Chapter 2

"She saved you?" Yumi said questioningly as she and the others went through the line and got their lunches, just like they had the first time they lived through that day.

"Yeah. She was even nice enough to keep Kiwi safe while I was out," Odd replied with a nod, glancing over at Layla, who was once again alone, reading her book and not eating.

"We should definitely sit with her again, then," Ulrich stated.

"Yeah. But this time, don't ask any questions," Jeremy told Odd.

The boy dressed all in purple and yellow nodded, smiling. "Okay!"

Aelita was the one that led the way over to Layla's table this time, stepping back when they reached the place so Yumi could greet the quiet redhead.

"Hi, Layla. These are my friends, Odd, Ulrich, Jeremy, and Aelita. Would you mind if we sat here?"

Layla looked up and smiled slightly at Yumi and her nervous-looking friends. "Not at all. It's not like I own the table or anything."

Everyone quickly grew less nervous and sat down, Odd sitting across from Layla while Yumi sat down beside her. The others just sat in random places around the table.

"Sooo...Do you like dogs?" Odd asked after a few seconds, ignoring the glares he was getting from his friends for asking a question. This question didn't cause Layla to become a bitch or anything, though. Instead, it made her smile a slight bit more.

"Yeah, but I'm really more of a cat person."

"Oh. Interesting," Odd said before beginning to eat his lunch.

Layla cocked her head at the weirdass blond, but remained silent.

A few more minutes of silence passed, then Ulrich said, "Uh oh. Here comes Sissi."

"Sissi?" Layla questioned. "Who's-"

"Well, well, well. Looks like your little group has added another dorky member." Layla found out that Sissi was a mean black-haired girl that was about as smart as she was pretty, and in Layla's opinion, she wasn't really all that good-looking...

Yumi glared at the mean girl and opened her mouth to say something, but Layla spoke before she could. "Dorky? The only dorky people I see here are you and your two lameass friends. Now, tell me. Do you have to pay them to follow you around all day, or are they just too stupid to find someone better to stalk?"

Sissi glared at Layla, who gazed at the black-haired girl calmly with those cold gray-blue eyes of hers as Odd, Ulrich, and the others laughed.

"Yeah, Sissi. I've been wondering that for a long time now," Odd said after a moment, still laughing.

Sissi simply growled and walked away, her two groupies following her like the obedient little nerds they were. The rest of lunch was uneventful, and soon, it was time for class.

A few hours later, classes were over, and everyone was free to go do whatever it is they did after school. In Layla's case, that was wander aimlessly around the campus.

Sadly, before she got to do this, she bumped into someone and found herself on the ground.

Looking up at who had she had run into, she realized that it wasn't really that sad. Hell, it wasn't even a little bit sad. And the explanation for this rapid change in emotions is a simple three-letter-long name.

Odd.

Not like Layla was willing to admit that, of course.

"Watch it," she muttered as she got to her feet and picked up her backpack, which she had dropped when she fell.

Odd smiled nervously at her. "Sorry."

"You should be." Layla brushed some invisible dust off of her skirt, then turned to walk away, but Odd quickly followed her when she began to walk.

"So, how do you like it here at Kadic?" he asked, his smile a little less nervous now.

All he got in reply was a shrug from the pretty redhead.

"Oh...That's good, I guess..." When Layla didn't say anything, he questioned, "Do you have any plans for the rest of today?"

"No."

"Oh. Would you like a tour of the school, then? You can't possibly know where everything is yet."

Layla was actually a bit surprised by the offer. "Um...Sure."

"Great! Let's go." Odd grabbed the redhead's hand and dragged her off to begin that lovely tour of the school.

Twenty minutes later, Odd led Layla up a hallway and pointed to a door while saying, "And that's my and Ulrich's room." He gestured to another door as he walked toward it. "This is Jeremy's room." He opened the door and exclaimed with obviously feigned shock, "Oh! Look! It's my friends!" Dropping the act of surprise, he looked at Layla and said, "Well, let's go in and talk to them." He walked into the room and Layla was forced to follow, seeing as the short boy still had a hold of her hand.

"Hey, Odd, Layla," Yumi greeted the two people, smiling at both of them.

"What are you guys up to?" Ulrich asked.

"Hi, guys. I was just giving Layla here a tour of the school," Odd stated while releasing the girl's hand and closing the door.

"I see. So how do you like the school, Layla?" Aelita questioned, looking at the girl she was speaking to.

Layla's reply was a simple shrug, just like the one she had given Odd before.

"Well, at least you don't hate it," Jeremy said, watching as Layla simply nodded.

Odd flopped on the bed beside Ulrich and the others. "Make yourself at home," he told Layla with a lazy smile.

All Layla did to 'make herself at home' was drop her backpack on the floor.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Odd asked his friends after watching Layla for a moment.

Before anyone could answer, Layla's cell phone rang. She pulled the slim black phone out of her backpack, glared down at the name that had appeared on the caller ID, then said, "Excuse me," before leaving the room.

She closed the door behind her quietly, then flipped the clamshell phone open.

"What the hell do you want, Mom?" she asked the woman on the other end of the line flatly.

"Money." The girl's mother wasn't even bothering to sweet-talk her daughter into anything.

"How much do you need this time?" Layla all but growled into her phone, unaware that the Lyoko warriors were listening intently from where they were sitting in Jeremy's room.

"Two, three hundred dollars, tops."

"Go fuck yourself, Mother," the redhead spat. "I'm not giving you any more money."

"I take care of you for over ten years, and this is the thanks I get?!" Layla's mother yelled, outraged.

"You think you took care of me?!" Layla screamed right back at the woman. "All you've done my entire life is get drunk and expect me to pay your bills! How the hell is that 'taking care of me'?!"

"That's a lie! I've done a lot for you!"

"Save it, bitch. I don't care." And with that, Layla hung up, tears of rage streaming down her cheeks. With an angry shriek, she whipped around and slammed her fist into the wall. She stood there, sobbing with her fist resting against the wall, until she noticed that Jeremy's door was open and everyone was watching her, concern in their eyes.

Miss Dougherty pushed past them with a pathetic sniffle, picked up her book bag, then turned and left the room with a murmur of, "Sorry I ruined your little gathering, guys."

"Wait, Layla." Odd reached after the girl, wanting her to stop, but she was already running up the hallway. A moment later, she was gone.