IMPORTANT: This fanfiction contains potential spoilers. Even though this story isn't set during a specific time in the series, if you haven't made it past Season 1, I'd recommend not reading.
A/N: I don't have much of a talent for writing so sorry if the fanfiction is bland or boring. I'm an American and I've never been to France before so I know nothing about French schools or culture. This fanfiction may also contain inconsistencies. Correct me if you want to. Also please DM me or review to suggest improvements or give me an opinion of what you thought of this fanfiction. Hateful comments and hateful DMs will NOT be tolerated.
With that out of the way, enjoy!
It was 6:00 in the morning and the group was in line for breakfast so they could be nourished before school started. Odd's stomach could be heard growling profusely.
"Your stomach makes more noise than that annoying dog Kiwi.", said Yumi, who managed to get a chuckle out of everyone except for the spiky-haired blonde.
"Yeah, yeah... laugh it up. Everybody's stomach growls.", replied Odd, who was unimpressed with Yumi's remark.
"That's true, but your stomach growls every second of the day.", said Aelita, joining in on the fun. Everyone chuckled once again except for Odd.
"Whatever.", said Odd, moving forward once the space for doing so was available. As soon as he went up to the section where he got his food from, he reached his tray out so that the lunch lady Rosa could give him his breakfast. And so, she did. She grabbed her utensils and gave him a standard breakfast which consisted of salad, toast, beef, broccoli, and dressing.
"Is that all?", Odd asked, smirking. Rosa got Odd's message and grabbed her utensils again to give him extras. Smiling, he walked off with a more than full tray and sat down at the table that they usually eat at. Soon after, the rest of the group were now sitting at the table together and eating. Unsurprisingly, Odd had already completely finished his breakfast.
"You're a black hole! I'm confused as to how and why you're still so scrawny.", Jeremy commented, while still eating his food.
"How do you even manage to eat so much in such a short period of time?", asked Yumi, who had only eaten half of her tray
"I've always been able to stomach a lot! I like to call it one of my defining traits. Also, I'm not scrawny, I'm svelte! Get it right.", Odd said, as he went to go put up his tray. The group laughed at his small outburst. Once he came back, the kids were still eating in silence. Well, not really silence. The lunchroom was still bustling with the voices of others. To remedy the lack of conversation at their lunch table, Odd asked a question.
"So, Einstein. How much progress have you made on that anti-virus?"
"Not much. I've tried multiple programs, but they all failed miserably.", Jeremy said, seemingly having lost interest in his food.
"Don't worry. We'll find it sooner than later, I'm sure. After all, we've gotten quite a bit of data from Sector Five.", said Aelita, putting an arm around him to comfort him.
"Thanks, Aelita. I really can't wait for the day when we find just what we need to free you from XANA.", Jeremy replied.
Soon after they all finished eating, Jeremy, Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, and Aelita were hanging around at the playground, where they usually go to hang around before school starts, or when they have the time to. Jeremy grabbed a paper cup and put it underneath the nozzle which the drinks are dispensed. He selected the coffee by pushing the button labeled "CAFÉ". After the button was pushed, mechanical whirring and noises could be heard coming from the machine. The bitter liquid poured into the cup, now ready to drink. Jeremy walked out of the small room that contained the somewhat sizable machine. He took a sip from the cup he was holding, cringing from the taste.
"I hate this stuff.", said Jeremy, disgusted.
"You think that's bad? You've clearly never tried the soup.", said Odd, leaning against the wall outside of the drink room. Soon after those words came out of Odd's mouth, footsteps could be heard increasing gradually in volume.
The group of kids turned their heads and discovered that the cause of the noise was the principal's daughter, Sissi, along with her posse. They were approaching the group.
"Uh oh! Dorks, twelve 'o clock!", Odd warned. Ulrich already knew why they were coming. He put his hands into his pockets, sighed, and prepared to talk to the self-proclaimed "prettiest girl in school".
"Hello, Ulrich. How are you?", asked Sissi, putting her arms behind her back with an innocent-looking smile on her face. Yumi crossed her arms, as she obviously wasn't in the mood for Sissi. Ulrich attempted to say something but he was cut off by the girl next to him.
"What do you want, Sissi?", Yumi asked, cutting off Ulrich. Sissi was slightly annoyed by her actions as she felt that an insult to Ulrich was an insult to her.
"Well, I was wanting to know if Ulrich wanted to come to my birthday party tonight. It'll be taking place in the gym and it'll be so good that it'll knock your socks off!", Sissi said, still smiling. Ulrich looked at his friends and then back to Sissi, thinking he was probably going to regret his words.
"I don't see why I shouldn't.", said Ulrich, taking his hands out of his pockets. Sissi beamed with happiness.
"Thanks, Ulrich! I'll see you at 6:00.", said Sissi. She promptly walked away from the confused group, with a victorious expression on her face. A quiet "Yes!" escaped from her mouth.
"So, why did you say yes?", asked Odd, not able to believe what he just heard.
"Well, I feel like I've been avoiding Sissi a bit too much lately. I want to make her happy so I can rest easy.", replied Ulrich.
"What a gentleman.", Jeremy joked, pushing his glasses up. The school bell rang, signaling that it was time for class.
"That's our cue.", said Yumi, grabbing her bag. Soon after, the rest of the group got theirs and headed to their homeroom classes. Yumi split from the group to head to hers, but not before waving goodbye. The others returned the gesture. Suddenly, as if they had teleported, the remaining four were entering class and taking their seats. They all sat at their respective spots in the classroom, in a group, conversing to pass the time before their teacher, Mrs. Hertz, entered the classroom.
"I really can't wait for the school year to be over. Having to deal with XANA and flunking my classes has got me exhausted out of my mind.", Odd said, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah, neither can I. Hopefully, XANA will be kind enough to leave us alone during summer.", Ulrich said, with his elbow propped upright on the table, with his hand cradling his head. A clacking noise could be heard in the hallway, followed by the hum of a tune. The clacking eventually reached the classroom. The source of the sound was a woman. Who was this woman, you may ask? It was the one and only Suzanne Hertz.
"Quiet down, children. Homeroom is now in session. Take out your notebooks.", the veteran educator said, pushing her glasses up with a bright gleam reflecting off of their lenses. The class went silent and did as they were instructed to. She then began to teach.
Obviously, most students weren't interested in her lesson. Especially Odd. Paying attention in class wasn't his thing, really. Instead of paying attention, Odd was concentrating on a drawing of his. The drawing was XANA's symbol, which was only in the sketching phase. Ulrich and Odd were sitting together, both talking to each other about various things instead of listening to the old science teacher behind the podium in the front of the classroom. Mrs. Hertz noticed this and decided to put them in their place. She walked towards the two, obviously irritated.
"Ulrich! Odd! Do you have something that you'd wish to share with the class?", she shouted, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Erm, no, Mrs. Hertz, ma'am...", Ulrich said, embarrassed. She hadn't even said anything to Odd as she had given up hope on him long ago.
"Well, I think you do. Why don't you tell the class what the three laws of motion are?", asked Hertz, with a slanted grin on her face.
"Hmm, uh... Let me think... the first law is... gravity?", Ulrich guessed, wearing a nervous smile.
"If I had a euro for how wrong that answer was, I'd be filthy rich!", shouted Mrs. Hertz, promptly walking back to the front of the class. The class laughed at her insult before quieting down to a more reasonable tone. She resumed her lesson, occasionally looking back to see if there were any troublemakers or students willing to disrupt the class.
Ulrich slumped down in his seat, letting out a quiet sigh.
"Should've been paying attention.", said Odd, snickering.
"Like you're one to talk.", replied Ulrich, sitting back up and resting his head on his arms.
Soon, after what seemed like years, the bell rang. The students in the classroom equipped their bags and stood up from their seats, getting ready to leave.
"Don't forget to write an essay on the laws of motion! You have seven days to write it. I will be deducting points if you turn it in past the due date.", Mrs. Hertz said, before everyone left. After they left, it was time for the group to go to English class. Yumi joined the group, walking with them.
"So, how was class?", Ulrich asked Yumi.
"Same as usual. Just the regular boring math class. You know, the type that makes you wish for XANA to attack.", replied Yumi, looking bored as usual. Ulrich couldn't remember for the life of him the last time he had seen her smile since the war with XANA started. Neither could the others. Soon, they were all at the door of their class and everyone went in.
It had been an hour or so since they had all entered. Mrs. Kensington had been covering the basics of English grammar and Odd was playing on his Game Boy in secret, with the volume turned all the way down. However, while the kids were sitting in class, XANA was awake and cooking up a plan. This time, he was going to get rid of those damnable kids.
Soon after their class had ended, they used their free time to hang around at the playground. However, something felt off...
And that's a wrap! For my first fic, I think I did pretty well. Feels rather short, though. Please tell me what you think in the reviews and give me suggestions!