The timid chirping of a cheerful blue jay gently lifts me out of my slumber. The warmth from the sunlight that slowly seeps into the dormitory rests upon my face and brings heat to the tip of my frigid nose. I smile at the security and I sit upwards, realizing that I am waking up in not my own bed, but Jeremie's. His is so much comfier than mine. I must have fallen asleep after I invited myself to go with him to research the Hermitage some more. I don't want to leave the warmth and luxury of his bundle of pillows and blankets, but the clock next to me reads 7:00 and it's time to get ready for school. I peer over the edge of the bed and see Jeremie curled up on his floor. That can't be very comfortable, but how sweet of him to let me have the solace of his cozy bed. I poke his shoulder.
"Jeremie…" I sing. "Oh, Jeremie…"
"Mmph... Aelita…" he mutters under his breath. He must be dreaming of me. I throw the pillow at him.
"Jeremie!"
"AHHHH IT'S A XANA ATTACK! XANA'S ATTACKING!" Flustered, he jumps off of the ground and throws himself against is dresser, staring at me with fearful eyes as his chest rapidly rises and sinks from his frantic breathing. After a few seconds, he relaxes and breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, good morning Aelita. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, but I'm guessing you didn't." I tease.
"No, I actually… I slept really well." A slight blush creeps upon the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones. I was right in assuming I was in his dreams. After he reaches down to the ground and puts on his eyeglasses, he frowns slightly as he looks at me. Feeling ashamed, I stare at the covers and twiddle my thumbs. I just wish everyone would stop asking. He doesn't even say anything, probably knowing what my answer is going to be. He simply leaves the room, leaving me alone. Did I offend him? Have I done something wrong? Is he angry with me? I don't want Jeremie angry with me. He's really mean when he's angry. I drag myself back to my room to get ready for the day.
Getting to class is a challenge. Everyone troops around the edges of the halls, leaving me exposed in the crowd as if they're making room for the red carpet celebrity. I'm definitely not being treated as a celebrity, though. Their whispers are cold and harsh; little snickers and giggles escaping from their mouth as their glares meet mine. Faces and bodies are all blurred together as they huddle around and gawk at me. All I hear are the voices. The vast ocean of rumors.
"Dude, did you see Aelita?"
"Did you see those marks on her neck?"
"Looks like Jeremie finally got some nerve."
I cover my ears, trying to block everything out as I walk to class. I take my seat next to Jeremie in my morning History class, and immediately stare at the pages of my book. Jeremie doesn't even look at me. I must have really made him angry. Maybe he's giving up on trying because of how difficult I'm being.
"Excuse me, Aelita Stones? Or should I say…. Aelita Schaeffer."
"What? No, my last name is Stones."
"You know, it's not safe for a young girl like yourself to walk around at night alone."
"I'm… I'm fine."
"I've had my eye on you and your friends for a while now."
"What?"
"I've got some questions for you Ms. Schaeffer, and you're going to oblige to my requests unless you want to pay a hefty price."
A paper ball is thrown at the back of my neck. I frown before turning around to pick it up. I unfold the bundle of paper in front of me and attempt to read the words that are scribbled amongst the creases and wrinkles of the crumpled sheet.
"So I guess Mr. Einstein finally got some, huh?" it reads. Got some? Some what? I turn around my chair to see Sissy snickering maniacally. As soon as she sees that I'm looking at her, she glares at me and then whispers something in Nicholas' ear. He laughs. She hits him in the shoulder for laughing so loudly and obviously.
"What did it say?" Jeremie leans next to me and peers at the note. I slide it closer to his side of the table so he can get a better look. Upon reading it, his face turns a brighter red than I've ever seen. I had no idea such a shade even existed. He turn turns around and fumes at Sissy. Now I don't know if the red is from embarrassment or from rage. Maybe both.
Another note. I hear the wrinkled paper scuttle across the floor and tap against my ankle. Irritated, thinking it's another prank from Sissy, I pick up the ball and unroll it. It's not Sissy's handwriting.
"Aelita… what's going on?" the sheet states. I turn to the table behind me and see both Odd and Ulrich scrutinizing upon me with troubled looks. Ulrich must have been the one who transcribed the note, the script suits him. I smile.
"Nothing," I reassure, rolling up the wad of paper to end the conversation. They don't believe me, of course. This is really annoying. The bell rings. Wow, that was quick. My classes have really been flying by lately, but that's perfectly okay with me. I gather my books and head out the door, but I'm quickly stopped by the teacher.
"Aelita?"
"Yes?" I say, turning around to face her.
"May I speak with you for a moment?"
"Um… sure." I look over at my friends. They nod at me, which tells me that they'll stand outside the door and wait for me before walking off to their next class.
"Aelita… are you alright?" I rub my hands against my neck, attempting to slyly hide the marks… but all that does is show off the ones on my wrist. Right now, I really wish I had longer hair. "Are you… having troubles at home?"
"No," I say. "Everything is fine." She folds her arms and raises an eyebrow at me.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Positive." I smile at her and readjust my grip on the bundle of books in my arms. "I've got to go to my next class now."
"What did the teacher want?" Ulrich curiously inquires as I shut the classroom door behind me and meet my friends by the staircase.
"She just wanted to make sure I was okay."
"Well… are you?
"Yes, I'm fine! Would you just stop asking? If something was wrong I'd tell you! Ugh!" I snap at him and furiously charge down the hallway. I am so tired of constantly being pestered everywhere I go. I didn't ask for this. It's not like I'm just looking for attention. This isn't fair. I feel very angry. My body is literally shaking with wrath. I hate feeling angry, I hate it. I kick the closest thing near my feet, which happens to be a vent against the tiled wall of the school. My boot clashes against the metal and it rattles throughout the now empty hallway.
"Aelita?"
"WHAT?!" I scream, thinking it's Ulrich or Odd back again to harass me. When I turn around, though, I'm met with a slightly shaken woman with fair skin and midnight hair. "Oh, Yumi."
"What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing, I'm just in a bad mood."
"Obviously… come on." She walks up to me and puts her arm around my shoulder. I brush it off.
"I need to get to class."
"You don't really seem like you're in too much of a hurry. I want to talk to you."
"Well I don't want to talk to you!" I push her away from me and run down the hallway as quickly as I can. I don't bother looking back. I don't care. I just want everyone to go away. I wish I could disappear. I don't even want to go to my next class. I'll just hide myself away inside my room. I'll lock the door and shut away the world. At least then I can be left alone.
I slam my door behind me, throwing my books onto the carpet and watching the pages tear as they sloppily scatter across my floor. I plunge face first into my pillow and start sobbing heavily. I'm not even sure why there are tears flowing from my eyes, but in a way it feels nice. It feels like a long overdue release. But the harder I cry, the harder my wounds throb. My entire body burns and stings, and now that the bruises have finally shown up I can't even walk to class without people asking questions. It's only been a week but I feel like I'm going crazy. I don't know how much longer I can keep this inside, but I'm so scared of what would happen to my friends if I spilled my secret. It would be selfish of me to tell.
"Daddy, the men in black are here!" Here comes that stupid little girl. What the hell do you want?
"I know. Come this way, Aelita."
"GO AWAY!" I scream, flinging my pillow across the room as hard as I can. "I DON'T HAVE A FATHER SO LEAVE ME ALONE!" There is a knocking on my door. People really just don't know when to leave someone alone, do they?
"Who is it," I coldly ask, pouting on my bed with my arms folded.
"It's me," Yumi mumbles through the other side of the door. I sigh. More interrogation.
"Fine. Come in." I stare at the window as I hear the door creak open, followed by the heavy footsteps from the thick soles of her boots.
"Aelita…"
"What do you want?" I snap my head towards her. She has a black pouch in her hand. Yumi walks over to my vanity and empties the contents onto the counter. Little black tubes roll around in front of the mirror. She turns towards me.
"You can't exactly go to school looking like that. Come here," she orders as she starts patting at some sort of cream colored substance in her palm. I cautiously slog myself out of my bed and walk over to her, curiously gazing at what she's strewn across my dresser.
"What is that?" I ask as she starts brushing something across my face.
"Foundation. It'll cover up your bruises." We both stand in silence for a moment as she coats the powder on my face and neck. I cough as the dust enters my nostril. I don't like how this make-up feels on my skin, but Yumi's right; I can't go to school like this. The little compact that contains the concealer clicks shut, and she smiles at me. "There. All done."
I gaze upon my wrist and look at myself in the mirror. You can hardly tell the marks are there anymore. Good as new. My reflection in the mirror is suddenly replaced by the same little girl I keep seeing, and she giggles at me before disappearing. I take a step back, startled.
"Are you okay, Aelita?" Yumi asks as I bump right into her.
"Yumi… you're not supposed to break a promise, right?"
"Well, generally speaking, no. But… everyone does at some point."
Everyone does? Maybe that means it wouldn't be so bad of me to tell, after all. I'm supposed to adjust to life on Earth and make sure I can fit in as to avoid causing suspicion among others. If everyone breaks a promise at some point, then that means it would only be normal and natural for me to break a promise, as well. So really, I would be doing my friends a favor by telling them… because if I break a promise, it makes me more human. If I'm more human, there's a lower risk of someone finding out about Lyoko and the supercomputer.
"Why not tell me about the little toy in that factory you and your friends like to play with?"
But then again… somebody already knows.