The Rich Girl's Near Expulsion

Note: A Code Lyoko fan-fiction not focusing on virtual trips to Lyoko for once. This collaboration is between me and BrighStarAngie. After getting an F (which was actually a C+) on her latest math test that she studied so hard for with tutoring from her friend Herve, Sissi is threatened with expulsion from her father. Thinking it a bit harsh, Jim suspects something and discovers that one of the teachers doesn't wish for Sissi to succeed, and instead wishes to solicit her. Luckily, Jim uncovers the teacher's dark secret and he is brought to justice and Sissi's standing in the academy is saved, as well as countless would-be victims.

"Being serious is like math to me, I just don't get it !"—Sana Kurata

Chapter 1—The Straw That Broke the Principal's Back

Sissi, although she had been studying hard had been receiving many low grades. Strangely enough, she had been limiting herself to books, notes, pneumonic devices, recorded classroom sessions and flash cards to drill all of the information she needed in her head and still her grades had been low. She felt she had been doing C+ work, perhaps even better, but she wouldn't be giving up so easily. Like her mother, she was the stubborn, never-say-die type and she wasn't about to let a bunch of bad grades bring her down. But she never thought a teacher would be giving her those grades purposely.

Her father had threatened her for the last time after seeing Sissi's last report card.

"I told you before, Sissi…I'm sick of all of these bad grades ! It will not stand with me, and you know that ! Either start making better grades or I'll have you expelled. This time, you can't sweet talk your way out of it. I'm tired of you failing. If you fail, you have to see what failure in the real world is like.", Jean said, with frustration.

Jean-Pierre was so upset that he nearly gritted his teeth when he spoke. She knew it was better not to say anything and decided she would call Herve and have his help for the upcoming Algebra test. Math in general wasn't Sissi's best subject and she knew Herve could put everything into layman's terms so she could comprehend the problems easier. Her father's ultimatum was serious, but she was so numb to it that she didn't even cry at the threat. She was far too bushed to even have the energy to show any emotions. To be honest, emotions would just slow her down. It was much more important to raise her grades with the upcoming math test.

That evening before bed, Herve drilled her constantly until she could recite and answer any algebra question thrown at her. It was like the algorithms were a part of her now. They would never leave her mind, and more than likely help her along the way if she ever had any difficult mathematical problems to solve in the future.

"Sissi, I am very impressed. See, I never doubted you.", Herve said, smiling.

"Thanks, Herve, I appreciate it. I actually understand math for once in my life !", she said, hugging him appreciatively. He blushed a bit and at her embrace.

"You can take some cookies with you for your trip back home. Save them for later, have them for a snack.", she said, offering what was left of her homemade chocolate chip cookies.

"I would be more than happy to do that. You're such a terrific hostess !", Herve said, with a large smile and taking a handful of the cookies that were left and said goodbye, wishing her good luck and patting a sleeping Kumquat before he left.

Falling upon her bed, Sissi fell into a deep sleep quickly, wiped out from her constant studying, drilling, practicing and writing. Her neck, back and arm hurt, but now since she had snuggled under her covers and began dreaming of the day ahead. She was a bit nervous, but she remembered Herve's words…

"Just remember the quick tips I gave you and you'll do stupendously. Don't forget, I believe in you, and so do the rest of the guys.", he could hear his uplifting voice say. Herve was usually the shy type but when it came to helping others, he could be downright talkative, as well as altruistic. He would not rest until the misunderstood could be grasped and used as naturally as breathing or walking.

The next day, Sissi took her math test and took longer than most to finish it. She wiped off the back of her forehead when she had finished it and placed it on the teacher's desk. The teacher, Mr. Kyle Jonathan Greene, had looked at her paper and realized only a few errors existed on it. It was already looking to be a C+ paper, easily. But, deep inside, Kyle Greene lusted after Sissi, as well as a few other girls in Kadic Academy. The only way he could have her as a captive audience was to grade her papers incorrectly until he could have a bit of a talk with her. Unfortunately, his plans weren't holding water like he thought they would but he wasn't the type to give up easily.

He hoped that with his current scandal, he could somehow work Jean into it later on and have him fired. That way, he could easily move his way up and assume his rank as principal and have some things changed. For one, the gym uniforms would be frillier, more like French maid costumes. Already Kyle could see his glorious vision coming to pass: Adorable lolitas here and there playing volleyball, basketball, cricket; the list went on and on ad infinitum.

By the time Sissi had received her grade, her father had told her to begin packing her bags and preparing to be sent to another school in Europe. It would be one of the lower-class schools that helped underachievers learn skills to survive in the working world. Sissi was appalled, crushed, melancholy and hurt that this had all come crashing upon her head. She would never see, let alone hear from Odd again since the school she was going to didn't have any cell-phone reception, let alone technological advancements.

As Sissi ran away in tears before Jim tried stopping her but it was too late.

"She has to deal with her unsatisfactory performance. I've tried other forms of punishment but nothing has worked !", Jean-Pierre said, angrily.

"Jean, this isn't right. I know for a fact your daughter has worked arduously on her studies. I have seen her spending time in the library day and night and getting help from her friends. Someone must have it out for her.", Jim said, crossing his arms defiantly. Jim didn't like what was happening one bit. It seemed all too conspicuous that she was one of the few students to be getting unsatisfactory grades out of thousands who had been attending and doing quite well since the new 'motivational' program had been started.

"Are you telling me you don't trust one of our esteemed faculty ?", Jean questioned, his furor evident in his heated tone.

"Exactly. I am not sure who could've graded her so harshly, but all of them seem to be math related. We only have one math teacher here that would be so insensitive. I've seen him work. He gives favors to the students he likes, particularly the female ones. And they are given passing grades, even if they don't do well. The guy's twisted. I haven't felt comfortable with him since he came here. I tried telling you that years ago, but you ignored me. You're always busy with your damned paperwork. Paperwork's all well and good, but would you at least listen to me when I sense impending danger ? Our children could be in bigger trouble than we ever realized ! I can't be held accountable for possible assaults ! Jean, please…hear me out here !", Jim said, barely even able to catch his breath.

Jean simply stared at him for a time and tried not to let his anger explode. What Jim had said made sense. He had noticed how Kyle had acted since he arrived at Kadic. He seemed to hang around the pretty young adolescents and flirt with them. It hadn't seemed to bother him too much because he never really paid attention. But there was an ulterior motive. He always seemed to have a sneer of contempt around her for some strange reason.

"Very well, we'll have Mr. Greene cross-examined. I feel horrible for not doing this earlier. But better now than later. Have my daughter called and tell her that my decision has been suspended, for the time being.", Jean-Pierre said, and watched Jim leave his office from his peripheral vision.

Chapter 2—Mean Mr. Greene

Jim had managed to comfort Sissi, wrapping her in his strong, yet tender embrace.

She felt a lot happier just having him there by her side and supporting her in this troubling time.

"Sweetie, you know I will not give up on you. You're going to be alright. You'll see. Your father won't expel you. Your math teacher, Mr. Greene isn't what he seems. I'm not sure why, but since we hired him a while back, I never had a good feeling about him.", Jim explained.

"Mr. Greene ? I know he might seem a little stern, but surely he can't be all that bad.", Sissi said, laughing. She hadn't picked up on the fact that his aura was incredibly dark and evil.

"I believe he is. That's why I am going to dig up every little bit of information I can about him. If you need me though, feel free to call. You know how to reach me.", Jim said, before leaving her. Sissi smiled, knowing she would be confined to her room for a bit to read, but it was alright. Somehow she knew that Jim had everything figured out.

Jim began to research information on Kyle Jonathan Greene and was shocked an appalled at what he had uncovered. Apparently, Kyle was a convicted pedophile that had slipped through the cracks of the legal system and had gone unnoticed and unchecked by authorities that claimed he was being 'monitored'. Horribly enough, his favorite targets were adolescent girls and he had quite a record of how many he had sexually molested. He hadn't raped any girls yet, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. Jim's blood ran cold as he read Mr. Greene's dossiers. He had all the evidence he needed. Now he had to do was show his findings to Principal Delmas and have this weirdo keelhauled.

Chapter 3—Susanne Steps In

After reading the information about Mr. Greene from Jim's reports, he was quite appalled at everything he had read. At the same time, Susanne had walked in to tell Principal Delamas she too, didn't trust the math teacher and his suspicious antics.

"I've seen the way he looks at pretty young girls. It's disturbing. I've also heard stories from my colleagues that he hides cameras in inconspicuous places to take photos of the girls in the dressing rooms and heavens know were else. The man is sick !", Susanne said, looking as if she was stricken physically ill by everything she had been hearing. She too knew that something had to be done immediately before any of the girls found themselves in danger.

Jean looked at the math grades his daughter had been getting and realized that he was doing so only because he wanted to "see" her later and "discuss" this. In reality, she had been getting Cs and only recently she had gotten a C+ on her latest math test. He was infuriated. He couldn't believe that Kyle could sink so low to vandalize so many innocent young ladies.

Slamming his fist on the desk, he yelled,

"That's it. I've had it ! This man must be taken to court immediately. Susanne, see if you can find evidence of those cameras anywhere in the school. Jim, let my daughter know she's not going to be expelled, and tell the girls to stay in their dormitories until this problem had been dealt with.

Susanne's worst fears were met when she discovered tiny video cameras here and there in the girl's dressing rooms and some were even in the toilets. Her stomach heaved and her anger boiled but she kept herself calm. The nightmare was about to end, and at last, there would be enough evidence to bring Mr. Greene to justice. Perhaps this time he would be put away for good and far away from where he could ever harm any other little girls ever again.

Susanne could only hope so.

Chapter 4—Bored Brainless, but…

Odd was so bored he felt like he could be doing a thousand more better things than sticking around his dorm playing with Kiwi. Kiwi too, was becoming tired of playing the same game of fetch in the same small space. Yawning and stretching, he decided to stretch out and sleep in his bed for a bit. Phones weren't off limits, so he decided to call Sissi and see how she was faring through this incident with Mr. Greene. He dialed her number. Thank the heavens; Sissi's cell phone was ringing. She picked the mobile up from her desk, pressed the talk button, and placed on to her ear.

"Hello?", Sissi asked.
"Hey, Sissi, it's me, Odd.", Odd said. "How's everything going?"
"Fine, love. Just fine.", she said.
"You don't sound fine to me.", Odd replied with a smile. Sissi laughed.

"I'm bored, Odd. But, better to be bored than in potential danger. I can't believe that Mr. Greene is pedophile ! How terrifying…", Sissi said, shivering slightly. She felt relieved that she hadn't been a part of his twisted plots, but she felt sad for the girls that had been caught off guard by his video voyeurism. They would take a while to coax into trusting others for quite sometime, but such behavior was understandable.

"What's worse is I think he was after you too. Good thing Jim stopped him before he could get to you.", Odd said, just happy to hear her voice again.

"I wish I could go somewhere with you, you know, just hang out. It's much more fun to be with you, rather than to be cooped up in my dorm room all alone. Aggghhh, I'm about to lose my ever-lovin' mind !", Sissi groaned, falling upon her bed.

"I know how you feel. This will be over soon, and we can be together again. Don't worry about it. Look, I have to go my cell phone's about to lose power.", Odd said, with some sadness, but he had helped his darling to feel better despite the fact that she missed him dearly. Her heartache would soon end as soon as the arraignment and trial were through.

Chapter 5—Kyle's Arraignment and Trial

That very day, Mr. Greene was arraigned by the police and taken to the nearest courtroom to be tried. Some of the girls that had been subject to his voyeurism were given written testimony so they wouldn't have to appear in court so their identities and they were safe back in their dorms with the rest of the children as well. Evidence was enough to convict the resident pedophile. All that had to be done now is cross-examining and the jury's deliberation over a verdict.

Mr. Greene's lawyer did everything he could to make him look good but the lawyer that represented the young women of Kadic was far more convincing and directed the judge, juror's and council's attention back to the evidence at hand as well as video footage only the judge, Jean-Pierre and a select few had seen. The judge cringed just hearing about it again.

"We will take a brief recess and after deliberation, I will deliver the verdict.", the judge said, after banging his gavel and getting up to get a drink of water after allowing himself to breathe deeply before returning to the courtroom in under an hour's time.

It hadn't taken the jury long to reach a verdict, and the result was anonymous. The judge welcomed the jury and council back from recess and began to await the say of the jury.

"We the jury have reached a verdict.", one juror said.

"What say you ?", the judge questioned.

"We the jury find the accused, Kyle Jonathan Greene, unanimously guilty on all counts of child molestation in the 2nd and 3rd degree.", the juror answered.

"Then I have no recourse but to sentence Mr. Kyle Jonathan Greene to 10 years in prison, house arrest once he is released, and relocated far from any children.", the judge said, banging his gavel. Mr. Greene looked utterly defeated, but everyone could release a sigh of relieve once he had been escorted out of the court room.

Chapter 6—Carry On

After the trial had passed, the children could now roam freely outside of their dorms and play as if nothing had happened. Of course, Jean-Pierre would have to look for a new math teacher. This time, he would have to do research and detailed background checks before any new teachers were hired. For the time being, Susanne had substituted her knowledge of math fields and used her brain to the fullest of its capacity.

Meanwhile, not soon after new "Now Hiring" ads had been placed in the local news and on the Internet, the police had called back with good news.

"Turns out that this SOB had a reward on him.", the police officer said.

"Really ? Is that so.", Jean-Pierre said, in a bit of amusement. It was a rather large amount of money, which would help them renovate the school and perhaps build a much-needed planetarium. Susanne and Jim would be at the groundbreaking when that was getting ready to be built. Being showered with praise as a hero and accepting his reward, Jean-Pierre admitted to the fact that it was a team effort that the criminal was brought to justice and put behind bars. At least now, counseling could begin for the girls that had been harmed by this man. It would take time for them to fully adjust, but with the help of such loving staff, they would learn that love could heal any wound, especially unconditional, agape affection.

After months of planning and construction, the prized planetarium and computer lab had been built. The computer lab had computers with the finest technology and computer programs available, including PowerPoint, 3D design, Internet access (with some filtering and parental controls) and megabytes, nay, gigabytes of memory. The computer monitors had a high resolution and screen width of 30 inches, and the monitors themselves were high-end plasma-screen monitors with bright picture, and speakers that emitted clear sound. They could watch educational movies from school-recommended sites. Not only that but with the new planetarium, they would learn about the mysteries and the beauty of the heavens above. With the new technology that NASA had been developing, Kadic had direct access to NASA's website, their television and research channel from satellite as well as subscriptions to Sky & Telescope as well as Scientific American to enrich their minds.

Epilogue

Long after the hubbub had settled down and the latest math teacher, Ms. Claire DuPrix had been hired, the girls that had been victim to the prior incidences that had occurred had become more open and they found that speaking out had been empowering. Though they didn't trust people to begin with, they had been coming out of their protective shells little by little. With such classes like Jim's Penchat Silat, they had been garnering more confidence and growing stronger. This way, they wouldn't have to worry about being victims ever again so long as they knew they could stand up for themselves and the fact that they had friends that stood up for them, as well as mentors and faculty that believed in them.

Odd and Sissi more than made up for the time they had lost when they had been under "dormitory arrest" (for lack of better term). As usual, they had taken their dogs out for a walk and enjoyed the birds singing their gorgeous music. Not only that, but Sissi had recently been congratulated by her father for doing such a tremendous job on her report card this time around. She had gotten mostly A's and B's. The only C+ she had gotten was in math, but she owed that good grade to Herve. She had planned a celebration, with approval of her father, all of her friends would be invited to enjoy themselves and congratulate her on her hard work as well as her drastic improvement.

The celebration had been boisterous, jovial and filled with plenty of activities to keep everyone busy. They learned oddly enough, Sissi adored singing karaoke and she let everyone see how laid back and fun she could be. She even had a sense of humor, though it was dry. Odd was quite impressed that his darling could be funny. Every day, he was finding out more about her and felt blessed to be in her presence. The others felt the same way and were glad she had done so well and wasn't expelled like she previously thought. She admitted she owed that all to her protectors and friends. Without them she would be somewhere else in Europe.

Repeatedly, in her mind, she gave her thanks to whatever source had given her these precious treasures. She knew that even after the celebration, when the rough times came like they inevitably would, they would be by her side. This would never change, and she was grateful for that. Also, her father and she had become closer since the incident had past, so more good than ill had come from what occurred.

The End