Aelita sat cross-legged on the boulder, the wind dancing through her pink hair. Not that the wind was real. Or that she was, for that matter. Nevertheless, she soaked in the noon sun's rays, relishing the peace that had finally descended on Lyoko.
A distant rumble then caused Aelita's eyes to snap open.
"X.A.N.A.," she whispered.
Although X.A.N.A. had not attacked Lyoko for nearly three days, last night had brought the first of the pulsations that indicated an impending attack. But the rumbles were still too weak to follow and find the tower X.A.N.A. was using as his access port. Though Aelita strained her ears towards the outlying pulses, silence followed her efforts.
"Maybe I should warn Jeremie of this," Aelita thought as she got to her feet and stretched her virtual limbs. "X.A.N.A. hasn't attacked in so long..." With a final stretch, she began to walk towards a nearby tower, hoping Jeremie was on his laptop as usual.
Jeremie's laptop was on the floor leaning against the legs of his desk, recharging its batteries.
"Hey, everything set for today?" Odd asked as he dashed into his seat just as the bell rang.
"Everything's under control," Jeremie replied, reaching down to pet the laptop beside him.
"Yeah, relax, Odd," Ulrich added, who had just added the final touches to the notes. "Unless Team Sissi decides to put a laser beam on top of their mousetrap car, I don't think we have much to worry about."
"Hey, Ulrich," Sissi beamed as she strutted towards them.
"Speak of the devil," he muttered in reply.
"You should have joined my group," Sissi said, either not hearing Ulrich's comment or choosing to tactfully ignore it. "We've practically guaranteed the best grade in the class, not to mention first place in the race." She leaned in close, batting her eyelashes furiously. "Sure you won't change your mind?" Ulrich grimaced in response, trying to sink back into his chair and onto the floor.
"He doesn't need anyone to do his work for him, Sissi," Odd interrupted, rescuing his friend as she spun in fury towards him. "Rumor has it Herb's done everything but choose the colors of the car. What are they, sissy pink and jealous green?" To everyone's surprise, especially Sissi, she was speechless. In fact it was Herb, standing right behind her, who spoke up in defense.
"We'll see who's jealous at the end of the race." Spinning on his heel, Herb marched confidently back to his desk, Nicholas close behind. Sissi, after turning up her nose at Odd, followed.
"Oooh, I'm so scared," Odd mocked at their retreating backs. "At least we don't have to cheat to win." They all remembered the robot competition where Herb's robot illegally shot out hardware nuts to destroy the opposition. After X.A.N.A. attacked and they were sent back to the past, they were able to dodge the nut and win the competition.
"Herb's right about one thing," Jeremie said. Ulrich and Odd spun around, jaws dropping.
"Are you feeling all right? Because I swear I just heard you say that Herb was right about something," Ulrich said.
"We won't know who will win until the end of the race," Jeremie quickly explained.
"Well, I can't wait until we kick butt!" Odd cried out, punching a fist into the air in triumph.
"Unfortunately, you will have to wait," interrupted Mrs. Hertz, glaring down at Odd's suddenly sheepish grin. "The race will start after the presentations. And since you are so eager to 'kick butt,' as you say, your group will be going first." This was met with groans by the three team members, although everyone else was struggling to keep straight faces. "And they will also go first in the races." Now everyone else groaned- their cars would be compared to Jeremie's! Meanwhile Jeremie was attaching the wires for video and audio to the overhead screen projector. As soon as the laptop warmed up, Aelita popped up on the screen, relief washing through her face.
"Jeremie! Thank goodness, I've b..." Then Aelita, projected onto the large screen, finally noticed the stunned faces of the whole class staring back at her.
"Jeremie...?" Mrs. Hertz began, waiting for an explanation. All Jeremie could do was stare open-mouthed at Aelita, who stared back at him and everyone else.
"She's... she's my cousin!" Odd bailed out Jeremie. "Aelita, what have I told you about contacting your boyfriend during school hours?"
"Boyfriend...?" both Jeremie and Ulrich repeated at the same time.
"Jeremie has a girlfriend?!" Sissi laughed.
"I am sorry for my intrusion," Aelita stammered at last. Her face as pink as her hair (which was saying something), she disappeared off-screen, and the browser window closed behind her. Jeremie, redder than Aelita, attempted to open up the presentation, while Odd snorted with laughter.
"Congratulations, Jeremie!" Ulrich grinned, patting him on the back. "Rumors already and you haven't even taken her on a date!"