New and Improved
Chapter 3: Yumi's Message
The next morning, Jeremie woke up to find that the "new voice mail" image was flashing on his cell phone. He rubbed his eyes, yawning, and put on his glasses. He then dialed his mailbox number and put in his PIN. "You have one new message," said the female automated voice. Jeremie pressed a number and the message played back into his ear. It was Yumi, and she sounded very worried.
"Jeremie, I need to speak with you ASAP. It's about William. I think he may know more than he should about our secret. I'll explain the details when I see you. OK, bye." Jeremie saved the message and put the phone down. He glanced over at the clock. It's 7 AM. I'd better hurry; Yumi will be on campus soon. Jeremie quickly got dressed and made his way downstairs after collecting his things.
Jeremie reached the vending machines just as Yumi was arriving. He waved to her as she approached, but Yumi only half-heartedly waved back, avoiding eye contact. Something was obviously wrong, Jeremie could tell. "Hi, Yumi," he said once she had reached the machines. "So, what's wrong?"
Yumi sighed, put down her bag, and stared down at the ground. "William confronted me last night outside my house," she said finally. She paused, sighing deeper this time.
"And?" Jeremie asked, trying to lead her on.
Yumi looked up and into Jeremie's eyes. "He said that he heard the seven of us talking yesterday after the flood. He heard me say "XANA" and Jim say "Lyoko." He was pressuring me to tell him what they are. I've never seen him so pushy, so aggressive like that. It frightened me. Fortunately, I was able to get away from him and into my house before I said anything. I think my dad scared him off, but I worry that he is going to continue pestering me about it, until I slip up and tell him something I shouldn't." Yumi put her face in her hands. Jeremie put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry," he said gently, "I'll see if Jim can handle this. Maybe he can convince William to leave us alone." Yumi looked up, smiling.
"Yeah, you're right. Jim can surely get us out of this one." She picked up her bag. "I've gotta get to class early today, tell the others I said hi. I'll see you at lunch."
"OK, I will. Later, Yumi." Jeremie smiled as she went off to class. He got some hot cocoa out of the coffee machine and leaned against the wall, waiting for the rest of his friends to arrive. Aelita was the first to appear.
"Good morning, Jeremie," she said, her eyes bright. "They had some croissants back in the dorm; I picked one up for you." Aelita put it in his hand, and Jeremie put his other hand on top of hers.
"Why thank you, madam. And might I say, you look absolutely exquisite this morning," he said with a mischievous smile on his face. Aelita felt color rising in her cheeks. Something about Jeremie's "fancy talk," as she called it, made her blush every time. Jeremie had noticed this and made it a habit to greet her in this way every morning. Aelita answered his greeting with a giggle, and Jeremie moved one of his eyebrows up and down in a playful sort of way.
"Oh, Jeremie, stop it," she said laughing. She slapped his hand in mock disgust, causing Jeremie to laugh as well. What a fun relationship they had, the two of them.
Once Sissi, Odd and Ulrich arrived, Jeremie explained what he and Yumi had discussed earlier. They all agreed that they should ask Jim to give William a good talking to. It was also decided that they should all have a look around in Sector 5, as Sissi and Jim hadn't been to that area of Lyoko yet, plus they still needed to find what was needed to complete Aelita's antivirus. Once all matters had been settled, Aelita, Ulrich, Sissi and Odd all headed for class, and Jeremie went off to find Jim. Jeremie found Jim patrolling the grounds. Jeremie explained the situation, and Jim agreed to talk to William.
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Jim found William in-between classes, sitting on a bench, with an upset look on his face. "Hey, William," said Jim, "why the long face?"
William looked up at Jim. "Oh, hi Jim," he said. "I'm just tired I guess."
"I think we both know that isn't really why you're upset." Jim sat down on the bench, next to William. William scooted over slightly to make room, unfazed by Jim's statement. Jim continued. "I know what happened between you and Yumi last night, and I just wanted to tell you, that you really should mind your own business. I don't care what you heard. If it isn't your business, stay out of it, you hear?" William looked up, a little startled at Jim's words.
"What? How—how did you … how did you find—" William struggled to get the words out, but Jim interrupted.
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that you frightened poor Yumi out of her wits, all over something you thought you heard us say. We could have been talking about some TV show, or about one of those video games for that matter. My point is, don't stick your nose in someone else's business. It can end up hurting you or others involved. Also, if I find you've followed Yumi home again, you'll have me to deal with. Got that?"
"Yes, sir," said William glumly. Jim smiled and ruffled William's hair.
"Now, you'd better get to class, you don't want to be late again, now do you?" Jim winked, and William walked off towards class. Jim smiled and went back to patrolling the school grounds. William looked over his shoulder at Jim, smirking. Heh, William thought to himself, like that'll stop me.
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Meanwhile, Odd had study hall, so he had gone out for a stroll of the grounds with Kiwi. "What a beautiful day, huh, Kiwi?" Kiwi began to bark excitedly. "Whoa, boy, no need to get so excited about it." Kiwi continued to bark, and Odd knelt down and petted him. "Is something the matter, boy?" Odd took a look around, nothing was in sight, and nothing out of the ordinary appeared to be happening. He tried to calm down Kiwi, but it was no use. Odd shook his head. Dumb dog, somebody is going to hear him! Just then, Kiwi ran off, still barking. "KIWI," shouted Odd, "COME BACK!" Odd sighed, then chased after Kiwi, until Kiwi stopped at a large bush over by the fence. Kiwi had also stopped barking. Once Odd had caught up to this crazy animal, he said, panting, "Kiwi, what's gotten in to you? There's no—" Then he saw it. There was a girl hiding inside the bush, trembling in fear. The girl had black hair with a couple of red streaks in it, and her skin was a dark brown in color. She was wearing a gray top cut to expose her navel along with black pants, and she also had a plaid miniskirt over the top of her black pants. She looked up into Odd's eyes and relaxed.
"Oh, Odd," she said, "it's just you. Thank goodness. Now, get this stupid dog out of my way." Odd didn't answer; he just stared at the girl while he picked up Kiwi in order to allow her out. Once she was free of the bush, she smiled at Odd, but it quickly faded. The look on her face turned into a puzzled one when she saw the shocked look on Odd's face. "Odd, aren't you happy to see me?"
"Sa—Sa—Sa," Odd stammered, his eyes wide. He swallowed hard. "Samantha?"
