Chapter 2: The Arrival
Yumi stopped by Ulrich and Odd's room before the bus was scheduled to leave for the trip. "Hey," she greeted.
Ulrich was in the room with Jeremie, but without Odd. Ulrich's suitcases were nearly packed as he dug out various items from under his bed, and Jeremie's suitcases were all ready to go by the door. There was another case, presumably Odd's, which was only half packed with clothes and junk strewn about the floor near it.
"Hi Yumi." Jeremie glanced up from the laptop he held in his lap for a second to greet her. "Hey, Yumi. Already packed?" Ulrich asked, peeking out from the bed for a moment before diving back in.
"Yeah, I've already brought my stuff down to the drop-off. You guys better hurry, loading's in ten minutes. Where's Odd?"
"Who knows? He left a couple minutes ago, muttering something about clean socks. He hasn't been back, and he's only half packed." Ulrich told her, coming out from under the bed and standing up with something that looked like a walkman clutched in his fist. He stuffed the walkman in his suitcase and zipped it up, then set it next to Jeremie's by the door. Yumi took a seat on the bed where the suitcase had been, peering over at Odd's things. She glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Five more minutes. I wonder if we should finish packing for him? I want to get decent seats in the back for us." Yumi pondered as Ulrich sat down next to her.
"No, it's Odd. He's scatterbrained, but he'll show up in time. Let's wait a couple more minutes."
"Okay. How about a game of cards then? Jeremie? Want to join us?" Yumi pulled out a deck from her carry-on bag and started shuffling.
"No thanks, guys. I'm still fixing settings on the laptop, but you guys go ahead."
Yumi looked at Ulrich. "Ha, ha. So it's just you and me then, is it? Prepare to be beaten at the game of Speed!"
"No way, Yumi! You're going down!" And with a last quick look at the clock, they started playing. They were so wrapped up in their game and Jeremie with his laptop that they were startled when Odd burst through the door ten minutes later clutching a pair of clean socks.
"Whoa, you have no idea how hard it is to bum a pair of socks off of someone in this school!" Jeremie stuffed the socks in his suitcase. He also unceremoniously stuffed in the remaining clothes surrounding the suitcase as well as a pile of things from on top of his dresser.
"Oh no, guys! Loading's started five minutes ago; we'll never get decent seats now! Come on!" Yumi rushed to put away the cards as the others scrambled to get to the door with their luggage. With one last zip of a suitcase Odd was ready, and they started the procession, half jogging with their heavy luggage and Yumi urging them on, down the hallway. They finally got outside to where the three buses were awaiting the students. The three boys dropped off their luggage with the pile of other students' suitcases, and Yumi led them onto a bus whose line was quickly diminishing.
Once on board though, she let out a groan. "Oh, great." she said. There were only two seats together towards the front of the bus, and a couple other single seats available scattered here and there. She started urging everyone out and onto another bus so they could have seats together, but Jim wouldn't let them off.
"There're seats in there, kids. No more space anywhere else; go on and let's get moving."
Ulrich faces the group at the front of the bus. "There are only two seats together. Who's going to take them?"
"I'll go into a single seat, guys. I've got my laptop to keep me company, it's okay." Jeremie volunteered, indicating his laptop he had brought as a carry-on.
"And I think I see- oops, I, um, I mean, I'll take a single seat too." Odd blushed and pointed to a seat next to a very pretty girl looking out her window.
Yumi laughed and agreed. She and Ulrich took the two seats as they let Odd and Jeremie shuffle farther backwards deeper onto the bus. Yumi had just taken out the deck of cards again for her and Ulrich to play with when they were greeted by the people in the seat behind them.
"Hi, my name's Paige Brooks. This is my brother, Parker. You guys are coming on the skiing trip too?"
Paige and her brother were clearly related, both having curly dark brown hair and strikingly green eyes. They were also pretty tall, which Yumi could tell even though they were sitting down. They both looked really cool, and Yumi and Ulrich took an instant liking to their friendly attitude and chatter.
"Uh, hi, Paige. Yeah, we're coming. It looks like fun, doesn't it? Oh, I'm Yumi, and this is Ulrich. How long of a ride are we taking?"
"Oh, it's something like an hour. Should be really boring, don't you think? Hey, I have a deck of cards, if you'd like to play something," Paige said.
"Hey, we have cards, too. That's cool; sure, what do you like to play?" Yumi smiled and brandished her own deck.
"Well, I really like Speed, but that's a two-person game." Paige said.
"Hey, that's my favorite, too! We can try four-way Speed, that'd be crazy and fun!"
"Sounds great!"
Yumi started dealing out the cards to herself, Ulrich, Paige, and Paige's brother Parker. Soon the whole group was laughing their heads off at the crazy attempts at playing Speed on a bus that bumped up and down every time they hit a small pebble on the road. They were nearly in hysterics from having a great time when they realized they were at their destination.
"Wow, that was fast!" Yumi proclaimed, wiping tears from her eyes from laughing so hard and gathering up the cards. "Hey, what room are you in, Paige? I don't know where I am-" she produced a piece of paper from her pocket- "I'm in room 224."
"Hey, we're roommates!" Paige exclaimed.
"How about you, Ulrich? Parker?" Yumi asked.
"We're roommates, too. Room 109." Parker said as he and Ulrich compared papers.
"Well, that's cool! Hey, look, we're getting off. Let's go, Paige!" Yumi said excitedly, grabbing her hand and pushing to get off the bus. "Let's go check out our room."
"Wow, dude, I'm hungry." Ulrich noticed, "Judging from the way my stomach's rumbling."
"Hey, me too. Let's check out the cafeteria to see what's cooking." Parker responded as he and Ulrich left the bus behind Yumi and Paige.
Little did Yumi or Ulrich realize, though, that Jeremie and Odd were trying to get their attention from the back of the bus.
Yumi stopped by Ulrich and Odd's room before the bus was scheduled to leave for the trip. "Hey," she greeted.
Ulrich was in the room with Jeremie, but without Odd. Ulrich's suitcases were nearly packed as he dug out various items from under his bed, and Jeremie's suitcases were all ready to go by the door. There was another case, presumably Odd's, which was only half packed with clothes and junk strewn about the floor near it.
"Hi Yumi." Jeremie glanced up from the laptop he held in his lap for a second to greet her. "Hey, Yumi. Already packed?" Ulrich asked, peeking out from the bed for a moment before diving back in.
"Yeah, I've already brought my stuff down to the drop-off. You guys better hurry, loading's in ten minutes. Where's Odd?"
"Who knows? He left a couple minutes ago, muttering something about clean socks. He hasn't been back, and he's only half packed." Ulrich told her, coming out from under the bed and standing up with something that looked like a walkman clutched in his fist. He stuffed the walkman in his suitcase and zipped it up, then set it next to Jeremie's by the door. Yumi took a seat on the bed where the suitcase had been, peering over at Odd's things. She glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Five more minutes. I wonder if we should finish packing for him? I want to get decent seats in the back for us." Yumi pondered as Ulrich sat down next to her.
"No, it's Odd. He's scatterbrained, but he'll show up in time. Let's wait a couple more minutes."
"Okay. How about a game of cards then? Jeremie? Want to join us?" Yumi pulled out a deck from her carry-on bag and started shuffling.
"No thanks, guys. I'm still fixing settings on the laptop, but you guys go ahead."
Yumi looked at Ulrich. "Ha, ha. So it's just you and me then, is it? Prepare to be beaten at the game of Speed!"
"No way, Yumi! You're going down!" And with a last quick look at the clock, they started playing. They were so wrapped up in their game and Jeremie with his laptop that they were startled when Odd burst through the door ten minutes later clutching a pair of clean socks.
"Whoa, you have no idea how hard it is to bum a pair of socks off of someone in this school!" Jeremie stuffed the socks in his suitcase. He also unceremoniously stuffed in the remaining clothes surrounding the suitcase as well as a pile of things from on top of his dresser.
"Oh no, guys! Loading's started five minutes ago; we'll never get decent seats now! Come on!" Yumi rushed to put away the cards as the others scrambled to get to the door with their luggage. With one last zip of a suitcase Odd was ready, and they started the procession, half jogging with their heavy luggage and Yumi urging them on, down the hallway. They finally got outside to where the three buses were awaiting the students. The three boys dropped off their luggage with the pile of other students' suitcases, and Yumi led them onto a bus whose line was quickly diminishing.
Once on board though, she let out a groan. "Oh, great." she said. There were only two seats together towards the front of the bus, and a couple other single seats available scattered here and there. She started urging everyone out and onto another bus so they could have seats together, but Jim wouldn't let them off.
"There're seats in there, kids. No more space anywhere else; go on and let's get moving."
Ulrich faces the group at the front of the bus. "There are only two seats together. Who's going to take them?"
"I'll go into a single seat, guys. I've got my laptop to keep me company, it's okay." Jeremie volunteered, indicating his laptop he had brought as a carry-on.
"And I think I see- oops, I, um, I mean, I'll take a single seat too." Odd blushed and pointed to a seat next to a very pretty girl looking out her window.
Yumi laughed and agreed. She and Ulrich took the two seats as they let Odd and Jeremie shuffle farther backwards deeper onto the bus. Yumi had just taken out the deck of cards again for her and Ulrich to play with when they were greeted by the people in the seat behind them.
"Hi, my name's Paige Brooks. This is my brother, Parker. You guys are coming on the skiing trip too?"
Paige and her brother were clearly related, both having curly dark brown hair and strikingly green eyes. They were also pretty tall, which Yumi could tell even though they were sitting down. They both looked really cool, and Yumi and Ulrich took an instant liking to their friendly attitude and chatter.
"Uh, hi, Paige. Yeah, we're coming. It looks like fun, doesn't it? Oh, I'm Yumi, and this is Ulrich. How long of a ride are we taking?"
"Oh, it's something like an hour. Should be really boring, don't you think? Hey, I have a deck of cards, if you'd like to play something," Paige said.
"Hey, we have cards, too. That's cool; sure, what do you like to play?" Yumi smiled and brandished her own deck.
"Well, I really like Speed, but that's a two-person game." Paige said.
"Hey, that's my favorite, too! We can try four-way Speed, that'd be crazy and fun!"
"Sounds great!"
Yumi started dealing out the cards to herself, Ulrich, Paige, and Paige's brother Parker. Soon the whole group was laughing their heads off at the crazy attempts at playing Speed on a bus that bumped up and down every time they hit a small pebble on the road. They were nearly in hysterics from having a great time when they realized they were at their destination.
"Wow, that was fast!" Yumi proclaimed, wiping tears from her eyes from laughing so hard and gathering up the cards. "Hey, what room are you in, Paige? I don't know where I am-" she produced a piece of paper from her pocket- "I'm in room 224."
"Hey, we're roommates!" Paige exclaimed.
"How about you, Ulrich? Parker?" Yumi asked.
"We're roommates, too. Room 109." Parker said as he and Ulrich compared papers.
"Well, that's cool! Hey, look, we're getting off. Let's go, Paige!" Yumi said excitedly, grabbing her hand and pushing to get off the bus. "Let's go check out our room."
"Wow, dude, I'm hungry." Ulrich noticed, "Judging from the way my stomach's rumbling."
"Hey, me too. Let's check out the cafeteria to see what's cooking." Parker responded as he and Ulrich left the bus behind Yumi and Paige.
Little did Yumi or Ulrich realize, though, that Jeremie and Odd were trying to get their attention from the back of the bus.