Disclaimer: Code: Lyoko belongs to France 3, not me.

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"Yumi, I'd like to meet your new roommate, Eílís McIntire. Eílís, this is Yumi," the principal introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," Yumi said, smiling at the new girl. Inwardly she was twisted. This girl could jeopardize everything.

However, Eílís seemed to be one of the quiet sort. She was a pale girl, dressed in a long and drab gray dress. Her taffy-colored hair was pulled back in a bun so tight her face was stretched. Eílís didn't say anything to Yumi; she merely smiled nervously.

"Yumi, can you go ahead and show Eílís to your room?" the principal asked.

"Sure," Yumi said. "Come on." She headed down the hallway with Eílís at her heels, the new girl's junky suitcase banging against her knees. The three boys trailed behind them. "This is our room," Yumi said, holding the door open. Eílís stepped in hesitantly and flashed her nervous smile again. She set her suitcase on the neatly made spare bed against the wall and started unpacking.

"Is there a reason why you dress so funny?" Odd blurted out. Ulrich elbowed him so hard he fell off Yumi's bed. "Ow!"

"Don't mind Odd," Jérèmie said. "When he was born they had to pull his little bitty foot out of his great big mouth." Odd stuck out his tongue.

Eílís smiled- this time without the nervousness. It made her look less uptight. "His name is Odd?" she asked.

"It's a nickname," Ulrich explained.

Odd's ears were pink. "I'm not saying my real name," he said defiantly. "Only teachers call me that."

"I don't think we've told you our names. I'm Jérèmie, and this is Ulrich," Jérèmie introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," Eílís said shyly, not daring to look up from her folding.

"Where do you come from? You have a cool accent," Yumi said.

"Dublin, Ireland," Eílís answered.

"It's a good thing you speak English. Do you speak French?" Ulrich asked.

"Oui, monsieur. Je parle français pour les huit ans," Eílís said.

"You'd never last here if you didn't speak French," Jérèmie said. "We're all from around the world. Ulrich is from Germany, Yumi is Japanese, I'm from France, and Odd is from England. English was the only language we had in common at first."

"You'll have to speak French in class," Yumi said. Eílís looked a little panicked, but the dinner bell interrupted before she could say anything.

"DINNER!" Odd shouted. "I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Jérèmie said, trailing after him.

"It's spaghetti day. Odd's going to bouncing off the walls," Ulrich sighed.

"Coming, Eílís?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, yes," the Irish girl said absentmindedly. She scooted her suitcase under the bed and followed the rest of them to the cafeteria.

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"Spaghetti day! Spaghetti day!" Odd sang. "I LOOOOVE spaghetti day!"

Ulrich cuffed him playfully on the ear. "Please don't sing," he said. "Anything but that." The two boys set their plates down at the table.

"Eílís, is that all you're going to eat?" Jérèmie asked.

She looked down at her plate. The only thing on it was a small roll. "Mother said I was being punished," she said blankly.

"For what? Dressing like a slobby pioneer? Or are you playing Cinderella?" a high pitched voice tittered.

"Leave her alone, Cici," Yumi said, rolling her eyes. "Her name's not Cinderella. It's Eílís, and she's new."

"Oh, do pardon me," Cici said with an exaggerated curtsy. "My utmost apologies, Cindereílís."

"Cici," Ulrich said. "Leave Eílís alone."

That was all it took. "Whatever you say, Ulrich," Cici said, batting her eyelashes. With another mocking giggle, she and her posse migrated to their own table.

"Who was that?" Eílís asked, silvery eyes wide.

"Cici," Jérèmie explained. "Her father's the principal, so she thinks she owns everything."

"Including Ulrich," Odd teased, jabbing his roommate in the ribs. Ulrich just pulled a face and jabbed his fork in his spaghetti viciously.

"Calm down, Ulrich. It's already dead," Yumi said dryly.

Eílís had finished her roll and sat meekly, her hands folded in her lap. "Are you sure you're not going to eat any more?" Ulrich asked.

"I'm being punished," Eílís repeated.

"For what?" Odd said, his usually happy face drawn into a scowl.

She looked down at her hands and said quietly, "I don't know."

Odd grabbed her by the wrist. "Come on," he said. "You've gotta eat. And the food here is really good." He dragged her up to the line.

"Odd, we're putting everything away," the lady behind the counter said. "Je ne donnez-vous pas la spaghetti." She spoke in a mixture of French and English that somehow was understandable.

"S'il vous plait, Marie?" he pleaded.

"Not if you're going to feed it to that petit chien laid," Marie said coolly.

Odd leaned on the counter, standing on tiptoe. "Two things," he said. "First, Kiwi is not an ugly little dog. And if I told him you said that it would hurt his feelings. Second, it's not for me, it's for her." He tugged Eílís closer. "Elle s'appelle Eílís, et elle est une elevée nouvelle a l'ecole. Elle est trés mince, n'est pas?"

Marie sighed. "She is very thin at that," she said. "You're too persuasive, ma petit."

Odd grinned. "Je sais."

Marie scooped some of the food onto a plate and handed it to Odd, who handed it to Eílís. "Bienvenue a l'ecole, Eílís," she said.

"Merci beaucoup," Eílís smiled.

Odd took her back to the table. "Now you have to eat all of that, d'accord?" he said.

He didn't have to say it twice. Eílís ate ravenously, as if she had never eaten in her life. Ulrich and Yumi exchanged looks.

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Yumi rolled over on her bed and stared at Eílís. The new girl was sound asleep, lying on her back with her hands folded over her stomach. She looked dead, with her pale face and pale hair and gray nightgown.

Suddenly her mobile buzzed. She hit talk and held it close to her mouth. "Hello?" Yumi whispered.

"Yumi, we have to meet down at the factory," Jérèmie whispered, his voice staticky through the line.

Yumi tugged on her short black ponytail. "I'll try to sneak out. Eílís is sleeping, so I think I can make it," she said softly. She hit end, slid out of bed, and sneaked out of the room.

A pair of wide silver eyes opened slowly and watched her go.

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