"What time is it?" Odd asked as he twisted a knob.

"Oh, no," Ulrich said. "You're not going to distract me this time." For a solid chunk of time, Ulrich and Odd had a battle on the foosball table located in the Kadic Academy recreational room. Both of them were skilled players and every match they played were close, the results favoring both of them equally. After many back and forth matches, this was considered the rubber match. The winner of this bout would be the champion until the next match would be made. At the moment the score favored Odd by one point. However, a quick flick of the wrist by Ulrich sent the ball flying past Odd's defenders, giving him the point he needed to tie the game.

"Seriously," Odd asked, "what time is it?"

Ulrich grabbed the rubber ball from the holding pen and looked at the clock behind Odd. "We've got time to end the game before we have to meet up with the girls," he said. "You ready?"

"Ready to win? Sure," Odd said with relative smugness.

The martial arts disciple shook his head as he placed the rubber ball in the holster. "Match point," he announced as he let the ball travel down the center of the field before smacking it with one of his forwards.

Odd twisted a knob, knocking the ball back before it got halfway through his part of he field. As the ball bounced back and forth between the opposite sides of the field, Odd began to think. Earlier in the day, both he and Ulrich received a text message asking if Aelita could talk to the both of them, along with Yumi, later in the day. She said that she wanted to meet with them in their room and had something very important to tell them. Odd was conflicted on how he should be feeling about that statement. On one hand, the news could be wonderful for Aelita. Something along the lines of she and Jeremie deciding to become a more serious couple. While it would be bad news for him, it wouldn't feel so bad if Aelita was happy in the end. Her happiness made him feel good, even if it was at the cost of his own feelings. However, the news Aelita could have could also be bad. Something along the lines of she and Jeremie breaking up. While that would make Aelita sad, it would actually make him happy since it would give him the chance to console her and possibly replace Jeremie as the one to be by Aelita's side. With so many questions and so many possibilities, Odd's mind lost focus on the game at hand. He finally snapped back into reality once he heard the banging of the rubber ball against the hard plastic of the goal area.

"Yes!" Ulrich shouted as he scored the winning goal. "Victory is mine!"

Odd couldn't believe that he had let this happen to him. "No fair, man. I got distracted," he claimed.

Ulrich looked around the rec room. Aside from himself and Odd, there was no one else present in the area. "By what?" he challenged.

The feline fighter scanned the room and realized that his excuse wouldn't hold any water. "Never mind," he stated. "Let's just go." Both boys left the rec room and headed for their dorm room. "So, what do you think Aelita wants to tell us?" he asked.

Ulrich shrugged his shoulders. "No clue," he replied. "I even asked Yumi for a hint and she refused to tell me anything."

Odd looked at his best friend. "I know you started dating Yumi not too long ago, but you've known her for quite some time," he reminded him. "Don't you think all of that should have given you some insight as to how the female mind thinks?"

Ulrich laughed at the comment. "I'm pretty dense when it comes to these sort of things," he declared. "If I had any insight into anything, I would have told Yumi how I felt a long time ago."

"Can't argue there," he commented. "You can be pretty dense." He then ran off to the dorms before Ulrich could do any bodily harm to him.

Ulrich thought about giving chase but ditched the thought once he saw Yumi arrive on campus. Instead, he stood there as she approached him. "Hey," he said as she came closer to him.

"Hey yourself," she replied before greeting him properly with a kiss.

"So what exactly is it that Aelita has to tell us?" he asked, hoping for an early answer.

Yumi bit her lip. "It's best if she tells you herself," she replied. "I'll go get her then meet you guys in your room."

"We'll be there," he said as he gave her a quick kiss before parting ways.

It wasn't long after Ulrich entered his room when there was a knocking at his door. He opened it to find Yumi on the other side with Aelita close behind her. "Hey guys," he said as he opened the door wider and moved out of the way to let them both in.

"Hey," Yumi greeted as she and Aelita walked in. She then sat on he bed next to Ulrich while Odd sat on his own bed. Aelita, however, remained standing.

"So, Aelita," Odd started. "What's up?"

"Um..."

"Are you OK?" he asked.

Aelita took a deep sigh as she finally sat down on the desk chair. She looked around nervously at her audience before taking a deep breath and breaking the silence. "I should be telling this to my parents," she started out, "but since my mother hasn't been seen in years and my father..." She stopped herself, the memory of what happened to her father still too painful to recall.

Both Odd and Ulrich leaned forward, eager for her to continue. "Go on," Odd said encouragingly.

Aelita grimaced as she tried to blot out that bad memory and move forward. "Ever since you guys rescued me from Lyoko, you've been the best friends I've ever had." She paused briefly before continuing. "You guys have helped me out through so much and I can't thank you enough or repay you for everything you've done for me."

The two boys leaned in closer. "Um, I don't understand where you're going with this," Ulrich said.

The pink haired princess looked at her audience nervously again. Seeing the dread invoked by her body language, Yumi piped up. "You've got to tell them." Feeling the stares of the eyes of her friends, Aelita closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened her yes again.

"I'm pregnant."

Odd and Ulrich looked at each other in disbelief before turning to Aelita again. "You're what?" Odd asked.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated with a little less hesitation in her voice.

"When did this happen?" Ulrich asked.

"About a month ago," she replied. "I didn't find out for sure until yesterday."

"So you and Jeremie...?" Odd stopped as Aelita confirmed that his guess was correct. "Does he know?"

"I emailed him about it but I haven't heard anything yet," she answered.

The group looked at each other dumbfounded. Without saying anything, they looked at Aelita again. "So, what are you going to do about the baby?" Yumi asked.

"Are you going to the clinic?" Ulrich asked bluntly.

She couldn't lie to herself. Aelita had thought about going to the clinic and having the procedure done. While that would solve things, she thought otherwise. "I don't have the heart to do that," she said. "It's just... I can't"

"So, what are you going to do?" Odd asked.

Aelita sighed. "Well, unless Jeremie thinks differently in the next five months," she said. "Unless he has any opposition to the idea, I'm thinking about giving the baby up for adoption."

"Are you sure about that?" Yumi asked.

Aelita began to stare off into space. "Actually... I'm not sure of anything anymore." She buried her face in her hands for a minute before revealing it again. Everyone could tell that she was on the verge of crying due to the tears welling up in her eyes. Before anyone could say anything else, she got up from the chair. "Excuse me, I've got to check on my email," she stated as she walked out of the room.

The trio sat there, stunned at what had just taken place. Ulrich and Yumi sat there squeezing their hands, thankful that they were lucky enough not to face this situation just yet. Odd sat on his bed stone faced, not sure what to make out of the conversation. There was a moment of silence taking place before one of them decided to break it.

"I can't believe Jeremie didn't answer back," Odd said.

"Maybe he's still busy," Ulrich said. "I mean, if this place is as prestigious as he says it is, they have to be working him to the bone. He might not even have time to check his mail."

Odd sighed. He still couldn't believe that out of all the people in Kadic, Aelita was the one that was going to be a mother. He also couldn't believe that Jeremie, one of the most responsible people he knew in his life, was the one that did this to her. Disappointment and anger ran through him at the moment.

Ulrich piped up. "So what do we do now?"

"About Jeremie? Nothing," Yumi answered. "Aelita's the only one that has his email address so, for now, she can handle things. All we can do is help her out as much as we can." Everyone else agreed, knowing that the situation wasn't theirs to control.


Chapter 8 is over. Things have already been taking a turn for the serious. Then again, with what's going on in Aelita's life, there's really no other way it can go. The story will lighten up but to what degree I can't say.

Chapter 9 is coming soon. Enjoy!