Junkpile
The daylight floated into the room, and the birds sang happily. Sissi opened her eyes and stretched her back in her nice warm bed. Memories of yesterday plastered a smile on her face. Odd nearly choking on Shepherd's pie, Ulrich and Jeremie having an arm-wrestling contest which Ulrich won, and Yumi and Sissi sharing feelings about how the boys were so 'boyish'. All in all, yesterday left her room a little brighter. But the urge to tinker scratched at her brain, and she knew just the place to find some parts. Jumping to her feet, Sissi quickly did some squats and ran in place. Ever since the bus accident, her legs were tender, so she had to keep them in shape to prevent any sudden collapse. Next, she got dressed, grabbed her cane, and walked out of her room. Today was a happy Sunday, and most people would be sleeping in bed.
Most people.
Sissi walked loosely to the boys' hallway, arms swinging freely and smile spreading wider by the moment. Then she knocked on Jeremie's door. "Come in." As Sissi stepped inside, she immediately saw Yumi lying on the bed and reading a book. Her eyes widened a tad.
"Hey, Yumi. What are you doing here so early?"
"I was going to hang out with Odd and Ulrich, but they're still sleeping in. And I know Odd snores so loud that I couldn't talk to Ulrich any way," Yumi smiled. Grinning back, Sissi walked over to Jeremie's desk.
"And you?"
"I'm working on a kind of... program. It's for someone I know," Jeremie explained.
"This person wouldn't be Aelita, would it?" Sissi smirked. Jeremie and Yumi bolted their eyes open.
"Uhhh no, no, no! It's for a different person altogether. Something that we geniuses do from time to time, not that you're not a smart person it's just-"
"Relax, Einstein," Sissi rolled her eyes with an irritated huff, "I could overhear your conversations with Aelita, okay?"
"And what have you heard?" Yumi's tone practically growled, even though it was smooth. Sissi coolly shrugged her shoulders.
"Nothing really, just 'Oh Aelita, Oh Aelita you're in my dreams and-"
"SHHH!" Jeremie clamped her mouth shut with his hand. Yumi and Sissi struggled not to laugh.
"It's kind of hard to go to the bathroom without hearing it." Throwing her weight on her cane, Sissi smirked at the blushing boy's pale face.
"Uh... yeah."
"So Jeremie's girl - I mean, pen pal is hush-hush?" Yumi and Jeremie nodded. "Okay, I won't talk. By the way, I need your help. I need to find some equipment for my project."
"What sort of equipment?" Jeremie asked.
Mountains of rubble and metal obscured the view of the blue sky. Twisted iron laid among wires, threads, and white piping. The metallic smell and taste populated the air, and the towering hallways of stacked trucks and cars silently wheezed. The front entrance was only guarded by a sleepy fat watchman. To get to the hallway of trucks, they had to climb a gradual mound of metal. The three of them wore heavy-duty tarnished boots and thick gloves to prevent punctures. They also donned special suits to keep their clothes clean. Yumi watched as the Dragon Queen grazed over her mound, carefully picking out trinkets and springs. A slight grin graced Sissi's face while she roamed the metallic grass. "How can you get over the smell?" Yumi asked.
"Haven't you been through worse?" Sissi asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, she's technically right," Jeremie interjected to Yumi, "We have been through the sewers a lot." Yumi tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. "What are we looking for, Sissi?"
"Copper, wiring of any kind really. A few screws, and a nail gun."
"What do you need with those?" Yumi asked.
"It's for my project." Sissi had given them large black trash bags for carrying. As they roamed over the mound, she saw a dirty lone spool of copper. "HA! Found it!" She carefully stumbled over and grabbed the spool, finding it tangled with another kind of wire. "Okay, now I know why they threw this out."
"You know, I can help if you want," Jeremie offered.
"Nah," Sissi smiled, throwing the spools into the bag, "I know you're busy. It just needs some time and patience to separate."
"Which the Dragon Queen has little of," Yumi mused.
"Speak for yourself, tiger," She snickered. The two girls smirked at each other like two beasts of nature lurching in the shadows to kill.
Jeremie pulled at his blue turtleneck and cleared his throat. "Okay, let's keep going." So, the teenage farmers tended their crops, combing over the place.
"Can't you find some of this stuff at the store?" Yumi asked.
"I can, but daddy would be suspicious about needing a nail gun."
"What about the groundskeeper's shed?"
"That's stealing, Jeremie," Sissi rose her eyebrow. "I thought you knew that."
Jeremie rubbed the back of his head, nervously smiling, "Well, eh hehe, you know." Sissi rolled her eyes again and went back to searching.
They stumbled over the mound and carefully slid down to the hallway of cars and trucks. Sissi found one car and forced the hood open. She dove headfirst into the engine, clanking and banging away the parts. Yumi and Jeremie giggled at Sissi's flailing legs sticking out.
"Ah-ha! Got it!" Sissi exclaimed, pulling out a twisting bent radiator. "Try finding the tubing. Radiators will have a lot of copper in them, so try and find those." They ransacked each and every car they could get into, trying to find any tubing. While Jeremie was focused on getting some kind of mechanism out of a vacuum, Sissi was working under a car when Yumi came up.
"Sissi, I've been meaning to ask. When you were talking about giving up on Ulrich-"
"Ap ap ap! Nope, I'm not talking about Ulrich anymore. My life is solely about trying to finish the next project," Sissi said from under the car. Suddenly, a loud clang alarmed Yumi. Sissi shuffled out with a metal muffler and exhaust pipe. "That's a little too big," Sissi mumbled, looking down the dirty pipe.
"But I'm curious. Why stop?"
"What does it matter?" Sissi asked, getting up from the ground. She dusted herself off as she combed any possible gunk out of her hair bun. "The point is that I'm out of your hair and that you don't have to worry about me doing anything stupid or evil."
"Yeah, only I don't know if I like this side of you," She replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Yumi, as much as paranoia suits you, I think you're overdoing it," said Sissi. With her hands placed on her hips, she leaned on her left leg. Her small frown couldn't be regarded as sad or angry, just a sense of loss. "I don't know why you're so interested in it."
"Because someone like you doesn't just give up like that."
"Well, I did. Look, I've been wanting to go out with Ulrich since elementary. I'm how old and that hasn't happened yet?" Sissi sighed, dropping her shoulders. "Besides, what's the point of having Ulrich? We date and then what? Nothing! Ever since I gave up on him, I've been noticing that he's really not for me."
"Really?" Yumi asked with her arms crossed.
"I'm just saying that if a guy can't even tell you that he likes you, he doesn't have the macho to even go after me," Sissi held her nose up highly while giving a small huff.
Yumi glanced at the ground in thought, and then back at Sissi. "Huh, I guess I never thought about it like that." Sissi quickly grinned and started strolling over to help Jeremie, but Yumi grabbed her arm. "So you're done with him? No feelings or anything?" The back of Sissi's frame stilled. Her hair faintly swayed under the sudden breeze, and her hand grasped the arm Yumi held. Shivers ran down her body as Sissi sighed heavily. Turning around, the Dragon Queen showed her dejected face, downcast eyes, and lowered head. She had no cane to lean on, so her upper body hunched over a bit.
"No," She said quietly, "I haven't. I admit, I still have feelings, but… I know there's nothing I can do about it. He likes you, not me."
Yumi's body tensed. Her hand rubbed the back of her neck, "Sissi, I-"
"Let's give Jeremie a hand," Sissi interjected. Yumi nodded. Meanwhile, Jeremie strained to pull a yellow handle out of the pile. "What are you doing?"
"Just help me get this thing out, will ya!" The two girls gritted their teeth and pulled the handle hard. Finally, it popped out of the pile, and the three tumbled down the mound to the bottom. "Ha Ha! Got it!" Jeremie said. He held a sticky moderately used nail gun. The thing looked nearly perfect in condition, just needed some cleaning and possible battery testing. Sissi scrunched up her face, squinting her eyes. "What's the matter?"
"Don't you think it's strange that someone would throw away a nail gun like this? I mean, other than the batteries, I can't think of why someone would just throw this out."
"Huh, maybe it-" Jeremie accidentally pulled the trigger and shot out a nail that zoomed passed Yumi, off into the air, and right onto the watchman's shack. The fat guard shook to attention and spotted the three kids.
"HEY! Stop you! You're not supposed to be here." He stumbled out of his chair and fell flat on his face.
"RUN!" The three darted for the wooden fence. They threw the black bags over and started climbing. The guard scurried out of his shack. "I hope you can figure out how to climb, Jeremie!" Sissi remarked.
"Just help me up!" He shouted back. Yumi scaled the fence first and helped Jeremie over while Sissi ran up and knee-tuck jumped over, tapping the top of the fence under her body. She landed in a crouched position on the other side.
"Whoa," Jeremie and Yumi muttered.
"Hey, you two!"
"Come on!" Sissi shouted as she picked up the bags. After helping him over the fence, Yumi and Jeremie ran after Sissi before the guard could get a good look at them. They sprinted until they reached campus grounds. They took the time to catch their breath. "Okay, that was… close."
"Well, now we know why the nail gun was in the garbage," Jeremie panted.
"Did you manage to get it?" Yumi asked. Hunched over, the blonde pulled the nail gun out of his bag.
"At least we found the hardest part," Sissi sighed. Then she gripped her leg in pain, sliding down the fence.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," She answered Yumi. "Ever since the bus accident, my legs get a little sore every now and then."
"They didn't seem sore when you jumped that fence. I've never seen anyone do that before," the Japanese replied. "Where did you learn that?"
"Uh… um… rehab?" Sissi stuttered. "The doctors said my legs were torn. That's why I needed the cane, but I go to rehab to train them up again."
"Yeah, but rehab doesn't teach you to leap like a ninja." By this time, Yumi had regained her breath and stood up straighter. She crossed her arms and eyed her former rival carefully.
Sissi shrugged and picked up the bag, motioning them to head to her room. They were just about to go into the dormitory when Odd and Ulrich came out the doors. "You guys look like you've been dumpster diving," said Odd.
"Something like that," Sissi replied.
"Where are you taking it?"
"Back to my room."
"Is there gonna be room for all that stuff?" Ulrich asked. Sissi took a mental tally, looking at the bags. She rubbed her chin.
"No, it's not. I can't even fix it in there. I might trigger the fire alarm from all the smoke." Then she remembered the computer wiz. "Jeremie, do you know a place I can do some welding?"
"I tend to use some of the groundskeeper's tools. But…" He stopped and looked at Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi. They all knew he normally used the factory as a welding place. "No, I don't."
"Hmm, I'll figure out something. For now, just help me get this stuff up to my room, okay?" The two boys helped. They made it to her room with bags filled with metallic goodness. Sitting by the side of the room, Sissi grabbed her cane and leaned on it like it was a missing friend. "Ahh, much better."
"What are you going to do with all this junk?" Odd asked.
"Make a deadly weapon to eliminate you," Sissi said. The blonde jumped back and scratched for the door like a dog escaping the vet. Sissi laughed, "I'm kidding, Odd. It's a prototype I've been working on for defenses."
"So… you are making a weapon," Asked Yumi.
"Not the kind you're thinking. It's an electromagnetic disruptor. It would fry telephone lines, radio waves, or anything that can use electricity," She said.
"And you can make it out of that?" Ulrich asked.
"Well, theoretically, it's completely plausible that the sophisticated technology found in some junkyards are able to make an electrical disruption by using a kind of irreducible complexity and-"
"In a non-Jeremie speech, yes…hopefully." She looked down at her cane, pondering something in her head. She breathed and unzipped the protective suit she, Jeremie, and Yumi were in. "Right now, I need some rest from the mile-long sprint we did. I know the others are tired. Right, Jeremie?" Sissi grinned.
Jeremie glared and grumbled under breath but barely made any effort to reply. Not that his tired body could. "Anyway, I think we'll leave you alone, Sissi. WE have some work to do," Jeremie said.
"And you have some muscles to grow," Sissi smirked, seeing his wobbly legs lift him up. Grumbling louder, Einstein stumbled out of the room while the others laughed.
"By the way, why were you guys running?" Ulrich asked.
"I'll tell you later. I just have to help Sissi sort out some of this stuff. I'll catch up with you guys," Yumi smiled. Shrugging, Ulrich and Odd left the ladies alone in the room.
Yumi turned and saw Sissi's doubtful look. She stood with her arms crossed, her cane still in her left hand, and a steady tapping of her shoes sounded throughout the silent room. "So, how are we going to organize these?" She asked.
"I just wanted to talk to you about earlier."
"What?"
"About Ulrich?"
"Oh," Sissi muttered, looking away. She wondered why Yumi got hooked on some of the weirdest things. "It's fine. I'll get over it." She sat down in her chair and started typing away on her computer. A warm hand rested on her shoulder.
"I know it's hard."
"No, no, no. Don't start acting like you know what I'm going through. Sure, you might, but I told you it doesn't matter," Sissi said.
"It does," Yumi argued.
The Dragon Queen blew a breath of frustration and threw up her hands, saying, "What do you want me to do Yumi? I know I still have feelings for Ulrich, but I can't do anything about it!" She dropped her shoulders and puffed out an air of pent up frustration. "I can't."
"But you don't have to do it alone." Sissi perked up her head and spun around. The understanding of Yumi's eyes felt like a warm blanket surrounding her. "Look, I don't want to pity you, but we're here for you. Maybe there's something better you can do?"
Sissi sighed and spun back to her work, "Well, until then I have some work to do. Thank you, Yumi. I really appreciate the help."
"Any time," Yumi smiled as she left the room. After the door closed, Sissi took a long sigh and looked at the black bags in her room. She gazed at her cane on the desk, then the window. The bright light of the sun poured into the room. It floated in like a butterfly on the wind. The tension in her shoulders gone, her face suddenly felt heavy. Yawning, Sissi looked at her bed and sighed again.
"I guess I can get some rest." She threw herself onto the bed. Her eyes lazily gazed at the blank ceiling, not focusing on anything at all. She watched a sea of feelings and images flash before her imaginative eyes. Her bones rattled with the excitement of Christmas day in her little childhood brain. "Today was fun," She smiled as she fluttered her eyes shut and went to sleep.
Continued...