"Detention?" Ulrich asked me the next day. "For what?"
"Oh...uh...nothing big. I just said some stuff I shouldn't have."
"Really?" Ulrich said, leaning against the side of the building our next class was in.
"Yeah..."
"Like what?"
"Oh...I implied that he was dumb many times but I don't think he figured those out. But he did figure out the last one."
"Which was?"
"Well, I said to him that what people say is true. That people who can't do, teach and people that can't teach, teach gym."
"Nice one Yumi, but that isn't the way to go to get off the hook with Jim."
"Noticed."
"What happened after you got busted last night, Yumi?" Odd said, grinning from ear to ear. He walked toward us happily, his blonde hair with a purple spot in it matching his clothes, as usual. "I heard Jim's scream all the way from Jeremy's room. You had to have made him really mad for him to do that."
"I did make him really mad." I put my black bag down on the dusty ground near my feet. "I got a detention."
"Detention?" Odd's eyes widened but his grin never lessened. "How'd you do it? You got off easy! He would have taken the opportunity to suspend me for sure!"
"Odd!" Ulrich cut in, "Yumi never gets detentions."
"It's fine, guys. I'll deal with it. Where's Jeremy?"
"I don't know," Ulrich answered. "He slept really late though. I would know cause he kept me awake all night talking to Aelita. I think they didn't end on a particularly happy note though."
I sighed and leaned against the wall as well. "Please don't let them be in another fight. I don't want to have to be Jeremy's love life counselor again. I try to help him but he really does have the lamest fears about Aelita and him." I shook my head and looked up just in time to see Jeremy running toward us.
"Hey, guys!" he greeted us. "Sorry I'm late, but I was just talking to Aelita to make sure everything in Lyoko was fine. She said everything was okay."
"I'm not surprised," I commented. "It's strange, but nothing happened with Xana over the summer. You would think he would attack then, since we wouldn't be able to stop him without getting to the school and that wouldn't be easy. But he didn't. So I'm really not surprised that anything would go on with Xana now."
"Agreed," Ulrich said, "but I'm still worried. He might be planning something."
"Come on, Ulrich," Odd said causally, "when is he ever not planning something?"
Just then the bell rang. "Yay, math...not," Ulrich grumbled as he trudged in. Even though this was an easy class I usually slept through, I had the same thought as him.
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After school, instead of walking to my dorm or to the field to have a little fun like everyone else, I walked to a forlorn looking building in the back of all the educational buildings. Its drab paint (in the brilliant color gray) gave the walls a cold, forbidding look. I gulped, for that's what I felt. I felt as if I was convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison for an hour. This was my prison.
The only soothing thought I had as I walked over there was that Ulrich was with me. He offered to walk me to detention. I don't know why he would want to walk me there, as if the positions were switched I probably would have made the same offer but then wished with all my might that he would say no, it wouldn't be necessary. Anyway, he was thoughtful in doing this because as much as I said to everyone that it wasn't a big deal and I could handle it, I knew inside that exactly the opposite was true. To me detention was always for those punks that didn't care for following rules, whose mottos were that rules were created to be broken. And now that I was joining them was more than I could bear.
We reached the red door that was the entry to my doom. The red door was the only spot of color on the entire building other than shades of gray. Even then, the door was scratched and the paint was starting to peel. I shuddered and took out the piece of yellow paper Jim had given me. I unwrapped it slowly, and saw the clumsy handwriting of Jim on it, stating that I was accused of talking back, and insulting a teacher unnecessarily. I shuddered again. Then I felt Ulrich's hand on my shoulder. I looked up.
"You okay?" he asked gently, his face full of concern. I instantly felt better.
"I'm fine. Thanks for coming with me though. You should go back. I'm pretty sure the others will be waiting."
He smiled. "Naw, they don't care about me that much." He let his hand drop back to his side and I turned toward the door.
"Here goes," I whispered to myself, though I think Ulrich heard me. I reached out and twisted the doorknob. The red door swung open.