Chapter Eight

-Allie's POV-

"So if you do this equation right…what would your answer be?" Mrs. Hertz asked. I was in her chemistry class, sitting behind Odd and Ulrich, with my head down.

"Alison, do you know the answer?" Of course she'd pick on me. I thought

I looked at the problem, raising my head. "Umm…" I said out loud.

"It's 64.12 mille-liters." A voice from outside the classroom said. "I'm sorry for interrupting."

Mrs. Hertz turned towards him while I slammed my head down on my desk. "Not again!" I groaned.

"Could I speak to Alison, please?" Mr. Simone asked.

Odd looked at me sympathetically. "Of course. Alison, take your things with you." Mrs. Hertz said.

Grumpily, I snatched my bag from its position on the floor and practically stalked out the door, following Mr. Simone. "What's the deal?" I asked. "I thought you said I could come to you when I was ready."

Mr. Simone didn't answer me; instead, he just kept walking. It was when we passed his office when I started getting suspicious. "Mr. Simone? Where are we going? We already passed your office." I asked wearily.

"Calm down Alison." He said softly. "We're not talking about that incident. Someone wishes to talk to you."

I cocked my head to the side as I followed him. "Who?" I asked curiously.

"You'll find out soon enough." He said; I grumbled.

"Why didn't Mr. Delmas send Jim or something?" I asked.

"Jim has a class right now. I was the only one available." Mr. Simone said.

We walked the rest of the way in dead silence. It has to be about Chris! Oh no, no, no, no, no. My thoughts were going crazy as all sorts of scenarios passed through my head.

"Your visitor is waiting for you in the waiting room. Take all the time you need." He said before disappearing.

I stood there frozen and nervous. Taking a hesitant step followed by another, I slowly made my way towards the main office and entered it. Inside the small room was a man in an officer uniform, looking down with his head in his hands.

"O-Officer M-Michaels?" I questioned; he looked up, a sad smile on his face.

"Allie. It's good to see you." He said.

I felt tears starting to form. "Just tell me straight up. He's dead, isn't he?" I cried out.

Officer Michaels quickly made his way towards me and wrapped me in a hug. "Shh, now I didn't say that, did I?" he said softly.

I pulled away. "W-What are you s-saying?" I asked, whipped the tears from my eyes, only to have fresh tears replace the dried ones.

He smiled slightly. "Let's go somewhere a little more private." He said; I nodded.

He grabbed my small bag and kept an arm around my shoulders. It's only when I remembered passing period when I tried to hide my face. I quickly led him into the forest, to avoid my fellow students.

"Okay, now that we won't be disturbed, let me tell you what's going on." Officer Michaels said; I nodded. "After I sent you here to France, Marie and I have been checking up on your brother constantly."

I nodded. "Okay…" I trailed off.

"We thought he was getting worse at the beginning. His heart beat was low and so was his breathing…he showed no sign of improving." He continued, tears started falling again. "Hey, don't jump to conclusions now." I nodded and whipped the tears away.

"I had the day off last Tuesday so Marie and I decided to visit him in the morning. Marie had to go to the bathroom and I was watching the TV there and I heard a moan or something like that." He said; I froze.

"S-So, h-he's-" I started but he cut me off.

"Let me finish." He said gently. "I looked to him and he suddenly opened his eyes. You have one suborn of a brother." My body, which had been leaning against a tree, slide down the trunk of the tree.

I started laughing but stopped immediately. "H-How's he been doing?" I asked.

Officer Michaels smirked. "He's been annoying the nursing staff quiet a lot." He informed me; I smiled. "And…he's been asking, no more like demanding, for you. He knows you've been a wreak."

I looked up. "H-He has?" I asked with a smile.

Officer Michaels nodded. "You two are pretty close, aren't you?" he asked; I nodded. "Okay then," he started, giving me a hand to help me up, and I accepted it. "I was wondering if you'd like to come visit him over the weekend."

My heart went wild. "You mean it?" I asked.

He nodded. "I need time to get the ticket for you so I need to know by tonight what your answer is." He started.

"Seriously?" I questioned, unable to hide how excited I was.

"That's my card. It has my cell number on it. When you know, let me know." He said.

I nodded. "Will do." I said. "See you later then."

"By Allie." He said before turning to leave.

I turned the opposite way and walked towards the school, my mind racing. Out of nowhere, I must have bumped into someone, because the next thing I knew was that falling. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain, but it didn't come.

"You can open your eyes now." A deep[ish] voice said; and I slowly did so.

Looking up, a saw a boy, a little older than me, with black hair looking at me. "T-Thanks. I swore I was going to hit the concrete." I joked shyly.

He just smiled slightly as he helped me to my feet. "No problem." He said. "I'm William."

"Alison, b-but you can call me Allie." I stuttered and cursed myself for it.

He smiled friendly at me. "Well, nice to meet you Allie." He said.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Nice to meet you too." I said. "See you around?"

"We'll see." He said before leaving me there.

I stood there, thinking about what had just gone on. "Hey Allie!" Aelita's girly voice shouted. I turned to see her, along with Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie, behind her. "We were wondering where you went…you know, since you weren't in Mr. Simone's office."

"Yeah." Jeremie said, looking at me curiously. "Were you coming from the forest?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I was, and I know what you're thinking Jer, and it wasn't Xana. I had a visitor." I explained.

"What kind of visitor?" Ulrich asked.

I could feel Odd's gaze on me while I tried to think of an answer. I sighed. "Listen, the reason I was pulled from class has nothing to do with Xana, alright." I said. "It's personal."

"How so?" Jeremie asked. Both Aelita and Odd hit Jeremie with the back of their hands. "Hey, that hurt."

I laughed. "No it's fine." I said; the smile fading. "I should probably tell you guys anyway."

"Tell us what?" a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see Yumi standing there. "Hey Yumi." I said, smiling slightly. She just nodded in return and I sighed again, quieter. "Tell you guys the main reason I'm really here. I-I didn't chose to come here. In a way you could say I was forced to come here…even if that isn't the right word for it."

"Why's that?" Aelita asked.

"T-This isn't easy." I said uncomfortably. Suddenly, I felt a light pressure on my right hand and I turned to see Odd holding my hand, smiling slightly; the group was giving us all confused looks. "You see, Odd already knows."

"Knows what?" Yumi asked in an annoyed tone.

I whipped to her. "Listen Ishiyama, I'm telling you guys the main reason I can break down at any moment, so I don't want to hear you attitude." I growled; we connected eyes and I swear it was going to be a staring match.

"Then say what you want to say already, stop hesitating." Yumi said, still annoyed.

I turned from the group, out of Odd's grasp. "You want to know why I'm like this…fine!" I vented, my eyes flaring with anger and rage. "My mother died on my birthday."