"Yumi? Are you okay?"

I scrambled up hurriedly, fighting my way through the twigs and leaves that were everywhere. Finally I regained my feet and stood up angrily in an explosion of leaves and dead twigs. "Get away from me, you jerk!" I screamed as my face burned in embarrassment.

"Yumi, were you spying on me? I can't believe you would spy on me."

I made an angry sound in my throat, totally aware that I still looked like a mess with twigs and dead leaves caught in my hair and my feet still standing in the bush I had fell into. "That's beside the point," I snarled.

"How much did you see?" Ulrich's voice and face were nervous now.

"Oh lets see," I said girlishly, pretending to think. "About everything that you would wish you could hide," I concluded harshly. "If you wanted to go to the homecoming dance with Sissy, you could have just asked her! Be my guest! But you didn't have to ask me, and then sneak out here and make out with her to prove that you could get any girl you wanted! And you know what? To prove you wrong, I'm not going to the dance with you and I'm going back to my dorm room right now. You're not worth my time."

I struggled to wade through the bushes and finally triumphed, but not without an assortment of scratches on my arms, hands, and legs. "Yumi, its not what you think, really! I didn't want..."

"Save it scum!" I yelled at him. "No one wants to hear your pitiful lies. Oh, I have a better idea. Tell them to Sissy, your new true love. I'm sure she would love to hear all your problems."

"Yumi, listen, I didn't come out here in my own free will. Sissy dragged me out here..."

I wasn't listening because I was dealing with my own problems. I couldn't believe it. My eyes were wet. I had not cried in years, many years. My tears only added to my burning rage. I was not going to start crying after all these years of not a tear shed and I was certainly not going to waste my tears on Ulrich. Not after what he did to me.

"Yumi," he said, starting to yell. "Are you listening to me?"

"Why should I?" I said, turning my back to him. Even though I was pretty certain that he couldn't see my teary eyes in the dark, I shielded my face from him, just in case. "You have nothing to say."

"I would if you listened."

"You know what?" I said. I couldn't stand it so I finally turned around to face him. "Shut up! Okay? Do me a favor and just shut up!" I could hear my own voice clearly in my mind and it sounded awfully tearful. But that could be explained. My heart had just been stabbed and torn brutally into millions of pieces, and then it was thrown on the floor. My hurt was unimaginable. I turned and bolted, bolted from that no good old snake.

I came fully back to my senses when I was already in my dark room. Finally, I destroyed the dam that had been keeping my tears at bay and they poured out silently. I buried my face in my pillow and cried.

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The next morning, I woke up tired and unwilling. I looked at the clock that was on my bedside table. It read 4:30 in the morning. Perfect time for a nice, soothing, warm shower. I placed everything I would need into my black drawstring bag and slung a bathrobe from my arm. Then I went out into the hall and prepared to head for the girls' showers.

"Yumi?"

Not quite awake, the voice gave me a scare and a wake up call. I gasped and looked to my right. Ulrich was leaning on the wall next to my door.

"What time did you have to get up to get here this early?" I asked with a yawn.

"It doesn't matter. I didn't sleep all night anyway."

I yawned again and started walking. "Sissy's room is farther down, by the way."

A sharp bang woke me up anew and I turned. Ulrich had pounded one fist into the wall he had been leaning against. I could tell he was angry. "I didn't come to talk to Sissy, Yumi. I came to talk to you."

I started walking again. "Suit yourself, but there isn't anything to talk about."

"Just listen okay? Shut up and listen."

"Fine."

"Sissy dragged me out there in the middle of the night to force me to ask her to the homecoming dance. She sent Herb and Nick to lure you from your room and outside in time to see her kiss me, which was utterly gross if you wanted to know. Anyway, the whole point was to make you mad and jealous, which I can see it did."

I lifted up a finger and Ulrich stopped. "Mad yes," I corrected, "but jealous, I don't think so. At least not now. I don't care now. Go with her if you want."

"I don't want to go with that slut, Yumi. I want..." he trailed off as we neared the door to the girls' showers. "I want to go with you."

I stopped and sighed. "Sorry, Ulrich. I can't. I have work to do."

"Yumi..."

I turned away without another word.

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School was routine that day. Ulrich and I avoided each other the entire time. Sissy watched from the shadows, although she needed a bit of work on her spying skills (then again, I do too). I was relieved when the last bell rang and I filed out of history. Everyone else ran off through the doors, laughing and talking loudly. Why shouldn't they? It was Friday. It was also the day of the homecoming dance, which I was not going to.

Odd was waiting for me outside of the history building. "We need to talk," he said and led the way to a nearby bench between two trees.

"Of course, Odd, no need to say hello."

He hesitated. "Hello," then he paused. "Are you happy now?"

I nodded and shrugged. "I was just kidding."

He sat down on the bench, facing me. I sat down next to him. "Well, it didn't seem like you were kidding. Actually, you haven't smiled all day. And neither has Ulrich. Did something happen between you two?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," I mumbled.

"Actually, yes I would. I hate it when you guys fight."

"Then, stay out of it, okay?" I said gently. "Its not your problem."

"But...I just wish everyone would be happy."

"If only, Odd. If only."

Silence settled in on our conversation. I watched as two girls ran to the fields, giggling and laughing together. I couldn't remember the last time I had a best friend that was a girl. I now wish I had one. She would understand all that I was going through. She would make sure I was being cheered up with words of comfort and jokes intended to try and make someone sad laugh. I sighed. Aelita briefly fluttered into my head but she fluttered out just as quickly. She was only virtual. She didn't have nearly what true human best friends have.

"Well, then," Odd said, stretching out in the sun and shade, returning to his old self. "Going to the homecoming dance tonight?"

"No."

"No?"

I nodded. "You?"

"I'll go to trash the party." He laughed a bit. "Probably not. I'll stick around Jeremy and maybe have a little fun in Lyoko."

"Why? I thought you didn't want to go to Lyoko anytime soon."

"Well, I'm starting to want to go back to that insane place. Besides, its more fun there than to see you and Ulrich tear each other to pieces with your silent treatment." I looked up at him in surprise as he stood up. "Got to run. Lyoko awaits." He turned and walked away in the direction of the forest in which our secret tunnel was. I sighed and sat with my chin cupped in my hands for a while, my elbows propped up on my knees.

Just as I turned to go, Sissy's snobby voice pierced through the air. "What?!" she screamed. Then I heard footsteps getting closer. She appeared right in front of me. "Yumi," she said, her usual fake niceness gone. "Have you heard? Ulrich's going with Emily to the homecoming dance!" she yelled, infuriated. I kept my face calm and careless but inside I felt a lurch. "That little twerp! I thought that when you were out of the picture he would obviously come to me. But no...Emily! She's a no good..."

"Wait, what?" I said, standing up, this time my turn in being angry. "You got me, 'out of the picture?'" I snarled, holding up my index finger and middle finger of both hands and bending them twice in quotation marks.

Sissy stopped raving and turned a bit pale. "Oops. I shouldn't have said that."

"I can't believe you Sissy! It was true, all that Ulrich tried to say to me. It was you!" I pointed an accusing finger at her. She stumbled back a step.

"I've got to run!" she said, smiling nervously. "See you tonight!" Then she zoomed off in the direction of the dorms.

I watched her as she ran off, still shaking in rage. Then I sank back down onto the bench in despair. Ulrich had been telling the truth and I had just ignored him completely. I couldn't believe my bad luck.

"Why the long face?" I looked up through my shimmering eyesight (I couldn't believe it. I was on the verge of crying again!) and saw Ben standing there, his face full of compassion. "Was Sissy trying to beat you up again?" He sat down next to me on the bench.

"No, no," I said hurriedly. "I'm okay. Really." I resisted the motion of reaching up to wipe away my tears. That would give me away for sure. But then I felt a cool drop of water slide down from my eye down my cheek. I bit my lip.

Suddenly, Ben reached up and gently wiped my tear away with his finger. His finger lingered on my cheek for a moment, long enough to make me blush. Him too, I noticed. He let his hand drop and he fidgeted uncomfortably for a while. "Hey, Yumi," he started, staring at the ground. "I was wondering if you aren't already going with someone to the dance that maybe we could...well, you know..."

"Go together," I finished for him. He looked up at me in relief. I smiled and answered without hesitation, "I would love too."