The tears wouldn't stop flowing forth. The sadness was too all encompassing. Her first
boyfriend, the first guy she'd ever had any feelings for, had just dumped her for the most shallow
of reasons: because she wouldn't sleep with him. She didn't feel it was right just yet, that they
were rushing into things far too much. He lashed out at her, telling her that they needed this for
their relationship to go any further. When she couldn't bring herself to go through with it, he
dropped her like a bad habit and went right into the arms of another girl. Not before he'd done his
best to make her feel like trash. The things he'd called her, and in front of so many people... it
was all too much to bear. She had run home and locked herself into her room, only wanting to be
alone in her sorrow.
As she cried, she looked across to the computer that sat in her room. It was on, checking for e-
mail periodically as it was constantly connected to the Internet. Almost unconsciously, she made
her way over to her chair and sat down at it, calling up a chat room on IRC she visited often. She
had to vent somewhere, and where better than in the anonymity of an Internet chat room? She
summoned up enough will to stop her tears, and channeled her emotions from sorrow to
unadulterated anger as she entered the chat room. She spoke to herself as she typed, as if she
were speaking to the whole world.
"This is a message to any boys around right now: YOU DISGUST ME! I hate your ever-loving,
self-absorbed, depraved guts!!! You're all alike, and I was a fool to expect any different just
because I thought I was in love! So screw you all, and I hope you all go to Hell!"
Satisfied with her outburst, she exited the chatroom and pushed away from the desk, starting to
sob again. In the midst of her sobs, she heard a sound come from her computer. In her haste to
leave the chat room, she'd left her instant messager program open. She cursed inwardly,
knowing it was someone from the chat room looking to shoot some bad mouthing back at her.
Bracing herself, she scooted back up to her computer and brought the message up to view.
MasterIzE: Mimi? I just saw your outburst there. What happened?
"Izzy? Oh God..." Mimi said to herself. In her haste to vent, she hadn't even bothered to see who
all was in the chat room at the time. Izzy must've seen what she typed.
USAflowrgrl: I'd rather not talk about it right now, Izzy. I feel terrible enough as it is, and now I
feel even worse knowing one of my friends was on the receiving end of my rant there.
MasterIzE: Hey, believe me I've been around the Net a lot longer and a lot more than you. I've
seen far worse in a chat room before and even have had far worse privately sent to me. Believe
me, no offense was taken on this end.
USAflowrgrl: Thanks. I appreciate hearing that.
MasterIzE: So, pardon my continued curiosity, but what was that all about? Did somebody do
something bad to you?
USAflowrgrl: Michael dumped me.
MasterIzE: Oh no! I thought things were going so well!
USAflowrgrl: Yeah, well so did I. I guess that was pretty foolish of me, though, huh?
MasterIzE: Why did he dump you?
USAflowrgrl: That's something I'd rather not talk about right now, Izzy. It's really embarrassing.
MasterIzE: More embarrassing than being de-pantsed by a basketball jock in the middle of the
cafeteria?
USAflowrgrl: Ack! You're kidding! Did that actually happen to you?
MasterIzE: A couple days ago. I was really mortified. I've taken to having my lunches in the
computer lab now. At least I can avoid being bullied, even if there's no one else in the room.
USAflowrgrl: I'm sorry to hear that, Izzy. Still, it's not as bad as this. Believe me.
MasterIzE: Wow, he really must've done something pretty bad then. Be glad I'm not there, then.
USAflowrgrl: Why?
MasterIzE: Because if I was, and I knew why he did it, I would probably flatten him on the spot.
Nobody deserves to be treated like dirt, least of all you.
Mimi sat stunned for a moment, seeing how Izzy was reacting to the situation. And he didn't even
know the details of it! It was kind of touching, actually. Mimi shook it off for a moment, returning
to the keyboard.
USAflowrgrl: I wouldn't mind seeing that at this point, you know. At least one of my good friends
would be around. It's hard being so far away from you all.
MasterIzE: Hey, I'm always available Mimi. I'm never more than an IM or an e-mail away. I know
it's not as good as being in person, but at least in a virtual sense you can always lean on me.
Before Mimi could start typing again, strains of music began playing through her speakers. Izzy
has started up an MP3 and had directed it to play over both of their speakers. It was the oldie
song "Lean On Me". It got a giggle out of Mimi to see how hard he was trying to cheer her up.
USAflowrgrl: Thanks, Izzy. I might just take you up on that offer. For now, I think I'm going to go
clean up a bit. I need to get myself back in order.
MasterIzE: Okay. Take care, and don't let things get you too down over there.
Mimi turned her computer off after that and quickly changed into her bathrobe, heading for the
bathroom. She stared at her face in the mirror for a moment. Her eyes were all red and stinging
from all the crying, and her pink hair was a bit mangled. She looked at her hair with a touch of
disdain. She'd dyed it pink a couple years back, just before she started dating Michael. Seeing it
reminded her too much of him, and what she needed right now was a cleansing. She grabbed
her good shampoo and set it in the shower, turning the water on to run very hot. She shed her
robe and jumped on in, scrubbing herself thoroughly with her soap first. Then she set to her hair,
washing it repeatedly until the pink color began to fade away. After about a half hour's worth of
work, she exited the shower and wiped off the now fogged over mirror to see that her hair was
back to its natural dark brown color.
"A definite improvement, if I do say so myself." she said to herself. "Now I'm hungry, though. I
guess being emotionally distraught works up an appetite."
After drying off and putting on some comfortable clothes, Mimi snuck downstairs though her
house quickly and into the kitchen. Her parents were busy watching TV, and she didn't want
them on her case about all the bawling she'd been doing before. She grabbed a can of Coca
Cola and a bag of pretzels and headed back to her room, locking the door behind her again. She
sat on her bed, munching on pretzels as she thought for a while. As much as she didn't want to
remember it all again, Izzy deserved an explanation of it all. She took a sip from her Coke and
sat back down at her computer again, powering it up and then typing out an e-mail to Izzy that
explained it all. She could feel tears threatening in her eyes again as she wrote, but she
managed to finish it without crying again and sent it off to him. After that, she shut the computer
off again, finished her Coke and some more pretzels, and then decided to nap for a little while. It
had been a long day, but at least it had ended a little better. She absently wondered what Izzy
would say when he read her email as she drifted off to sleep.
***************************************************
"The nerve of that... oohhhhh, how could he possibly be that stupid?! I've got half a mind to.... oh
what an unbelievable bastard!!!" Izzy yelled as he paced back and forth in the park. He'd met up
with Ken and Yolei as they'd been the only ones available for him to talk to. It had instead turned
into a ranting and raving session for Izzy, who had just a couple hours before read Mimi's e-mail.
He had been yelling his head off for a couple minutes now, and it was starting to scare Ken and
Yolei.
"Um, Izzy? If you don't stop yelling like that you're going to hurt yourself." Ken told him, trying to
start to calm him down.
"I'd rather hurt the moron that hurt Mimi! But I can't do anything because she's half a globe away
from here!" Izzy shot back.
"Izzy, you've got to start calming down! You're scaring us and you're freaking everyone else
around here out big time!" Yolei said sternly. "Now take some deep breaths and chill out!"
Izzy stared back at Yolei hard for a moment, only to take a seat on the park bench next to Ken as
he continued to fume.
"Believe me, I don't like it any more than you do, Izzy. Mimi's like a sister to me, but we can't do
anything about it." Yolei told him after he'd sat down.
"Right, so let's just try and calm down and be a bit more civil about all of this." Ken said, his voice
still its normally, soothing tone.
"I guess you're right. Sorry I snapped like that at both of you, I just read that e-mail and it set me
off like nothing else ever has." Izzy said as he took a few deep breaths, calming down.
"No kidding. I never thought you and Mimi were that close, Izzy." Yolei said.
"Well, I've never thought ill of her that's for sure. And she's certainly treated me nicely when she's
been around. We're close friends and all, and I just don't stand for anyone, let alone a close
friend like her, to be treated like garbage like that." Izzy said, still trying to contain his anger. He
looked over at Ken, who was almost too calm for Izzy's tastes. "What would you do if someone
did something despicable like that to Yolei, Ken?"
'Well now there's a loaded question if I've ever heard one.' Ken thought to himself. "I, uh,
honestly don't know Izzy, because I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to try."
Ken could tell that Izzy was pretty well set on being angry and decided that hanging around him
wasn't going to do any more good at the time.
"Well, Yolei, we'd better get going if we're going to hit that store before it closes." Ken told her.
Yolei looked at him puzzled for a second, but decided to play along nonetheless.
"Okay, Ken. You two got another hot date, then?" Izzy asked with a smirk. Ken just smiled back
and gave an 'OK' sign to him as he took Yolei's hand and walked off. Izzy grabbed his backpack
and began to wander home on his own, for that matter.
"Ken, why are we leaving now? Izzy needs some serious talking to, he's halfway to psycho over
this!" Yolei said in a concerned tone.
"Because it's obvious Izzy's mind is elsewhere right now, and us trying to preach to him isn't
going to accomplish anything right now." Ken said flatly. "Mimi's e-mail must've really hit a chord
in him. I've never seen him that angry."
"What about that time he fried his laptop's motherboard?"
"Yolei, this is no joke. Izzy is really troubled right now over Mimi."
"I know, I know. It's really uncharacteristic of him. I can't help but wonder..."
"Wonder what?"
"Do you think he, you know... likes Mimi?"
"I don't know, Yolei. Have you ever known Izzy to show interest in anything not computer-
related?"
"There's a first time for everything, but I shouldn't have to tell you that."
Yolei bumped up against Ken playfully, giggling as she did. Ken was knocked off balance
slightly, but laughed in return as he caught her, his arm around her shoulders. The two continued
to walk along, their conversation turning to more personal matters.
**************************************************
'I don't know what's bothering me more, knowing what happened to Mimi or knowing I can't be
there for her in person.' Izzy thought as he walked home. 'For that matter, I don't know anyone I
could possibly talk to about it. I feel bad that I couldn't be more civil around Ken and Yolei, but at
the same time I can't get past this.'
Reaching the train station, Izzy produced his rail card, running it through the machine quickly and
stepping through, heading for his train home. Once on board, he slumped into a seat and stared
out the window.
'Why, though? Why can't I get past this? I mean, I journeyed with Mimi before in the Digital
World. Bad things happened to us back then, too, and I never reacted like this. Why am I
reacting differently now? Mimi's always been a good friend, and I've always thought well of her.
She never treated me badly, or at least any worse than anyone else ever has. I guess I kinda like
her...'
Izzy stopped himself and smacked his head hard, groaning for a moment.
'Okay, Izumi, get that thought out of your head right now! Get real. You're the ultimate computer
nerd, and she's the beautiful supermodel type. You stand a snowball's chance in Hell of actually
getting together with her. And that's not to mention the fact that she's on the other side of the
world! So don't get any stupid ideas in your head about liking her more than a friend, because
face facts. Stuff like that just doesn't happen to guys like you. Ever.
'And yet... I still want to be there for her. Well, there's always the Internet. As much as that
counts for anything. I'll just try and keep an eye out for her online, and do what I can to try and
keep her cheery. After all, that's what friends are for.
'Besides, what could possibly come of it, anyway?'
**************************************************
It was a few days later, and Mimi had just gotten to school. She was in the midst of getting
together her books for her first couple of classes when her trio of friends stopped by her locker.
Nina, Janice and Carrie gathered nearby, looking a bit worried for their immigrant friend.
"You been doing okay, Mimi?" Janice asked.
"As well as can be expected, I guess." Mimi replied, continuing about her business.
"Are you sure you're not holding anything back?" Nina asked, stepping closer to her.
"Nina, I wouldn't hide anything from you guys. You know that."
"If that's the case, then why has your phone line been busy the past couple of nights? We've all
been trying to call you, but can't get through!" Carrie told her. Mimi bit her lower lip; Carrie always
had had a tendency to be a snooper of sorts.
"Well, I've uh...been doing some stuff online is all. Just some research for a project is all." Mimi
said, coming up with as good a fib as she could. She could tell her friends were not convinced
and laughed nervously. "Um... would you believe I'm downloading music? No? Well..."
As Mimi was about to spill the beans about why she'd been online so much lately, she happened
to look past her friends to see Michael heading towards them with another girl practically hanging
all over him. Mimi recognized her immediately as one of the school's more notorious girls, in a
manner of speaking. She felt a mixture of sickened and hurt as he approached.
"Well well, hello there Mimi." Michael said. His voice practically dripped with venom. "And hello
to you too, girls. I just wanted to stop by to say 'hi' and introduce you to my new girlfriend, Robin.
We just started going out a couple of days ago, and I think we've really hit it off."
He stepped past the other girls, leaning closer to Mimi as he spoke some more, knowing exactly
what it would do to her.
"And you know, she does things for me that no one else ever did. Or at least, someone else
never did." he said, his voice a low tone. Robin just giggled in the background, sounding like the
air brain she was. Michael laughed a bit as well, continuing his barrage. "And she makes me
feel so good, too. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you Mimi?"
Mimi shook inside, doing her best to maintain her composure on the exterior. She managed to
look up at Michael for a moment. She couldn't deny that part of her still felt drawn to him, though
she knew he would probably never feel that way again.
"I'm happy for you, Michael." she managed to saw in a hushed tone, just above a whisper. "Now
excuse me, I need to get to class."
Mimi turned and began to walk away, trying to put it all out of her mind. Michael continued his
barrage as she walked away.
"Yes sir! She makes me very happy!" he announced to the entire hall. "She's a real Wonder
Girl!"
Mimi almost choked as he said that. "Wonder Girl" used to be his pet name for her when they
were going out seriously. Mimi just shut him out of her mind as he continued to rave in the
background, wishing her first class were just a little closer so she could get away from him. Upon
finally reaching the classroom, which was still empty because class didn't begin for another 20
minutes, she slumped over on her desk, unable to contain her emotions any more. Now Michael
had not only dumped her, but also had gotten right together with another girl who'd done exactly
what he'd wanted Mimi to do for him. And he'd just thrown it in her face. Mimi felt more hurt than
ever as she sobbed, alone, in the classroom. Now more than ever, she wished even just one of
her old friends was nearby. Any of them would do, but one in particular.
"Izzy...help me, please..." she whispered to no one in particular as she continued to cry.
***************************************************
MasterIzE: I'm sorry to hear all that, Mimi. I wish there were something I could think to say to
make things better...
USAflowrgrl: I know, Izzy. For that matter, I don't think there's anything you could just say to
make things better right now. Michael just threw that right in my face this morning, and I've got a
good feeling that he's going to keep at it for a while at least. He seems to be getting a kick out of
making me miserable.
MasterIzE: I'm sorry.
USAflowrgrl: I mean, where did I go wrong? We went out when he wanted to, we saw and did
almost everything he wanted to, I was completely devoted to him! And when I held out on one
thing from him, he tosses me aside like a used tissue?! Why? It doesn't make any sense...and
I'm so confused...
MasterIzE: I'm...no, I can't say it anymore.
Izzy shook with anger as he sat in the computer lab, chatting with Mimi over lunch. He couldn't
take it anymore, seeing how hurt Mimi was over all of this. If he had to measure a guess, his face
must've been totally red with anger at that moment.
USAflowrgrl: Izzy?
MasterIzE: How dare he! I've got half a mind to come through the Digital World right now and
introduce him to the business end of my fist! Or maybe I'll bring Tentomon with me instead! See
how he likes dealing with MegaKabuterimon!
USAflowrgrl: It'll be alright, Izzy...
MasterIzE: I can't stand for this, Mimi! I won't stand for it! No one deserved to be treated like
that, least of all you!
USAflowrgrl: Izzy, calm down, okay? There's nothing we can do about this right now. I won't
accept you coming over here just to beat him up, and at the same time I know if I try to retort to
him it'll only make things worse. I know you don't like it, but it'll pass with some time. Just
please...don't get angry.
MasterIzE: I'll be right back, I gotta get another milk from the cafeteria.
Izzy stood up from his computer, storming down to the cafeteria. He tried to work out his anger in
his mind as he went, though it still bubbled inside of him as he made his way up to the counter
and paid for another carton of milk. As he made his way back, one of the basketball players tried
to sneak up on him to do what had been done to him once before in the middle of the cafeteria.
Izzy caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye as he walked, and it was all too much for him
at the moment. The moment he felt that pair of hands reach for his sides, Izzy whirled and
connected with a right cross on the player, flooring him and bloodying his nose. The entire
cafeteria stopped and stared at the sight as Izzy stood over him, his eyes wild, his breathing
shallow but audible, his face contorted with rage. He brushed his hair back a bit and turned,
leaving the cafeteria for the computer room again.
Upon returning to the computer, he noticed that Mimi had signed off already while he'd been
gone. Izzy cursed aloud and hurled the milk he'd bought into the trashcan nearby. He sat at the
computer, his head in his hands as he tried to come to terms with it all. As he finally began to
calm down, his faculty supervisor entered the room, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Izzy, I'm sorry. The principal wants to see you about your actions in the cafeteria." he said. Izzy
took a deep breath and nodded to him. He powered down his computer and headed out of the
computer lab, ready to accept whatever punishment was coming to him for lashing out like he did.
'I guess we're about even now, Mimi.' he thought as he made his way to the principal's office.
'We've both had really crappy days now.'
boyfriend, the first guy she'd ever had any feelings for, had just dumped her for the most shallow
of reasons: because she wouldn't sleep with him. She didn't feel it was right just yet, that they
were rushing into things far too much. He lashed out at her, telling her that they needed this for
their relationship to go any further. When she couldn't bring herself to go through with it, he
dropped her like a bad habit and went right into the arms of another girl. Not before he'd done his
best to make her feel like trash. The things he'd called her, and in front of so many people... it
was all too much to bear. She had run home and locked herself into her room, only wanting to be
alone in her sorrow.
As she cried, she looked across to the computer that sat in her room. It was on, checking for e-
mail periodically as it was constantly connected to the Internet. Almost unconsciously, she made
her way over to her chair and sat down at it, calling up a chat room on IRC she visited often. She
had to vent somewhere, and where better than in the anonymity of an Internet chat room? She
summoned up enough will to stop her tears, and channeled her emotions from sorrow to
unadulterated anger as she entered the chat room. She spoke to herself as she typed, as if she
were speaking to the whole world.
"This is a message to any boys around right now: YOU DISGUST ME! I hate your ever-loving,
self-absorbed, depraved guts!!! You're all alike, and I was a fool to expect any different just
because I thought I was in love! So screw you all, and I hope you all go to Hell!"
Satisfied with her outburst, she exited the chatroom and pushed away from the desk, starting to
sob again. In the midst of her sobs, she heard a sound come from her computer. In her haste to
leave the chat room, she'd left her instant messager program open. She cursed inwardly,
knowing it was someone from the chat room looking to shoot some bad mouthing back at her.
Bracing herself, she scooted back up to her computer and brought the message up to view.
MasterIzE: Mimi? I just saw your outburst there. What happened?
"Izzy? Oh God..." Mimi said to herself. In her haste to vent, she hadn't even bothered to see who
all was in the chat room at the time. Izzy must've seen what she typed.
USAflowrgrl: I'd rather not talk about it right now, Izzy. I feel terrible enough as it is, and now I
feel even worse knowing one of my friends was on the receiving end of my rant there.
MasterIzE: Hey, believe me I've been around the Net a lot longer and a lot more than you. I've
seen far worse in a chat room before and even have had far worse privately sent to me. Believe
me, no offense was taken on this end.
USAflowrgrl: Thanks. I appreciate hearing that.
MasterIzE: So, pardon my continued curiosity, but what was that all about? Did somebody do
something bad to you?
USAflowrgrl: Michael dumped me.
MasterIzE: Oh no! I thought things were going so well!
USAflowrgrl: Yeah, well so did I. I guess that was pretty foolish of me, though, huh?
MasterIzE: Why did he dump you?
USAflowrgrl: That's something I'd rather not talk about right now, Izzy. It's really embarrassing.
MasterIzE: More embarrassing than being de-pantsed by a basketball jock in the middle of the
cafeteria?
USAflowrgrl: Ack! You're kidding! Did that actually happen to you?
MasterIzE: A couple days ago. I was really mortified. I've taken to having my lunches in the
computer lab now. At least I can avoid being bullied, even if there's no one else in the room.
USAflowrgrl: I'm sorry to hear that, Izzy. Still, it's not as bad as this. Believe me.
MasterIzE: Wow, he really must've done something pretty bad then. Be glad I'm not there, then.
USAflowrgrl: Why?
MasterIzE: Because if I was, and I knew why he did it, I would probably flatten him on the spot.
Nobody deserves to be treated like dirt, least of all you.
Mimi sat stunned for a moment, seeing how Izzy was reacting to the situation. And he didn't even
know the details of it! It was kind of touching, actually. Mimi shook it off for a moment, returning
to the keyboard.
USAflowrgrl: I wouldn't mind seeing that at this point, you know. At least one of my good friends
would be around. It's hard being so far away from you all.
MasterIzE: Hey, I'm always available Mimi. I'm never more than an IM or an e-mail away. I know
it's not as good as being in person, but at least in a virtual sense you can always lean on me.
Before Mimi could start typing again, strains of music began playing through her speakers. Izzy
has started up an MP3 and had directed it to play over both of their speakers. It was the oldie
song "Lean On Me". It got a giggle out of Mimi to see how hard he was trying to cheer her up.
USAflowrgrl: Thanks, Izzy. I might just take you up on that offer. For now, I think I'm going to go
clean up a bit. I need to get myself back in order.
MasterIzE: Okay. Take care, and don't let things get you too down over there.
Mimi turned her computer off after that and quickly changed into her bathrobe, heading for the
bathroom. She stared at her face in the mirror for a moment. Her eyes were all red and stinging
from all the crying, and her pink hair was a bit mangled. She looked at her hair with a touch of
disdain. She'd dyed it pink a couple years back, just before she started dating Michael. Seeing it
reminded her too much of him, and what she needed right now was a cleansing. She grabbed
her good shampoo and set it in the shower, turning the water on to run very hot. She shed her
robe and jumped on in, scrubbing herself thoroughly with her soap first. Then she set to her hair,
washing it repeatedly until the pink color began to fade away. After about a half hour's worth of
work, she exited the shower and wiped off the now fogged over mirror to see that her hair was
back to its natural dark brown color.
"A definite improvement, if I do say so myself." she said to herself. "Now I'm hungry, though. I
guess being emotionally distraught works up an appetite."
After drying off and putting on some comfortable clothes, Mimi snuck downstairs though her
house quickly and into the kitchen. Her parents were busy watching TV, and she didn't want
them on her case about all the bawling she'd been doing before. She grabbed a can of Coca
Cola and a bag of pretzels and headed back to her room, locking the door behind her again. She
sat on her bed, munching on pretzels as she thought for a while. As much as she didn't want to
remember it all again, Izzy deserved an explanation of it all. She took a sip from her Coke and
sat back down at her computer again, powering it up and then typing out an e-mail to Izzy that
explained it all. She could feel tears threatening in her eyes again as she wrote, but she
managed to finish it without crying again and sent it off to him. After that, she shut the computer
off again, finished her Coke and some more pretzels, and then decided to nap for a little while. It
had been a long day, but at least it had ended a little better. She absently wondered what Izzy
would say when he read her email as she drifted off to sleep.
***************************************************
"The nerve of that... oohhhhh, how could he possibly be that stupid?! I've got half a mind to.... oh
what an unbelievable bastard!!!" Izzy yelled as he paced back and forth in the park. He'd met up
with Ken and Yolei as they'd been the only ones available for him to talk to. It had instead turned
into a ranting and raving session for Izzy, who had just a couple hours before read Mimi's e-mail.
He had been yelling his head off for a couple minutes now, and it was starting to scare Ken and
Yolei.
"Um, Izzy? If you don't stop yelling like that you're going to hurt yourself." Ken told him, trying to
start to calm him down.
"I'd rather hurt the moron that hurt Mimi! But I can't do anything because she's half a globe away
from here!" Izzy shot back.
"Izzy, you've got to start calming down! You're scaring us and you're freaking everyone else
around here out big time!" Yolei said sternly. "Now take some deep breaths and chill out!"
Izzy stared back at Yolei hard for a moment, only to take a seat on the park bench next to Ken as
he continued to fume.
"Believe me, I don't like it any more than you do, Izzy. Mimi's like a sister to me, but we can't do
anything about it." Yolei told him after he'd sat down.
"Right, so let's just try and calm down and be a bit more civil about all of this." Ken said, his voice
still its normally, soothing tone.
"I guess you're right. Sorry I snapped like that at both of you, I just read that e-mail and it set me
off like nothing else ever has." Izzy said as he took a few deep breaths, calming down.
"No kidding. I never thought you and Mimi were that close, Izzy." Yolei said.
"Well, I've never thought ill of her that's for sure. And she's certainly treated me nicely when she's
been around. We're close friends and all, and I just don't stand for anyone, let alone a close
friend like her, to be treated like garbage like that." Izzy said, still trying to contain his anger. He
looked over at Ken, who was almost too calm for Izzy's tastes. "What would you do if someone
did something despicable like that to Yolei, Ken?"
'Well now there's a loaded question if I've ever heard one.' Ken thought to himself. "I, uh,
honestly don't know Izzy, because I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to try."
Ken could tell that Izzy was pretty well set on being angry and decided that hanging around him
wasn't going to do any more good at the time.
"Well, Yolei, we'd better get going if we're going to hit that store before it closes." Ken told her.
Yolei looked at him puzzled for a second, but decided to play along nonetheless.
"Okay, Ken. You two got another hot date, then?" Izzy asked with a smirk. Ken just smiled back
and gave an 'OK' sign to him as he took Yolei's hand and walked off. Izzy grabbed his backpack
and began to wander home on his own, for that matter.
"Ken, why are we leaving now? Izzy needs some serious talking to, he's halfway to psycho over
this!" Yolei said in a concerned tone.
"Because it's obvious Izzy's mind is elsewhere right now, and us trying to preach to him isn't
going to accomplish anything right now." Ken said flatly. "Mimi's e-mail must've really hit a chord
in him. I've never seen him that angry."
"What about that time he fried his laptop's motherboard?"
"Yolei, this is no joke. Izzy is really troubled right now over Mimi."
"I know, I know. It's really uncharacteristic of him. I can't help but wonder..."
"Wonder what?"
"Do you think he, you know... likes Mimi?"
"I don't know, Yolei. Have you ever known Izzy to show interest in anything not computer-
related?"
"There's a first time for everything, but I shouldn't have to tell you that."
Yolei bumped up against Ken playfully, giggling as she did. Ken was knocked off balance
slightly, but laughed in return as he caught her, his arm around her shoulders. The two continued
to walk along, their conversation turning to more personal matters.
**************************************************
'I don't know what's bothering me more, knowing what happened to Mimi or knowing I can't be
there for her in person.' Izzy thought as he walked home. 'For that matter, I don't know anyone I
could possibly talk to about it. I feel bad that I couldn't be more civil around Ken and Yolei, but at
the same time I can't get past this.'
Reaching the train station, Izzy produced his rail card, running it through the machine quickly and
stepping through, heading for his train home. Once on board, he slumped into a seat and stared
out the window.
'Why, though? Why can't I get past this? I mean, I journeyed with Mimi before in the Digital
World. Bad things happened to us back then, too, and I never reacted like this. Why am I
reacting differently now? Mimi's always been a good friend, and I've always thought well of her.
She never treated me badly, or at least any worse than anyone else ever has. I guess I kinda like
her...'
Izzy stopped himself and smacked his head hard, groaning for a moment.
'Okay, Izumi, get that thought out of your head right now! Get real. You're the ultimate computer
nerd, and she's the beautiful supermodel type. You stand a snowball's chance in Hell of actually
getting together with her. And that's not to mention the fact that she's on the other side of the
world! So don't get any stupid ideas in your head about liking her more than a friend, because
face facts. Stuff like that just doesn't happen to guys like you. Ever.
'And yet... I still want to be there for her. Well, there's always the Internet. As much as that
counts for anything. I'll just try and keep an eye out for her online, and do what I can to try and
keep her cheery. After all, that's what friends are for.
'Besides, what could possibly come of it, anyway?'
**************************************************
It was a few days later, and Mimi had just gotten to school. She was in the midst of getting
together her books for her first couple of classes when her trio of friends stopped by her locker.
Nina, Janice and Carrie gathered nearby, looking a bit worried for their immigrant friend.
"You been doing okay, Mimi?" Janice asked.
"As well as can be expected, I guess." Mimi replied, continuing about her business.
"Are you sure you're not holding anything back?" Nina asked, stepping closer to her.
"Nina, I wouldn't hide anything from you guys. You know that."
"If that's the case, then why has your phone line been busy the past couple of nights? We've all
been trying to call you, but can't get through!" Carrie told her. Mimi bit her lower lip; Carrie always
had had a tendency to be a snooper of sorts.
"Well, I've uh...been doing some stuff online is all. Just some research for a project is all." Mimi
said, coming up with as good a fib as she could. She could tell her friends were not convinced
and laughed nervously. "Um... would you believe I'm downloading music? No? Well..."
As Mimi was about to spill the beans about why she'd been online so much lately, she happened
to look past her friends to see Michael heading towards them with another girl practically hanging
all over him. Mimi recognized her immediately as one of the school's more notorious girls, in a
manner of speaking. She felt a mixture of sickened and hurt as he approached.
"Well well, hello there Mimi." Michael said. His voice practically dripped with venom. "And hello
to you too, girls. I just wanted to stop by to say 'hi' and introduce you to my new girlfriend, Robin.
We just started going out a couple of days ago, and I think we've really hit it off."
He stepped past the other girls, leaning closer to Mimi as he spoke some more, knowing exactly
what it would do to her.
"And you know, she does things for me that no one else ever did. Or at least, someone else
never did." he said, his voice a low tone. Robin just giggled in the background, sounding like the
air brain she was. Michael laughed a bit as well, continuing his barrage. "And she makes me
feel so good, too. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you Mimi?"
Mimi shook inside, doing her best to maintain her composure on the exterior. She managed to
look up at Michael for a moment. She couldn't deny that part of her still felt drawn to him, though
she knew he would probably never feel that way again.
"I'm happy for you, Michael." she managed to saw in a hushed tone, just above a whisper. "Now
excuse me, I need to get to class."
Mimi turned and began to walk away, trying to put it all out of her mind. Michael continued his
barrage as she walked away.
"Yes sir! She makes me very happy!" he announced to the entire hall. "She's a real Wonder
Girl!"
Mimi almost choked as he said that. "Wonder Girl" used to be his pet name for her when they
were going out seriously. Mimi just shut him out of her mind as he continued to rave in the
background, wishing her first class were just a little closer so she could get away from him. Upon
finally reaching the classroom, which was still empty because class didn't begin for another 20
minutes, she slumped over on her desk, unable to contain her emotions any more. Now Michael
had not only dumped her, but also had gotten right together with another girl who'd done exactly
what he'd wanted Mimi to do for him. And he'd just thrown it in her face. Mimi felt more hurt than
ever as she sobbed, alone, in the classroom. Now more than ever, she wished even just one of
her old friends was nearby. Any of them would do, but one in particular.
"Izzy...help me, please..." she whispered to no one in particular as she continued to cry.
***************************************************
MasterIzE: I'm sorry to hear all that, Mimi. I wish there were something I could think to say to
make things better...
USAflowrgrl: I know, Izzy. For that matter, I don't think there's anything you could just say to
make things better right now. Michael just threw that right in my face this morning, and I've got a
good feeling that he's going to keep at it for a while at least. He seems to be getting a kick out of
making me miserable.
MasterIzE: I'm sorry.
USAflowrgrl: I mean, where did I go wrong? We went out when he wanted to, we saw and did
almost everything he wanted to, I was completely devoted to him! And when I held out on one
thing from him, he tosses me aside like a used tissue?! Why? It doesn't make any sense...and
I'm so confused...
MasterIzE: I'm...no, I can't say it anymore.
Izzy shook with anger as he sat in the computer lab, chatting with Mimi over lunch. He couldn't
take it anymore, seeing how hurt Mimi was over all of this. If he had to measure a guess, his face
must've been totally red with anger at that moment.
USAflowrgrl: Izzy?
MasterIzE: How dare he! I've got half a mind to come through the Digital World right now and
introduce him to the business end of my fist! Or maybe I'll bring Tentomon with me instead! See
how he likes dealing with MegaKabuterimon!
USAflowrgrl: It'll be alright, Izzy...
MasterIzE: I can't stand for this, Mimi! I won't stand for it! No one deserved to be treated like
that, least of all you!
USAflowrgrl: Izzy, calm down, okay? There's nothing we can do about this right now. I won't
accept you coming over here just to beat him up, and at the same time I know if I try to retort to
him it'll only make things worse. I know you don't like it, but it'll pass with some time. Just
please...don't get angry.
MasterIzE: I'll be right back, I gotta get another milk from the cafeteria.
Izzy stood up from his computer, storming down to the cafeteria. He tried to work out his anger in
his mind as he went, though it still bubbled inside of him as he made his way up to the counter
and paid for another carton of milk. As he made his way back, one of the basketball players tried
to sneak up on him to do what had been done to him once before in the middle of the cafeteria.
Izzy caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye as he walked, and it was all too much for him
at the moment. The moment he felt that pair of hands reach for his sides, Izzy whirled and
connected with a right cross on the player, flooring him and bloodying his nose. The entire
cafeteria stopped and stared at the sight as Izzy stood over him, his eyes wild, his breathing
shallow but audible, his face contorted with rage. He brushed his hair back a bit and turned,
leaving the cafeteria for the computer room again.
Upon returning to the computer, he noticed that Mimi had signed off already while he'd been
gone. Izzy cursed aloud and hurled the milk he'd bought into the trashcan nearby. He sat at the
computer, his head in his hands as he tried to come to terms with it all. As he finally began to
calm down, his faculty supervisor entered the room, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Izzy, I'm sorry. The principal wants to see you about your actions in the cafeteria." he said. Izzy
took a deep breath and nodded to him. He powered down his computer and headed out of the
computer lab, ready to accept whatever punishment was coming to him for lashing out like he did.
'I guess we're about even now, Mimi.' he thought as he made his way to the principal's office.
'We've both had really crappy days now.'