New and Improved

Chapter 5: Love Conquers All

Everyone had a pleasant time in Mrs. Hertz's class, except for Odd. Sissi and Samantha sat together. Samantha had taken Odd's seat, so Odd went and sat with Ulrich and Jeremie, like he used to. He was distracted, and kept looking back and the two of them, but they both refused to look at him. After several attempts, Odd stopped looking back at them, and put his elbows on his desk. He put his face in his hands, resting his chin on his palms.

Herve just stared at Samantha during class. Wow, he thought to himself, where did she come from, I wonder? I'm gonna say hi to her after class. Nicholas noticed that Herve was smiling, which was strange, especially since he was in class. Herve usually kept his mind on the lesson. "Hey, Herve," Nicholas said, tapping Herve on the shoulder, "is everything OK?" Herve snapped out of the little daydream he was in.

"Huh," said Herve, turning to face Nicholas. Then he realized what Nicholas had asked. "Oh, nothing, nothing, I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

"OK, if you say so." Nicholas turned his attention back to the front of the classroom, and Herve went back to gazing upon Samantha.

----

Class ended, and Herve met Samantha outside. "Hi," he said, smiling nervously. He adjusted his glasses, and Samantha looked down at him, a slightly repulsed look on her face. "Hi yourself," she said brusquely. She turned and caught up with Sissi, who had seen Samantha and Herve, and was chuckling, her hand over her mouth. "What's so funny?" snapped Samantha, a stern look on her face. Sissi stopped laughing, and tried to put on a straight face. She couldn't hold it in, as she saw Herve standing across the hall, dejected. A silly smile formed on her face and she started laughing again. "Ugh!" groaned Samantha. She turned and walked off. She noticed Odd watching her, he was leaning against the wall. He looked unhappy.

"Samantha," he said. "Please, I need to talk to you. It's about us."

Samantha stopped. She wanted to stick her nose in the air and walk off, but something kept her from doing so. Odd perked up as she walked towards him. "Well," asked Samantha impatiently.

"Samantha, please don't take this the wrong way. It's just …" Odd paused and sighed. "I've moved on. Sissi is my girlfriend now. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to see you. It has just been so long since I last saw you and I just couldn't wait any longer. I thought you weren't ever coming back."

"But, can't we just get back together now that I am here, for old time's sake?" Samantha said this without thinking. Odd thought a moment.

"No, I can't just abandon Sissi like that. I'd never hurt her like that. She'd never forgive me. Besides, I believe she may be the girl for me, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I understand. Well, if things don't work out between you two, you'll always have me, right?"

Odd smiled. "Yeah, but don't expect me and Sissi to break up anytime soon, I'm sure she'll forgive me once I explain everything, it's my charm. It never fails."

Samantha smiled. "I guess that's true." She knelt down and kissed Odd on the cheek. Odd blushed, and she walked off. Odd turned around, and Samantha waved to him as she headed outside. Odd walked outside also. He was thinking flower shop. He didn't know that Sissi had been watching him talk to Samantha. She'd also heard every word he'd said. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she turned and walked towards her room.

----

Later, there was a knock at Sissi's door, and Odd's voice came in from outside. "Sissi, you there? It's Odd. Please let me in." Sissi heard a sniffle outside. He's crying, or he has been she thought to her herself. She freshened herself up a bit, tears streaming down her face, as she remembered what Odd had said in the hallway earlier. She hadn't stopped thinking about it. She rushed to the door, opened it, and leapt into Odd's arms. Odd hugged her back with one arm, as he had flowers in his other hand. Sissi released her hold on him and stepped back. "Come in," she said quietly, wiping some tears from her eyes. She pointed at the flowers. "For me?" Odd nodded, and handed her the bouquet of pink roses. Sissi held them up to her face, taking in their wonderful smell. "Mmm! Thank you, Odd, they're beautiful." She got a vase from her closet and put the roses inside.

"You're welcome," said Odd quietly. He quickly got to his point. "Sissi, I wanted to tell you that you've got nothing to worry about between Samantha and I. She's an former girlfriend of mine, although she didn't know that earlier when she kissed me." Odd's cheeks turned red a little, as he was remembering the moment. "I just want you to know, that I'd never cheat on you. I'd never do anything of that sort, because I don't want to hurt you in anyway. Besides, you and I, I think we may have a future together, you know?" Odd cracked a smile for a second. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he got down on his knees. Sissi put a hand on her chest, a little surprised. Odd continued. "Please forgive me. I'm so—"

Sissi interrupted, tears in her eyes. "Odd, you shouldn't be the one apologizing. You did nothing wrong." She collected her herself and knelt down on the floor, still facing Odd. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I acted hastily and out of jealously. I'm so sorry I slapped you like that and acted as though I wanted to kill you. I should have given you time to explain." Her voice started to break. "Odd, please forgive me … I shouldn't have hurt you like that." She started sobbing, putting her head on Odd's shoulder. Odd put gently pushed her away from him and lifted her chin with his hand. They both looked in each other's eyes for a moment. Then Odd broke the silence.

"Yes … yes, I forgive you Sissi, with all of my heart." Odd and Sissi's lips locked in a passionate kiss, and then they hugged the other tightly, tears flowing down both of their faces. Once they had both stopped crying, Odd smiled and said, "Still up for the Subsonics concert?" Sissi smiled.

"Of course, scrawny," she said with a wink. Odd beamed, and he offered Sissi his hand. She took it and Odd helped her to her feet as he stood.

"We'd better find Samantha a room, before he go into Sector 5 today," said Odd.

"Yeah, let's go find her. I can't wait to see what Carthage looks like." The two of them walked arm-in-arm outside her room. As they turned into the hall, Sissi had a question for Odd.

"Odd, you know how you said you think he might have a future?"

"Yes," replied Odd, curious.

"You think we might get married and have children someday?" She giggled in delight, as Odd was blushing.

----

They found Samantha outside. She was talking and laughing with William. When she saw Odd and Sissi coming, she said goodbye and made her way towards them. "Come on, Samantha," said Sissi. We'll show you your room."

Sissi had found an empty room earlier. Once they reached it, she opened the door and let Samantha inside. "Here you go," Sissi said.

"Oh, thank you," said Samantha gratefully. She stepped inside. Sissi turned to Odd.

"Go on, I'll catch up," she said. After Odd had left, Samantha asked a question of Sissi.

"Sissi, why did you bail me out earlier?"

Sissi thought a moment. "I don't know, I guess it was because at the time we both had something in common. We were both angry at Odd, so I thought I'd help a sister out."

Samantha smiled. "So … Odd apologized to you?"

"No, actually I apologized to him. I wouldn't let him apologize, it wasn't his fault."

"That's sweet." Samantha smiled and held out her arms, as if she wanted a to give Sissi a hug. "Friends?"

"Friends." Sissi smiled and the two of them hugged. Sissi walked for the door. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later." She waved as she walked out the door. She headed for the factory.