Hah…thank you all for putting up with me and my lateness. Ness. Ness.
This has to be one of the most complex chapters I have ever written (and the longest, at 5,209 words. Fourteen Word pages.) There's loads that happens. Then there's chapter 12…and then, the fun truly begins. Bwahaha.
Enjoy day five. Oh, and Lyoko422/SilverPrince- HAH.
Disclaimer: CL. It's Moonscoop's. Okie? Okie.
Chapter 11
Day Five: Legends of Kadic Academy
Jeremie was hardly aware of the transition from one edition of June 6, 1994 to the next. Instead of floating, he seemed to be racing, in a panic. When he regained consciousness in the patch, he was alert instantly, looking round for any sign of danger.
No. No XANA. He felt like breathing his sigh of relief, but he knew that he couldn't do that yet. He sat for god-knows-how long, just sitting, eyes wide as saucers.
It was official. He couldn't go back. Not to the factory. He'd just be letting himself fall into XANA's arms. He'd have to go back to Kadic. Maybe he'd be safe there. With people around. XANA couldn't just kill like that. Especially in Franz's time loop.
But to get there, he had to stand up. He did, quickly, took another look around, and then ran in the gates. He only barely remembered to make his existence official through his hacking skillz, but aside that, he just kept running.
There were hardly any students out at this hour. Certainly not Chris and Aelita. So he understood why the few that were out were staring at him like he'd appeared out of thin air. The only two he recognized weren't even students at all- Medea Delmas, still wearing her sweater, but with pajama pants still on, leading the toddler Sissi across the lawns. Jeremie supposed she was taking her to her father's office. The small girl was babbling nonstop, and very loudly, even from a distance. She was tripping over words, in her little-girl lisp.
"And then- and then- and then I went swing, and slide, and- and monkey bars, and- and ice cream, and-"
"Daddy gave you ice cream?" Passing them, Jeremie could now hear Medea's reply. "Are you sure it was Daddy?" She laughed a little. Sissi laughed hysterically.
"Mommy has ice cream? Today?"
"Today? No. Maybe next week. But we can go to the park today." At this point, Jeremie couldn't hear them anymore. Not that that conversation was worth anything. He ran to the first classroom, nearly knocking over a teacher, entered, and sat down. There was no one else there. He waited.
And waited.
Two bells rang. After the second, the classroom filled up more quickly. Jeremie didn't move. He could see Chris and Aelita in the crowd- Chris waving his hands to make some sort of point, Aelita smiling and nodding. He ignored them, or at the very least, tried. Yet, he couldn't shake the fact that the last time he had seen the two, he had been covered in blood, and had just interrupted his love confession. Not that they remembered that at all.
Medea's class was, for once, uneventful. Jeremie played the nice, normal shadow student, participated, accepted people's comments, stuff like that. But, during low points in the class, he couldn't help but stare over at his pink-haired princess, wincing whenever Chris looked at her. But, it wasn't bad, compared to what XANA might be plotting to do to him at the moment.
Second period passed in a similar way. It was a little boring, almost, the thoughts nagged as he walked along to third period, in an oddly deserted part of the grounds. But, boring was good, compared to, say, being cornered by a specter with only a tower deactivation standing between him and death. Yeah. He knew.
Someone knocked into him, hard. He whirled around to see an adult he only assumed was a teacher stumble past him, in the opposite direction- not walk, but stumble, slowly, unsteadily Jeremie stared after him. There was no mistaking that grey hair. "Mr. Hopper-"
He didn't hear him. In fact, just after passing, he gave a sickening lurch, gasped, and staggered towards a pillar. He leaned against it, breathing heavily, sweat visible on his face. Then, just as suddenly, he slipped off, and sank to the ground. Jeremie gasped.
"Oh god- sir, are you okay?" He ran over to him, bent over, and shoved him. No response. "Sir? Mr. Hopper?"
He tried to turn him over. Franz Hopper's mouth lay open, his face expressionless, but he was breathing. His glasses dangled from one ear, and his hair was even more untidy than usual. He obviously appeared to have fainted. Jeremie recoiled a bit, uncomfortable being this near to an unconscious body.
"Ah…ah, darn it." He had to be taken to the infirmary. No question about it. He stood, and tried to pull up Franz with him- but, of course, the man was a lot heavier than he was. He could barely lift him to waist height- at least, not for very long. So, he simply dragged him, as gently as he could, to the nearest classroom.
Class stopped as he entered the doorway, unconscious Franz in tow. He didn't recognize anyone there. Not even the teacher. He didn't know what to do from here. "Uh…hi. I found this guy in the hall-I mean, just outside the door…" He lifted Franz's arm in acknowledgement.
"Oh! Oh dear…" The teacher looked up from her book. "Mr. Hopper…um, okay. Well. Benjamin, go to room 114. Tell Aelita about this." A short, pale boy with short brown hair got up and left the room, after stopping in the doorway to take a long look at Jeremie and Franz. She pointed to three other boys. "Help him carry Mr. Hopper to the infirmary."
"Thank you, ma'am…" The three boys, who all looked the same in that they were large and brutish, got up and lifted Franz together with ease, which made Jeremie feel incredibly useless. Still, he tried to at least contribute by holding the man's head up as the four- well, five, really- stumbled to the infirmary.
Across the lawn…through the administrative wing…and into the infirmary, which looked pretty much the same as always, except, instead of Yolande Perraudin, who might have been only a few years older than the children then, there was a irritable-looking, middle-aged woman sitting in a corner of the room, reading a magazine upside-down. She looked up as they came in.
"Eh? What's wrong?" She did a double take. Her eyes widened, but her tone didn't change.
"Huh…well, this is a change from fake headaches." Rather reluctantly, it seemed, she stood. "Put 'im over there."
With a little bit of difficulty, the boys hauled him onto the bed. Franz shuddered a bit, but did not wake up. The woman walked over to him, and slapped him lightly on the face a few times. He did not react.
"Passed out. Some bruising. Did he fall?"
"Yeah..." Jeremie stared at the floor. The other three boys stared at him, stared at each other, decided silently that they weren't needed anymore, and walked out.
"Okay, hon, I get the picture. I'll take care of 'im." She clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him over. "Looks like all he needs is some rest. He'll be fine."
"Uh, yeah. T..thank you." Jeremie smiled, and then looked at Franz Hopper, in an attempt to at least look at something. Somehow, he felt slightly worried. Franz had worked himself into this, he had a feeling. His breakdown last revision was like a precursor to this. Lack of sleep…? He sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed. He wondered when he'd be asked to leave.
Within a split second of this thought, the infirmary door creaked open. Two green eyes peeked out from behind the wall, and then widened.
"Daddy!" Aelita burst into the room, leaving Chris, who seemed to have followed her the whole way there, in her dust. She skidded to a halt at her inert father's bedside, her face equally as covered in sweat from running, and felt his forehead. Her frantic breathing slowed.
"Wha..what happened to him?" she asked Jeremie, calmly as she could, but with a hint of tension. Somehow, Jeremie couldn't stand to look at her.
"Uh…fainted, I think." He shrugged, and looked to the side.
"Oh." Her eyes trailed off focus. She didn't seem to be looking at anything at all. "Is he…going to be okay?"
"Pretty sure." The nurse was now at the bed, layering cloths on Franz's forehead. "Worst he'll have is a concussion, and that's pretty unlikely. Should go home when he wakes up."
"Uhm, okay." A small smile lit her face for a fleeting second, but then faltered, as she looked back at her father. "I…I'll stay with him. If that's okay."
The nurse opened her mouth, but Chris got there first. "Of course it is, Aelita! You have every right to stay with your dad, y'know? Especially like this, all…fainted…and stuff…aheh…" He cast a meek look at the nurse, who arched an eyebrow at him. "Well, um, if there's anything I can do while I'm here, yanno, keep you company, bring you anything…"
Aelita looked away at him, a bewildered, yet amused look on her face. "Oh…no, it's okay. Don't trouble yourself on my part."
"But I could-"
"Go ahead back to class, Chris. I'll be alright. But…thank you." She smiled warmly. Jeremie could practically see the steam floating up from Chris's head as he blushed purple and backed away towards the door.
"Ah…" Jeremie cast a sideways glance at Chris. "Maybe I really should get back to class too…yanno…I kinda have to…"
"Ah…okay, um…whoever you are."
"Jeremie."
"Jeremie, then. Thank you. For, uh…finding him."
"Uh…yeah. You're welcome." Finding a spasm of courage, he stood up straight and smiled. "I hope he, uh…gets better." Looking at the ground to hide his blush, he quickly left the infirmary.
Once outside, Jeremie could breathe. He leaned against a wall, and scanned the area. Chris was still outside, staring, agoinized, at the infirmary door, mumbling something Jeremie couldn't hear. He noticed Jeremie, stared at him for a long moment, and then resumbed mumbling. Jeremie stared back, his eyes narrowed. "Erm, hi."
"Hi." Chris didn't look away from the door.
"You haven't gone back to class."
"Neither have you."
"Good point."
Silence.
"You like her, don't you?"
Chris glanced sideways at Jeremie, looked back, and did a double take.
"Aelita. You really like her, right?"
"What's it to you?" Chris's voice was antagonistic.
"Oh, nothing." Jeremie shrugged, and laughed a little. "Just noticing. You seem really dedicated to her. It's…kinda interesting." He smiled, a fake smile.
"Augh…dammit…" Chris turned his head away from Jeremie, peeked back, and then swung away again.
"It's stupid, really. Stupid. Ever since I got here…at Kadic, y'know…I don't have many friends, okay? It's all my uncle's fault, y'know…everyone thinks I'm a worthless joke cause I'm related to one."
"You think your own uncle is a worthless joke?"
"No, I don't…I like him a lot, y'know, that's why I came here…but, everyone else does. They thought that. My first month here was hell. But then…I met her…" He glanced to the side, a faraway, dreamy look in his eyes. "Maybe she's really nothing more but an ordinary person. Maybe it was because we were kind of the same…you know her father's a teacher. But…she was different to me. She never minded who I was, or what people said about her. She just…allowed herself to be my friend."
"You don't have to think it's that big an achievement for people to like you," Jeremie said, rather hypocritically. Chris didn't notice.
"I…I want to show her how much I'm grateful to her…how much I really care. How I care more than anyone." His voice grew stern, and then softened, saddened. "But I'm afraid she doesn't feel the same way. That I might be ruining our friendship."
"You don't have to get all dramatic about it," Jeremie said, calmly, though his heart was sinking as he spoke. "I mean, yeah, everyone's nervous about stuff like that, but Aelita's just a person, you know? She's a good friend of yours, and she'd probably be pretty honored by half the stuff you've just said." If she wasn't creeped out first, he thought.
"It's never that easy. You've never been in love." He scowled.
"Oh, really?" He smiled, and laughed a bit.
"Huh. Then…you weren't doing it right." There was silence for a minute, then a spasm went off in Chris's brain. "Hey…why did I tell you all this? You- you're not going to tell her, are you?"
"Me? I barely know her name."
"Yes you do. You just said it."
"You get the point." Jeremie turned around and began to walk away, slowly. "Seeya."
"…seeya." He resumed staring at the infirmary door. As Jeremie rounded a corner, he thought he could hear him grunt incontentedly.
As he walked down the hall towards the exit, a clock on the wall chimed twelve- time for lunch. He laughed to himself. Chris, he thought, reminded him slightly of Ulrich and Odd. Ulrich with the lovesickness, and Odd with the application of thick layers of ham, although this was slightly more metaphorical on Chris's side. As if he'd get that dramatic over a girl. Wait. Aelita. Right.
He wasn't twenty feet from the door, just passing one more opening, when he heard more voices, from up ahead. "…It's not that I, well, you know what I mean, Medea…"
Jeremie stopped short of the opening and leaned over, mildly curious. It was the small reception area in the administrative building, an area just outside the door. Medea Delmas was sitting in a small, IKEA-esque chair, staring politely at her standing husband, who was clearly trying to tell her something. Sissi, nearly oblivious to her parents, played with a doll in a nearby chair. She was banging its head on a small table.
Jean-Pierre paused in his conversation, wiped his forehead, and began again. "What I'm trying to say is…well, this school has always had certain standards, and…well…"
"I don't meet the standards because I'm too immature," Medea interrupted. She kept a straight face, crossing her legs.
"No, no, of course not," he stammered hurriedly. "You are a very good teacher, and, of course, I love you…" His voice trailed, and then he caught himself. "But there is a certain level of respect that should be demanded of someone of your caliber…to keep students in their place. And you…you're not demanding that level of respect. For example…" He paused. "Why would you ever insist that the students refer to you by your first name? It's-it's-"
"Unprofessional?"
"Y-yes, unprofessional." It appeared as though he had thought of that, but had kept quiet for her sake.
"Well, I like the kids, y'know. They're friends of mine." She smiled. "Besides, doesn't Jim-"
Jean-Pierre's face grew livid. "Medea. Never, ever compare yourself to that mindless fool. You're greater than he'll ever be."
"Putting others down for my sake? Damn, you're in love." She laughed. Jean-Pierre stared at the floor. "But really, Jeannie, it's called constructive criticism. You dish it out like crazy to everyone else. I shouldn't be an exception." She shrugged.
There was silence for a while. Sissi sang a nonsensical song to herself as she swung her legs.
"Well, yes, yes." Jean-Pierre took a few deep breaths. "I guess what I'm really trying to say is that around the students, you should be acting more like a teacher, and less like a child."
"Ya see? That's all you had to say. Thanks, boss!" She jumped up, kissed him on the cheek, and turned towards her daughter. "C'mon, Sissi, wanna have lunch?"
"Ice cream?" She jumped off her seat, a wide smile on her face, and skipped towards her mother.
"No, no," Medea said, trying to hold down a laugh. "Ice cream isn't lunch." She took the small girl's hand, waved to her husband, and exited the room. Quickly, Jeremie stood up straight, and pretended to be a normal student, walking by. Medea didn't even notice him.
Neither did Ms. Hertz. She was walking into the building, in the opposite direction. As she passed Medea, Medea held her hand out. She slapped it. Medea mumbled something like, "Act cute, and they'll do whatever you say…" and exited the building.
The grey-haired woman crossed the opening, turned her head in Jean-Pierre's general direction, and walked towards him. Again mildly curious, Jeremie leaned in, this time on the other side.
Ms. Hertz was standing in front of Jean-Pierre as he stared out the window, not having noticed she was there. She made an exasperated sigh. "If she's that much of a problem, then maybe you should just fire her," she said, rather sternly.
Jean-Pierre jumped, turned around, and gasped. "N-no! I, mean, ah…" He took a minute to compose himself. "Hello, Suzanne. Of course I'm not going to fire her. She…she's got tenure."
"And she's your wife," she retorted, laughing. "But, I can see where this conversation is going to go. Nowhere." Her voice grew serious. She paced around the room. "I'm sure you've received word about Franz's little fainting spell."
"Yes." Jean-Pierre's face darkened considerably. Now, he looked a bit more like the stern principal Jeremie knew, except, of course, that his hair wasn't grey. "And his daughter?"
"She knows." Ms. Hertz turned her head towards Jean-Pierre. "You certainly seem to have something on your mind."
"That's the understatement of the century," he replied, quietly. "You know I don't quite trust Franz Hopper's sanity, Suzanne. He's twice as brilliant as I am, and a much better teacher- though not quite as handsome-" Ms. Hertz rolled her eyes- "And he and I have been friends for a very, very long time. But ever since his wife, er, died, he's become less and less like himself. More suspicious." He paced, a bit faster than Ms. Hertz. "I have this odd feeling that he's up to something, something big…but what?"
"Right now, he isn't up at all. You're being a bit too paranoid."
"Yes, yes. Maybe I am." He made to walk away.
"Oh, Jean-Pierre," Ms. Hertz said suddenly, and he turned around. A sly smile crossed her face. "Say Medea were to die. Say, tomorrow. Would you go insane like him?"
Jean-Pierre stared at her incredulously. "I'd rather die."
"Really." She smiled wider, and turned on her heels to leave the room. The principal followed her, close behind. Jeremie sensed that the conversation was over. Before either of them could see him, He sped out the door, towards lunch, Jean-Pierre's final words rattling in his head.
Lunch was uneventful as usual. Jeremie sat at the edge of Chris and Aelita's table, the main reason for this being that Chris wouldn't let him get any closer to Aelita.
I'd rather die. I'd rather die.
Ms. Hertz subbed Franz Hopper's science class. She was a good teacher, even now as a mere secretary, and much, much less creepy than Mr. Hopper. Jeremie might have actually learned something he didn't know, if he hadn't been so busy trying to avoid Chris's glare.
I'd rather die. I'd rather die.
Was Chris a psychopath or something?
I'd rather die.
No. Perhaps Aelita had just turned him into one.
The day passed all too quickly, and Jeremie found himself outside the school buildings once again, alone with no aim. He looked up at the trees above him, swaying for what was perhaps the ten thousandth time since the day had begun. And who knew how many more times before the day would end. He sighed, still looking up, and took a step towards the gate.
"Uhm, ah…Jeremie!"
Jeremie turned around, and found himself face to face with a tuft of pink hair- Aelita, tagged close as always by Chris, who was looking at Jeremie with the revulsion which one might use to look at a live bomb. Aelita was a bit blank, as usual, but seemed slightly more upbeat than most of the time.
"I…I wanted to thank you again for helping my dad," she began. "I'm sure he's very grateful. If he has any idea who you are…you were only here for today, right?"
"Yeah, right," Jeremie answered. "How's he doing?"
"Okay," Aelita said. "He woke up about an hour ago, and the nurse sent him home for the day. He'll be fine to teach tomorrow."
"Yep. Thanks. So, uh, have a nice life, bye." Chris took Aelita's shoulder, and gently turned her around. Jeremie got the hint. A bit forlornly, he walked away, very slowly. Even as he did so, Chris and Aelita continued talking.
"You already thanked him, why'd you have to go and do it again?"
"Because it's the polite thing to do."
"You really are sheltered. Ah…" There was a pause. "F-forgive me, Aelita, I didn't really mean to say that…"
"I went deaf for about five seconds and had no idea what you just said." Smooth. "Ah…I suppose I should go and see how Daddy's doing…but he probably doesn't want to be bothered…"
"Yeah, he's been out the whole day, he probably conked again. Besides, the day's still young! Anything you wanna do? Anything?" Chris seemed desprate to spend any time at all with Aelita.
"Well…we could always go and see Elisabeth." Her tone brightened considerably.
"Are you sure? I mean, uh, okay. Sounds cool."
"Oh yeah!"
As Jeremie heard this, a thought struck him. Maybe, perhaps, he could delay his boredom for just a little while. He turned around, and ran back a few steps. "Uh-" Too quiet. He raised his voice. "Uh- HEY!"
Both had their backs to Jeremie. Chris seemed determined to ignore him, but Aelita turned around, curious. "Hm?"
"Y-you were going to the Delmas' house, right?"
"Uhm…yes…" She nodded her head a few times.
"Well, um…can I come?" His desperation showed clearly in his voice. "I mean, my parents aren't coming to get me for a while, and I'm just going to have to stand here, and, uh…"
Aelita stared at him, a bit bewildered. "Uh…okay, I guess. Chris?"
"Weh?" He took one look at Jeremie, and though his eyes narrowed, his tone remained calm. "Eh, sure. He'll just be gone soon anyway…" That last sentence was said under his breath.
"Okay! Ahm…thank you. Really."
"You're welcome…but it's really no big deal." Her face was blank.
The Delmas' house, the green one on campus, was only just across from where the three of them had stood. It wasn't a long walk, though a silent one, as Jeremie had no idea what to say, Aelita was too focused on the house, and Chris was formulating seventy-two ways to somehow shake Jeremie off. Before they knew it, they were there. The door was slightly open- a welcome sign. They went inside.
The inside of the house was just as normal as the outside. The older architechture of the house contrasted with the more modern furniture in an unusual, attractive way. As Jeremie stood at the door, dumbfounded, and Chris looked across at him suspiciously, Aelita skipped down the hallway, calling out. "Oy! Medea?"
"Oh, hi, Aelita! C'mon in." The response was far away, but definitely Medea.
"Chris and this other guy are here too!" Jeremie rolled his eyes, trying not to make it obvious.
"More people from the crazy parade? Awesome!"
Aelita ran out of sight. Jeremie guessed he should follow her. A trip down a small hallway led to a kitchen, a warm-looking one, with lots of wood. Medea Delmas stood at a small counter jutting out of the wall, grading what looked like English papers. The toddler Sissi sat on the same counter, legs dangling off the edge, calling off "X!" whenever Medea wrote one. This was, needless to say, very often.
Sissi, looking cavity-inducingly cute as ever, looked up at Aelita, and smiled widely. "Leeda!"
"Yep!" Aelita ran over to the little girl, and gave her an enthusiastic hug. "I'm back!"
"Ice cream?"
"Uh, no, I don't have any ice cream…" Aelita didn't look confused, just happier than ever.
Medea turned her head, now noticing Chris and Jeremie. "She has a thing about ice cream, don't worry about that." She laughed. "Well, come in. We don't bite. Well…not me, anyway," she said, gesturing towards some poor kid's English test, with a small bite mark in it, made by a very small mouth.
"Well, uh, okay." Jeremie barely stepped in the door. Shyly, he leaned against the counter, eyes on the floor. In contrast, Chris bounded right over to Aelita and Sissi, making embarrassing squeaky noises for the smaller girl.
Jeremie occasionally looked up at them, but otherwise kept silent for a while. Medea had her back to him, grading papers more quickly now that Sissi was occupied. Finally, she looked up, and noticed Jeremie. She cocked an eyebrow.
"What are you still doing here?"
"I…I dunno." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"You're the shadow kid, right? Jeremie?"
"Mm."
"Not much of a talker," she said, almost to herself. "So, y'like Kadic at all?"
"Y-yeah…it's nice."
"'Nice' is an evil word. It barely means anything and is never a good description." She sighed.
"Ahm…" Jeremie thought for a minute. "The classes are kinda interesting, I guess…and the people are pretty…uh…"
"Nice? Cheheh. Well, glad you think so. You certainly picked an exciting day to come." She laughed to herself.
"You heard about Franz Hopper?"
"Well, duh. He's a coworker." Medea wasn't looking at him, but he could almost tell that she was rolling her eyes. "We're all worried about him, really…we have been, for a very long time." Her voice trailed, a faraway quality to it.
"You probably would. He does act…kinda weird-" He caught himself. He was supposed only to have seen Franz unconscious- there was no way he could have known about his actions.
Thankfully, Medea didn't notice. "Wierdness? Haha, no. If anything, he's being more human than half the people in this crazy place."
"How?"
Medea turned her head and looked at the ceiling. Her hand dropped, her pen slipped. Her eyes glazed over.
"He acts on passion. Passion for others. A father for a daughter, a husband for a wife…a schoolboy for that funny little girl that sits next to him…" She twitched her hand in Chris's general direction. Chris, at the moment, was wagging Sissi's tiny pigtails up and down, looking very distracted. "And, of course, vice versa. It's our passions that make us humans. Our care that binds us together. It may seem silly, but it's really helped us to survive. It's something we've evolved to do."
Now her face grew more serious, less focused. "And those that don't care…those are the ones that we have to watch out for. The dangerous ones. The real psychopaths. The ones that kill to feel alive. That is no life."
Jeremie's eyes widened. "Wow. That's…real deep. But it does kinda make sense."
Medea swiveled her head around, bug eyed. "Oh…you're still here? Hm." She smiled, a little too widely.
"Ah…heh. Well, I guess I'll go and, uh, play with Elizabeth." Jeremie smiled, widely, and began stepping away.
"Call her Sissi. It's cuter." Medea had gone back to her work. Jeremie, having nothing else to do, bent down by Chris and Aelita, who were playing with Sissi. That is, Aelita was playing with her, and Chris was interrupting every once in a while with 'yeah'. It made sense. Not that any human male would be seen alive playing with Barbies.
Chris was less than thrilled at the addition, but Aelita didn't seem to mind. It was doubtful she even noticed that Jeremie was there- she was so dedicated to the little girl. Seeing the two together, Jeremie could hardly believe that in eleven years, this sweet, cute, green-eyed little girl would be an ugly, preppy, snobbish thing who would insult Aelita almost as she drew breath- the girl she was now hugging and whacking lightly with a Ken doll.
Soon enough, Sissi noticed Jeremie. Her head swiveled slowly, away from Aelita and the Barbies. And then the rest of her. Chris backed away a little, but Jeremie stayed put. Sissi stared at him for a moment, and then her face lit up. "Hi!"
"Uh, hi there." He smiled, warmly. "What's your name?"
Her little face scrunched up in concentration. "Zee…za…biff…Sissi!" She laughed hysterically. Jeremie chuckled. Aelita nearly fainted. Chris arched an eyebrow.
"Well, yes, that's a very nice name!" He couldn't believe what he was saying. "A nice name for a nice girl. One wonders how she became a moose," he muttered under his breath.
Sissi gasped. "Moose?" She thought for a minute- and then held her hands up to her head, like a moose's antlers. "Moose in Ka-Bik!"
"Ka…bik?"
"Québec." Medea had finished, and somehow gotten herself into the corner. She picked Sissi up and swung her around. "That's where the moose are, right, Sissi? Québec! That's where we're going this summer, remember? It's nice and cool there."
"Ice cream?"
"Yes, I think they do have ice cream in Québec. Maybe then we'll let you have some. Not before. Just then." She swung Sissi around again, laughing- and then looked out the window. "Oh! Principal!" She swiveled her head. "You all better scoot. Having a bunch of students in the house would be pretty hard to explain…and probably call for more stammering."
"Wha?"
"Goodbye!" Putting Sissi down, she pushed them all out a back door, and shut it. The three of them were now alone. Awkward silence.
"Uh…hi." Chris looked away.
"Hi." Jeremie looked at the sky. It wasn't very interesting, and he didn't feel like looking at the other two. "Well…bye."
"Bye." Aelita started walking in the other direction. Chris followed her. Jeremie kept looking at the sky. He didn't know what he was looking for. A time machine? Maybe. Somehow, going home hadn't seemed too important today.
There was a buzz at the back of Jeremie's ear, a buzz that split the air. And then…Chris and Aelita just stopped. They were all staring at the sky.
A white light seared the air, swallowing the area. He knew what it was. He'd seen it four times in the technical span of twelve hours, and millions of times before. What he couldn't comprehend…was how it had come so early in the day.
Chris's jaw dropped, and he pointed up at it. "What the heck is that?" Aelita's pupils dilated, and she looked across, lips vibrating, muttering something too low to hear. Jeremie just stared. He didn't trust himself to speak. Neither did he have the time to do as such, as the campus, the house, and the three of them were enveloped.
Wow. Reading this over, it's like the story should have a moral or something…that was not meant to happen. I guess Fred Gallagher was right- story writing really can take a life of its own.
Well, hope you enjoyed this very organic chapter. Stay tuned for the next, which really hasn't come out of the pod yet. Okay, I'm done with plant metaphors.
- Carth