"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 42: Marinette's very complicated plan comes together.

The next morning Adrien was heading down the foyer steps on his way out to school when he heard his father and Nathalie talking inside his office. Adrien could just make out their voices and paused halfway down the steps to listen.

"I can't have him being the only recognized designer in Paris. It's his second statue! Make it happen." A door slammed and he heard footsteps coming his way. Adrien rushed up a few stairs and then headed back down, to make it look like he was just heading down now.

"Good morning, Nathalie!" Adrien called down to her.

She looked up slightly, startled out of her thoughts. "Good morning, Adrien. I hope you have a good day at school." She kept walking and Adrien continued to the bottom of the stairs and headed toward the door. Suddenly, Nathalie turned around.

"Adrien?" 

Adrien swung to face her. "Yes, Nathalie?" he asked, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Was there anyone that you particularly liked at the Grévin that you enjoyed working with or you think treated you especially well?"

Adrien tried not to smile as it seemed the plan might actually be working. He paused to think of all of the people he had met at the museum. All of them had been really nice, but he tried to think who might have the most influence. He gave her a few names which she wrote down in her notebook.

"Is there something wrong with my statue?" he asked, scrunching his face into a slight frown and trying to project only innocent inquiry.

"No, no. Nothing like that. Just something for your father. Thank you for the names." She headed down the hallway.

Adrien couldn't wait to update Marinette!

- - -

Adrien didn't get a chance to talk to Marinette until after their second class. She seemed to be lost in thought when he tapped her on the shoulder right before she reached the lockers.

"Oh, hi, Adrien!" She gave him a distracted smile. He responded with a big grin. That got her attention! She raised her eyebrows in question. "Yes?"

"The plan seems to be working so far! Nathalie asked me for some names of some people at the museum. I'll let you know if I hear anything more. I guess we can depend on my father's ego to be predictable!"

"That's great! Well, not about his ego, but the plan. Should we get together to discuss how we're going to go about searching? It's Wednesday, right?" She tried to go over the week in her head. "Yes, of course it's Wednesday! So, do you have time after school?"

"That should work, since I have told Nathalie we need time for our architecture project." He grimaced and then his shoulders slumped. "And I suppose we are going to have to work on our architecture project." He sounded so very down about it.

"I would totally laugh at that if the reality of extra unneeded work wasn't just so sad! Did you convince anyone to give us extra credit for it anyway?"

"I have an appointment with two teachers tomorrow toward the end of lunch if you want to come along. You are so very charming, and wonderful, and such a good student normally (when you are attending class and not out saving Paris) that I'm sure that you can convince them!"

Marinette laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll come. It is a joint project so we should probably go together anyway."

"It's a plan." They headed off to their lockers.

- - -

Marinette and Adrien sat at her desk working on writing up the architecture project as they finished up the discussion of their search plans.