Marinette’s head throbbed as she leaned against the stall’s door, quickly swallowing her emergency medications. She couldn’t afford to miss today’s class, since they were doing an open circle debate about world war 2. She had done so much planning and did her best to research with her team… but it didn’t matter, if she missed it. Her teacher didn’t care how much work she put in, if she missed it then she would be stuck writing an essay. Marinette hated essays. At least for that class.
“And then he just showed up with flowers! Isn’t that so cute!” Lila’s bubbly, aggravating voice flooded the bathroom as the door opened, the sound of steps echoing the room.
“Oh yes girl! That’s awesome! I wish Nino would do something like that— I’m lucky if he even remembers that it is Valentine’s Day. Not that I mind, we try to stay lowkey you know?”
“Oh I absolutely get that! I tell Adrien that it’s too much sometimes, but he’s just such a romantic!” Lila sighed, as the sound of water flowing could be heard. Marinette froze, staying as still as she could. Lila would report her immediately if she found out she had medication on her.
“You both are just so cute!” Alya responded, her voice carrying a jovial tone. The two giggled, as the sound of the hand dryer came on.
“Oh but don’t tell Marinette, I don’t want her to be jealous you know? I’ve barely gotten her to stop calling me a liar so often, and I don’t want to start another fight.”
“Girl, no. Marinette would be so happy for you! But I get it, it must be so hard with that disease. Can you tell me the name of it? I want to do some research.”
“Oh actually, I’m the first patient ever to be diagnosed with it so it’s not really searchable! But I can send you—“ the door closed, their voices fading instantly. Marinette could still hear the soft clicking of their heels, but the nauseating voice that haunted her nightmares was gone. She barely stopped herself from falling to the floor in relief, depending on the rickety door to keep her up. Quickly, she put her pill pouch back into her bag, slipping out of the stall to the now empty room.
Alya was still a close friend of hers, but it had been awkward lately with her believing Lila over her. She just wanted everyone to be friends, but Marinette could never do that. She could barely stand to look at Lila when she touched her kitty. Marinette was so, so close to reporting her to cops for some type of harassment, but she knew her case wouldn’t be strong, even if the victim was a famous model. She even considered marching down to Adrien’s house and talking to his dad. Her poor kitty.
Soon after the reveal of all her temporary heroes, and Marinette becoming Guardian, she decided it would be best to reveal their identities to each other– that way if one of them was caught, the other would know to grab their earrings or ring, in Adrien’s case. It also allowed them to form a sort of safety net or support system, letting each other know that their buddy was safe when they saw them at school.
Speaking of, Adrien would probably get concerned if she didn’t leave the bathroom soon. Class would be ending in a matter of minutes, and even if her teachers didn’t care, she knew her classmates would notice her absence from gym class.
“Sorry I’m late guys, I saw a cute little kitten just standing in the road in front of my house! I couldn’t just leave it, so I went to go find the owner of the poor thing. I actually had to take it to a vet since it didn’t have a collar, so it took a while before I could get here! I hope everyone can forgive me, I know today was such an important day for our presentations!” Lila stood in front of the room, wiping away a fake tear. Her classmates awed as she showed them pictures of a small, wet kitten on her phone.
“Don’t worry Lila, I’m sure you classmates understand. I’m just glad that you are okay and have so much empathy for others, especially animals. Just try not to be late again, okay?” Madame Bustier patted the girl’s shoulders, smiling brightly. The class chimed in their opinions, all positive and centered around the girl’s kindness.
“I mean, not like you’re super late, and Marinette is late all the time and still catches up, so I’m sure you can too.” Alix was leaning back in her chair, feet on the row’s desk. She grinned, almost taunting Lila. Truthfully, it wasn’t obvious that the small pinky hated the liar, but Marinette knew her too well.
Marinette didn’t look up, though, terrified that Lila would call her out for something or another. She really couldn’t afford detention today. Luka and her were going to have the most romantic date ever! She didn’t need to deal with that girl’s drama either. Marinette just tried to stay hidden in the back, writing notes in her small notebook. She didn’t even doodle in class anymore out of fear of the girl claiming that Marinette wasn’t paying attention or had stolen her notes because she had “just” doodled that exact drawing.
Luckily, it seemed the gods were looking down on her today, Lila didn’t even glance over before she took a seat next to Alya. Except… that usually meant she had a bigger plan going on, or had a huge story she was going to tell the class.
“Oh Nath!” Lila’s sickeningly sweet voice rang out, “I heard you were talking about my friend Red Thread earlier!”
Nathaniel looked up immediately, covering his notebook full of doodles. He sort of looked confused before an expression of realization appeared on his face. “You mean Red_Thread_Nettie?”
“Yeah! Weren’t you saying how much an inspiration they were? I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but when I heard her name, I couldn’t help it. She’s such a dear friend of mine and I’m so proud of how far she’s come. She used to make videos at my house but never had the courage to post them until I convinced her that she should!” Lila smiled as Marinette grimaced. The expression change was so obvious that some of her classmates turned to give her a weird look.
“Oh, that’s awesome.” Nathaniel gave her a half smile, not truly listening to her. It was obvious she was lying. Nettie started streaming years ago, way before she began to upload VODS or any sort of videos. He would know– he helped Marinette with the animation.
“Wait, girl! Why didn’t you tell me that you knew Red Thread! I’ve been emailing her for months to get an interview after she released her Miraculous line.” Alya beamed, leaning over towards Lila as they began a conversation loud enough for the entire class to hear. Only a chunk of the class actually listened, with many having been disillusioned long before. The thing was, none of them had the strength to stand up to her or protect Marinette from her bully. Few interacted with her anymore, and only a small handful would even send her a message to check on her. It was just like when Chloe had run the school, but somehow… It felt even worse.
“I’m sure I can get you an interview soon, but they are just so busy, you know? But, still, since you asked, I’ll see when she’s available!!” Lila pat Alya’s shoulder comfortingly, eyes suspiciously soft. Lila took a glance over at Marinette, smirking a bit before looking back at Madame Bustier.
“Thank you for your kind conversation, Lila, but before we go out, I have a safety announcement. In the next couple weeks, Paris will be hosting many foreigners for Comic Con, and that means you need to keep out an eye on your classmates a lot more. Please try to make sure to walk in groups of two, keep your phone on, and give the school notice on any absences. I know this is exciting, but we have to keep safe, everyone!” Madame Bustier started handing out safety tip pamphlets to the students, making sure no one was forgotten.
Marinette slightly perked up when she heard the event, remembering the unfinished costume she had at home. She couldn’t wait for the break, knowing that she’ll get to meet so many of her fans. It would be exciting– especially since Lila couldn’t ruin it for her!
Notes: part 1 of chapter 1 is officially done! What do y’all think? Comments feed me/motivate me so PLEASE comment!!!!
