The school bell rang out through the campus, signaling the end of the day. For most of the students, the lessons for the day had come to an end. For Hiroki, the lessons had just begun. When the bell rung, he headed out from his classroom straight to the dorm rooms. As he entered the building, he had asked himself just what he had gotten himself into. After all, Odd had the reputation of being the one student in all of Kadic that has probably set records when it comes to how many girls he could date during his stay at the school. If anything, he would know the perfect methods for asking someone out on a date. Then again. He had probably set records on how many times and how many different ways girls have dumped him during his stay in Kadic. Hiroki definitely wanted to go out with Milly but he didn't want the night to end in disaster either. Once he reached Ulrich's dorm room, he decided that it was time for him to man up and go forward with the plan. With his mind finally set, he knocked on the door.

"Come on in," Ulrich said from the other side of the door.

Hiroki opened the door and found Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich and Odd inside. A sense of confusion hit his face. He liked all of Yumi's friends and they, in turn, liked him. However, he was told that it would be Odd helping him out, not Yumi and her whole clique. "What's everyone doing here?" he asked.

"Well," Yumi said, "I wanted to make sure you don't chicken out on your lessons. That and I wanted to make sure Odd didn't do anything stupid."

"I'm offended!" Odd exclaimed. "What makes you think that I would do something stupid here?" Both Yumi and Aelita simply glared at him. "Never mind," he responded. "I'm obviously not going to get some support here."

Ulrich chimed in. "Well, I believe in you, man. Don't let me down." He turned to Yumi. "We should go."

Yumi shook her head. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this." As she got ready to leave, she turned to Odd one more time. "I can trust you, right?"

"Of course," Odd said before turning his attention to Hiroki. "Now the first thing you need to know is to bring protection."

"ODD!" everyone else but Hiroki shouted. Odd grinned to let everyone know that he was only kidding. Yumi gave him a more menacing glare before she closed the door and left with Ulrich.

Odd turned to Hiroki again. "Alright, time for me to get serious. Before we begin, do you have any questions?"

Hiroki nodded. "Why is Aelita here?" he asked.

"Oh, she's here to help me out with your lessons," he replied.

Aelita shot a look of confusion. "I thought I was here because Yumi asked me to watch you."

"I'll explain everything later," he said before addressing Hiroki again. "Now, Hiroki, tell me why you're here."

Hiroki shot his own look of confusion. "I thought you knew why I'm here."

"I do," he said, "but it's just better if you tell me anyway."

Hiroki sighed. "I want to ask Milly Solovieff out on a date."

"Alright," Odd said. "So how do you plan on asking her out?"

Hiroki thought about that for a moment. He didn't realize that such a simple question would be so hard to ask. "I… don't know."

Odd nodded for a bit. "Okay, the first thing you have to realize is that you can't just ask her straight out if she wants to go on a date with you, especially if you're not her friend already. Start off with a compliment or some other flattering comment. Talk about something that she did that you thought was cool."

"I can talk about her newspaper," he chimed in.

"Good choice," he complimented. "Now, this is going to be important. Once you said what you're going to say to start things off, watch how she reacts. Depending on what she says and how she says things, you'll have a better idea on whether or not you have a chance for that date. Observe." He walked over to Aelita and whispered something into her ear before beginning. "Wow, Aelita, that report you did was amazing. I didn't know that it would be so fascinating."

"Eh, I guess," Aelita said with a slightly bored expression on her face.

Odd faced Hiroki. "Look at what she did. That's when you know that you have no chance at this. I mean, she barely looked at me and it seemed like she just said anything to be polite. If that happens to you, just walk away and forget about her unless you want to get embarrassed some more in front of everyone. Now…" he whispered to Aelita again before repeating his line from before. "Wow, Aelita, that report you did was amazing. I didn't know that it would be so fascinating."

"You really think so?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I was never interested in that stuff until you wrote about it. Now I think it's cool."

Aelita smiled. "Well, thanks. Thanks a lot."

Odd turned to Hiroki. "See, that time she seemed interested. It shows that there's a slight possibility she's interested in you. If this happens, keep going. Get her to be more interested in you and you'll have a better chance in the end."

Hiroki nodded. He made a mental note to himself to pick up the latest copy of the school paper when this is all over. "So when do I ask her out?"

Odd pointed to Yumi's younger brother. "You save that for the end of the conversation. It'll feel really weird if you start off the conversation asking that or if you just throw that in the middle of the conversation. One technique I have is to wait until both of you are smiling before asking the girl out. If she's in a good mood, she's less likely to turn you down harshly, if at all. You got that?"

Hiroki nodded. "I think so."

"Good," Odd said smiling. "Now it's time for you to practice. Ask Aelita out on a date."

"What?!" he exclaimed in surprise. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" Odd asked.

"Because she's Jeremie's girl. I can't do that to him."

Aelita's face expressed shock at that comment. "What did you tell him about me and Jeremie?" she asked, glaring at Odd.

Odd responded with a surprised look of his own. "I didn't say anything," he said. Aelita, meanwhile, made a mental note to herself to talk to Yumi about keeping secrets. "Anyway, Hiroki, this is just practice. You're not going to really ask Aelita out for a date. Just pretend that this is Milly."

Hiroki cleared his throat and faced Aelita. "Um… do you… wanna… um… go out…tonight?"

Odd shook his head. "Not bad," he said, "but all the hesitation killed it. Try it again but smoother this time."

Hiroki cleared his throat again. "Do you want to go out tonight?"

"I'd love to," Aelita answered. "What do you want to do?"

Hiroki paused then turned to Odd. "Um, what do I do now?" he asked.

"You mean you don't have a plan for the date?" Hiroki shook his head causing Odd to do the same. "Try for something simple," he said. "Dinner and a movie usually works."

"What restaurant should we go to?" Hiroki asked.

Odd thought about it for a minute. "A café would do nicely. Good food that will fit in your budget. Don't forget to be a gentleman and pay for the whole meal, both your share and hers."

Hiroki nodded. "What about the movie?"

"Let her pick it out," he said. "That'll give you a better idea of what types of films she likes."

Hiroki nodded again. "Anything else I should know about?"

Odd shook his head. "That should cover it. Just don't rush anything; let things happen naturally and if that special spark happens, it'll happen. Also, just be yourself. If she doesn't like you for you, then oh well. Other than that you should be fine."

"Thanks, Odd," Hiroki said as he grabbed his bags and proceeded towards the door.

"Do some practice at home and good luck," Odd said as his young protégé left the room.

Aelita turned to Odd once the door closed. "Do you think he'll be alright?" she asked.

Odd nodded. "He'll be fine, but I won't know for sure until he gets the courage to ask MIlly." He placed his hands behind his head. "Now that that's settled, what's this about you and Jeremie?" Aelita grumbled and reminded herself again to talk to Yumi as soon as possible.