Miracle Box - an MLB rewrite

Book 2 - Putting on a Show

"Tonight, on our first edition of 'Face to Face,' you'll have the opportunity of a lifetime! The chance to talk LIVE with Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Marinette was absolutely stressed beyond comprehension as call after call was made to her family bakery, ordering pastries for pick up in abundance, at the same time as a dozen or so customers were flooding the store during the rush hour. She had to face this alone! "Oh yeah!" she had said to her mom and dad when they asked if she could manage the bakery alone so they could have a date night on their anniversary, "it's not a problem! No one really comes in on a Sunday anyways!"

Oh what a fool she was. Everything was becoming so overwhelming. And that damn TV hanging over the pantry door was way too loud for her to be able to hear the orders she was taking over the phone. It wasn't just a random Sunday. It was the Sunday after last week's valentine's day, and the bakery had everything on sale which attracted way too many people for Marinette to handle on her own.

"Along with me, Nadja Chammack, we'll be revealing exclusive information about your favorite superheroes!" the TV chanted.

Oh yeah. That was another thing. Marinette was hoping she wouldn't get a lot of business today so she could close the shop early and make it to that interview as Ladybug on time. Ugh! She didn't even want to participate in that interview! But Chat Noir pleaded with her and said it would be good to assure to the public that they were safe, especially since they still hadn't caught Volpina, Rena Rouge wasn't really part of the Miracle Team anymore, Queen Bee had retired herself, and Carapace was busy being the new guardian.

Well, an hour long special about her and Chat Noir didn't sound too bad... If she wasn't literally scrambling to keep afloat on the one thing her parents asked her to do.

Tikki was far from happy about it. Marinette still hadn't taken off her earrings to let Tikki roam in full form which was definitely making the kwami very agitated. Tikki said this interview was a piss poor decision between her and Chat Noir. She said "you're a superhero! You have to remain a mystery!" and "you need to protect yourself and your identity from Hawkmoth and any of his villains!" As if any normal superhero would be working in a bakery. And Marinette wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to reveal her identity on this show... If she even made it on time.

The bell on the bakery door rang as a new customer entered. Marinette felt her body tense up under the sheer amount of stress being injected through her veins.

"Marinette! Thank you so much for agreeing to babysit at the last minute," said the woman who'd just entered... Nadja Chammack.

"No way..." Marinette felt her soul leave her body. This was it. She was done for. "I mean... Uh... No way! I just saw your advertisement for your show on TV!"

"Yes, and I have to be on set in an hour, so I should hurry," Nadja, the purple haired reporter woman said. She was just a typical news anchor, but recently she'd been offered the opportunity to host her own show. And out of bias (Nadja was good friend's with her father) Ladybug agreed to appear on the first episode to support her and hope for her shows success.

"Uh, er..." Marinette sloppily packed up one of the orders made by phone and danced back over the the cash register to ring up one of the customers waiting there, "is there any way we can... Well, you see, I'm suddenly the only person running the bakery right now for my parents and I totally forgot I was babysitting Manon-"

"Oh! You poor thing! I'm so sorry, I don't know if I can get anyone this quickly! If you had told me maybe an hour or so ago..."

Marinette felt sweat form under her eyes. "It's totally fine actually! I'll be fine! I love Manon!"

"I've packed plenty of things for her in her bag so you shouldn't have to worry about entertaining her too much," Nadja said, welcoming herself behind the counter with Manon, "and perhaps Manon can help you with the bakery? Don't worry, she's already had dinner, and she's going to be on her best behavior tonight, I promise!"