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Chapter 2—Beginning to Know Us

I still don't own the characters.

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The world around me came slowly into focus. Glancing at the clock I sighed and sat up. It was an hour before I had to be up. Aelita was still sleeping soundly, though after how late she came in I don’t doubt that she’ll be tired even after this next hour of sleep. I grabbed all my cloths for the day and my shower gear and went to take a shower. Thankfully I arrived before anyone else did, and I got to shower in peace. Perhaps I’ll continue to get up so I don’t have to deal with people first thing in the morning. After my shower I dropped my shower stuff off in the room, grabbed my bag, and headed out.

Campus was still silent as I wandered around for a bit. I wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t be for a little while yet, so I decided to find a spot to meditate for awhile. I had just gotten myself relaxed and into a meditative state when something knocked me over and started licking my face. “Kiwi, NO!” I heard Odd yell. He came running up to me and pulled the small dog off of me. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what got into him!” He exclaimed as the dog tried to lick me again.

I laughed and stood up. Normally I don’t like dogs but this one’s enthusiasm to see me earned him a sort of affection from me. “It’s alright, no harm done,” I said petting the dog lightly on the head. “You said his name is Kiwi, right?” I asked.

“Yup! But please don’t let Jim or the principal know that I have him, it’s against the rules.”

“Don’t worry, Odd. Your secret safe with me,” I told him. Odd’s face lit up and he smiled at me.

“Great! Um…would you like to go get something to eat, after I put Kiwi back in my room?” He looked slightly nervous. I tipped my head to the side before looking down at my watch. We still had a little over half an hour before classes start.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” We walked back up to his room in silence, me trying to memorize where exactly it was. Odd opened the door and put the small dog back into the room.

“Stay here, Kiwi,” Odd ordered as the dog climbed into one of the dressers. Ulrich walked into the room a moment latter towel wrapped around his waist.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his tone indicating he’d rather not have to see me this early in the morning.

“Odd and I had a predestined meeting this morning and now we’re off to eat.” For some reason seeing my brother brought back the fact that they hadn’t returned until early this morning. I felt a flash of anger go through me. They could’ve at least phoned and let me know that they weren’t coming back! I forced myself to take a deep calming breath as Odd filled Kiwi’s food dish.

“Ready?” He asked me.

I nodded my head and walked out of the room. Before Odd shut the door I stuck my head back in the room. “By the way we’ve got just over half an hour before classes start,” I told Ulrich and let Odd finish shutting the door. We were half way down the hall before I heard Ulrich screaming something about being late. I laughed softly as Odd looked back in confusion. “I think he’s supposed to be meeting Yumi this morning,” I explained.

“How do you know that?” Odd asked looking at me curiously. I mentally winced. I guess I let a little too much personal information slip. So far Odd’s the only one that’s caught it. He’s a lot sharper than the people around him give him credit for.

I smiled at him. “Well…he’s never really minded being late for classes is he? So he must be worried about missing Yumi this morning. He likes her like that, right?” I asked and batted my eyelashes at him for good measure. He either fell for it or decided to let my little slips go, ‘cuz he nodded his head.

“Come on, we’d better get going, we’re going to miss all the great food!” I smiled at him and shook my head.

“And I suppose that you guys didn’t eat last night either?” I asked. “I mean since you didn’t get in until late.”

“How’d you know we got in late?”

I had to suppress the urge to roll my eyes. “Aelita’s my roommate, right?” I asked slightly sarcastically. “I heard her come in last night.”

“Oh…so I guess you’re kind of a light sleeper, like Ulrich?” He asked me.

“Yeah, after I get used to it I sleep a little harder, that’s something Ulrich has never mastered. After I get used to the things around me I can choose to sleep through just about everything. Except for doors, doors always wake me up,” I was babbling now. I’ve realized that I tend to do that around Odd.

We’d dropped into our seats and started eating by the time Jeremie and Aelita had arrived. “Morning, sleep well?” I asked smiling at them. It was perfectly obvious that they hadn’t. Both had dark circles under their eyes. I wondered briefly why Odd didn’t look even remotely tired. Jeremie and Aelita gave me matching glares instead of verbally answering me. “I guess not…” Yumi and Ulrich sat down shortly after the attempted death glares. Both of them looked like they’d rather be back in their beds as well.

“Odd, did you have sugar before we met up this morning?” I asked the only other fully awake person at the table.

“Yeah, how did you know?” He asked as he started to sneak things off of Jeremie’s plate.

“You’re the only person, aside from me, that doesn’t look like they’re about to fall asleep.”

The warning bell startled all of us and almost caused Jeremie to fall off of his chair. “Come on guys, we can sleep in class,” Ulrich muttered standing up. Yumi pulled herself up next and stumbled a little. Ulrich automatically wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. They both stood there looking like they were just about to fall asleep holding each other.

I shook my head and smiled. “Class!” I reminded the two of them before they actually did fall asleep.

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We’d just finished eating lunch when I noticed Ulrich’s face. He was slightly paler than normal, and his eyes held a slightly glazed look. I recognized that look it’s one that I’ve had many times before. It was perhaps the one condition that we both shared, vertigo. He stood up to toss his trash when he visibly wavered and would’ve fallen had Odd and Yumi not grabbed his arms.

“Are you alright?” The whole group asked.

“I’ll be fine!” He snapped. I rolled my eyes and pulled a bottle of vertigo meds out of my bag. I tossed them to Odd, knowing that Ulrich would’ve probably been hit on the head by the bottle. I also passed over my juice container.

“Take two of these, sit down, and close your eyes for a bit,” I instructed. For probably the first time in history Ulrich didn’t argue with me and did as he sat down and pulled two pills from the bottle. I reached across the table and pulled his tray over. “I’ll toss this for you,” I said picking up my tray and walking away. Odd and Aelita caught up to me and dumped their and Yumi’s trays.

“What was that you gave Ulrich?” Aelita asked me.

“It’s called Meclizine, it’s an anti-dizziness medication that’s prescribed for people with extreme motion sickness or vertigo,” I explained, walking back to the table.

“So, do you have vertigo as well?” Aelita asked me. I nodded my head. There’s really only two things that I don’t like to talk about, and my vertigo is the one of them.

Ulrich’s head was down on the table when we got back to it. “Is he going to be ok?” Yumi asked me, concern shinning bright in her eyes.

I nodded my head and sat back down. “He’ll be fine. He’s just a little dizzy right now.” I said smiling at him. “Once the meds kick in he’ll be fine,” I assured her. We sat around talking softly until the bell rang. Ulrich didn’t even stir until Yumi gently touched his arm.

“Ulrich, it’s time for class.” He looked at her before nodding his head, and wincing from the movement.

“Ul?” I asked. “How many fingers?” I asked holding up two.

“Four?” He guessed. I stood up and walked over to the table.

“You’re not going to class, you’re going to lie down,” I instructed. “Odd, could you give me a hand with him?”

“I’ll do it!” Yumi exclaimed going to his other side. “Are we taking him to his room or the infirmary?”

“You’d better take him to the infirmary, that way he can get a note not to be in class,” Jeremie stated.

So that’s what we did, and thankfully the nurse was really understanding about letting him crash in the infirmary. On the walk to our classes Yumi kept glancing at me. “Is there something you want to ask?” I asked her.

“How come Ulrich’s never mentioned you before?” She asked quickly. I stopped walking and turned to her.

“Ulrich and I have never really gotten along well. Ulrich views me as the typical annoying little sister. He also sees me as a little bit creepy. I have a tendency to step over the line between his personal life and mine.” I sighed deeply. “There’s more too it than that, but that’s something you’ll have to talk to him about.” I sighed and looked up at Yumi. “I honestly really like my brother, and I kind of hope that one of these days we’ll be able to be friends too.” I shrugged my shoulders and started walking.

Yumi caught up to me after a second. “I know Ulrich’s a private person, but I’ve never known him to keep secrets, not like having a sister!” She exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes and stopped again. “Ulrich likes to keep to himself. Around me he feels like he can’t do that. I’m probably one of, if not, the only person in the world that can read him like a book. I can read his emotions practically before he knows what he’s feeling. While he doesn’t necessarily like keeping secrets; he likes to keep me a secret because I’m one of the few things he’s actually afraid of. I can cut through all the little walls he’s built up around himself.” I sighed and closed my eyes.

Even though my eyes were closed I could feel her staring at me. “How long did it take for you to learn that he’s got vertigo?” I asked leaning slightly on the wall. “How many times have you seen him on a ladder? You’ve never seen him reach out to grab a hold of a wall or chair have you?” I smiled. “Ulrich’s a good actor, good at keeping his head in the game, you’ll probably only see what happened today a couple of times again, even if you lived with him for the rest of your life,” I told her, as I opened my eyes.

Yumi had her eyes closed now too. “I wish…I want…” She stopped and sighed, and looked at me.

“You want to be more involved in his life?” I asked her. Yumi nodded her head, tears in her eyes. I touched her arm briefly and smiled at her. “You will be. If he has his way you will be. Just don’t tell him I told you!” I exclaimed smiling at her.

Yumi nodded her head and smiled at me. “Thanks.”

I nodded my head. “No problem.”

“We’d better get to class before we get in trouble,” She said walking quickly ahead of me. I let her go ahead, knowing right now she just wanted to walk away in silence.

---

We went our separate ways shortly after our laps into silence. I was just about at my class room when I noticed Odd leaning on the wall, almost trying to listen in to what was going on in the classroom. Silently I walked up behind him. I stopped when there was only centimeters between us. “What are we doing?” I whispered softly.

Odd jumped and spun around. “Morwen!” He exclaimed grabbing his chest. “Don’t do that!”

I giggled, and took Odd’s place leaning on the wall. “What are you doing out here?” I asked him again.

“I’m waiting for the teacher to let me in. We had a test that I missed so she sent me to the hallway until I can do a retake.”

“Well then, I might as well stay out here until it’s time to go back in. That is if you want the company?” Odd smiled at me and nodded his head.

“How’s Ulrich doing?” He asked after several minutes of silence.

“Sleeping by now. He’ll be fine in an hour or so. Stupid meds have the amazing ability to make you fall asleep, even if you fight it,” I explained smiling at him.

The door opened and Sissy motioned for us to come in. “Where’s my Ulrich Dear?” She hissed at me.

“None of your business!” I snapped at her as I took an open seat behind Jeremie.

---

Class was finally over for the day, and I was tempted to let off a cheer. I was saved the trouble of doing so by Odd who not only cheered but jumped up and ran out of the room, only to have to come back to get his books.

Aelita smiled at Odd as Jeremie picked up her books and started walking to the door. I filled out shortly behind them only to have Sissy corner me again. “Where is Ulrich?” She demanded, hands on her hips. Her two groupies, Herb and Nicholas, stood behind her trying to look intimidating.

“He’s where he needs to be at the moment. He’s safe and content,” I told her coldly. “Be happy with that information.” I walked away leaving no room for argument.

The group had waited just outside the door for me. They were all smiling at me. “Great job telling Sissy off! I couldn’t have done it any better!” Odd exclaimed, bouncing around a bit. I flashed him a smile as the others shook their heads.

“We should get going before Yumi gets made at us for keeping her from Ulrich,” Aelita said an almost evil smirk graced her features. We quickly reached the infirmary, and Aelita’s prediction was correct. Yumi was standing outside the doors tapping her foot as she waited for us.

“What took you guys so long?” She demanded.

“Morwen had to tell Sissy off for repeatedly asking where Ulrich is,” Jeremie explained.

Yumi nodded her head and walked into the room. She walked over to Ulrich’s bed and sat down next to him. A soft smile graced her face as looked at him. “Ulrich, time to get up. Classes are done for the day,” She whispered to him.

Ulrich opened his eyes and smiled at Yumi.

“Morning!” Odd chirruped from the doorway. “It’s time to get up and start our wonderful homework!”

Ulrich sat up and smiled at Odd. “Hey, guys.”

“Feeling better?” I asked stepping further into the room.

“Yeah. Do you always carry Meclizine with you?” He asked me.

“Yes, I also carry a granola bar with me. I don’t like to be caught unprepared,” I answered.

“You have food?” Odd exclaimed looking at me with his eyes wide open in a pleading fashion.

“Can I go back to my room now?” Ulrich asked, he’s voice still slightly sleepy.

I rolled my eyes and handed Odd the bar as Ulrich was helped out of bed by Yumi. For the rest of the night we did our homework and talked. Odd threw in one of his short movies for us to watch. I about died laughing at his footage of Sissy and his impersonations of Jim. After Odd’s movie Yumi left to head back to her house for the night. The rest of us played some games until Jim came by and kicked Jeremie, Aelita, and me back to our rooms for the night.

---

I was running, being chased by what looked like wolves. I glanced around looking for a place to hide when I noticed that Aelita was running with me. Both of us were running to hard to talk so I kept my questions to myself. We came to a large house that even though it looked new it felt old and run down. We took off running through the front door of the house and out the back door. Aelita threw open a shed door and proceeded into what looked like a sewer. I followed behind her silently. I was wondering where she was leading us. The lack of disgusting smells triggered my realization that this was a dream.

I woke up and looked around the room. Aelita was tossing in her sleep, her blankets flying everywhere. The dream wasn’t one of mine, so it must have been hers that I was seeing. “Jeremie, help me!” She cried out suddenly sitting up. She was still fast asleep, not seeing or hearing anything in the waking world. “Help! Please don’t let XANA get me!” She fell out of bed without waking up.

“Aelita, wake up!” I ordered. “It’s time for you to wake up now. You’re dreaming.”

She jerked awake, looking around. “What’s going on?” She asked me.

“You were having a nightmare,” I sat on the edge of the bed and turned on the touch light she had. “Do you want to talk about it?” As much as I wanted to comfort her my curiosity was what really drove me to ask the question.

“No, I’m fine now. Thank you.” She laid back down on her bed.

“Alright, if you want to talk I’ll listen. Even if you have to wake me up first, I’ll listen.” I turned off the light and went back to my own bed. I focused on trying to relax, but nothing seemed to want to work. Perhaps it was the fact that even though Aelita said she didn’t want to talk about her dream, she really did. I think a few times she almost started talking.

I awoke about ten minutes after I’d finally fallen asleep again to the sound of Aelita’s cell phone. I groaned and put the pillow over my head almost effectively blocking most of the noise from the phone. I could make out a muffled, “I’ll be right there,” from Aelita.

Here is chapter 1 of my Code Lyoko fanfiction, titled Can You Keep A Secret? Which also can be found at http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2802743/1/  Please let me know what you think. Any feed back would be great! And as stated at the start of each chapter, I don't own Code Lyoko. I wish I did though!

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I don’t own Code Lyoko. The only characters that I own are Morwen and Ankoku unless specified in a later chapter.

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I stood outside the imposing building. I could feel my heart racing as I looked up at it. My parents had just left me standing on the curb, not even bothering to say “hello” to my brother, or to escort me into the school. He was the reason I was here. I had been perfectly happy back home at my own school, even if it was an all girl boarding school. I’d had a few friends that I’d shared my little secret to. But now I’d have to start over, and knowing my brother he wasn’t going to be much help. We’ve never been close to each other. I’ve always seemed to make him nervous. He’s always been the type to try to hide his feelings and emotions, and I’ve always been able to break right through every one of his barriers. He’s Mr. Mysterious to every one but me. I’ve almost always been able to tell what he’s thinking, at times before he’s even aware of what he’s thinking.

You could almost say that even though we look nothing alike, we have an odd bound. He has no clue to what’s going on behind my blue eyes and I know everything that’s going on behind his brown ones. The funny thing is we’re twins and look absolutely nothing alike. He’s got brown hair and eyes, where my eyes are blue, and I’m as blonde as can be. My hair actually at times is almost white.

Shaking myself lightly from my thoughts I proceeded up the walkway and attempted to find my way to the principal’s office. I say attempted because almost as soon as I entered the building I realized I was lost. I was feeling more than a little nervous and the fact that there were no people around to ask which way the office was left me even more unhappy. After ten minutes I was ready to call my brother’s cell phone and ask for directions when a short boy wearing all purple, with blond hair that had a purple spot in it came around the corner.

“Excuse me, could you tell me which way the principal’s office is? I’m a bit lost.” I mentally winced at how…British I came off sounding. I’d hopped that my accent and speech pattern would change after I’d left the English boarding school, I guess I was wrong.

The boy smiled at me and nodded his head. “Yeah, sure. I’m actually on my way there now. My name’s Odd,” He said and extended his hand to me. It took me a second to realize that he meant that his name was Odd, not odd as in different.

“Morwen,” I answered as I shook his head. “I just moved here,” I explained. I liked this boy, he reminded me of brother, even though he probably the complete polar opposite of him. I mentally shrug this off as Odd opens the office door for me.

“Ah there you are Ms.” A man, I assume to be the principal, started and stops before he finishes my name. “Odd, what did you do now?” His tone carried a note of amusement and annoyance, causing me to realize that he probably deals with Odd on almost a daily basis.

“I fell asleep in Mrs. Hertz’s class again, Mr. Delmas,” Odd replies lightly, shrugging his shoulders.

“An hour of detention, tonight after dinner. I’ll notify Jim,” Mr. Delmas replies. “Stay here for a little bit, and I’ll send you to class with the new students.”

Odd nods his head and smiles at me, which I return. Mr. Delmas leads me into his office where another boy stands. This one, I already don’t like. His stance is wrong. It’s like he’s ready to attack something. His eyes are dark, not in color, no they’re bright blue, but they’re cold. There’s also the was evil seems to cling to him. He’s seen and done horrible things, and doesn’t mind doing them again.

“Ms. Stern, I’m glad you could finally make it,” Mr. Delmas says sitting down at his desk.

“I’m sorry for being late. I’m not used to such…a different school. All the other schools I’ve ever attended had students or staff wandering around. Here the halls were completely empty, save for that of Odd,” I answered once again mentally wincing at how I sounded. This other student is really putting me on edge. At least I can sense him, I’d be a lot more worried about him if he was off my radar.

Mr. Delmas looked over several sheets of paper. “You and Ulrich are related, correct?” He asked me.

“Yes. Twins, actually.” The boy has stopped staring at his shoes and is now taking an interest in me. “Ulrich is several minutes older than me.” Delmas nods and looks back down at the papers.

“Everything seems to be in order. Here are your classes and your room lists. Jim’s taking your things to your rooms for you. After classes are over you may unpack. Until then I expect you to be in the remainder of your classes.” He looked up and caught me glaring at the boy. “Oh, and I should introduce you. Morwen Stern” he motions to me “Ankoku Ougi,”

My eyes mentally widen. He’s name, Darkness Prince, more than fits him.

“I hope you both enjoy your stays here at Kadic,” Delmas says leading us out of his office.

Odd is sitting in a chair waiting for us as we exit the room. He was speaking rapidly to the secretary. He stands when he sees us. “I’ll probably be seeing you tomorrow, Mrs. Weber,” He says smiling.

“Let’s hope not, Odd. You should be in class learning, not in here gossiping with me!” She says laughing.

Odd smiles at her then turns to Ankoku. “Hi, I’m Odd!” he exclaims holding his hand out. I actually had to cover my mouth to keep myself from laughing. Thankfully Odd didn’t notice it; I think it would’ve upset him slightly to have me laughing at him so early in our relationship. I started when I thought the word ‘relationship’. Karma is laughing at me, and I know hat it knows that I know.

“Ankoku Ougi,” Ankoku responds coldly, glaring at Odd. This is the first time I’ve heard him speak and it sends shivers down my spine, and not the good kind of shivers either.

I can see Odd’s smile falter slightly, and his hand retreats. “Right let’s get to class then. I’m guessing you both are in my grade?” He asks glancing down at my schedule.

“Yes, we are,” Ankoku answers, and he looks at me. I honestly in all my years have never dealt with someone like him, and I’ve come across some pretty scary things.

Odd sees the way Ankoku is looking at me and offers me his arm. I gladly take it and he leads us to our class. On the way there Odd keeps me between him and the wall and forces Ankoku to stay on the other side of him. Odd opens the door again and Ankoku walks in, almost shoving both of us out of his way.

I admit, I’m nervous now. Ulrich has no idea that I’m here, and I know he’s not going to be happy about it. I hope he’s not too mad about it. “Hey, don’t worry. Most of the people here are friendly, just stay away from Sissy. She’s the only one you’re going to have to worry about,” Odd whispers to me.

I smile up at him in thanks and he leads me into the room, right as Ankoku finishes telling the class about himself. “Alright, Ankoku, you can sit behind,”

“What are you doing here?” Ulrich snaps standing up and interrupting the teacher.

I’m not surprised by his outburst, but the whole class is, including my blond savior. “I’ve been sent here. The adults that surround us seem to think that we’re destined to be together,” I stated and the promptly realized how that sounded.

“That’s” Ulrich started and stopped. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to say anything. You already know what I’m thinking, don’t you?” His voice dripped of sarcasm.

“With that tone, of course I do. As does the whole class. Next time why don’t you try hiding behind that little façade of yours and then we’ll talk as we always have. Me being honest and you trying to keep yourself hidden.” My voice doesn’t rise above its normal level, but it seems to echo with the unspoken challenge. Fortunately before either of us can take this fight any further the bell rings, and the class quickly files out.

“Umm…what’s going on here?” A girl with pink hair asks, looking between me and Ulrich. Odd shrugs and looks at me.

“My sister and I don’t get along well,” Ulrich responds glaring at me. For a brief instance I wanted to just snap at him and go off on how it wasn’t my fault that we couldn’t get along. I see in his eyes he’s fighting the same urges I am, though for different reasons. I don’t want to look like a bitch in front of people I don’t know. He doesn’t want to look like jerk in front of his friends.

“You two are brother and sister?” Odd asked surprised. “I would’ve never have guessed it!”

I smiled at him, thankful once again for his presence. “You’re not the first one to say that,” I told him.

“Why don’t we do introductions on the way to class?” A blond boy with glasses asked looking nervously up at the clock. We all nodded our heads in agreement and walked out of the room, leaving behind a still slightly stunned teacher.

Ulrich was leading the way as Odd walked on one side of me with the girl next to me. The other boy was on the other side of the girl. “Hi, I’m Aelita.”

“Jeremie,” the blond boy now know as Jeremie said as he readjusted his backpack.

“Morwen Stern, Ulrich’s twin, he’s older than me, though,” I replied. I was shocked at how easily the information slipped out and from the glance back at me so was Ulrich.

“Don’t worry, Morwen, you’re going to fit in just fine here!” Odd said excitedly. I smiled at him, it was hard not to, the way his energy just flowed. I could tell that Aelita thought so too, as she smiled at us.

“Hey, Ulrich!” A voice called out. We all stopped and let the girl catch up to us. She was wearing all black and had short black hair. Ulrich’s face lit up when he saw her, so she was either his girlfriend or crush. When she stepped up next to my brother I could tell that she felt the same way about him, but they weren’t dating, she was standing too far away from him for that. It took her a moment to see me but when she did her eyes actually clouded over. “Who’s this?” Her voice had changed tones from a friendly tone to a much darker one.

“Yumi, this is my sister, Morwen. Wen, this is Yumi,” Ulrich said introducing us. Her face relaxed into a smile. She thought I might have been competition for Ulrich.

I smiled at her and extended my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Yumi.” She shook my hand and nodded.

“Likewise. Listen, I’ll catch you guys at lunch. If I’m late for class again, I’ll have more detention then Odd!” She announced running off.

“I like her!” I announced to Ulrich. Then feeling slightly daring I added, “You should go out with her!” I have never seen anybody turn that red that fast. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or run, and judging by the looks the others had they were in the same predicament that I was in.

“Shut it,” He responded walking into the classroom.

The others looked at me for a minute. “I suddenly feel like I just dodge a ballistics missile.”

“You did. We’ve been trying to get him to ask her out for ages!” Odd told me.

“Really? I’ll have to remember that,” I replied as I followed him into the classroom. Ankoku was already there, the teacher pointed to a seat since he’d introduced himself during the last class.

I dropped my stuff next to Odd’s desk and leaned over Odd to speak to Ulrich. “Is alright if I tell them I’m your sister?”

He nodded his head. “Wouldn’t it be kind of hard to explain your last name if you weren’t?”

“Stern is a very popular name!” I protested smiling at him. He shook his head and smiled back. It’s time like these we don’t mind being related. I walked back up to the teacher. “Hello, I’m Morwen Stern; I got to class just as the bell rang.”

The teacher nodded. “I’ll have you introduce yourself to the class.” I nodded my head and leaned on the desk waiting for the bell to ring. The bell rang and the teacher stood up from his desk. “Class, we have a new student who tells me she didn’t have a chance to introduce herself in the last class. Please go ahead.”

I looked over the class room and smiled as Odd smiled at me. “Hello, my name is Morwen Stern. I’m Ulrich’s sister. I’m younger than him by about five minutes. Our parents thought that it was about time that the two of us were reunited and so here I am.” I finished with a shrug. I didn’t think there was any more that I really needed to say.

“Very good, Morwen. Please have a seat behind Ulrich.”

---

            My classes went really quick, and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. Odd practically bounced out of the room, only slowing down enough for us to catch up to him. We stood in line and after speaking with Jeremie; I decided on which foods would be the safest to eat. Only after sitting down did I realize how much food Odd really had gotten. It was enough to feed a small army.

“Does he eat like this all the time?” I asked Ulrich. Ulrich glanced up from his plate and looked over at Odd’s.

“No. He usually eats more.”

I felt my eyes widen. “You’re kidding.” I knew he wasn’t but still the amount that Odd was packing into his mouth couldn’t be humanly possible!

Yumi dropped down into her chair and smiled at the group. “How’s your first day going so far?” She asked me.

“So far so good. These guys have been making sure I get to my classes without getting lost.”

“Well your day’s about to turn for the worst. Here comes Sissy,” Ulrich stated, a look of utter boredom flash across his face. From the looks the others have I get the feeling that they deal with her often. A girl with long dark hair and dressed totally in pink came walking up to the table. So this is the Sissy I’ve been hearing about.

“So, you’re Ulrich sister?” She asked her voice held that tone of false superiority that made me want to throw something at her. “Let me be the first to tell you there’s some kids here that are cooler than others. This group, for example, is made up of total losers with the exception of Ulrich. Why don’t you come and hang out with my group?” She asked motioning to an empty table.

“No, thank you. I think that I’m better off here. Besides that, won’t your imaginary friends be jealous?” I was almost shocked at my last statement. I blame Odd for that one. He was the one sending out the “smart-ass” vibe. The rest of the group smothered their laughter as she walked away.

“Wow, you really let her have it!” Odd congratulated me patting me on the shoulder.

“She’ll be back. She always comes back,” Ulrich said throwing a sideways glance over my shoulder.

“Sounds kind of like a mildew problem,” I muttered, turning around to see what Ulrich was looking at. Ankoku was staring at me from across the room. His cold gaze caused me to shiver.

Odd looked up from his food. “Are you cold?” I shook my head and turned back around to face the table.

“What’s up with that guy?” Ulrich asked eyes locked onto Ankoku’s. “He hasn’t stopped staring at you since you sat down.”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I’ve never seen him before today. He makes me nervous. I want him to stay as far away from me as possible,” I whispered the last part.

“Well if he makes you that nervous I think it’s wise for the rest of us to stay as far away from him as possible,” Ulrich suggested in one of his rare moments of brotherly love. “You don’t normally take kindly to strangers but you don’t normally mind them either. For you to want to keep him at a distance probably means that he’s trouble.”

“Finally figure me out?” I asked playfully.

Ulrich laughed softly. “Yeah, figure you out. That’ll never happen!” Ulrich joked.

“Morwen, where are you staying?” Yumi asked changing the subject. I pulled out a piece of paper with all my information on it and handed it to Yumi. “You’re in the same room as Aelita!” She exclaimed handing me the sheet back.

“Wow, I finally get a roommate. This’ll be different; I’ve never had one before!” Her exclamation had the table laughing, though I could see something different behind there eyes. It seemed like they were trying to hide something.

“Don’t worry; I’m pretty easy to get along with as long as you let me sleep. That’s really the only thing I’m fussy about,” I explained to her.

Yumi shook her head. “Looks like I loose my place on the spare bed,” She said glaring at me playfully.

“Well the bed yes, but do you mind air mattresses? I brought one with me that you’re more than welcome to use. I enjoy having company!”

“Said the spider to the fly,” Ulrich muttered handing his tray over to Odd.

“I’m going to choose to ignore that one, brother dearest,” My tone falsely sweet. His eyes met mine and I could tell he was picking on me. I rolled my eyes and watched Odd devour what was left of Ulrich’s meal. “So, how much can you eat?”

“Don’t ask!” Yumi exclaimed. “I’ve seen him eat whole pizzas!”

“What’s wrong with that?” Odd and I asked at the same time. Glancing at him I continued, “I’ve eaten nearly a whole pizza by myself.”

“No, not one pizza. Try three!” Yumi exclaimed. I my eyes widened in shock. There was no way this, I hesitate to use the word scrawny, boy could eat that much. I looked over at Ulrich who nodded his head confirming what Yumi had said.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and telling us to get our butts to class. Yumi walked with us until she had to turn off to go into her class room. There was a boy there dressed similar to Yumi. Like her he had on almost all black, but his black hair was spiked. His face lit up when he saw Yumi, and he started talking to her almost as soon as she was in ear-shot of him. “Who’s the guy?” I asked noticing Ulrich’s glare.

“His name’s William. That’s all you need to know,” He announced walking ahead of the group.

Odd shook his head and looked at me. “Ulrich and William are kind of in competition for Yumi. Only Ulrich doesn’t seem to realize that William keeps backing down. He’s trying to let Ulrich make a move before he does.”

“Interesting. We’d better go sit down before we get you more detention time,” I said walking into the room and looking for a spare seat, preferably away from Ankoku.

---

The group and I were all assembled in what is now Aelita and my room. I was just pulling on the red and black sheets when a strange beeping sound came from Jeremie’s computer. I didn’t even have to turn around to see that the whole group had just tensed up, and was now sending each other silent looks, while hoping that I didn’t turn around. I actually think there might have been a little sign language going on behind me as well.

“Guys, we almost forgot that thing. You know that we have to do?” Odd said as he started to move to the door.

I rolled my eyes at the obvious attempt to escape. “What ever you need to do, go. Should I wait here for your return or go to dinner when it’s time?” Oops a little irritation slipped out, I wish they would’ve just told me they had plans.

“If we’re not back by dinner time, go ahead and go. We’ll see you soon!” I heard Aelita say as she shut the door behind herself. I turned on my computer and waited for it to boot up before blasting some music, so could I finished unpacking without having to feel the irritation that I’d brought upon myself.

By the time I had put away the last of my stuff it was time for dinner. I decided to wait a few minutes before I left, to give the others time to come back. After waiting for almost half an hour I descended down into the great cafeteria. Thankfully I was either early or late coming; the cafeteria was almost completely empty. I ate as quickly as I could and went back to my room. I didn’t want to get caught by Sissy eating alone, I didn’t know her well but I know her well enough that eating on my own would only cause problems.

I spent the rest of the night in my room rearranging things and then settled down and hopped online to talk to a few of my net friends. There are times where I definitely prefer talking to people online and this was one of them. I didn’t have to try to block out the other person’s feelings or try to hide my own. It was well after one in the morning before I climbed into my bed. I’d only been in bed for a short while when Aelita came in the room trying not to wake me up. Truth be told no matter how silently she tried to creep into the room she would’ve woken me up. For some reason a door opening always wakes me up, it’s been that way since I was little, just ask Ulrich.