Chapter 1

It was almost a week later, and the gang was elated with joy. Ulrich was back, for good. The gang had gone together to meet with Mr. Delmas two days ago, to see if Ulrich and Yumi could return to the school and continue their classes. Mr. Delmas (and Sissi, for that matter,) was happy to let them be re-enrolled in the school.

So, the gang was all together again, and nothing could separate them again.

At Odd and Ulrich’s Dorm:

It was a cool Saturday afternoon, just after lunchtime, and the group was all gathered in the dorm room. Ulrich was on sitting on his bed, with Yumi next to him, not letting him out of her sight. Odd was lounging on his bed, on the opposite wall, with Kiwi sleeping on him. Jeremie had his laptop propped up on some books on top of the desk, working on someway to get into the Internet. Aelita sat in Ulrich’s desk chair, helping Jeremie as best as she could.

Surprisingly, the room was silent, except for the occasional exchange of words by Aelita and Jeremie, and the faint, quiet snores from Kiwi.

Knock, knock. Two faint knocks broke the silence. Odd glanced at Ulrich, and Ulrich shot a look of confusion at Yumi. Odd, being the closest to the dorm room door, got up and opened it. Sissi broke practically barged in once the door was unlocked. “Ulrich! Ulrich sweetie, I’m so happy your back!” She ran over to him, as him and Yumi stood up. Sissi wrapped her hands around his waste and hugged him. Ulrich, who was much in shock, just stood there, almost dumfounded. Yumi’s heart began to beat a mile a minute, and began to heat up with anger. Ulrich came out of his shock, and pulled Sissi’s arms off from his body.

“What do you think your doing, Sissi?” He questioned, as Yumi placed her hands on her hips, and stared menacingly at the principles daughter.

“Ulrich dear . . .” Sissi began.

“No. I’m not ‘Ulrich dear,’ not to you, Sissi. I never have been, never will be.” Yumi smiled, as Sissi began to stutter.

“But . . . but . . . Ulrich, please, I’m just so happy you’re back,” she said, attempting to get him to feel sorry for her.

“Well, I know someone in this very room who is delighted that I’m back, and cares about me more than you ever will.” He placed his hand around Yumi’s waste, and Sissi’s eyes widened.

“Oh! I knew she was no good! Stealing you from me! You have a lot of nerve, Yumi!”

“Excuse me? I think you are the one who has a lot of nerve!” Yumi was outraged.

“Oh really? How do you manage that thought?” The two girls were face-to-face, not even three inches away.

“You practically barge in here not even a week after Ulrich and I have returned to school, and you accuse me of taking him from you, when he CLEARLY never was! He told you that, and you just can’t handle it! Face it; he loves me, NOT you! Now, there’s the door, GO!”

“Well, if you weren’t back in school, Ulrich would clearly be mine. He’s just too shy to admit it!”

“Oh, well you know what?!–” This was starting to get to an extreme point, and the rest of the group realized it. Ulrich stood up and tried to prevent a possible catfight.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Girls, stop!” When Yumi and Sissi showed no effort to refrain from their argument, Ulrich figured it was time to really step in.

He placed his hand on Yumi’s shoulder, and gently pulled her away from Sissi. Sissi’s face reddened with anger, and attempted to step closer to Ulrich and Yumi. Odd decided it was time for him to help too, so he stepped in front of Sissi. “Sissi! Stop it, just leave! You have no right coming here, and tormenting us! Go now, before I get really mad!” He pointed towards the door, and Sissi immaturely stuck her tongue out at Odd. Ulrich sat down on Ode’s bed, placed his hands on Yumi’s waste, and motioned for her to sit down too. When she did, he began talking to her in a soft voice.

“Yumes, what’s the matter? You never get upset like this.” A salty tear ran down Yumi’s cheek, and Ulrich brushed it away.

“I . . . I don’t know. I just want her to stop! She’s been terrorizing you and me since we first came to the school, and especially now that we’re back, and together, and happy! I just want her to leave us alone!” she sobbed. Ulrich glanced at Sissi as she made her way to the door, scooted closer to Yumi on the bed, and placed his arms around her.

“It’s ok, Yumi. Sissi won’t be able to go anywhere near you, I promise, not if you don’t want her too. She will leave me and you alone from now on, right, Sissi?” he asked, turning towards Sissi slightly.

“Fine, you win, Miss. Ishiyama! I’ll stay away from you and your new boyfriend.” She opened the door, and took one step out, before spinning on her heals. “Oh, just to let you know, me and William are throwing a ‘Welcome Back’ party tonight for you two,” she said, pointing at Ulrich and Yumi. “Wait, let me clear that up for you so you don’t get the wrong ideas. I wanted to throw a ‘Welcome Back’ party for Ulrich, only for Ulrich, and William wanted to throw a ‘Welcome Back’ party for Yumi, only for Yumi, and so when we found out about each other’s plans, we decided to combine them into one party. So, that’s it, if you want to come to the party, be at William’s dorm at 7:00 tonight. Everyone is invited. Goodbye.” She walked into the hallway and shut the door behind her.

“So, are we going or not? There will be food there, I hope!” Odd questioned.

“Only Odd would mention food at a party at a time like this. Are we going to the party?” Aelita questioned with a slight chuckle in her voice.

“I think we should, how about you, Yumes?” Ulrich asked.

“Oh, why not? A party celebrating us and our return? We can’t miss out!” Yumi said, as her and Ulrich stood up.

“Ok, well if we are all going, we have to get ready. Lunch will be in about 10 minutes, and since it’s grilled cheese day, I don’t want to miss out!” Odd said, rubbing his stomach and licking his lips.

“Do you ever stop thinking about food, Odd?” Jeremie asked.

“Nope!” The group broke out in laughter and went out of the dorm room to head to lunch.