Note: And so begins the next List. A companion List to the ones already done for Yumi and Ulrich, this time focusing on our favorite Einstein. To those of you joining from Ulrich's or Yumi's List, I hope you enjoy this one just as much as those (or more). To those of you who may be new, this chapter will be the List, and then 25 chapters will follow, varying in length, on the subject of each number.
1. Sometimes he thought he was the sanest one of all his friends.
2. He (kind-of-sort-of) preferred the name "Maya." But he would never tell her that.
3. A small part of him resented the fact that everyone else was so much better at being sociable.
4. After Ulrich showed him how to get to the school roof he spent his sleepless nights up there mapping the stars.
5. His favorite memory is of crisp autumn mornings and the smell of baking bread.
6. Sometimes he wonders what would have happened if they had let Sissi in on the secret.
7. He wasn't ashamed of being poorer than his friends; he just didn't want any pity (he told himself).
8. He was seven when he decided he wanted to be a scientist.
9. His mother succumbed to cancer when he was fourteen (he was grateful).
10. The first time Odd flirted with Aelita he almost punched him (sometimes he wished he had).
11. He (maybe) shed a tear when his laptop died.
12. He almost threw up the first time he kissed Aelita.
13. Sometimes he wished he'd had a sibling or two growing up.
14. His first kiss was a week before he got his acceptance letter with a girl named Suzette Arthur. Her eyes were the same shade as Aelita's.
15. After the first Loss he promised he would never let it happen again (he hates failing).
16. He still has to pinch himself when he realizes that they pulled it off and Aelita is here permanently.
17. For the longest time he thought of Ulrich as just another dumb jock that got in on a sports scholarship (sometimes he still thinks it).
18. No matter how much his friends beg, he refuses to say what happened during his one-and-only materialization.
19. If he was honest, he never looked at Odd and Ulrich the same way after they became Odd-and-Ulrich.
20. Saturday nights were Game Nights and more fun than he ever expected.
21. His father called every Sunday without fail, except for once.
22. Being on the national news was pretty awesome.
23. Sometimes he regretted having shut down X.A.N.A.
24. Getting into l'X was one of the best moments of his life.
25. He loved Aelita, he did. Really.