A/N: Well, here we are again. Another two-parter to open the next 'season' of TPatG. I'd also like to take this opportunity to let you all know that the Code Lyoko fanfiction awards are taking place on the Xana's Lair forum this month, so if you're interested in that kind of thing and want to nominate something (or if you just want an awesome CL community in general with RPs, fic contests and many other fun things) you should head on over and check it out. :)

-The Princess and the Genius-

Perspective (1.0)

The way Jérémie saw it, Aelita adapted to Earth effortlessly.

Within a week of attending Kadic Academy she was the most talked about person in recent school history. Odd's mysterious, pretty, never-before-mentioned cousin who had suddenly turned up out of the blue in the middle of the year with no clear details of where she came from; of course everyone wanted to get to know her.

"Hi Aelita!"

"Hey new kid, cool hair."

"Aelita, can we interview you for the Kadic News?"

"Uh... Aelita, a-are you busy this weekend?"

She smiled politely at everyone, answered questions where she could and was fascinated by everything in a way that everyone else found charming. Jérémie hadn't really been expecting anything else - he knew his status in the Kadic Academy student body's social order, after all - but it still stung a little to know your best friend was cooler than you, especially when she'd only been around for a week and she wasn't even a real person.

And he knew it was silly given all the time they had been spending together but he had barely seen her all week, and he missed her.

Friday arrived; the ringing bell brought the final class of the day to an end and Aelita was hurried out of the room, unable to escape Milly and Tamiya's unquenchable thirst for an interview this time. Jérémie was left at his desk to put his things away, when Odd and Ulrich came up behind him and slapped a reassuring hand on each of his shoulders.

"Don't worry, Jér. It'll all die down soon enough," Ulrich said.

"Yeah," Odd added with a grin. "Aelita's the latest big news - not much ever happens around here, that's all. Right?"

The three laughed together at the inside joke and left the now-empty classroom, scanning the thinning crowd of students for Aelita to see if they couldn't rescue her.

And all the while Jérémie and Aelita's list of things to do and pile of movies to see lay almost forgotten in Jérémie's desk drawer.