The Future No One Expected
The next day, Jeremie woke up early to make an appointment with a business specialist down in Paris. He dress, ate and entered his work room. He glanced at the laptop, screen black as ever and closed it, placing it inside his bag and leaving his house. He walked down the street carrying a coffee cup he just bought in the local cafe around the corner. He took a sip as he boarded the bus. The ride to Paris was long, and boring. He leaned back in his seat and stared out the window.
The city passed by quickly as the bus got onto a highway and made it's way through city lines. One more stop and a few people got on. Then it was off to Paris. A boy with a dog was one to get on at the last stop. He had bright red hair spiked up slightly and wore a strange purple outfit. Purple pants and a matching purple shirt. On the front of the shirt was a picture of a guy's face. The guy had blond/purple hair and was holding his hand in a peace sign. The boy with the dog walked to Jeremie and sat across the aisle from him. He carried a skate board and gear in his hand. His dog was overweight and just slumped on the floor. Jeremie watched the boy for a moment more.
Jeremie turned back to his window and stared. Before long, he heard the bus driver announce over the speakers that they were now in Paris. Jeremie got off the bus and headed down the busy street. He pulled out a business card from his bag and read it over. On the back of the card was a hand written message explaining what the building looked like.
"Large, gray, many windows, red rotating doors."
Jeremie arched an eye brow before looking around the large city. He stopped a few people to ask directions. A couple of them pushed him away while one directed in the wrong direction. He sighed and check his watch. He was already five minutes late. He approached a door man and asked him the same question. The man chuckled and smiled.
"Your here good man."
Jeremie looked up and saw a large gray building. He looked back down and saw the red rotating doors. Jeremie thanked the man and entered the building. When he got into the lobby, he almost got dizzy. It was huge. He looked up at the high ceiling and saw it was a mirror with a large crystal chandelier in the middle. When he looked down, he saw the floor was a gray and orange spiral pattern. The windows were huge as were the potted plants along the walls. One large wooden desk sat directly in front of him and he approached it. He leaned on the counter and called for someone. A slender lady approached.
He asked for the name on the card and she called up to the office. after a few minutes later, Jeremie was being escorted through the building up to the very top floor, floor twelve. The man escorting him was large and muscular. He was also bald and wearing a black suit. The man didn't bother to look at Jeremie the whole way. On the top floor, the man typed in a few codes and the elevator door opened to revile a very large office. Jeremie was practically pushed out of the elevator as the doors closed with a soft clang behind him.
"Hello?"
Jeremie called out, expecting an echo. He walked into the middle of the office where he stood on a fancy titled floor. The walls were nothing but large windows. The only actual wall was on the wide where the elevators were. There hung two large paintings from famous French painters. Jeremie turned back to the front of the office where he saw a large glass desk sitting with a large black chair turned around to face the window. On the desk was a single computer screen. It was thin and rested on a single rod. Under the desk was two thick sections of metal. On which held three drawers and one which concealed the tower of the computer.
On the desk next to the computer screen sat a single small framed photo and a name plaque. Jeremie approached the desk. The name on the plaque read 'ULRICH STERN executive president'. The chair slowly turned around. There sitting with his legs crossed and hands folded over his lap was an older Ulrich. His hair was slicked back and his suit was neatly pressed. He no longer wore a smile on his face. He stared at Jeremie.
"Sorry I'm late..."
"Whatever. The computer's main system is over here."
Ulrich rose to his feet and walked over to one of the paintings. He pressed lightly on the frame and it swung open. A key pad and hand print slab rolled out. Ulrich punched in a few codes and placed his palm on the pad. The electronics rolled back inside and the frame swung shut. The other frame swung open to relieve red lasers everywhere, protecting the opening.
"Portal."
Ulrich calmly stared and the lasers disappeared. Jeremie stared in awe at the system before him. Wires and lights decorated the opening in the wall.
"This controls the complete design system of out games. What ever information you gather from here, stays here. Understand? AND, I need the computers up and running by 5pm. I have an important business meeting about the latest game."
Ulrich stood off to the side and allowed Jeremie to set up. Once he had contacted his laptop to the main system's computer, Jeremie began to type away. He was making great progress. After an hour, Ulrich had returned to his desk and began writing stuff up on his personal laptop. Jeremie listened as the typing on Ulrich's computer stopped. He waited a moment more.
"Been in contact with anyone lately?"
Jeremie asked as he continued to work. He waited again.
"No. Haven't had time."
"Not even Yumi?"
"No."
Jeremie's expression fell from calm to depressed. He continued to work hard at the system's hard drive. He waited a few more deadly silence minutes.
"What ever happened to us? We used to be so close?"
"Things change, people grow up, friendships die..."
"You were the one who started the promise that we would be..."
"That was a childish promise!"
Jeremie stopped working and just stared off into the mess of wires and lights. Memories passing before his eyes of all the trips to Lyoko and hanging out under the tree at school. He snapped back into reality.
"Promises are not childish."
"They are. All that is permeate are contracts... and even those are not always permeate..."
Jeremie closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He stood up and stared at the floor.
"Are you finished already?"
Ulrich checked his watch. Jeremie turned around and opened his eyes, relaxing his muscles.
"No, I'm not done."
"Then what is keeping you?"
Ulrich walked out from behind his desk and stood with his hand son his hips. He watched Jeremie for a moment before he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Why the sudden interest in the loss of the Lyoko friendship?"
"It's not sudden. I've been feeling this way since graduation when we all went separate ways."
"Thats how life goes."
"We all used to be so close... why did it end?"
"Because we are all different! We have different dreams, goals, ambitions!"
Ulrich dropped his arms by his side harshly. The two old friends had a stare off. Pride verses pride had a final showdown. This would make or break the crumbling friendship. They stared at each other, both determined to come out on top. Jeremie then noticed the frame on the desk. He looked past Ulrich at the frame and squinted until he saw the contents. It was two frames in one; the same picture Jeremie had at his house and then one of a young Ulrich and Yumi standing outside Yumi's parent's house on prom night.
"If you are so bent on forgetting everything..."
Jeremie managed to walk around Ulrich quickly and grabbed the frame off the desk and held it out. Ulrich stared at the pictures. The pictures always sat there, all through his six year career, but he never 'saw' them. Like he kept looking through it. He grabbed the frame from Jeremie and stared at the pictures quickly, glancing once more at Yumi. He moved it from his body and held it over the trash can and dropped it. Sounds of breaking glass and the thud of the wood in the metal can echoed through the office.
Jeremie stared in horror. This was the end. Ulrich was don with the friendship.
"Then have it your way... Mr. Stern."
Jeremie moved back to his laptop and continued to work. At 5pm, he finished just a Ulrich stood behind him, tapping his foot.
"I'm done, sir."
Jeremie picked up his stuff and turned around. Ulrich handed him a check and Jeremie was escorted out of the building. Ulrich went back to his desk and turned on his desk computer. He tapped into the security camera and watched the lobby as Jeremie left. Down stairs Jeremie was escorted to the front desk where the man stopped and turned around to leave. Jeremie walked to the exit when he spotted a display. He walked over to it and looked into the glass case. It was a model of the world from the first game Ulrich designed. The game that sent him to the top.
Jeremie looked closer then relized what it was. He looked above the model and saw a poster behind a glass on the wall. A girl with long pink hair wore a green and pink outfit as she stood next to three other players, each wearing a special different and unique outfit. Behind them was a large red eye like thing. Decorating the bottom of the background was the virtual world with tall glowing towers.
" 'Code: Lyoko'. Fight with your friends to defeat the evil X.A.N.A."
Jeremie sneered at the poster and then looked back at the model. It was a model of the virtual world of Lyoko. Next tot he world was sketches of what the characters would look like. They looked like Aelita and younger Yumi, Odd and Ulrich. Jeremie crunched his hand into a fist and then chucked the check Ulrich handed him at the model. He stormed out of the building, darting past the doorman pissed off.
Ulrich stared at the screen and watched as Jeremie threw the check at the game model. His eyes moved from the screen to the trash where the pictures lay covered in broken glass in the trash can.
Outside, Jeremie was walking to the bus. Being a Saturday, the bus stopped running from Paris to Lyons at 5pm. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 5:15pm. He looked ahead and saw the bus driving away.
"Wait!"
Jeremie ran after the bus, but then stopped. The bus was gone. He sighed and looked into the bus stop shelter. He walked up to the map on the wall and scanned it. His finger traced the route he would need to walk to get back to Lyons. He sighed and checked his watch. If he was ever going to make it to the concert, he needed to go now.
Please review. No FLAMES (Thats X.A.N.A.'s job only). Please look in my profile ooOAnimeChildOoo for all my other stories. And again, thanks for reading.
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever"
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