Chapter 19
Friday
I hope Odd's better today. April thought as she turned the water off from her shower. She pulled the curtain back and steeped out, taking the towel to dry herself off with. He was so depressed at dinner and he didn't even come down to tell me good night. I had to go up there and make sure he was ok.
April wrapped herself in the towel and put her glasses on before walking out of the bathroom.
"Surprise!"
April looked at her friend, surprised and annoyed. "Note to self: lock the door before taking the shower."
"Happy Birthday, April!" Odd said.
"Who on earth told you it was my birthday?" April asked, walking over to her bedroom and pulling out her clothes to change into.
"Actually I found it." Jérémie said, trying not to look at her, since she was only in a towel.
"Ya, well, let me get dressed, please?" April asked, pushing Odd in his back to push the three guys that had followed her into her room out.
"I wonder why she didn't tell anyone it was her birthday?" Aélita asked as Odd sat down next to her at the island. In her hand was a lighter as she was ready to light the sixteen candles on the birthday cake they had gotten for her.
"I thought sixteen was the big birthday over in America." Ulrich thought out loud as he and Jérémie sat down, across from Odd and Aélita.
"It is, I just do not really care for big celebrations." April said as she walked out of her bed room, putting a t-shirt over a spaghetti strap shirt. "I do not like people to notice me that much."
"What, a birthday party before school's too much?" Yumi asked, sitting down a present on the island.
"To me, it is." April said, standing next to Odd. "But since you went to all that trouble to get a cake and present, and to find out how old I am...well. We cannot let it go to waist, hum?"
"Great minds think alike!" Odd said, smiling. "Aélita, light the candles so we can eat!"
"Odd, you gluten!" Ulrich said as Aélita went ahead and lit the candles.
"Bon anniversaire à toi! Bon anniversaire à toi! Bon anniversaire à April! Bon anniversaire à toi!"
April blew out the candles, making a wish in the back of her mind.
"What'd you wish for!?" Odd asked, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Ah! If I told you, it will not come true." April said, smiling at him.
"In that case, give me a piece!" Odd said, looking towards Ulrich and Jérémie who were holding the knife and plates. "I don't care if I'm a gluten. I love food!"
"Odd, you are your name." April said, smiling at the boy. She glanced over at Ulrich as he handed her the paper plate with the slice of cake and remembered something. "That's who you reminded me of!"
"Who?" Ulrich asked, holding the cake out for her.
"That dude from Zombie Power! Shoot, what is his name?" April asked, taking the cake from him. "In the advertisement, he had the gun pointed at his head. It made it look like he did not know how to use the weapon."
"ジョン·エルウッド·シェパード (Jon Eruuddo Shepādo)" Yumi said, remembering the anime.
"Thank you!" April said. "Elwood! Every time I look at Ulrich, I remember that dude."
"If you animate him, I guess." Yumi said.
"You do know, you've lost all of us." Aélita said, looking at the two.
"It's a Japanese Anime." Yumi said.
Ring R-
-.-.-.-
ring!
"I love your Drama teacher." April said as they just finished his class and was waiting for the bell to ring for their next class.
"Ya, it's the only class we all have together." Yumi said.
"Hey Yumi." William said as he walked over. His eyes went to April, noticing she was new. "Ok, I was gone a week and we get new students?"
"Oh, I am not a new student." April said, shaking her head. "I am an exchange student. My name is April Morgan."
"William Dunbar." William said. He looked back at Yumi and asked, "Hey, could we talk later?"
"Uh, sure William." Yumi said, not sounding all that sure.
"Cool, see you in class." William said before walking off towards their class.
"I've got to get going too." Yumi said, picking up her bag.
"Ok, who is that?" April asked as the bell rang and Yumi headed off to follow William to class.
"He's a pain in the neck fighter." Ulrich said.
"So, what? You hate him but he fought Xana?" April guessed as she followed them into Mrs. Hertz science class.
"Ya, he saved us from a bomb Xana had placed in the factory not long before you came here." Jérémie said.
"Ulrich just hates his guts because he likes Yumi." Aélita said.
"That's not it!" Ulrich exclaimed, defending himself.
"Oh get off of it!" Odd said, punching his friend's shoulder. He looked at April as they walked into the class room and said, "Kiwi looked at Yumi one time and went over to kiss her, and Ulrich almost had a hissy fit!"
"I did not." Ulrich said as he sat down next to Odd.
April smiled as she shook her head. She sat down next to Aélita, leaving Jérémie to sit alone beside them.
-.-.-.-
"Hey, what did William want to know?" Ulrich asked as Yumi walked over to them after class.
"Oh, another one of his ideas to get me." Yumi said, shaking her head.
"If he does not go and get Yumi, I am sure this William guy will." April whispered to Odd, Aélita, and Jérémie as they watched their two friends.
"That's sad." Aélita said, looking at April.
"What?" April asked.
"That you were able to notice it in less than a week and they themselves haven't noticed yet." Jérémie said.
"Yes, but I stay out of other people's relationships after what happened to two of my friends." April said. "I ended up breaking them up."
"What did you do?" Odd asked.
"I told Sam that Elizabeth and I were talking about putting her name with another one of our friend's last name, and he took it the wrong way." April explained.
-.-.-.-
"Poliakoff, 40." Mr. Fumet said as he passed back the quizzes they had done on Monday. He gave the boy his paper with a scowl on his face. He looked at the next one and said, "Le Goff, 46. Virginia is spelt with an E at the end in French, not an A."
"Why does he do that?" April asked Odd next to her as he continued to pass out the quizzes.
"Do what?"
"Tell everyone the grades." April said. "Is not it a more personal issue?"
"I think our teachers do it so that everyone will want their grades to be good." Odd said, putting his head on his fist.
"Della Robbia, 75." Mr. Fumet said, putting Odd's paper in front of him. He held up the last two papers and said to the class. "And I've saved the two that tied for best. Stern and Morgan. You both got a 30." He put Ulrich's in front of him before turning to April. "Seriously, for an American and you can't even get more than half of them right? And I even let you get away with spelling them in English!"
April put her head down, looking at her lap as Mr. Fumet lectured her in front of the class.
"Maybe you should tell your teachers back in New Mexico to catch up to the rest of the world, or the once feared United States of America will be no more." Mr. Fumet said, turning around to walk away.
"What you say is true." April said. "American schooling has dropped behind most of the world."
Mr. Fumet turned around to hear the rest.
"I mean, you could name something that you have been learning in the past month, and I would probably have no idea of what you are talking about. And I am about to go into the tenth grade. I think it is year eleven in France."
"You sound to be a step up from what I've heard of other American children." Mr. Fumet praised. "You seem to understand what has happened. Anyway, back to the class work at hand..."
-.-.-.-
"You know, I just realized something about this school's students." April said after swallowing a fries.
"What this time?" Ulrich asked, looking at her across the table as the group ate lunch together.
"All the girls are skinny." April said.
"Ya, France has a lower obesity rating compared to the US." Jérémie said.
"Not that, even though it is an old known fact." April said. "I mean they are not, what is the word, .. with child?"
"Pregnant!" Yumi exclaimed, almost choking on her food. "What on earth!?"
"That's the word." April said.
"There are pregnant girls at your school?!" Ulrich exclaimed.
"Yes." April said. "I knew one girl whose water even broke during class."
"The poor girl." Aélita said.
"Ugh, could you quit talking about this type of stuff?" Ulrich asked, sitting down his fork, looking disgusted.
"Lost your appetite, sorry." April said. "But do not sit at my lunch table."
"With what I know about your school, I wouldn't want to even be there." Ulrich said.
"Hey, at least you do not have to worry about people like Jack at my school." April said.
"What is he like?" Odd asked.
"He is kind of like a stalker, but he is retarded so he does have some slack from that. Though there is a few people who believe he does not shower. It sure smells like it. My friend almost bit off the guy's head though. I mean, with my group of friends, you have to be actual friends with us before you can joke about us. Because we pick on each other all the time, but Jack, he picked on us even without being our friend. Then he actually went and tried to say that we were his friends even after we tried to tell him kindly to leave."
"I am glad there isn't anybody like that here." Yumi said.
"Or is there?" Odd asked, turning his head towards Sissi with a sly smile.
-.-.-.-
"Remember students, at the pool we have special rules." Jim called as they rode the bus to get to the pool house.
"Dad is such a bor." April said, putting her head on her hands as she leaned forward.
"At least we're not the only ones who think that." Odd said from the seat next to her.
"I'm just sorry for Yumi." Ulrich said from across the aisle.
"Oh ya, different grades." April said, remembering that little fact.
"Did everybody remember to grab your swim suits?" Jim asked as they pulled into the parking.
"YES!" a few of the students called out, their voice sounding like they were tired of him asking.
"You have yours?" Jérémie asked, looking behind his seat.
"Ya, Maggie reminded me to grab it before we left America." April said.
"Have you ever had a swim class?" Aélita asked, looking behind her to look at April and Odd.
"No, never." April admitted. "I hate to do it anyway. I always consider myself more of a cat in a human's body. I more of hate water."
"Well this should be fun to watch, since we're diving today." Sissi said, sitting behind April and Odd.
"Oh, I am good at swimming. I finally learned last summer." April said, turning around to face Sissi.
"Last summer?" Sissi exclaimed. "You'll never get past Jim's opening coarse, much less the rest of it."
"You would be surprised." April said, turning back around so she was facing the front of the bus with an evil smile on her face.
-.-.-.-
"Nice trunks." Odd said, realizing what April's swim suit was.
April looked down and smiled. "Thanks. They are way better than dressing like a hoe."
"It's hor." Odd corrected.
"That." April looked over at Sissi as she said that, making a comment to how Sissi's skimpy bikini was compared to April's takini and boy-like trunks.
"April, come here." Jim called as his class started.
"Yes?" April asked as she went up to him.
"Since the last time I saw you, you couldn't even stand to swim, I was wondering how much you could do now." Jim said.
"You want me to do laps?" April asked.
"I just want to see if you can swim in the five foot area." Jim said.
"Alright." April said. She grabbed her goggles and sat her glasses down by Odd. She walked over to the stairs, putting her goggles on, and walked into the water before putting her arms out and pushing off as if she was flying on the surface of the water.
Surprising everyone, she swam out to the five foot area and went over to where Jim's feet where. She grabbed a hold of the side and looked up at him.
"How was that?" April asked, smiling at the sight of her father's surprise.
"Better than I knew you could do." Jim said. "When did you learn how to swim?"
"Last summer." April said modestly.
"Are you sure?" Jim asked. He shook his head and said, "Anyway, you can come out now. You're form was perfect."
"Thank you, Jim." April said, smiling at calling her father "Jim" before doing a back flip off of the wall and heading towards the ladder to get back up.
April walked back over to Odd and smiled.
"Not bad for a beginner. Now watch the pros." Odd said, smiling at her.
"Sure, hot stuff." April said. "You volunteer for first and I will take your second."
"Alright, you're on." Odd said.
The two went over to Jim and Odd asked, "Can we start the diving."
"Sure, that's a first Della Robbia. You never want to be first." Jim said. "Go on up. April, you can go as soon as Odd clears the pool."
"Sure Dad." April said as the two headed over to the ladder to the three meter diving board.
"So are you aiming for big splash, small splash, or best aerodynamic moves?" April asked.
"Smallest splash should be good." Odd said, knowing that was his strong point.
"You are on!"
Odd went up and got onto the diving board. He got into position and did a pencil dive.
Odd's head appeared above the water and April clapped. "Nice, Odd. But watch this."
She waited for Odd to get out of the pool before going over and going up the ladder. She stood at the very far edge before running off and turning herself so that she was facing the water head first.
April closed her eyes and teleported herself just at the right time so that no one would see the light or herself disappearing. No splash was made but she appeared just so that her toe would be above the water.
"Whatever it was, Odd, she beat you." Ulrich said, smiling at the disbelieving Odd.
"Where is she?" Odd asked, realizing she should have been up for air by now.
Ulrich, Odd, Aélita, and Jérémie rushed to the edge only to see April was hanging in the water, not moving.
"April!" Odd cried, jumping into the water after her. He dived down and grabbed her so he could bring her up above the water.
When they surfaced, Jim was standing next to Ulrich, Aélita, and Jérémie, ready for his daughter to be brought up.
Jim pulled April onto the floor and was about to start CPR when she started to cough.
"April, are you ok?" Aélita asked.
April turned her head and spit out some water before looking at her friends and smiling. "Never been better."
"Don't scare us like that!" Odd said.
"Sorry."
"What happened?" Jérémie asked.
April looked at Jim and said, "I do not know."
"Well if you want to, you can sit out the rest of class today." Jim said, helping her to her feet.
"Thanks." April said as her friends took her over to where her stuff was.
Jim walked back over to where the rest of the class was and started talking.
"Actually, I do know what happened." April said, now that Jim was out of ear shot.
"What?" Ulrich asked.
"Well, the way I do my no splash dive, I kind of use teleportation, though I bend the water just so that it does not move against me, but with me." April explained.
"You cheated!" Odd exclaimed.
"Yes, Odd, you really win, though you never said I could not do that." April said. "But when the water got teleported, it ended up landing in my lungs. It has only happened once before and I thought I had figured a way around that."
"Well, at least you're alive." Jérémie said.