Set to Love

Chapter 3

"Mari! I'm so sad and lonely...can we have a sleepover tonight?" Alya pleaded over the Facetime call, her voice laced with misplaced hope. Marinette — deep in her shopping excursion — wasn't having any of it.

"Alya, you just left my place three hours ago after a two-night sleepover. You gotta get a life!" Marinette replied firmly as she casually browsed through the racks of clothing, her fingers skimming over the fabrics.

Alya persisted, "I hate being here alone. This apartment feels so empty without Nino."

"He'll be back soon, Alya. You'll adjust," Marinette reassured, her attention momentarily diverted as she lifted a sleek black coat off the rack, studying it closely.

"But I hate it. I'd much rather be at your place," Alya whined.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. Unless you want to house-sit while I'm away, all I can offer you is more Facetime calls" Marinette reasoned as she tossed the coat into her shopping basket.

"That's not a bad thought. Could I do that?" Alya questioned, picking up some sort of meaning from Marinette's words she hadn't grasped herself.

Now pursuing the boot aisle, Marinette responded "What, FaceTime me? You don't have to ask"

"No, like home-sit your apartment while you're away. I'd much rather be alone there than alone here. Please?" Alya pleaded.

"I guess if you want to," Marinette replied, a playful smirk dancing across her lips. "Just don't throw any parties or anything while I'm away."

"Oh no, I was totally planning on having a rager," Alya deadpanned, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Have you packed yet? I can come over now and help."

Throwing some nice thigh-high boots into her basket and walking to the counter Marinette answered, "How about you meet me at the bakery? I'm having lunch with my parents in an hour, and afterwards, you can help me pick out some more clothes"

"Why are you buying new clothes? Girl, you already have a full 'Marinette Designed' closet. You're not going to fit everything in your suitcase, and besides, you never buy clothes," Alya questioned.

"Are you really  going to turn down this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"

"Of course not! It's just suspicious. Just what exactly has brought on this change?" Alya persisted, acting like a seasoned journalist without answers— which, well, she was.

Marinette shrugged, "Maybe...new city, new me? I want to try out a new style, and I'm only going to buy a few things here. I'll buy more in Shanghai. I need to look as least French as possible— my Mandarin isn't great, but I still want to fit in"

"More like you want to get out of speaking English 'cause you became self-conscious when an American corrected you for saying: she  assisted to the conference,"  Alya teased, poking fun at her friend's linguistic mishap.  Rude!

"Okay, I had been in New York for nearly 10 months, and I directly translated Elle a assisté à la conférence . An honest, yet completely stupid beginner mistake! Not an 'I've-been-studying-English-most-my-adult-life' mistake! " Her frustration palpable as she recounted the incident.

"Even so, why didn't 'new city, new me' happen in New York? What, are you trying to impress someone?" Alya prompted.

Marinette sighed as she swiped her card at the register, "More like keep a low profile"

Alya turned to an anxious whisper, "Code LB then?"

"Not exactly, but there's something up with the director, he rubs me the wrong way" Marinette explained, mouthing a 'thank you' to the cashier as she exited the store.