Lunch time had arrived once more. Odd grabbed his plate of macaroni and cheese and sat down at the same table his friends were at. As soon as he sat down, all eyes were on him. He took his first bite of his dish before he noticed his friends focusing their attention on him.

"So, what happened?" Yumi asked as she broke the silence.

"Ulrich didn't tell you guys?" Odd asked. Everyone on the table except for Ulrich himself shook their heads. "I asked her to meet up after school."

"How wonderful," Aelita said. "So how will you know who you're looking for?"

Jeremie chuckled. "My guess is that he doesn't."

Odd took a sip of his water. "Hey, give me more credit than that."

"So what are you going to be looking for when you try to find her?" Jeremie asked, challenging him the same way Aelita did a few weeks ago.

"Nothing," he said, "but I'll know when I see her."

A few tables away Sissi was sitting with her cronies Herve and Nikolas. She wore a deep red dress and a smile of bliss on her face as she casually ate her macaroni and cheese lunch. While she sat down in silence, her focus was not on listening in on other people's conversations but on her big meeting later on in the day. She was happy all of this was finally happening to her but she was afraid as well. What would happen when they finally meet? Would she find him attractive once they meet up? Will he feel the same way? Would this all be just a big mistake? She decided not to worry about all of that now and focus instead on the happier side of things.

Herve had once more resorted to staring at Sissi while she ate. He immediately noticed that she was more pleasant today than ever before. He also noticed that she wore something rather nice that day. Yet, despite all of the compliments he could shower upon her, he remained silent and scared to open his mouth.

Nikolas looked over to his side to see his friend in his staring routine again. While he had no interest in Sissi himself, he knew for a fact that Herve was simply crazy about her. What bothered him, however, was the fact that after all this time Herve did nothing about it. He was plain lucky that Ulrich never gave in to Sissi's advances but he might not be so lucky if someone else takes a liking to her. Nikolas gave a swift kick to Herve's shin before signaling that this was a perfect time to say something to Sissi.

Herve was awakened from his trance by his friend's blow to his leg. This was it. It was finally time for him to make his move. "Um, Sissi, you look rather nice today."

Sissi broke from her euphoric moment to acknowledge Herve. Normally he would reprimand him for taking her out of her happy place. Sometimes that scolding would be followed by a smack to the head. This time, however, she was too happy to even consider any of those actions. "Why, thank you, Herve. I'm glad you noticed."

Herve couldn't believe it. Sissi actually spoke to him. And it wasn't to order him to do something or to insult him or anything of the sort. He figured he hit himself a lucky streak and decided to go along with it. "So," he asked, "what's the occasion?"

"I've got a date after school," she answered nonchalantly.

Herve's spirits were immediately crushed. The moment he thought he had a chance to let Sissi know he existed as something more than a lackey, someone else takes her away from him. While his heart was breaking on the inside, he couldn't let it show, especially in front of the girl of his dreams. "With who?" he asked as he tried to fight through his personal pain.

"Oh, some guy," she said. "Which reminds me, there's still a bit more prep work I have to do." She immediately got up from the table and headed back to her dorm room.

Nikolas looked over at his friend, who was on the verge of a breakdown. "I'm sorry, man."

Herve simply sat dumbfounded. "Do you think it's Ulrich?" he asked. Ulrich was the only person he could think of that Sissi was attracted to.

"Don't be stupid," Nikolas said. "Everyone knows Ulrich and Yumi are mad for each other."

Herve knew his friend was right. "Well, what if this guy is a jerk? What if he tries something to hurt her?" He buried his hands in his face. "I should have told her before so that none of this would have happened."

"Well, maybe they'll break up after the first date. You never know," Nikolas said as he tried to cheer up his friend. Seeing as how it wasn't going to work this time, he got up from the table and got himself ready for classes.