Cilena Weoce looked around her for a place to sit. Boy, did she hate sitting alone-but she was, after all, the new girl. She may not have a choice.

            Then she saw a wave directed at her-a blond boy with a… was that a purple dot in his hair!? In any case, he was waving, and he looked friendly enough. Not that that was a guarantee of kindness, but it was better than nothing. She decided to go over.

            Upon arriving at the table, Cilena saw that there was more than one person there-five total, in fact.

            “Um… Hi!” she said, unsure of herself now. “Thanks for letting me sit here. I’m Cilena-the i and the e are switched, by the way. My parents have an odd sense of humor.” She shrugged. “So who are you guys?”

            The blond boy who’d waved to her took a deep breath-Like he’s preparing himself-what, does he think I'm going to laugh? thought Cilena-then he said, “I’m Odd. Nice to meet you!”

            Cilena tried to stifle a giggle, and failed miserably. “Odd? Is that your real name or your nickname?”

            “No,” answered Odd, “it’s my real name. Really. Don’t worry, you can laugh-I’m used to it. Hey-” he shrugged, and a joking manner entered his voice. “They say ‘If the shoe fits,’ right?”

            “And I thought my parents were bad.” Cilena managed not to giggle this time, but her eyes were sparkling as she turned to Odd’s friends. The next to introduce herself was a girl who looked to be about Cilena’s age and height, with red hair and brown eyes. “Hi!” she said brightly. “I’m Aelita, welcome to Kadic! And don’t mind Odd, by the way-he’s always joking around.” Now it was Odd’s turn not to laugh, as the boy sitting by him poked him.

                “Hia!” Cilena couldn’t help but smile at Aelita. She was just so… likeable. No time to linger on thoughts, though, or she’d mix the next intro. This time it was the boy who had poked Odd. He was tall and had brown hair and eyes. He was cute, but not in an I-like-him-cute sort of way. With a start, Cilena realized he was talking.

                “Hey! I’m Ulrich. Welcome to Kadic!”

                “Hi! Nice to meet you.” Would she ever stop grinning?

                The next was the black-haired, tallish, somewhat-older-looking girl sitting across the table from Ulrich. “Hi!” Se said (standard by now, albeit). “I’m Yumi. It’s great to meet you!” She waved merrily, and Cilena waved back just as much so.

                Last, but probably not least, the blond boy-correction, the other blond boy-adjusted his glasses slightly and stood up to shake Cilena’s hand. “Hey, I’m Jeremie. Welcome to Kadic!” Though he wasn’t as enthusiastic as the others, Cilena could tell that Jeremie really meant it-he just wasn’t the sort to go all out on introductions.

                “So what grade are you in?” It was Aelita who asked the question.

                “8th grade,” Cilena responded. “Come to think of it, I have…” she consulted her schedule. “Science next, Mrs. Proser, room E108. Not that I have any idea where that is.” She looked up. "Could one of you guys show me before you get to your class?”

                Everyone proceeded to rattle off a list of their classes and periods, and it was determined in the end that all six schedules were identical to one another for about 4 classes. And, in answer to her earlier question, Aelita offered to show her the science room right then (it was apparently not that far from the cafeteria).

                Life at Kadic was starting to look up.

***

                "Okay, come out with it, Odd.” Ulrich stared at Odd, trying to make him talk-a mirror image of what usually happened the other way around.

                Yeesh, thought Odd. Now I can see where I get on his nerves.

                But still. “What do you mean?” he asked innocently.

                “Come on, Odd.” It was Yumi this time, her tone the extremely rare joke-and-tease (though she did use it more often than Ulrich-not that that was saying much). “It doesn’t take an idiot to see that you like her.”

                “Says you!” Odd retorted. In a way, Yumi was right-this Cilena seemed funny, nice, and smart. But he didn’t like like her. He thought. Did he? Nah.

                Ulrich shook his head and smiled as he went back to lunch. He’d get the truth out of Odd-it was only a matter of time. Odd probably knew it, too.

                Jeremie contented himself with rolling his eyes and laughing.

                “Anyway…” Yumi looked thoughtful. “We’d have to watch her a bit longer, of course, but she seems a Lyoko type. The question is, of course, ‘Can we trust her?’ ”

                Jeremie watched as Aelita stopped Cilena for a moment-it looked like she was warning her against the cafeteria food. In response Cilena laughed, and said something back to Aelita. They both laughed, then continued back towards the table.

                “Not yet… But maybe”

                As the two girls resumed eating, Yumi gave Aelita a slight shake of her head. Aelita nodded slightly in response, letting the others know that she agreed.