Look Before You Seek

Chapter 15

Aelita and the rest of the group were late to class, but Minnie wasn't there. She wanted to ask about her, but their teacher wasn't in the mood to answer any of their questions, so she asked Odd what he thought about it.

"If you ask me," Odd whispered to her, "She was probably to scared to show herself with the whole Yumi situation, being her fault and all.

"It was not her fault," Aelita said a little to loud. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Is there something that you would like to share with the class, Miss Stone?" Her teacher asked. Odd felt a chill down his spine as he remembered that she was posing as his cousin.

"No, Sir," Aelita said quietly.

"Good. And I do not want to remind you again that this classroom isn't the place for a social chat."

Back at her dorm, Minnie was packing her bags, concentrating on folding each piece of clothing perfectly. She then stripped her bed and packed the sheets and covers too. When she was done, it showed no trace of her ever having been there. And that's how it should be. Minnie thought. She placed her bags neatly on her bed, and checked the time. 10:45. Everyone would still be in class, but Minnie felt very hungry. She grabbed her book bag and e drink bottle and rushed outside.

As she ran out into the fresh air, she took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She went to the vending machines to get a snack, then she headed for the forest at top speed, enjoying running for the first time in her life.

Back in Aelita's class, Odd was trying to get Ulrich to talk, or more, whisper to him about Yumi, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. He was getting ready to pound Odds head in, when the bell went for break.

As Odd, Aelita, Ulrich and Jeremie left the school building, they were shocked to see Yumi holding hands with a boy with black hair. She was smiling, and, as Ulrich watched, he started whispering into her ear, and she giggled. They didn't seem to notice the group of people frozen on the spot, staring at them, and they walked away. Ulrich wanted to run after him and hurt him. He hated this boy, who had most probably won her heart over his. But, instead of pounding the boy to a pulp, he just stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists.

As soon as Ulrich became unfrozen, he headed towards the forest in anger. None of them tried to stop him, for fear of being beaten up, so they just watched as he marched away angrily.

As Ulrich marched angrily through the forest, he started kicking things in his blind rage. At first, he was just kicking dirt, and then he started kicking trees and bushes. He was not taking in his surroundings, just trying to release his anger. He heard a squeal as his foot came into contact with something that wasn't a tree or a bush. He stared at the thing that was stumbling away from him, and it took him a while to see who it was. It was Minnie who he had kicked. His eyes opened wide with surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, sounding meaner than he meant to.

She didn't answer him. She just sat there, quivering, clutching her knees to her chest. Ulrich saw her eyes full of fear, and felt a wave of guilt wash over him, and his eyes softened.

"Minnie," he started, sitting down next to her. She quickly moved away from him, obviously afraid. "Minnie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean… I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say. He looked at this girl who's hair could have it's own zip code, and he realized he had blamed everything on her, and it wasn't her fault. He didn't know what to do.

To Minnie's shock and horror, Ulrich put his arms around her and enclosed her in a hug. "I'm sorry," he said. Minnie panicked. Nobody ever hug her except her parents, not her friends, no one. He breathing became shallow as she tried to escape from his grip. Ulrich noticed this, and quickly realised her. He saw her eyes were still full of fear as she tried to get away from him by crawling backwards. She quickly got up, grabbed her book bag, and ran from him, leaving not only a bewildered Ulrich, but her drink bottle too.

Ulrich noticed the drink bottle with her name on it next to where she had been sitting. He picked it up as he got up, and he watched her run away. She was the strangest girl he had met, and he didn't know what to do about her. He pulled his hair in frustration. It was obviously easy to scare the girl, but gaining her trust was something entirely different.

Minnie reached her dorm as the bell went for the end of break. As she entered the room, she heard her mobile ringing. Unfortunately, she had already pack it, and she had to scramble through the bags wildly to find it before it rang out. It was her mother. Minnie listened in disbelief as she heard her mother's words.

"It's only for a week, so you can come and see your new house next weekend," Said her mother's crackly voice on the other end.

"Can't I come to Paris with you guys?" Minnie asked pleadingly.

"Don't be silly, you only just got to Kadic. I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss any time at school." Her mother saying this probably meant that the company only covered her and dad, and they couldn't afford her to come along.

"But mum, I don't want-" Minnie was cut off in mid-plea.

"Don't 'but mum' me. Bye Minnie. Have fun!" And her mother hung up.

"Bye," Minnie said pathetically to no one.

She sighed, looked at her bags, and started to unpack. It was going to be a long weekend.