I hope you enjoy this next installment.
I feel as if this story is getting better and better.
I hope you feel the same way.
The only thing I don't understand is why I am not recieving more than one review per chapter.
I do have story stats you know and they tell me that 37 or more are reading each chapter.
Some chapters get a lot more than that.
So, why is it that no one reviews?
Review for a preview of the next chapter.
***Bonus: I'll give you an extra piece of the next chapter if you can tell me a good anime to watch.***

No Matter What They Say

Chapter 38: Ambitions

"Hey, guys," Aelita said as she and Odd came back and sat down at their table. "Sorry I ran out like that."

"It's fine," Ulrich said quickly. "I'm sorry we were late. I didn't really expect you to come back, but I'm glad you did."

"Yeah, I didn't really expect to come back either, but Odd's stomach was growling so loud, I had to." Everyone laughed as they saw Odd up at the buffet, piling his plate high with various foods. "While I have your attention, I'd like to mention that Jeremie will be joining us for skiing tomorrow. I also called Sissi, and she said that she'd love to come and that she'd bring her lifeguard friend."

Ulrich's mouth dropped open. "Ok, two things I want to know. One: why are you inviting Jeremie? I thought you guys were mad at each other. Two: since when can Sissi keep a guy as a friend?"

"Well, I'm not sure about the answer to your Sissi question, but I invited Jeremie because I don't want to be mad this entire trip." Aelita grabbed her glass and took a sip of her drink. "I guess I just want to get over everything."

"That's good," Yumi said and smiled. "I guess everything is set then."

-m-

"Kiptyn, I'm inviting you to come skiing with me," Sissi said with a smile as she finished up her dinner. "One of my friends just called, and she said that we're going skiing tomorrow, and she asked if I wanted to invite you along. So, do you want to come?"

What do I say? I don't actually have to work tomorrow. I am free. And, just picture it: a whole ski lift ride with Sissi all to myself. Snap out of it, Kip. She's 14 remember? What would you do? Kiss her? Doesn't she just think of you as a friend anyway? But, what's the harm in skiing? There's nothing wrong with that. Besides, we'd be with her friends too. We'd have a good time. Some good clean fun would be all, and then we'd come back and part. It's not anything special, but how come somewhere deep inside of me I wish that it was something special. "Yeah, that sounds like fun," he said and smiled. "What time and where do I meet you?"

"That's great! We're all meeting at the ski rental shop at 8:30. Make sure you've had breakfast before you get there. Oh, this'll be great! You'll get to meet all of my friends, and…."

He started to tune her out as she began to ramble on. She's really pretty when she's excited. I wonder if she knows that. I wonder if anyone has told her she's beautiful. Does she know that when she gets excited, she gets this twinkle in her eyes and they shine brighter? How much longer can I stand this without telling her how I feel?

"…and you can meet Yumi's little brother too, he's kind of annoying sometimes, but still, I'm sure he's going. Well, and there's a few more, but I'm sure you won't remember all of these names, so I'll re-introduce you to them when you meet them tomorrow."

Oliver yawned from across the table. "Oh, I'm sorry, Oliver," Sissi started, "I didn't ask if you could come."

"It's fine. Skiing's not my thing anyway." He started around the room, glancing from table to table.

"Oh, are you sure? I mean I could call my friends up again. There are a lot of us, so I'm sure you'd find someone you'd want to talk with or something. It should be really fun. If you want to come, I'm sure it would be alright," Sissi said and smiled awkwardly.

"No, I'm fine," he said and gave a small smile.

"Ok, then. Well, I'm finished with dinner. Do you want to go do something?" she asked and looked back and forth between Kiptyn and Oliver.

"Well, I don't know about you, but if I'm going to have to get up early enough to meet you guys at 8:30, than I'm going to need a good night sleep, and it's already 8:45. If you want to do something, don't make it take too long," Kiptyn said, and Sissi agreed. They all got up and they each paid for their meal.

"Do you want to go take a walk or something?" Sissi asked.

"You mean outside?" Kiptyn asked skeptically. "You do remember that you're wearing a swimsuit, right?"

Sissi looked down at herself and laughed. "Oh, that's right. I guess I'd better go back to your room and change."

"Are you going to need to spend the night again?" Kiptyn asked.

"No, I don't think so. I'll just change, and be on my way. That is, unless you want to do something." Kiptyn shrugged. "What about you, Oliver? Did you want to do something?"

"Whatever you'd like to do," he muttered as they walked back toward their room.

They got back soon and Sissi went in and changed quickly. Then, Kiptyn decided to walk her to her room. Oliver decided to stay back. "I hope you had a good day today," Kiptyn said and smiled.

"Other than nearly drowning, it was pretty good," Sissi said and smiled back.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said and gave an encouraging smile. "At least, you didn't drown."

"Yeah. Thanks. You know, Oliver sure doesn't talk much. I know what you mean about him not making decisions too. He's still welcome to go skiing even if that isn't his thing."

"He likes to ski, but I don't think he'll go."

"I don't get it! Why did he say it's not his thing, if he likes to ski?"

"He's just reserved. I don't think he wanted to hang out with all of your friends. I guess he would have felt a little awkward with everyone there, especially since he doesn't really make friends too easily or open up very much."

Sissi smiled. "I guess today was a rarity when he suggested a place for dinner. I think Oliver's pretty good friends with me though, isn't he? He does talk with me."

"Yeah, I guess, but not much. He talks with me a lot, and then Ayden. I'm guessing you'd be third on his list, which is real surprising since he's only known you for a day and a half or so." Kiptyn shrugged. "You're just a likable person, I guess." Sissi laughed a little.

"I guess so." They arrived at her room, and she opened the door. No one was inside. "You can come in if you want. There's no one here. We can talk or watch some TV for a little while if you want before you go back to your room if you want."

I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't stay. I want to stay. I want to stay. I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't stay. DO NOT ENTER! "Um, maybe for just a little while." Idiot! I told you don't enter! DON'T Stay! Change your mind! They walked in, and she turned the TV on to some random show.

"So, I'm glad you're coming tomorrow. It'll be really fun," she smiled and turned her attention toward the television.

Tell her. Tell her. Tell her. Tell her. You came in the room. The least you can do is buck up the courage to tell her how you feel about her because you obviously like her. If you don't tell her, it'll just get more awkward tomorrow. "Yeah, I hope so. I haven't been skiing in a while."

"You live here, and you don't ski? How am I supposed to believe that?" she asked him as she raised an eyebrow.

"I'm more of a lifeguard, so I don't really have time to ski that much." Why aren't you telling her?

"Oh, well, I guess that's reasonable," she said and looked back toward the television. "I probably wouldn't have time if I had a job either." She gave him a large smile and his heart started pounding. He leaned in a little closer, but stopped himself quickly and made some reference to the television show that they weren't really watching.

"So, how many of your friends did you say were coming?" he asked as to lighten the atmosphere a little.

"Oh, don't worry. There'll be a lot of us," she said and paused to count on her fingers. "I think there's 12 of us altogether including me and you. Don't worry, there's guys coming too. It won't just be you with a bunch of girls, regardless of how much you might want it that way." They both laughed together and continued to talk.

-m-

"Johnny, I'm getting hungry, and according to that clock over there, it's 8:35. Do you think we can stop now?" Hiroki asked as he ran away from a group of Gorghees with Johnny running ahead of him.

"Yeah, sure. Let's head toward the safety zone and remove our armor so they won't shoot at us." They did as Johnny suggested and turned in their gear. As they turned it in, the lady behind the counter gave them their scores and ranks as of then. Hiroki was a 2nd Croj, and Johnny had passed up Crojean 2 and gone straight to Alpha Croha.

"How do you do it?" Hiroki asked Johnny when he heard her give out ranks. "How did you get so many points?"

"I don't know. I guess I am just a lucky shot. I think that there are various objects that give you points because I shot a lot of stuff just for fun," Johnny said and smiled at his accomplishment.

"Oh, it seems as if one of you has one a place on our leader board," the lady said as she pulled up the leader screen on her computer. "Xi has placed 13th on our top twenty for the day. Congratulations."

"Sweet!" Johnny shouted.

Just about the same time, Hiroki asked, "Does he get anything for it?"

The lady laughed and dug through her drawers. "As a matter of fact, yes. Xi receives a 25 dollar gift certificate for our gift shop, a 20 dollar gift certificate for the arcade's snack bar, and if he can keep in the top twenty for the rest of the week, his name will go down on our wall of leaders." Hiroki and Johnny cheered as she gave them the certificates. "Oh, how old are you?" she asked as she looked at Johnny. Immediately, Johnny and Hiroki got worried. "No, you're not in trouble. Can you tell me your birthday?"

"September 23, 1998," Johnny said waveringly. "I still get the gift cards, right?"

She laughed and nodded. "Of course you do. I'm just checking something," she muttered as she typed into her computer and her face lit up. "This is exactly what I thought. I thought you looked young. I'd like to inform you that the record for the youngest to reach the top twenty leader board was a boy just a little younger than yourself, so you, unfortunately, did not qualify for that, but the youngest to reach it to the top ten, was exactly 4 months older than you. That means, if you can reach within the top ten, you'll be our youngest, and you'll be put in our record books."

"Do you know what this means, Johnny!" Hiroki asked. "You'll be on that wall in the lobby. The one with all of the record holders!"

Johnny's eyes widened. "That's amazing!"

The lady from behind the counter smiled. "There's just one catch. Although your scores are kept in tack every day, just like you will be an Alpha Croha tomorrow, our top twenty change from day to day. What I mean is that the top twenty is only for the score you get while playing that day. If you want to place in the top ten, your best bet will be to continue tonight. If you stop, you'll have to start all over tomorrow. Sorry. There are multiple high scores you can receive. The record that you almost qualify for is just for the single day score, not for the week score. The record for the week score is way higher than your score. You're only around 145th on that board. So, what would you like to do: continue playing or try again tomorrow?"

"Well, can we eat and come back?" Johnny asked.

"Yes. Our scores stop at midnight. The only thing is that, as you are eating other players could pass you up. You're welcome to go eat though if that is what you want to do."

Hiroki and Johnny discussed quickly and decided to go get a quick meal and then return to try and get Johnny onto the top ten.

-m-

"This dinner didn't turn out too bad after all," Yumi said as they all walked back toward their rooms. "I mean, it could have turned out better, but it wasn't a complete disaster."

They all nodded. "I can't wait for tomorrow," Aelita said with a big smile. "I can't remember the last time I went skiing. I don't even know how well I'll do, but it's always exciting to have a new experience."

"Don't worry, Lita. We'll all help you," Yumi said and gave her an encouraging smile.

"Ok, they might help you, but I doubt if I'll even be able to help myself," Ulrich said and gave an awkward smile. "I'm probably going to die."

"Don't say that. Of course you won't die!" Yumi insisted. "We'll all be there to help both of you."

"Joy. I definitely want Sissi to be helping me," Ulrich said sarcastically. "I hate it when she clings all over me."

"Don't worry about that. I already told you that she'll be occupied. She's got that lifeguard friend of hers coming with her," Yumi said, still trying to insist that Ulrich would have a good time.

"Yeah, I know, but he's just a friend to her, and I'm her 'Ulrich darling'. Bleh. I hate it when she calls me that."

"Oh, don't worry, Ulrich, because we'll make sure you're always occupied doing something else," Odd said with a subtle hint of double meaning. Ulrich rolled his eyes.

They reached their rooms and all four of them agreed that they should get some rest before the next day. They all said their goodbyes and agreed that if the were awake in time, they'd meet for breakfast at Aunt Butterby's at 6. Whoever was awake in time could come. Aelita rolled her eyes and everyone laughed when Odd said that he'd be there. Then, Ulrich and Odd disappeared into their room and Yumi turned to open their own door. She opened it and entered to see Sissi sitting on her bed with what must have been her lifeguard friend. He looked much older than Yumi expected him to be. He looked to be around 3 inches taller than herself.

"Hey, Sissi, who's this?" Yumi asked as she walked in. Kiptyn turned around quickly and blushed slightly.

"Oh, Yumi, this is Kiptyn," Sissi said with a smile. "Kiptyn, this is Yumi." She motioned toward her. "And, this is Aelita." Aelita waved politely and smiled. "They're my roommates. They'll be two of the ones skiing with us tomorrow."

"Nice to meet you both," he said and stood up. He smiled politely and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'd better be going though, seeing as we're getting up so early tomorrow. I'll see you, Sissi."

He headed toward the door and as he left Aelita mentioned where they were meeting for breakfast if he wanted to come. He nodded to say that he heard and quickly continued to leave.

"How old is he?" Yumi asked as soon as he had closed the door. "He must be at least two years older than you. Heck, he looks two years older than me, and I'm a year older than you. What are you thinking? Does he know that you're in 8th grade?"

"Ok, for one, I'm in 9th grade now, and two who cares how old he is," Sissi said angrily. "You're not my mom, Ishiyama."

"So, he does know. How'd he take it?"

Sissi sighed. "He said we can be good friends, whatever that means. I didn't know he was that much older than I was."

"So, exactly how old is he?" Yumi asked and raised her eyebrow. "15? 16?"

"He's closer to 17 than 16 to be truthful," she said and buried her face in her hands. "I don't know how my dad would take any of this." She pulled her head up sharply. "You both better not say a word, or tell him exactly how much fun you've been having with Ulrich."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Yumi said and sat down on the bed next to her. "He does look cute, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I'll say. He's really nice too. While you guys locked me out of our room, he invited me to stay the night in his room with his two roommates, one of which is way better than the other, I might add."

"So, that's where you were!" Yumi said. "I'm glad you weren't in the lobby at least."

"Yeah, well, at least he offered me a room," Sissi mumbled, "or I would have been. Well, anyway, he's coming skiing tomorrow, and I don't want either of you or Odd to mess things up for me. If you're lucky, Ishiyama, you'll get Ulrich all to yourself. I'm hoping that this 'let's be good friends' thing will only be temporary."

"So, you want him to ask you out?" Aelita asked as she slipped on her pajamas.

"Well, obviously, he's hot and nice, unlike some other people in my life. I mean I'd much rather date him than anyone else I know. I mean, who'd want to date someone like Odd or Herve or Nicholas? I mean, really?" Aelita instantly turned beat-red, but tried to laugh it off and smile. "Anyway, I was hoping that he'd ask me out yesterday, but that didn't work, and then I was hoping for today, but that didn't happen either. If I play my moves right, maybe he'll ask me tomorrow."

"Maybe," Aelita said quietly and quickly pulled the covers of her bed over her before Sissi or Yumi could get a good look at her arms which were still covered with bruises. Yumi and Sissi got ready for bed, and all three were asleep in less than a half an hour later.

-m-

William and Jeremie were walking through the lobby. They were coming back from dinner together. Jeremie was a little annoyed by William because of another myriad amount of questions that William had asked at the meal. He was getting fed up with his stupidity. Jeremie was walking quickly as to get back to their room before William asked another stupid question. William was walking slowly and got distracted as the news came on one of the televisions in the lobby. "We interrupt your normal evening news with a special report. If you can give your attention, we go to Nick Spahmann for the report. Nick."

"Jeremie! There's a special report on the television. We're supposed to give our attention."

Jeremie rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Those always come on. They're not important."

"Thanks, Dan. I'm here with a special report that a storm seams to be blowing throughout the northern area. Winds have been reaching up to 50 miles per hour."

"Jeremie, there's a storm!"

"William, I told you already. These things happen all the time. It'll probably just blow over." Jeremie continued to walk, and William was faced with a decision to follow or stay tuned to the news broadcast. Jeremie had already turned the corner.

"This should provide a heavy amount of rain, and in certain areas, snow. By mid-morning, this part should be seeing the worst, and by midday, up in the mountains, they should be receiving a lot of snow and wind. For anyone who is up there, I'd recommend that you…." William quickly decided to follow him rather than get left behind and hurried off.

Well, as I said at the top: Review for a preview.
***Bonus: you will get an extra piece of the next chapter if you can tell me a good anime to watch. (it can be online)***
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:)