Red Ribbons and Golden Bells

Chapter 2 Part

BEEP. BEEP.BEEP. Ughhhh I groaned as I reached over to turn off my alarm. I stretched my arms wide as I got up. I looked out the window and saw that it was still pitch black, and every normal person would still be asleep for a few more hours. Tikki flew over to me with a deep frown. "You should be getting some rest Marinette, you've barely slept at all!" she reprimanded.

"I know Tikki, but I always help Maman and Papa in the bakery on Mondays, you know that," I sighed as I splashed cold water on my face, "Besides if I weren't getting up to help them, I would be getting up to start on my homework. And I'm fine, I got almost 2 hours of sleep!" Tikki just stared at me, unconvinced. "I'm fine, totally fine," I reassured her as I went down the stairs to the bakery.

Before I even got to the ground floor, I could smell the mouth-watering scent of baking goods wafting up to the living room. Papa had been up baking fresh bread and pastries since 4:30, making sure to supply all of the early workers with a warm breakfast, while Maman manned the cash register. As I got to the bakery, Papa greeted me with a kiss on my cheek. "Good morning, Marinette," his deep voice boomed, "Would you mind making some croissants and getting started on the pain au chocolat before you get ready for lycée?"

"Good morning, Papa, I should have time to get that done before I need to leave" I replied, returning a smile as I got out the ingredients I needed. I walked over to the industrial-sized walk-in cooler and grabbed the large bowl of dough that had been made the night before. I dumped out the dough onto the counter, sneezing as some flour flew up into my face. I mindlessly rolled out the dough as I replayed last night's events, wondering how I could explain my newest injury. I laughed as I whispered to Tikki, asking if saying I got attacked by a dumpster cat was too on the nose.

As quickly as my happiness came, it faded as I felt a twist of anxiety as I cut the dough into triangles, thinking of how today would play out. Would Lila try to blame me for stealing something? Or would she say I am bullying her again? I stand up and put the freshly rolled croissants on a baking pan. It was bad enough that she had convinced most of the class that I was the one who was torturing her, but if she got my parents involved again, I don't think anyone would believe me anymore.

I close the oven door and set the timer, knowing that after 20 years of owning a bakery, Papa doesn't need one set to know when the croissants are done. I get to work on rolling the first half of the pain au chocolat, making a large rectangle on the counter. I feel a buzz in my pocket and almost drop my phone into the dough when I see the notification. A message from Adrien. Adrien texted me. I feel my pulse quicken as I push the message icon, my eyes widening.

"Hey Marinette, this is Adrien. I got your number from Alya, I hope that's ok, but I really needed to ask you something. Is there any way you would be able to bring in a special treat for me tomorrow? It's Nino's birthday, and Father won't let me go out to buy anything, and I'm a terrible baker. And besides, no one makes pastries better than you (;" He likes my pastries. He thinks no one makes better pastries than me. He thinks no one makes better pastries than me and he wants me to bring one for him and Nino tomorrow.

"Marinette, you need to answer him!" Tikki reminded, coming up beside me. But I barely heard her. Adrien freaking Agreste likes my pastries and thinks no one else makes them better, and he wants me to bring him one tomorrow. I feel a grin slide across my face as I giggle into my hand, sending flour flying through warm the air. Adrien asked Alya for my phone number because he thinks no one makes pastries better than me. Of course, I had already gotten Adrien's phone number from Alya years ago, but now he had mine. He asked her for my number specifically.

Why didn't she warn me, so I could figure out what to say? I nervously chewed on my lip as I typed out my message.

"Hi, Adrien! Of course, I can bring you pastries, what kinds would you like me to bring you?" I waited for his reply as I finished preparing the bread. I was just about to put the pan in the oven when I heard my phone buzz on the counter. I quickly threw the pan in the oven and sprinted over to my phone, but saw it was just a notification from the weather app. It was going to be in the mid-50s all week, which meant I could finally start wearing my cardigans again. And that meant I could finally order pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. While they brought them back a while ago, I never order them until it is the appropriate weather. I started to look at some sweaters that I saw were on sale in an ad as I leaned down onto my elbows. When I found a really cute tan one with fall leaves on the sleeves, I heard Tikki's high-pitched voice yell from across the room "Marinette! The pastries!"

I whipped around and saw that the pan was halfway out of the oven, and I ran over to grab it, then pushed it back into the oven and slammed the door closed. "That was a close one, thanks Tikki," I sighed, wiping my hand across my forehead. It was only then that I realized how hot the pan must have been, and I cried out as I saw the red mark blistering on my palm.

"Marinette, are you alright?" Maman yelled from the front of the shop. I winced as I ran my hand under cold water, sighing as the heat was drawn from my hand. "Yes, I'm fine Maman, I just grabbed a hot pan," I promised as I went to find some cream for my hand. You would think it would be easy to find burn cream in a place where you're around ovens all day, but apparently not. After about 5 minutes of searching, I finally found some suspicious-looking burn cream called, "Burn-Bee-Gone", that had a smiling cartoon bee on the front of the tube. I don't know who thought a bee would be a comforting sight after you just burned your hand, but hey, I was stupid enough to grab a hot pan with my bare hand, so who am I to judge other people's coping techniques?

I plopped down onto the floor as I prepared my hand for the medicine. I sighed in relief as the honey-colored ointment started to numb my hand, and I wrapped it in a giant burn bandage, which conveniently was the size of my palm. While Chat Noir has certainly given me some bad wounds in the past, I was very glad he hadn't yet discovered some kind of fire weapon, because there's no way I could handle this weekly. I pulled myself off the floor and turned to put the dirty dishes in the sink when I saw my phone light up from the corner of my eye. Gasping, I whirled around to see a message from "Adrien Agreste<3" from 3 minutes ago. In my panic over the pastries and my burnt hand, I had completely forgotten why I was on my phone in the first place. I nervously clicked on the message which read:

"Anything would be amazing, thank you, Marinette! You're an awesome friend! I also wanted to let you know that I won't be able to give you any money for the treats, as my father has all of my money from modeling in a savings account. But to show you how much I appreciate you doing this for me, I have something for you that I know you'll love. I can give it to you today, thanks again!"

"Tikki!" I squealed, twirling around through the kitchen. "Adrien is bringing me a gift, today! All because I am bringing him some deserts tomorrow! Can you believe it?" I giggled as I spun around with Tikki in my hands. "Yes, I can, put me down now please!", Tikki laughed as we danced around the warm kitchen. Smiling, I quickly cleaned up, then went to my room to get ready for lycée.

After I get dressed, I quickly go to text Alya about what happened, when I freeze, my smile fading from my face. I suddenly remembered why she wouldn't have warned me about giving Adrien my phone number. At this point, I'm surprised she even gave him my number. Because the last time we texted, she was berating me for "bullying" Lila again. I start to feel the anxious butterflies in my stomach again as I finish getting ready for school. It seemed as though I was torn between excitement at the prospect of getting a present from Adrien and the dread of dealing with Lila and her followers and sympathizers. "It'll be okay Marinette! You just have to be strong, and the day will be over before you know it!" Tikki assured me.

"I just wish that people could see through her evil lies," I sighed as I grabbed my backpack. "If everyone knew what a horrible liar she really was, then everything could go back to normal. At least with Chloe, everyone knew she was mean, and we supported each other." I looked over at Tikki, who was frowning thoughtfully, and motioned to my open purse. She flew in and looked at me sadly.

"You should have support Marinette, Chat Noir should be the one who is always by your side and the one to help you," the Kwami groused as she made herself comfortable, "It's not fair to you that you have to do the work of two people and deal with that bully, all in the same day."

"I'm fine Tikki, I'm just a little tired," I yawned as I climbed down the steps to the living room. "Besides, soon we'll have les vacances de la Toussaint, and I won't have to deal with them for two whole weeks. What do you think the chances are that Hawkmoth and his cat will take the weeks off too? I'd say very unlikely since they took Fashion Week off, which was random. Do you think they're both models or something?" I laughed at the incredulous look on Tikki's face as I walked through the doors to the front of the bakery. Maman was busy at the counter getting pastries for a young couple, so I quickly kissed her on the cheek and told her goodbye.

"Please try not to cause any arguments at school today," Maman pleaded as she grabbed my hands, "I know you don't start them, just try not to let your attitude take control over you, I know you're a sweet girl." I promised her that I would play nice, and she gently squeezed my hands, then released them as she turned back to help the other customers. I took a breath and pushed open the doors to the bakery and walked out, steeling myself for whatever waited for me at the school.