Make A Change: P8
Part Eight
After her chat with, well, Chat, Marinette had gone to bed with a lot on her mind. She couldn’t help but think of Chat Noir’s words, of how distressed he’d seemed when she’d told him of her transfer.
Marinette spent way too long staring at her phone, contemplating if she should call Adrien. Because it was obvious that he’d been the one to bug Chat Noir, he’d been the one to ask about her to the cat hero. It was touching, she supposed.
She never called. Instead, she turned to Tikki. Tikki just smiled that soft, patient smile, and said that Marinette should get some sleep. So she did.
Now, on a perfectly average Tuesday morning, Marinette is back at her new school. She heads to her first hour, not wanting to be late. Félix is there as well, and he nods to her before returning his attention to his book. Marinette sits beside him and begins to draw, passing the time before class quickly. It’s quiet, and peaceful, and the first time in forever that Marinette could wake up without someone talking her ear off. It’s a nice change in pace, beside her new friend.
When class starts, it’s simple. Mr. Marcel assigns some worksheets and readings, and tells them to work in silence.
“You’re not the only ones who are sleep deprived,” he mutters, laying his head on his desk. “If you…” he yawns. “If you’re quiet enough, you can work with the person next to you.” Then he falls asleep.
Marinette blinks, then looks to Félix. “Is...is Mr. Marcel always like this?”
Félix snorts, how he does it without noise is lost on Marinette. “He falls asleep about half of the time. But when he’s awake, he’s awake.”
Marinette giggles, remembering how yesterday had gone. Mr. Marcel had been a bundle of energy, excitedly telling the room about their revolution. He’d gotten so caught up in his rant on the outfits (Marinette already liked him), that he’d cursed out the bell when it rang. “I look forward to the rest of the year, then.”
Félix smiles. “Me, too. Here, let’s get to work.”
“Right! Do you want to do the first half or the second half?”
“The second half is mainly about uniforms, aren’t you a fashion designer?”
“Yeah?”
Félix nods. “I’ll do the first half.”
Marinette can’t help but beam. “Thanks!” A few people shush her, and she blushes.
Félix spares a glance to the rest of the class, then returns his gaze to her. “You’ll learn quick, but we really don’t want to wake Mr. Marcel on these days. He’s vicious.”
“How bad?”
“As brutal as Syren and Stormy Weather.”
Marinette raises an eyebrow at Félix’s deadpan expression. “Waking him is as bad as two Akumas that could cause natural disasters that almost killed all of Paris, if not the whole world?”
Félix shrugs. “No, it’s just total fucking chaos.” He turns to his paper, beginning to read. After a few seconds, however, he looks back up to see Marinette gaping at him. “What?”
“Sorry I...I didn’t think you were the type to swear.” Marinette blushes. “That was a dumb assumption, sorry.”
He smiles. “I hear that a lot. I suppose I have a tendency to surprise people. A lot of people make assumptions after hearing a few things about me.” He shrugs again. “I let them think what they want, it’s more fun this way.”
Marinette giggles. “Wow, master of deception right here.”
“I try my best.”
They barely get the work done before class ends. When the bell rings, Mr. Marcel doesn’t wake up. Nobody seems surprised, so Marinette heads to Language Arts.
Allegra is already there when Marinette arrives, so Marinette slides into the seat beside her.
“Good morning, Allegra!” Marinette says happily. “How are you?”
Allegra smiles sweetly. “I’m great, sunbeam, how about you?”
Marinette blinks. “I’m doing well! But, uh, sunbeam?”
Allegra nods. “You are such a sweet ray of sunshine, the name seemed fitting.”
“I’ve never heard that one, so thank you?” Marinette thinks back to her old class, and says, “One of my classmates was called sunshine boy, though.”
“Really? How could he surpass you for the title?” Allegra asks with brimming curiosity. “He must have been the definition of joy to get it!”
“Well, he was always happy, but I think it’s because he was blond,” Marinette admits. “Adrien was always looking for peace, even when...even when it was better that he didn’t.” She winces, shoving away the thoughts.
Allegra picks up on the wince, but for the wrong reason. “Adrien? Is he an ex of yours?”
Marinette snorts. “Not an ex, I was ‘just a friend’ in his eyes.”
Allegra winces, too. “Ooh, one sided love. It is always a tragedy.”
“Disappointing, maybe, but not a tragedy. I knew it was time to move on when I realized it would never work out, so...here I am.”
“You changed schools to get away from a boy?!” Allegra shouts, and a few of their classmates turn to face Marinette, who blushes.
“No! I transferred to...to get away from my whole class. It’s complicated!” Marinette says, before Allegra can question her reasoning. “I just wanted to get away from all of that. It wasn’t a good place for me.”
“I see. That makes sense,” Allegra concedes.
“Makes sense?”
“Didn’t you come from the Akuma school?” Allegra waits for a response, but continues when Marinette just tilts her head in confusion. “Weren’t, I forget the exact number, forgive me, about twenty Akumas from your school alone?”
Marinette flinches. “That...that sounds accurate.” Especially when she considers the two biggest reasons she left the school, and that they both had multiple Akuma forms. Yeah...she really did go to the Akuma school.
(Really, shouldn’t that be a sign that there might be something wrong with the school? Like a habit of victim blaming and unchecked bullies? No? Alright.)
Allegra smiles kindly. “Well, at least you’re here now! You should be safer, right?”
Fate isn’t kind to those who tempt her, and a sudden scream alerts them of the fickle mistress of life.
“A pop quiz? On a Tuesday? Who does that?!” In storms an Akuma, who clutches all sorts of note cards and loose papers. “Not anymore, I say! I am PaperCut, and I will cut this senseless negativity out of my life forever!” Laughing maniacally, the boy sends some of the papers at the classmates like projectiles. The class scatters, racing for any available exit. Allegra darts through the back door of the room, some jump through the open windows. Marinette glances around, seeing how PaperCut approaches her desk...then looks up. She sees that a tile in the ceiling wasn’t put all the way in, and if she jumps-
“Hey! Leave her alone!” Mr. Jean shouts, and it’s all the distraction Marinette needs. She climbs onto her desk and leaps up, grabbing onto the ceiling. Using all of the strength she’s gained during her time as Paris’s heroine, she pulls herself up, until she’s out of sight. Quickly, the bluenette scrambles away, looking for a way out of the ceiling. A few minutes later, she finds a light and pushes out the tile, letting herself fall down.
She lands in the bathroom. The currently filled boys’ bathroom. All of them shriek when they see her, and she races out yelling apologies. She shoves her way into the girls’ bathroom, which is, luckily, completely empty.
“That was a close save!” Tikki says.
“I’m just glad I could make that jump,” Marinette admits. “I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pull myself up. But that’s not important right now! Tikki, spots on!”
A flash of pink covers her, and Ladybug darts back out, already calling for Chat Noir.
No response.
“Come on,” Ladybug mutters as she hears a crashing. It seems she’s found the Akuma.
PaperCut storms into the hall as a teacher runs away, yelling profanities. “Yeah, try to outrun me you foul bast-”
“Now, we all know foul language isn’t allowed in a place like this,” Ladybug chides, cutting him off.
PaperCut glares at her. “You’re trying to stop me, aren’t you? Well I’m not going back! I’m not taking a stupid physics test!” He raises his arm and throws more notes at her.
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Ladybug tries to soothe him, but it’s a bit tricky when she’s more focused on dodging paper projectiles. “You’ll do better than you think!”
“I don’t even know how to measure circles!” PaperCut shouts in frustration, and Ladybug pauses.
“Isn’t that geometry?” She asks, and PaperCut throws his hands in the air.
“How am I supposed to know?” He lunges at her, and she leaps out of the way. She looks for her partner, where is he?
“I think everything will go purr-fectly!” Chat says as he rounds the corner, and Ladybug sighs in relief. “And besides, there’s always next time!”
“Next time doesn’t matter! What matters is right now! And right now, I’m going to take you two down.” He raises a hand to throw more papers-
And falls over.
Ladybug looks up, surprised to find...Félix? He stands there, a textbook in his hands.
“Knowledge is power, Ladybug,” Félix says, then picks up a glowing purple flashcard. “I think this is the Akumatized object.”
“Cataclysm?” Chat reaches out and taps the object, and Ladybug catches the Akuma before it can flutter away. In seconds, any damage is undone, and the victim scurries off, muttering about gravity.
“Thank you…” Ladybug forces herself to hesitate.
“Félix.” He looks around. “Have you seen Marinette?”
“Marinette?” Chat perks up, eyes widening. “She goes here now?”
Félix nods slowly, and Ladybug can see the confusion in his eyes. “Yes. It’s her second day. My friend, Allegra, texted me. PaperCut stormed into their class, and Allegra couldn’t get ahold of her. Have either of you seen her?”
Ladybug smiles, trying to be calm. “Yeah! She was hiding in the ceiling, last I checked!”
“The ceiling?!”
Ladybug shrugs. “She’s a smart girl.”
Chat sighs wistfully. “Yeah she is. That’s my Princess.”
Ladybug isn’t sure how to feel, and Félix seems just as confused. Chat’s ring finally beeps, giving him a cue to leave.
“I’ll see you later, bugaboo!” Chat says cheerfully, then darts to a classroom and leaps out of the window.
Ladybug smiles at Félix. “I have to go, but if I see Marinette I’ll tell her it’s safe to head back.”
“Thank you.”
Ladybug nods, then darts away. Once out of view, she leaps into the ceiling before detransforming, then crawls back to her classroom. She lets herself fall down, scaring Allegra.
At lunch, she’s greeted by two unamused faces.
“Really, the ceiling?” Félix asks, and all Marinette can do is shrug.
It’s, in other words, a rather normal day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
~~~
After a long wait, I finally was able to make another part!!!
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