Part One: The Ups and Downs of Summer

Chapter One: Jeremie and Yumi

Seasons had changed, as they always are changing and always will change. Things so transient come and go at the mercy of our divine ruler. And yet we have no control over things that aren't transient. Autumn always changed to winter, which always changed into the spring then summer. Beings grew taller, then wider- then broke down before succumbing to our merciless Earth. Mother Nature was a nurturer and a provider, but she still harvested Pain and Death and Suffering. But with Pain came Relief, with Death came Resurrection, and with Suffering came Realization. It was this Realization that we are nothing more than specks of universal star dust that made us not only human, but powerless against it.

It had been a long summer for the five teens. A new middle school was built not too far from where the old one was, so the younger students attended New Mertzon Junior High while the Kadic Junior High became simply Kadic High School. The teens were pleased with this arrangement, seeing as they had gone to Kadic since they were just ten years old.

High schoolers, especially at the teens' ages, did not have to stay under the constant supervision of Kadic's staff. They took the summer off, mostly because blonde-haired Jeremie found a way to prevent most XANA attacks before they even began.

Jeremie spent his summer with his now-retired, older parents. They did not have enough money to travel around France like they had previously planned, so the family of three stayed at home. Mr. Belpois, who once was a prestigious engineer, helped Jeremie build a faster, more efficient laptop. Mrs. Belpois, who was a well-renowned scientist that secretly gardened in her free time, bonded with Jeremie during the summer.

Jeremie dreamed about Aelita while helping his mother (who had a terrible case of the cold) around the house. When asked what he was daydreaming about, Jeremie would just reply with a nonchalant, "Nothing, mother."

While Jeremie was learning how to upgrade his computer from his father, Yumi was having a delightful time at her house. Her parents were going through with the divorce, and Yumi was in the heat of it. Both her mother and father wanted her to side with them. Finally, her mother took custody of Yumi and her brother, and her father moved out of the house.

"Mom," said Yumi over dinner one night, "are you and Dad ever going to get back together?"

Mrs. Ishiyama froze in mid-bite. She sighed and finished chewing (albeit slowly) before she gave an answer.

The answer was deliberate and pained. "I don't know, dear."

"I'm glad you guys got a divorce. Now you guys won't fight anymore," Yumi's brother quickly added.

Mrs. Ishiyama shot a hard look at the boy. He quietly excused himself and bolted to his room. "Well, I'm sad that you guys couldn't work it out, if you wanted to know my opinion," said Yumi coolly.

The young mother sighed and simply walked to her bedroom. Shutting the door quietly, Mrs. Ishiyama left Yumi to her own devices.

Yumi spent the majority of the summer sulking in her bedroom. However, sometimes she strolled to the factory, just to see if anyone had inhabited it since that unfortunate incident last year. It horrified Yumi to think that the more people knew about this Code: LYOKO operation, the more the world was in danger of becoming destroyed.

Yumi longed to call Ulrich, but for some reason, his cell phone was always off. Yumi did not realize that her best friend was so badly in need of her at that moment.

Chapter Two: Ulrich

Ulrich's parents were pleased to see that their only living child was the star of the Kadic High School soccer team as well as being in the top 30 of his graduating class (Jeremie was valedictorian). The only thing that Mr. and Mrs. Stern were not too pleased with was Ulrich's new style of dressing.

Ulrich figured that if baggy jeans and black tee shirts (sometimes red, if the black shirts were in the wash) were the only thing that kept his parents from loving him, he needed to find new parents. The sudden change in clothes came from the realization that it was about time to grow up. After all, he was seventeen years old.

After driving around in his newly-acquired car (given to him as a birthday present from his parents), Ulrich came home to his father waiting nervously by the phone in the kitchen. The boy became apprehensive.

"Dad, are you okay?" Ulrich asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

Mr. Stern fidgeted around a bit. "I'm… doing fine."

Ulrich put down his keys gently on the counter where his father was sitting. He glanced at the clock which said the time was only 11:31.

"Shouldn't you be at work now?"

His dad leaned his head in his hands. He was starting to shake. "I- I-"

Ulrich peered at his father. "Where's Mom? Or are you taking a sick day?"

Mr. Stern slammed his hands down on the counter. There were two streams of tears coming out of his eyes. "She's in the hospital, okay!"

Ulrich's world had been on three pillars since he started school. Because he was the only child, the pressure was stacked higher; more pressure meant the world became more unstable. This news of his mother being in the hospital threw his world off-balance once more.

Ulrich's voice became quiet. "Why?"

Mr. Stern took a deep breath. "I don't know. I couldn't go in the ambulance. I don't know if I can even go in the hospital."

His son remembered that his father almost fainted the last time he saw a needle- and that was when Ulrich was getting a booster shot before entering kindergarten.

"Please, Dad. I'll drive you, it'll be alright."

"No-no-no…"

Ulrich did something for the first time since he was just a toddler. He hugged his father. "I love you, Dad. And you love Mom. Come with me. Don't do it for me- do it for Mom."

And with that, the two companions quietly drove to the hospital where Mrs. Stern was taken.

Chapter Three: A Collapsing World

After finding out Mrs. Stern's room number (Intensive Care Unit, Bed 8), the two trudged up three flights of stairs to get there. Mr. Stern calmed down, but Ulrich hated seeing his own father so upset.

They had reached the ICU and checked in at the nurse's station, which was more hectic than fighting twenty of XANA's monsters at once.

"Who is the patient you are trying to see?" asked one ancient-looking nurse, peering over her glasses.

Ulrich gulped and tried to find his voice. "Heidi Stern, ma'am."

"And to what relation are you to Ms. Stern?"

"He is her husband," Ulrich pointed at his dad then at himself, "and I am her son."

The nurse pursed her lips. "How old are you, my boy?"

Ulrich murmured, "Seventeen, ma'am."

She nodded and leaned in to Ulrich. With a soft whisper, she told Ulrich, "You aren't allowed to be in this area unless you are eighteen. But, the outlook isn't good for her. On those conditions only are you allowed to be back there. But don't stay too long, you hear?"

Ulrich was about to respond with the question of his mother's diagnosis, but the intercom interrupted him. "Attention, attention please," a bland womanly computerized voice urgently pressed the staff and visitors of the hospital, "code blue. Intensive Care Unit."

The words were succinct and chilling. Behind him, his father gasped as many doctors and technicians raced into the ICU, past Ulrich and around the corner and into a corridor. Ulrich tried to block out the intercom, but just couldn't.

Nurses were screaming, "What bed?" And one said, "Bed Eight!" The commotion went to the corridor where the mob ran to.

Ulrich's world was falling apart at the seams- and the pillars weren't holding it up much better.

Ulrich dared not to look at his father's face, knowing himself what his father's look would hold. The kind ICU reception nurse bobbed her grey curls and led the father and son through the now virtually empty nurse's station. Ulrich's heart stopped beating as he watched the teams resuscitate a pale, naked body.

That's all she became was a body. A pale, cold, lifeless body that wouldn't breathe when commanded to do so. God was using Heidi Stern to show that He himself was in charge- not the doctors or technicians or even the poor woman.

Ulrich ran to the bed in what felt like slow motion. He saw a red-headed chubby doctor use his stethoscope and shake his head. A young, black-haired man in a lab coat stared at the clock and to the blonde nurse next to him, he moved his lips barely. Ulrich looked at the clock too. It was 13:10 in the afternoon of August 29.

By the time he reached the bed, the team had cleared out, except for one nurse. She was closing the curtain that separated the bed from the corridor. Ulrich jumped into the room before the curtain finished closing. The pretty nurse understood, smiled, and walked out of the makeshift room quietly.

Ulrich saw that, despite all the distress that was going around her, his mother seemed to be at peace. Her face reminded him of those times when she would contemplate and meditate at the breakfast table before going to work. Not really a smile, but not a frown either. She looked like a life-size doll, a replica of his mother.

Her hair was askew across the pillow as if she were asleep. Ulrich was transported back into his 5-year-old days, when he would wake up his mother in the middle of the night.

"Mommy? I had a nightmare, Mommy. Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course, dear," she would say quietly, as to not wake up her husband. And Ulrich would climb into the big, warm bed with the tattered quilts.

But she wasn't asking if he had had a nightmare. She was dead. He started to cry. Not sob, like his father was doing outside of the room, but cry silently. He had never cried before. Never.

He touched her cold, pale face. Her breast was exposed, the breast where he might have nursed when he was just a newborn, he speculated. How eerie it felt to touch the dead! With tears in his puffy red eyes, he covered her up, so that her breast and the paddle marks were not exposed to the cruel, harsh world.

She didn't wake up. He kissed her on the cheek. "Bye, Mom," he whispered shakily. He left a single tear on that cheek which he kissed so many times before when he was in elementary school.

Ulrich found the sheet that was thrown off her bed in her last moments and shook it out. Gently parachuting the blanket over the bed, he laid the white sheet over his mother's rigid body. The blanket just covered her, and she was gone.

His world was beginning to collapse.

Chapter Four: The Terrible News

Odd and Aelita were having a wonderful time at Odd's aunt's house when his cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Odd? It's Yumi. Where are you?"

Odd smiled at Aelita, who had no idea who was on the other line, and said, "I don't know."

"Oh come on," Yumi groaned. After a rough day of dealing with her mother's wide range of emotions, Yumi was not in the mood for dealing with Odd's antics. "I'm not in the mood."

"WHO ARE YOU?" Odd screamed comically. Aelita stifled her laughter.

Yumi was ready to throw the phone at the wall. "Look, I'm not in the mood, Odd. I just wanted to tell you-"

"I don't want any roast beef sandwiches, thank you. I said no!" Odd did his best impression of Jim, the ever-lovable physical education coach.

"ODD!" Yumi screamed. "It's important!"
"I bet it is," Odd said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Go ahead, do tell."

"Did you read the paper today?"

Odd's response was a typical one. "No."

Yumi sighed loudly. "I was reading the obituaries, and-"

"What, worried that you've died too young?"

"It's Ulrich."

Odd's voice was so loud it startled Aelita and Kiwi. "Ulrich died!" The boy cringed at the thought of his best friend dying.

"No! It's his mom. She passed away yesterday afternoon."

Odd's face fell. He didn't know what to say or think. He handed the phone to Aelita.

"Hello? Why is Odd so upset?" she asked innocently.

"Hi, Aelita. It's Yumi. Yeah, Ulrich's mom died yesterday afternoon."

Aelita handled the news better than her roommate. "I am very sorry to hear that." A slight pause and then, "Do you know anything else?" Aelita wasn't a gossip, but she didn't know what else to say.

"Ulrich's dad came home to surprise Ulrich's mom- it says her name was Heidi- and she was lying unconscious and hardly breathing. Her dad called an ambulance, but refused to go in it. Ulrich said he has a fear of needles.

"So Ulrich convinced his dad to go to the hospital with him as soon as Ulrich got home. As soon as they got up the ward, Mrs. Stern went into a cardiac arrest and died during the arrest.

"Do you want me to read you the obituary?"

"What's an obituary?" inquired Aelita innocently.

"It's when newspapers tell about who died and other stuff like that. It's a sort of tribute. Anyway, it says: 'Stern, Heidi J. Heidi, age 45, passed away unexpectedly on August 29 at 13:10 in the afternoon at District Hospital. Heidi was preceded in death by her parents, Tomas and Lucile, but she is survived by her husband and her son, Ulrich. Services will be held at Saint Maria's Church, and the burial will be private. For more information, call 855-321. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Kadic Women's Shelter.'"

Aelita was stunned. Poor Odd, he was still in shock. The girl responded after a few moments. "What do we do?"

Yumi had this figured out. "I was think you, me, Odd, and Jeremie would go pay our respects to Ulrich and his dad. My mom and I are going to make him a dinner. I can't believe that mom and I are getting along, finally."

"Yumi, do you think that XANA had a part in this?"

"No, humans die unexpectedly all the time. Look, let's just forget XANA and LYOKO, okay?" Yumi's voice was starting to rise in anger. "For once, Aelita, let's live like human beings, okay?"

Aelita replied quietly, "We'll meet you at your house at two, before we go over to Ulrich's house." And she hung up the phone to tell Odd the terrible news.

Chapter Five: Aelita and Odd

Aelita and Odd couldn't go to Odd's real parents' house for the summer. They lived on the other side of the world in a little island country off of New Zealand called Paik Isle, and they didn't have the money to keep shipping him and his new friend back and forth from Odd's homeland.

The whole reason Odd wanted to go Kadic in the first place was because he wanted to travel the world before he became a sheep herder- just like his all of the Della family line. Fortunately, Odd's young and sprightly aunt, Clara Robbia, lived in Paris where all the fancy writers of the time lived.

Odd's ancestry was as strange as the teen himself. The Robbia clan, who originated from Italy, moved northward to interbreed with Scandinavians and Irish folk. Odd's maternal grandmother lived in Amsterdam, where his dad and his seven sisters and two brothers grew up.

Odd's dad, Élan, met the Della family when he was serving as a missionary in that island region. The Della's had been a sheepherding family for countless generations and were one of the few families to have sheep in Paik.

Élan met December Robbia when he was twenty-two and she was just seventeen. They got married soon after, much to the surprise but delight of December's granddad, mother, and two younger sisters.

December gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl the next year. They named him Todd Shadow Della Robbia, but because of his curious nature, the nickname Odd stuck for many years afterwards. The girl's name was Alana April Della Robbia, but she was fondly known as Allie.

December tried to home school her son, his twin sister, and their three younger sisters (Sunshine, Francesca, and Serena), but they did not receive a proper education. Odd wrote to his aunt in France on his thirteenth birthday asking for a trip to her house in Paris. He knew he would end up on the sheepherder business eventually, so he wanted to travel the world before he ended up stuck on Paik Isle like the rest of his family had been.

Clara Robbia, who was just twenty-something at that time, willingly agreed to send Odd to Paris and to a local school for a year- provided he got good grades and tried his hardest.

Odd was very grateful, but he wanted his twin to come too. Allie told him no, wishing him to be successful and get the inseparable twins financially out of the Paik Isle hellhole.

So Clara hosted Odd and his best friend "from school who is an orphan and has nowhere to go" named Aelita Stones in her cozy little ranch. The ranch was quaint, reminiscent of the storybook era, with massive amounts of gardens surrounding the property. The backyard was an acre wide, but Clara only cared for a small portion of it.

Odd and Clara showed Aelita around the Parisian countryside, while Aelita discovered a fantastic human world of which she used to live in when she was a little girl. Clara and Aelita bonded extremely well on this vacation, making Odd wonder if his family was in fact related to the Hoppers (Aelita's real family). Odd and Aelita had some time to themselves too, especially when Clara was in one of her "writing moods"- not to be disturbed at any cost.

Aelita furnished the attic with old furniture she and Odd found at junk sales. It was quite the room, with two beds under the single-paneled window, separated by nothing more than a miniscule nightstand. At the staircase's rail, a run-down dresser held both teen's clothes as best as it could. Odd and Aelita had their books, luggage, and mismatched items across from the dresser, near Odd's bed. Kiwi slept on Odd's bed- and occasionally Aelita's.

Aelita and Odd got along like best friends should. They would stay up countless nights gossiping and confiding in each other, sometimes finally dozing off at sunrise.

"Aelita, what are your plans after Kadic?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go travel the world. Maybe I'll stay here with you guys."

Odd hugged his pillow against his shirtless body. "I know what I'm going to do."

"What- become a music star like you've been talking about for the past decade?" Aelita giggled softly.

Odd blushed and put down his pillow in his lap. He looked away from Aelita. "Well, I don't know. I mean- I know what I want out of life."

"What's that?"

"I want to fall in love- for real. And I want to get married. And I want to have a couple of kids and settle down. And I want to be happy."

Aelita's eyes softened as she looked upon the skinny frame of the Odd she always had a place in her heart for. She replied softly, "Those are wonderful dreams."

He met her eyes. She continued with a charming smile. "They'll come true. You're a good man. You deserve to have a child of your own."

He laughed. "And what? No marriage? Fine, I get it." They both laughed some more.

She looked in his eyes. "You'll make a great father. I can see it in you." Aelita got up from her bed and made her way over to his. "You'll be a loving, caring person who knows how to have fun."

And the next thing he knew, Odd found the pink-and-blonde-haired Aelita, who only had on a tank top and shorts on, sitting on his bed next to him. He dared not to look at her, fearing what emotions might come next.

"Why, thank you, Aelita," he pretended that she wasn't even there. Well, tried to. It was really difficult for Odd. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Why this? She was supposed to be his cousin in school, a pity friend in front of his Aunt Clara, Jeremie's love interest, nothing more- just a friend, just a friend!

She continued to sit there. "You'll be a great dad, I bet. You'll take your kids to all these places that we've seen- heck, you might even go back to Paik Isle and visit your Allie! That would be fun. We should go do that sometime soon." Aelita sighed happily. "Well, I better get off to bed. Busy day ahead of us!"

Odd smiled and snuggled into his bed. "Good night, princess." She giggled, rolled over, and immediately went to sleep. Odd was too happy to fall asleep.

Chapter Six: Respects

It was a long ride to the Stern family's house. It was a tiny house, one which was built on a busy main thoroughfare. When Odd (who was driving), Yumi, and Aelita arrived around three o'clock, they encountered the family's three cars, plus two others.

Odd got out of the blue SUV and adjusted his cactus-colored button-down while Yumi motherly straightened his black tie. Yumi wore a conservative black dress, while Aelita wore borrowed a pair of Yumi's black pants and Yumi's dark grey satin shirt. Aelita waited for the pair with her arms full of Yumi's casserole dish.

Yumi was the first one up to the doorbell and thusly rang it. Mr. Stern, who appeared disheveled and bleary-eyed, opened the large wooden door slowly. "Hello? Oh, hi, Yumi, Odd, and um…"

"I'm Aelita Stones. I go to school with Ulrich. How do you do?" she replied courteously.

Mr. Stern didn't answer, probably because he didn't hear the soft-spoken pink-haired girl. "Yes, Ulrich is in the backyard. Poor kid, I bet he's taking this harder than I am." And then more to himself than the teens, "At least I have a mother, right now, I mean…" His attention diverted back to the teens that waited on the tiny shaded porch. "Follow me; it's easier to get through to the house."

Aelita gave Mr. Stern the food and followed Yumi to the backyard. She knew where to go, so Mr. Stern didn't need to tell them, obviously.

Odd had never been to Ulrich's house, probably because Ulrich was ashamed of his house. It was small and plain, but Heidi decorated the one story ranch nicely. The front door led into a pale yellow room that had wonderful roses in vases all around the room. On the couches sat an old, worn out couple and a handsome man with a beard as well as what appeared to be his young daughter.

After the gang passed through the family room, they encountered a hallway and turned left into the small, olive-accented kitchen. Yumi quickened her pace and was virtually running out the door to see her precious Ulrich.

There he sat, on a tire swing, looking depressed yet calm as he stared into space. Yumi thought he looked handsome in his black long-sleeve button down and grey tie and black pants and hair gelled down flat. She felt it wouldn't be right to say that, however.

"Hi, Ulrich," she murmured. He turned around surprised and tried to smile. Although he wasn't crying at this moment, Yumi noticed that he had been crying a lot previously to their visit.

"Hey, Ulrich, how are you holding up?" Odd tried to comfort his best friend.

Ulrich bowed his head and mumbled, "I'm okay, I guess."

Aelita replied somberly, "I bet you loved her a lot."

Ulrich replied without looking up. "That's what I don't get. I love something, the only thing that meant anything to me, and it gets taken away from me." Yumi gasped. She knew that he was also inferring to her past relationship with William- well, before the incident, anyway.

Odd cleared his throat before speaking again, "She's in a better place now, Ulrich." He put his hand on Ulrich's shoulder. "We're here for you, buddy."

"Who are those people on the couch?" asked Aelita innocently.

Ulrich perked up. "Visitors?"

"Yeah, an old couple and a man and a little girl; they're in your family room talking with your dad," replied Odd.

"Oh, that would be my dad's parents and my mom's brother and my cousin, Shania. They're here to pay respects, I bet," Ulrich said bitterly.

Yumi got angry. "Why can't you be happy, Ulrich? I know it's hard losing a parent, but you could at least be happy that people care about you. God!"

Aelita gasped. "Yumi!"

Ulrich abruptly got up from his place on the tire swing and stormed off into the house. Odd followed on his heels, not because he too was mad at Yumi, but because he was more worried about his friend's wellbeing at the moment. Aelita was torn, so after a few moments, she dragged the sullen Yumi into the house and followed the two boys.

Aelita found Ulrich and Odd down the hallway the gang did not go down before. They were in Ulrich's room, a small but comfortable room with a martial arts theme in it. Ulrich had two photographs in his room: the one on his nightstand was of his mom and him. There was a beach in the background, as well as a cloudless pale indigo sky- the sun was nowhere in sight either. The foreground showed a young Mrs. Stern with her arms draped in front of a six-year-old Ulrich. The boy was smiling wide, showing where three of his baby teeth had dropped out. The sparkle in his eyes showed he was truly enjoying the moment, and his mom seemed more beautiful than ever before.

Ulrich sat perched on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. Odd comforted him by patting his back gently. Yumi stood with her arms crossed across from him. Aelita paced the room slowly.

"Is there a reason you are mad that your family is here?" Aelita asked innocently. She was trying to break the ice, since Jeremie wasn't there to converse with her.

Ulrich sighed. He knew this conversation was inevitable. "I love my grandparents; they're so nice. But they want my dad to give up custody so I can live with them in Southern France. I can't do that."

"What about your uncle and Shania?" asked Yumi quietly, trying to make amends with Ulrich slowly.

"Uncle Greg and Shania…." Ulrich said distractedly, lifting his head and shooting lasers out of his eyes. "I don't have anything against Shania, it's my Uncle Greg."

Odd spoke up. "If you don't want to talk about it-"

"I don't."

Aelita stopped pacing. She noticed a tiny gold-framed photograph with the picture of a baby in a pink one-piece suit. The baby looked no more than a few days old. She ran her finger on the photo. "Who is this?"

Ulrich stopped sulking and perked up. "What?"

"This picture- it can't be you, can it?" she smiled at him, knowing perfectly well it wasn't.

He stood up and walked slowly to it. "I haven't looked at this picture in ages. Her name is Katrina."

"She is beautiful." Odd joined Aelita at the photograph.

"You know what? She has your eyes. That's freaky."

Yumi and Ulrich joined them too. "She should- she's my sister," he laughed at Odd's naivety.

"You have a sister? Where do you keep her- in the closet?" Odd was so clueless.

"Well, my parents got married and they tried having kids, but my mom kept having miscarriages. After I was born, when I was like three, my mom had Katrina.

"One night, when it was Halloween, I had just come back from trick-or-treating with my dad. Uncle Greg and Aunt Bridgette, they were over helping with Katrina and my mom. Katrina was a week old only.

"And in the middle of the night, my Aunt Bridgette and Uncle Greg said good-bye and left very quickly and quietly. My mom noticed in the morning that baby Katrina didn't cry at all in the middle of the night.

"I remember the police were involved for days and days afterwards. My grandparents had me sleep over at their house while my house was being searched and stuff. Uncle Greg confessed the whole thing, and because he ratted out Aunt Bridgette, he got amnesty.

"Katrina was found in a trash can somewhere in near-perfect condition- except she had died from lack of care during those cold November nights. And Aunt Bridgette was arrested. My cousin Shania (she's nine) was conceived and born during my aunt's court proceedings. I haven't heard from Aunt Bridgette since her arrest.

"It broke my mom's heart to bury her only daughter. I never knew my sister, thanks to my selfish aunt and uncle. And Shania, I can't hate her because she didn't do anything wrong. But it hurts to know that I don't have a sister because of her mom, but she never knew her mom and probably never will. Now I don't have a sister or a mom." Ulrich sighed with a smile.

Odd was now doubly confused. "You're happy about this?"

"No," Ulrich answered, "You made me put this into perspective. Thanks guys."

The rest of the gang looked around as Ulrich left his room. "Did I do something?" Odd asked as he pointed at the suddenly-carefree Ulrich.

Aelita just shrugged and followed Ulrich.

Chapter Seven: Aelita's and Jeremie's Conversation

Jeremie received the news about Ulrich's mom, Ulrich's sister, and the newest fight between Ulrich and Yumi from Aelita over the instant messenger system.

JBLYOKO: That's horrible about his mom and sister, Aelita, but what can I say about Yumi and Ulrich?

AELITA1010: Not sure myself, Jeremie.

The blonde-haired boy sighed. Yumi and Ulrich were made for each other; why couldn't they just be a couple already? It drove Jeremie up the wall when they fought because it ruined the group's camaraderie.

JBLYOKO: Anyway, Aelita, I just wanted to say that I cannot wait to see you on September 5.

AELITA1010: Yes, same here. But I had a really fun time with Odd. I don't want to leave.

JBLYOKO: Odd is a bad influence, get away now! Just kidding. I'm glad you had fun, Aelita.

AELITA1010: You are so funny, Jeremie. Sorry you can't come to the funeral tomorrow. It would've been nice to see you.

JBLYOKO: Oh well. My parents won't let me drive that far especially right before school. Well, I'm tired, I'm going to bed. See you later.

AELITA1010: Good night, Jeremie.

With that, Jeremie signed off and trudged off to his soft bed in the room next door.