nearby look up. Two figures were making their way across the courtyard to where Xandra sat. "Hi," Odd chirped, grinning at Xandra's expression. "Mind if we join you?"
"Yes," Xandra said. Odd raised an eyebrow. "I mean, no. I'd like-"
"We get it," Aelita said, laughing as she sat down next to Xandra. Odd sat down on the other side. As the two began to talk, Xandra sat silent for a moment, amazed about how good it felt to know that someone actually wanted to be around you.
That's the end of this chapter. (I know that it doesn't seem like there was any romance at all in this chapter. It's very... subtle. There will be more in the next chapter, I promise.)
One last thing before this week's question. I don't know what to dress Xandra in. Any suggestions would be very helpful.
This week's question:
Should Xandra go to visit William in the next chapter with or without other Lyoko warriors?