Learning to Love

Learning to Adapt

Marinette sat at her desk, her bluebell eyes staring at her class. A warm, welcoming smile was drawn upon her face. 

"Morning, kiddos," she smiled. 

"Good morning, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," chanted the students. 

"I'm noticing that all of you see familiar faces around you," Marinette said. "That's because Mrs. Lahiffe decided that I keep the same kids in my class this year."

A brunette student put her hand up, and Marinette nodded at her. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, my grammy retired."

"That's right, Lilany," the woman nodded, looking into the girl's cheerful gray eyes. "Mrs. Lahiffe thought it would be a good idea for me to fill in the place of your grammy and she got a new teacher for the kinder kiddos."

A few 'ohh's and 'oki's came from her first graders.

"Let's take attendance," the young woman decided. 

Marinette was halfway down the list and, so far, no one was absent. 

"Aldine, Emma?" She called. "Emma Aldine?"

"I don't remember her from last year," a little boy named Lucas simply stated.

"She might be running late," Lilany suggested.

Suddenly, the door burst open. 

An ombre-haired woman appeared. 

"Kids, say good morning to Mrs. Lahiffe," Marinette ordered gently. 

"Good morning Mrs. Lahiffe," chanted the children.

"Hey guys," the woman said, and quickly turned to Marinette. "Mari, here's Emma. She's from the Beckett Orphanage a few blocks away."

"Thanks, Alya," the bluenette smiled and watched the little blonde girl come out from behind Alya. She had short hair and wasn't wearing the uniform, but a school girl's dress.

"No problem, girl," Alya says. "Let me know how these little demons treat you."

Marinette smiled and looked down at Emma. "Hello, Emma, Sweetie. I'm Ms. Dupain Cheng. Have you gotten your uniform?"

"N-Not y-yet, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," Emma stuttered. 

"Thats alright, Emma," Marinette said with a voice barely above a whisper. "Go sit next to Lilany. Lilany, raise your hand, Sweetie." 

The brunette girl known as Lilany shot up her hand. Emma tugged at the straps of her dull blue backpack while walking towards the seat. Marinette took a mental note of this.

"OK, kids," Marinette said. "I know today is the first day of school, but we have two projects to do."

The lady wasn't surprised to hear no groans or 'ugh's in the crowd, instead, she heard happy squealing. They were first graders and thought of everything as an adventure. 

"So, first project is quick. I have a poster board and I need you guys to write your names," she said, grabbing a blank white poster board that had blue letters in the center that read: "Welcome to C. Debussy Elementary, Mr. Agreste."

"Sarah, can you pass out the markers, please?" Marinette said, pointing to the markers in the corner of the room.

Sarah was a petite, dark-haired, western American little girl with an extraordinary gift. She was sweet, kind, and had a passion for reading. Marinette had been astounded to hear her read for the first time. 

Sarah grinned widely at her teacher and stood up from her seat. She walked over to the big marker bin and passed out only the red markers. Sarah also liked red. 

"Thank you very much, Sarah," Marinette said. "OK, kids, I'm going to give Oliver the poster first. He's gonna write his name on it an pass it back, and so on."

Her students complied and after about twenty minutes the poster was full of names. Finally, a blonde girl named Claire in the seat right in front of Marinette's desk gave her the poster.

"Thank you, Claire," the young teacher smiled. Claire didn't answer. 

Marinette hesitated, but took a pen from her 'Best Bestie' mug she got from Alya in highschool. Her face softened at the nostalgia. She signed "Ms. Dupain-Cheng" in an empty space under the blue letters. 

"Line up, kiddos," Marinette said. She looked down at the poster and saw a very neatly written name. It read 'Emma Aldine.' Marinette inhaled a great deal of air, and looked and the letters again. It was better than her own handwriting. She glanced up and clapped her hands twice. 

"OK, kids," the ravenette said, getting up. "To Mr. Agreste's class."

The new teacher's class was simply across the hall. Even outside the door, they could hear the chaos taking place inside the classroom. Marinette's student's lined up against the wall and the 25-year-old teacher knocked on the door. 

A tall, blonde man opened the door. His eyes were a striking green and he looked young. Younger than Marinette expected. 

"Hello, Mr. Agreste," Ms. Dupain-Cheng said. Her kids immediately knew what to say, and chanted a "Good morning, Mr. Agreste!"

"Good morning." He smiled a little at her and beckoned them to come in. 

Marinette didn't intend to be invited into the classroom, but she told her students to go in anyway. 

Her first graders walked into the classroom, and she came in right after them. 

It seemed like Mr. Agreste was having trouble controlling his students, so Marinette clapped twice. The kids were immediately silent. 

"Thank you, Ms..." Mr. Agreste began, suddenly pausing. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she smiled. "All my friends call me Marinette, so don't worry about formality." 

"Thank you, Marinette," the man said, clearly pleased by the warm introduction. "In that case, you can call me Adrien." 

"Thank you, Adrien," Ms. Dupain Cheng replied. 

She cleared her throat, smiled, and looked around. "Oh, erm, Sarah, can you bring the poster?" 

Sarah brought the poster and gave it to Mr. Agreste. 

Adrien grinned at the poster. He walked towards his desk and got a stapler. The man stapled the poster on his bulletin board and smiled at it once again. He just kept staring, and the more he stared, the farther deep his words were pushed down his throat. It was so nice and welcoming of them, that he was at a lost for words. Sure, it was a simple gesture, but it felt so pure. "Thank you," he managed. 

"It's no problem, really," Marinette giggled. 

"No, it's... Lovely, really lovely of you, Marinette," Adrien whispered. 

"Like I said, it's no problem," she repeated, a little stunned at his reaction, but genuine nonetheless. 

"Thank you," he said again. 

"You're very welcome," Marinette said. For that bit of awkward silence that followed their conversation, their eyes met briefly. It was a quick glance, but the ravenette woman saw his gratefulness and that was simply enough for her to smile. 

"Well, I best be off," Marinette said, her hands fiddling with the brim of her dress. 

"Of course," Mr. Agreste said. He waved at her and her kids as they left.

When Marinette closed the door, she knew it would be hard to learn how to adapt.   

Posted: 6/1/2021
Edited: N/A