Author's Note: Happy Friday! Here's the next bit. I tried to make the messaging easy to understand, but if there are questions on who is speaking when, let me know!
15. Aelita told her of the funeral but she never made it back to Kadic for it (if she were honest, she didn't really try).
Yumi's phone buzzes while she's sitting in literature. She fishes it out of her pocket quickly and sees Aelita's name on the screen. She sends it to voicemail and stuffs it back into her pocket without the professor noticing. She can call Aelita back later.
/
After class she has to hurry to make it to the small patisserie she's working part-time at. The metro is five minutes behind schedule and she bounces on her toes as she checks her watch. After that it's a fifteen minute ride to her stop, then a mad dash up the stairs to the street level.
Her phone buzzes again as she's darting across the street and tying her hair back from her face. Her watch says she has two minutes before she's late. She grabs her phone, missing Aelita's call by seconds.
Hey! At work, talk later?
OkY
Call ASAP
Yumi frowns, shoves her phone into her back pocket. She wonders what the boys have done now to get on Aelita's nerves.
/
Work is busier than usual, she chalks it up to it almost being half-term. By the time she leaves, she's exhausted from carrying trays of pastries, ringing up sales, and chatting to customers. All she wants to do is eat, take a hot bath and fall face-first into her bed.
She drops her bag on the small dining table, hangs her lightweight coat in the tiny hall closet, and pulls her phone out. She can call Aelita back while she's eating, she decides. She fishes leftover Thai from the back of her refrigerator, sticks it in the microwave to heat up, and calls Aelita.
"Yumi!" the other girl exclaims. Yumi blinks, she didn't even hear it ring. "Oh, Yumi, I'm so glad you called!"
Aelita sounds stuffy over the phone. Yumi decides Jeremie must've been the one to annoy her this time. "What's up?" she asks. She grabs her food, hops up onto the counter, and digs in. "Aelita?" The other girl takes a deep breath. Yumi feels her stomach tighten. This isn't usual Aelita-venting behavior. When the boys annoy her she goes on a tirade, she doesn't dance around the issue. "Aelita?" she asks again, setting the noodles aside.
"Yumi, I…Yes, I'm on the phone with her now. No, not yet. Okay, give me a moment," Aelita's voice muffles, most likely a hand over the phone contributing to it, before she's back. "Principal Delmas died last night."
"What?" Yumi demands.
"Sissi found him," Aelita replies. "She's with Ulrich or I'm sure he would've called to tell you. But it'd be insensitive to do that with her right there, beside him, you know?"
Yumi stares at the cherry blossom painting hanging on the living room wall. She can just make it out through the archway if she tilts her head to the left. "How did he die?"
"Well…I don't. They haven't said, officially. Sissi found him on the ground. Ulrich says it was a heart attack." Aelita's voice hitches and Yumi can hear a voice in the background, it sounds like Jeremie's. "He and Jim did CPR…but it was…it was too late," Aelita hiccups.
"Shit," Yumi says. "A heart attack?"
"Unofficially," Aelita agrees. "They haven't said when the funeral is…but you'll come, won't you? Yumi?"
Yumi swallows past the lump in her throat. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do, Aelita."
"Okay, okay," Aelita says. "I'll let you know." There's more murmured conversation in the background. "I have to go, Yumi. We're taking Sissi into town for dinner. I'll text you."
"Yeah, okay," Yumi replies. "Bye, Aelita."
"Bye!"
Yumi tosses the remainder of the noodles back into the fridge and draws the hottest bath she can stand.
/
Hiroki texts her while she's in the bath: Delmas DIED last night.
She frowns, texts back, Are you okay?
The reply comes almost immediately: No class!
/
She hears from Jeremie early the next morning. They've always been the early risers of the group, so she isn't surprised. She keeps her hands wrapped around her warm mug of tea and props her phone between shoulder and ear.
"What happened?" she asks, once the niceties are over.
"The coroner hasn't released any information officially yet," Jeremie replies.
"But…?"
"But it looks natural, like Aelita said last night." There's a heavy pause. "From what Odd's said, Sissi called Ulrich and Ulrich got Jim. By the time they got there it was too late."
"Why didn't she call an ambulance?"
"Panic?" Jeremie guesses. "Sissi's a mess, she barely even talks. We all ended up camping in the guy's room that night."
"Jim let that happen? What about the rules?"
"Don't seem to matter at the moment. She was in their room last night too. Aelita offered for her to stay with her tonight."
Yumi sighs, presses the side of the mug to her forehead, willing her headache to go away. "Okay," she says. "And it wasn't…it really was…?"
"Yeah," Jeremie replies, voice quiet. "It wasn't anything we could have prevented this time."
They fall silent, listening to each other's breathing over the phone. Finally, Yumi rouses herself enough to ask, "How are you? What's happening with classes?"
Jeremie chuckles a little. It isn't a happy sound. "Classes have been cancelled for the moment. They brought in a counselor and want everyone to see him at least once. But otherwise, I'm okay." Another pause. "Delmas was a good guy."
"He was," she agrees, tongue tripping over the past tense. "He really was."
/
Ulrich texts her when she's walking into work. A told u?
Yes, she replies. She pauses, thumb over the keypad. Tell Sissi I'm sorry.
Will do
Ttyl
/
"How are you?" she asks, voice soft.
"I'm okay," Aelita replies. Her voice is quavery over the line though. There's a soft sniffle. "It's just…this is the first person that I ever really knew who died. It's a shock."
"That makes sense," Yumi replies. "It's okay to be upset."
"I know, I know. Jeremie and Odd keep telling me it's okay. It's just hard, with Sissi and Ulrich there, you know? They knew Principal Delmas as a person."
Yumi frowns. "Ulrich's upset about Principal Delmas's death?" she asks. "I mean, of course he is, but…"
"Yeah. I mean, he and Delmas got along pretty well, especially this past year. I think he wrote him a recommendation letter for school," Aelita replies. "He didn't tell you?"
"No," Yumi replies. "I mean, no, he did. I must've just forgotten."
Aelita is quiet for a moment. "They're having the funeral on Friday," she says. "Sissi told Ulrich who told Odd who told us. You'll come, won't you?"
Yumi's throat feels tight. "I'll try, Aelita."
/
Princess says she told u funeral's Friday at 2. C u there?
/
She calls Shannon. Shannon has always been sensible and understanding. She needs that right now. "Did you hear what happened?" she questions.
"You mean at Kadic? Yeah, my little sister told me."
"Are you going to the funeral?" Yumi asks.
"I can't," Shannon says. "I've got my last class before break that day. What about you?"
Yumi twists her charging cord around her finger. "I have work."
Shannon clucks. "I'm sure they'd let you off for a funeral. Unless…do you not want to go?"
"I don't know," Yumi murmurs. Her fingers clutch at the cord, there's a desperation in the movement that she tries to quell. "I don't know."
Shannon is quiet for a long while. Yumi checks her phone to make sure the connection hasn't dropped. "That's okay, you know?" Shannon asks, voice gentle. "It's okay if you don't want to go to someone's funeral. No one would blame you."
I would, she thinks.
/
Will you be here Friday, Yumi?
I don't know, Ai. Have to see about work still.
Okay.
Let me know.
Or Ulrich. Or Jeremie. Or Odd.
You know, one of us.
I will. We'll talk later, okay?
/
Yumi wakes in the middle of the night, heart pounding. She checks her phone, no messages, no calls, no anything. She pulls her knees up, puts her head between them, and breathes slow and deep. It's three in the morning, but she won't be able to go back to sleep.
She climbs out of bed, makes toast that she won't eat. She just finds the smell comforting.
When she closes her eyes she remembers the small funeral for Philippe Dumas, the moderate one for Michel Girard. Delmas did not die because of them, she knows this. Both Jeremie and Aelita had said Ulrich had tried to save him. But he was dead anyway.
She makes it to the toilet in time to throw-up bile, hears the toast pop as she rinses her mouth out.
/
"I can't," she says, as soon as the phone connects. She's curled on the tile floor, forehead pressed to the side of the toilet bowl. She can feel the cold permeating her flushed skin. "I can't."
"Yumi?" Jeremie asks. "Yumi, what's wrong?"
She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I can't go back," she whispers.
Jeremie is quiet on the other end of the line. She checks her phone to see if the connection cut out, but the seconds still tick over. It's four in the morning, earlier than she would normally call. She wonders if she woke him after all.
"Yumi," he says finally, "it's okay. You don't have to come." She hears rustling and then Jeremie's back. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I just…I can't handle more death."
"That's okay, Yumi," he replies. "Did you talk to Aelita? Ulrich?"
She groans softly, presses her forehead harder against the porcelain. "Aelita wants me to come. She won't understand…Ulrich. I haven't talked to him, no."
"Okay," Jeremie says. "They won't be upset, Aelita will get it. No one wants to go to a funeral, Yumi. And you aren't here. You have a life outside Kadic, like really outside Kadic. I hardly think all of the past students will come flocking over for the funeral, even if they did like Delmas."
"I don't want to disappoint them."
"Yumi, the only way you'll disappoint them is by not taking care of yourself. We're your friends, we're on your side." Jeremie pauses again. "You know this isn't like…it isn't the same as what happened before. With the other two. It wasn't X.A.N.A.'s fault."
"Just, tell me about your day. How are classes?" she asks. "Are you still doing robotics?"
Jeremie huffs a sigh. She knows he wants to push, but she also knows he won't. There's another long silence while he weighs his choices. Finally he begins speaking and she feels herself relax.
/
"You look like shit," Georges informs her when she shows up to work.
"Thanks, you always know how to make a girl feel appreciated," she replies. She checks her reflection in the tinted glass as she pulls on her work apron. He isn't completely off, she does have dark circles under her eyes, her skin is blotchy and pale.
"I mean it," Georges insists. He reaches for her shoulder as she goes to clock-in. "Are you coming down with something?"
"No," she sighs. She pulls her hair back into a ponytail, effectively shrugging off his hand in the process. "I'm fine, Georges."
"You are not," he states. "But you can choose to keep your secrets."
She sighs again. She likes Georges. He's a good co-worker. A couple years older than her, with a dry sense of humor and an enviable ability to handle even the most obnoxious customer with a well-timed joke and wry smile. She doesn't want to upset him. "It's just some drama back home," she says.
He looks at her for a moment. "I hope everything works out," he says finally. He squeezes her shoulder again. "Come on, I've already been here hours. You're slacking."
/
She's curled up, reading a book for class when her phone rings. She checks the name, hesitates, then answers on the last ring. "Hey, Ulrich."
"How are you, Yumi?"
She wonders, briefly, if Jeremie had told him of the early morning phone call. "I'm alright, how are you?" She pauses. "How's Sissi?"
"She's upset," he says after a moment, surprise evident in his voice. She's a little affronted. Sure, she never liked the girl, but there's no reason she shouldn't be concerned over her. "I'm okay," he adds. They're quiet and she wonders when this happened. When did the distance grow between them so that their silences aren't companionable. And who let it happen? "You aren't coming tomorrow, are you?"
"I can't," she murmurs. "I couldn't get off work."
"Yumi." He sounds tired and she wishes she could see him. "You don't have to lie." She hears a dry laugh on the other end. It's the scoffing laugh he used to make when Sissi was being clingy or Odd said he had a brilliant idea or Yumi told him she wasn't jealous of Emily. "I didn't expect you to come."
"Ulrich…I…"
"Are you having nightmares again?" She lets the paperback fall closed in surprise. "You sound tired, Yumi."
"I know it's different this time, I know that, but…"
"But sometimes it's hard not to blame yourself, isn't it?"
She blinks, surprised. "Aelita said you tried to save him. Ulrich, it isn't your fault." He gives another dry, scoffing laugh at that. "It wasn't," she insists.
"I know, Yumi. I knew as soon as I walked into that room that he was dead, but I had to try. It's what we always do, isn't it? Try? Try to pass school, try to save the world, try to shut down X.A.N.A.-"
"We did shut down X.A.N.A.," she snaps. She gets up, pacing her small living room. "X.A.N.A. is gone, has been gone for years. We didn't try, Ulrich, we succeeded."
"Yeah, but at what cost? When was the last time you had a good night's sleep? You hear of someone dying and spiral down into blaming yourself when you weren't even here." She sits down heavily, blinking back frustrated tears. "Don't come tomorrow, Yumi."
"You don't want me there."
"It's not that, you know that. You're one of my best friends. But I don't want you doing this to yourself. I wish Aelita had never told you about it." She can hear rain falling against the window and she looks at the window, watches the water drip down the panes of glass. "You barely knew Mr. Delmas, you don't have to feel like you need to be there. Emily isn't coming back for it either."
"You told Emily?"
"Does it matter who told her?" he asks, voice suddenly hard. "My point, Yumi, is that you graduated. You've gone on to university. It's okay to be okay. We've earned that."
"I really am sorry, Ulrich."
/
How was the service?
Good, simple. We missed you.
I'm sorry I couldn't make it. How are you? And the boys?
Jeremie's fine. He said you couldn't get off work.
Odd's fine. He liked Delmas, but I don't think…
He's fine.
Ulrich seems okay. Hard to tell with him, you know?
I know. I talked with him last night.
I think he'll be okay.
How are you?
It was different than I thought it'd be. I hadn't thought much of funerals, but it was…
It was really sad. I didn't expect to be able to view the body.
Did you?
View it I mean.
Yeah, went up with the boys and Sissi. It was just a body, not Delmas.
I'm sorry I wasn't there.
It's okay, really. The flowers you sent were lovely!
I'm just changing before going to O&U's. We're doing a movie night for Sissi. I'll talk to you later?
Yeah, sounds good. Have fun!
She closes her phone on Aelita's smiley emoji and pulls her cardigan tighter around her. She breathes slowly before getting up to draw herself a hot bath. She's meeting friends for dinner tonight, she's moving on. It's okay to move on, she reminds herself. Before she steps into the bath, she reaches for her phone, scrolls through her contacts, types Thank you. If you need to talk, I'm here.
Ulrich's response is almost instantaneous: I know. We'll be okay, Yu.
She sinks into the hot water, feeling her muscles relax. She thinks he's right. It'll take time, but they will be okay, all of them, eventually.