𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮-𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘂𝗺 , 𝗺𝗹𝗯

𝟬.𝟱

YOU COULDN'T HELP but feel a bit guilty, passing by the stone statues (that looked an awful lot like Stoneheart..) in the streets while being driven to school. You felt as though you had failed each and every one of them, their families, friends, colleagues and everyone else they may know in their life.

Jenoi had attempted to reassure you that "It's not your fault! If anything the blame's on me for not telling you exactly what to do after you find where the Akuma was hidden!", but you knew deep down you should've figured that a thing that causes evil should be contained.

You stay deep in your self-deprecating thoughts until your driver alerts you that you had arrived at your school. You take a deep breath and exit the car.

-

Upon entering class you spot Marinette and Alya talking about something, with Alya saying something about Chat Noir and a blog for the new superheroes. This only sours your mood further, and you choose to sit away from your friends for today.

You couldn't get your mind off the escaped Akuma. Nobody in your class was helping either, as all they were interested about was asking Ivan what it was like to be Stoneheart. You couldn't blame them, though. Unless you openly told them, "Yeah, I'm the unnamed Panda superhero working with Chat Noir and we forgot to catch the Akuma, leading to all those people being turned into stone!", you couldn't really say anything to get them to change topic.

You kept worrying, no matter how much you tried to change your perspective to make your situation even a small bit more positive. Everyone was so confident in you and Chat's abilities, despite only witnessing one (partial) victory. You didn't want to let them down so early, after all, you had only JUST become a superhero.

"Once a monster always a monster!" You hear Chloé scoff at Ivan, who then storms out the room. "This is your chance!" A small voice whispers from inside one of your pockets, "Go follow Ivan and make sure he stays calm, or he'll get re-Akumatised!" You wordlessly stand up and begin to move to the door, speaking to Chloé as you did: "Chloé, how could you say that? I'm sure Ivan feels terrible about what he did.."

Chloé rolls her eyes at you, "So I should just leave him alone despite the fact that he broke Sabrina's dad's arm? What happened to holding people accountable!" You sighed and just ignored her, there's no point trying to talk if one party refuses to listen. You open the door and leave the classroom, walking towards the main courtyard to begin looking for Ivan.

"Uh excuse me!" A blonde boy waved to you from down the hall, "I uh.. you just came out that room, right?" He pointed at your classroom.
You looked at him confused, "Yeah..? What makes you ask..?" He pauses for a second, as if contemplating wether he should continue speaking or not,
"It's just.. uhh.. this is a weird question but.. is Chloé Bourgeois in your class..?".
You give him an even more perplexed look and reply, "Yes...? Why do you ask..?"
He grimaces at your response, "Well, I'm meant to be in her class too.. sorry if I weirded you out. I just.. had no clue where to go. The Principal wasn't much help, honestly." You smile at him, "Yeah he really isn't, I get it. My name's [Full Name], and I'm your classmate, as you probably figured."
The boy's eyes suddenly light up, and he excitedly responds, "I'm Adrien Agreste! It's lovely to meet you!" You recognise his first name from what Chloé said to Marinette in the entire debacle about seats yesterday, but his last name is what really caught your attention.
"Agreste? Like the fashion designer? My Mama really loves the designs, they're all she ever talks about," Adrien's entire demeanour slightly dampens, "Yeah.. I could imagine."
You hear how the energy in his voice decreased and quickly change the topic, "But how comes you're starting school a day late? You haven't missed anything academically important, but it's a bit out of the ordinary."
"Well.. I was going to be homeschooled, like I've always been, but this year I asked my Father to attend an actual school."
"So it's your first year at a real school? Not sure why you'd choose to not get home-schooled anymore, but to each their own, I suppose."
"Yeah.. I just wanted that school experience, I guess."
"Well you're definitely in for a treat here then! Trust me, you'll get more than a regular school experience. Yesterday one of our classmates got transformed into that rock monster-!" You gasp, suddenly remembering why you even left the classroom, you needed to find Ivan!
"And that reminds me! I was meant to be following after him, he'd just ran out upset at something Chloé was saying about him attacking Paris.. But we'll talk more later, okay? I'll see you when I get back to class! Bye Adrien!" You both bid goodbye to each other and you leave to continue your search for Ivan.