Chat Blanc ✅

Chapter 8

"Remember, Adrien. You have your Chinese lesson this evening," Nathalie's monotonous voice droned, the tone perfectly level as always.

"Yes, I know," Adrien informed. "Thanks for the reminder, Nathalie."

She simply gave a curt nod, before focusing her gaze back down to the tablet in her grasp. Gorilla also sent him a shake of the head from the front of the limousine, making the blond smile gratefully.

He shut the vehicle's door, turning to face Francoise DuPont. The stairs at the front of the school seemed to loom upwards, causing him to gulp whilst his legs forcefully staggered up the steps.

Readjusting his satchel, Adrien shifted the strap of the bag farther up his shoulder, his eyes scanning the inside of the building for any lingering pupils.

However, the place was filled with only eerie silence, except for muffled voices drifting through classroom doors. When he reached his own class, he could faintly make out Miss Bustier speaking, along with Marinette and Alya.

Adrien pushed the door open slowly, a creek sounding as it moved. He entered, brain taking in the scene before him.

Alya was currently standing in her seat, hand in a clenched fist on her desk. In front of her, Nino nervously shuffled the cap on his head, facing the right side of the room.

In that area, Chloe and Marinette were sat with frowns on their faces, arms both crossed. Their expressions clearly showed annoyance and a slight hint of anger, aimed not only Alya but surprisingly Miss Bustier too.

"Adrien, good afternoon!" the teacher greeted, to which the boy perked up. "I assume you had some work to complete for your Father's company?"

"Yes, I had a photoshoot," he replied. "Sorry for being late." He then began to stroll to his designated place, beside Nino, who offered him a small smile.

Adrien returned it, settling himself on his chair and placing his satchel to the right of it. As he did so, Miss Bustier started to speak up again.

"Marinette, it would be a good idea to run again, especially since Lila has been expelled," she explained. "I don't get why you don't want to."

"'Why I don't want to'?" Marinette repeated incredulously. "For months the whole class, sans Adrien and Chloe, have been constantly tormenting me, sending me cruel messages and ostracizing me. You think that I want to be the one to set up trips and do favours for them?"

Alya broke in, exclaiming, "Marinette, stop being so selfish! Thanks to you not being Class President, our last outing was a total disaster! We didn't want to go to the local farm, but we had to because there wasn't enough money!"

'Disaster'? Don't even get me started on how everyone had to get there, Adrien thought inwardly. Well, those who went. Thankfully, Father prevented me from going.

"Actually, Alya, wasn't Lila the Class President at the time?" Marinette quizzed. "Didn't everyone vote me out of my position because I supposedly 'bullied' her?"

That statement got the majority of the class to glance down in guilt, including Alya for a brief period.

"Remember what I said about the Marinettes of the world? They all have a lot of love to give, and so should you," Bustier commented. "No one here knew Lila was lying, so it isn't fair to blame them."

"That's a whole lot of bull," Chloe snorted. "You knew yourself. Lila claimed she had a condition that caused her to lie constantly, so you were fully aware of all the false promises she made to your students and yet you didn't speak up."