Yumi could tell right away that her promised meeting with Jeremy wasn't going to happen. Even before she reached the boy's floor she could hear Jim shouting at Jeremy. As she came closer, she heard Jeremy's protests. "I'll get it clean later! It's not so bad."

"You might be a model student, but that's no excuse for keeping this room in this state! There are fire codes, health codes you're breaking! Now you're not leaving this room until it's immaculate. I don't care if it takes all day!"

Yumi raised an eyebrow as she looked inside the room. "Going to be busy?" she interrupted. It just might take as long as Jim suggested. Despite Jeremy's insisting it wasn't all that bad, it really was.

"Yumi, if you've come here to see Jeremy, I'm afraid you'll have to return later," Jim said.

"Sorry, Yumi. Can you let you know who know that I won't be able to, um, make it?" Jeremy said.

"I've got you. Later, Jeremy," Yumi said as she made her exit. Jeremy was of course referring to Aelita. And, the only way to reach her right now would be to head to the factory and use the supercomputer. Yumi wasn't stupid, but Jeremy's talk of his work on the supercomputer made her feel that way. She had no idea how to use it.

Luckily, Yumi thought as she sat down in the basement of the factory, there was a mind inside the computer that had no such troubles. She smile and waved as she saw Aelita appear on screen. Somehow, seeing Aelita made her feel happy, almost giddy. She knew Aelita was just an "artificial" intelligence, but was still at ease to talk to her. Actually, she talked more to Aelita even more than her non-AI female classmates. Aelita was not other better company, but also more sincere. Yumi had kept it a secret, but the feelings she had recently developed were a little more than friendship...

"Yumi! How pleasant to see you, but unusual. Where's Jeremy?" Aelita asked.

"Being held hostage," Yumi said.

"Oh?!" Aelita exclaimed.

Yumi laughed at her reaction. "By Jim! He needs to do a little spring cleaning."

"I see," Aelita responded solemnly. "Well, I'm happy to see you've come to keep me company, anyway," she changed her tone to a cheerful one.

Yumi sat up in surprise. She had been planning to just tell Aelita and then leave, but she really had no reason to go right away. Well, other than the fresh air waiting for her. There was also the way Aelita phrased it as keeping her company. They weren't exactly together, Yumi was just staring at a computer monitor. Maybe Aelita was implying that she wanted to be virtualized. "I don't know how to run the virtualization program," Yumi said.

"There's no reason for you to be virtualized right now," Aelita said, puzzled.

So, that wasn't it. Just Yumi being there was enough, wasn't it? Aelita must get very lonely during the moments where there was no one. She didn't sleep, or did she? Yumi sighed, then picked her head up. This was Aelita, what was she being so nervous for? It's true that Yumi wasn't exactly socially masterful, but Aelita was a programmed intelligence, most likely programmed for something other than constant socialization. So, they were on the same level, sort of.

"May I ask what's different about 'spring' cleaning?" Aelita asked.

Yumi smiled. And, of course, programmed to be polite, so she could be comfortable around Aelita, unlike around most other people. "Spring cleaning is more thorough, and, you usually do it in the spring," Yumi explained.

"I understand now. And you've already done your spring cleaning?" Aelita said.

"Yeah, mostly," Yumi confirmed.

"Jeremy's told me what spring's like, but he neglected to mention that part," Aelita said.

"Hm, I wonder what else Jeremy forgets to mention," Yumi considered absent-mindedly.

"He told me during winter it can be like the ice sector, bland and bitterly cold to your senses. But in spring, the ice and snow melts, the grass grows again, and becomes a wonderful place."

"A little too colorful of a description, but that's the gist of it."

"I suppose I'm keeping you and Jeremy from enjoying that right now," Aelita said darkly.

"Hey, wait, the world's still the same place, not that different. You aren't keeping us from a utopia or something. And if it wasn't for you, Jeremy would just lock himself in his room to work on some other long computer project, I bet. And me, um, I like being around you," Yumi said, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Really? That's so nice of you to say, Yumi. Still, won't it be nice when I can be with you outside?"

"Of course, I can't wait," Yumi said. She'd miss fighting in Lyoko, but it would be a lot safer for everyone. And, as she and the others discussed, Aelita would also attend their school. Right now everyone assumed that Aelita and Jeremy would become an item, but once Aelita was actually in the real world, would Jeremy be as in love with a "real" girl? He probably wouldn't even be able to make a move.

"Well, hopefully I'll there by next spring... We can watch the flowers bloom together," Aelita suggested.

Yumi started to become nervous just thinking about the beautiful girl next to her outside of combat. She started to think her reaction might not be much different than Jeremy's, too nervous to make a move. "I'd like that," Yumi muttered quickly.

The virtual image of Aelita smiled on screen. "I'm certain it will be enjoyable for both of us," she said.

Yumi raised her eyebrow. Could it be that Aelita had the same musings as her?... Well, if Yumi couldn't break the ice when she finally saw Aelita in person, perhaps Aelita would be the one to pursue her. Yumi smiled back and nodded at her crush.