Aelita says I shouldn't go back to Lyoko yet. After she told me that she started having a coded debate with Jeremie right in front of me. All it meant to me was "You can't go on Lyoko, we won't tell you why just to bug you, and no, we won't give you any subtitles to our argument either."
It irritates me, but I suppose they know better than me. I decide to leave. They can have fun unbug…ing and rearranging the inner core frame mecha-…oh forget it. They can do it on their own. It's not my fault their Lyoko systems hate me.
I walk out into the factory, welcoming the light on my back as I walk out of its shadow. They aren't my problem any more. It's Saturday, so there is no pressure to go anywhere or do anything. I like life that way.
I wander back towards school, my stroll even paced. I've been spending a lot of time there lately. Home is…still hard to deal with. It's only once something is gone that you notice each and every little detail about how it affected your life. I can't ride to grocery markets in cars any more…that's certain.
Then there are all the little things. Only one card for Easter, one forced smile instead of two happy ones, one goodbye and one hello, and only one faint sound of snoring when you get up at three am to get a drink of water.
Little things…but very painful ones.
I decide to change my thought's path, as well as the one I'm walking on. People are yelling near the soccer field, and something clicks in my mind.
Ulrich would be playing in that soccer game today, but perhaps with one less pair of eyes watching him. That would explain the look when…
But I don't know for sure, so I head towards the field, wishing I had earplugs to block the ever increasing volume of screams and whooping cheers.
Right on schedule, Mr. Soccer Star comes speeding down the field with two guys following and two guys coming. Doesn't look so good for him…
I must have blinked, because the next moment the ball is hitting the net and people are screaming even louder. I hadn't thought that possible…
I turn towards the crowd. The game doesn't interest me. There are hoards of adoring fans waving their arms about and yelling. No one has their own voice. It's all one deafening roar.
I fail to see Yumi anywhere, though there is a good chance I missed her. Call it force of habit, but I look towards where I had encountered Yumi before. That was a dead end. What had I been expecting?
Yumi or no, the woods did look very inviting, and a lot quieter than my current location. So I walk off towards the shady trees, ready to get out of the sun. It's starting to get too warm for my liking.
As the light is banished and cool shadows touch my skin I sigh with relief. The noise of the game is fading behind me, and things are peaceful. A bird calls sadly in the distance, and a lone car is heard far away. I lean my back against the cool bark of a tree and slid to the ground. The shade has kept the nipping cold of morning and I welcome it gratefully.
Two pair of strong footfalls is not what I expect to hear so close to me. Perhaps they'll go away if I ignore them…
"That's it? Without a reason?" a male voice.
"Look, I don't want to deal with you right now. Leave me alone," a girl's voice. Familiar…
"So you come find me and then tell me to leave you alone?"
"I thought you wanted- but no, I was wrong. I can't-"
"Well then what did you find me for?"
"I…I don't know!"
They were close now. I stand up.
"Yumi!" he calls, and I hear feet pounding on the ground.
She runs right in front of me and skidded to a halt. Her eyes hold confusion and uncertainty, and then her pursuer arrives.
"Leave her alone, you jerk!" I snap at him, muscles tense.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he stops, holding his hands up. "She came to me,-"
"Sure, that's likely," I spat, glaring at him. Who was this guy?
"Ryka, no, don't get involved in this," I hear Yumi tell me, stepping out with more confidence at my side.
"Mind telling me what-" I start, but as it so happens, today is National Interruption Day.
"Yes, I mind. Just go, and don't tell-"
"I knew this was about him!" the boy again. His dark eyes spark like cold fire. It sends a shiver up through me, but I would not back down from this…person.
Yumi just makes a face, then clinching one hand she stalks off. At least she has the sense to end this now.
"Look you," I tell him, letting my green eyes match his in a staring match. "If she tells you to leave her alone, leave her alone."
He doesn't say anything, blinks several times, not looking at me any more, and scoffs. "You'd do better to stay out of this." Then he starts away, black hair shivering in the harsh, cold wind.