Skybound- Miraculous Au

Chapter 3

MPV
The bus promptly arrived at the engine room at 8:30 in the morning. The trip across town had been short but it had given me time to think over what I had seen this morning.

By now I had convinced myself what I had seen was real, and not just the sun playing tricks on me. I mean I had touched it and felt cold solid metal. I wouldn't ignore that fact. I just couldn't for the life of me figure out where it had come from. It didn't come from the city that was for sure, plus it had fallen back down toward the ground. That meant it could have only come from one place...

"Girl, you ok?" Alya asked me as we stepped off the bus. I shook me head losing my trail of thoughts.

"Yah, I was just lost in thought." I said, as I let out a little sigh. I followed her and the rest of the class up the stone steps and into the main hall that would lead us toward the engine room.

"Stay together class." Ms. Bustier called from the middle of our group. Ripples of conversation echoed through the hall as we trickled into the office part of the engine room.

"Your Ms. Bustier's class I presume?" A tall thin lady asked from behind the desk. Her appearance surprised me for her wildly spiked purple hair and sharp glasses looked off in the dull environment that was the engine room.

"Yes, that would be us." Ms. Bustier said pushing her way through the crowd. She stopped in front of the desk and handed the odd lady a clip board. The lady looked it over for a second before handing it back.

"Your tour will start momentarily." She said standing up and grabbing a bin from somewhere behind her desk. She handed it to me. I looked down into the bin at the pile of old glasses and goggles. I stood there for a second confused on what to do.

"Well," She said, after a moment. "Do you want to go blind, or not?" My eyes widened and I quickly picked out the first pair of goggles I could find. I then handed the box to Alya.

The goggles I had picked were made of a dark red copper material, welded together by black metal. The round circular lenses of the goggles had a thin layer of tinted glass over them, that seemed to almost be pieced together by tiny dots.

I lifted the goggles up to my head and noticed small initials sewn into the elastic band. B.D.C Who's B.D.C. I asked myself as I pulled the glasses over my head.

"Nice goggles girl." Alya commented putting hers on. "That style suits you." I smile at her compliment.

"Thanks. I'd say the same for you If I wasn't sure you'd smack me for doing so." I say, earning a smack on the arm. We laugh and turn back to our teacher.

"Now does anyone not have goggles?" She asked the class. When no one answered she handed the bin back to the odd looking woman, who immediately slid it behind the desk.

"I am Ms. Mendeleiev your tour guide for today." Ms. Mendeleiev began in a monotone voice. "Before the tour begins, I'd like to remind everyone that any harm or injury that is inflicted on you during the tour is your own fault, and that sueing this establishment will result in a temporary ban from the mines, and lack of heating for a weak."

Everyone was dead silent for a moment before our tour guide started walking down a hallway to the right of her desk. Everyone seemed to follow suit as conversations sprouted.

"No heating for a week? Temperary ban from the mines? Who made these rules?" I whispered to Alya, who was furiously scribbling on her notepad.

"No clue girl. Maybe it was the engine master that created the rules." Alya whispered back to me. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why would he do that?" I asked, not convinced. Alya thought for a second before she grinned.

"Nobody knows." She said, her voice wavering in a ghost like tone. "It was the last thing he decreed before he mysteriously disappeared!" We burst out laughing earning an odd look from Juleka. I waited for a second for a comment from Rose but was confused when none came.

"Hey Juleka, where's Rose?" I asked her. She looked around for a second before answering.

"I saw her with Lila." Juleka replied, her voice more hushed than usual. "She's probably just caught up in a deep conversation." I felt that Juleka wanted to leave it at that but I knew there was always more to a situation when Lila was involved.

"Did something happen to Rose recently?" I asked Juleka. Alya gave me a wierd look but I ignored it. Juleka nodded confirming my suspicion.

"I'm just going to check on them and make sure everything is alright." I said turning to go back.

"Now hold up girl, I know you might be concerned but that doesn't mean-" Alya was cut off as her notepad was ripped from her hands.

"No notepads or paper material aloud of any kind inside the engine room." Ms. Mendeleiev said confisticating Alya's property.

"Hey, I need that for my project in English!" Alya yelled as she followed Ms. Mendeleiev through the crowd.

"And I need a new job." Ms. Mendeleiev muttered. Good, I thought as I moved to the side to let Ivan pass. Both Alya and the tour guide were distracted so I could go check on Rose unoticed.

I walked quickly back towards the desk, and found Ms. Mendeleiev had been replaced by an old man. He smiled at me as I passed and I smiled back. I continued into the next hallway and out the exit. I looked around in search for Rose and heard voices around the back of the building.

I followed the sound until I turned a corner and found Rose crying, Lila crouched beside her, reaching slowly and undetected into her bag. Lila's hand slipped into the opening and pulled out a pink flower jewel. Her hand was halfway back to her pocket when I called out.

"Lila!"

APV
I opened my bedroom door and walked slowly through the empty halls, my footsteps echoing. I sighed remembering a time my mother would chase me through the halls in a game of tag. Only this time it ended in a fit of coughing, not laughter.

I reached the end of the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs. A portrait of me and my father hung above it. It used to be a picture of all of us. Father, Mother, and me. He had it taken down and replaced after her death. I guess he just couldn't stand being reminded of when she was here.

"Your breakfast is on the table." Nathalie said, pulling me back to present day. I nodded and continued down the stairs.

"Will my father be joining me for breakfast today?" I asked following her into the dining room. When no answer came I sighed.

"He is busy again today isn't he." I said sitting down at the table. She says nothing as she pours me a drink, before handing me my schedule for the day.

"Your father requested you exercise this morning." She said after a moment. I looked up from the meal, a spoonful of egg halfway to my mouth.

"I would recommend you go on a run or jog to meet his expectations." She said before walking away with the food cart. I blink before smiling. Nathalie just gave me the perfect excuse to go outside, unsupervised.

Story Extra

"I heard you were looking for a new job. " Ms. Bustier said to the purple haired woman. Mrs. Mendeleiev nodded.

"Anything to get me out of here." She said as she was shoved aside by one of the students. "No running in the halls!"

"You seem to be good with children." Ms. Bustier commented as Ms. Mendeleiev removed Nathaniel's sketchbook from his hands, and added it to the growing pile of confisticated items.

"How would you feel if I offered you a job as a school teacher?" Ms. Bustier asked curiously. Ms. Mendeleiev smiled with evilness, after a moment.

"I'd be thrilled." She said while absentmindedly handing all of the items she collected to a passing student.

"I've always wanted to try something I invented called homework." She said. Ms. Bustier gave her an odd look.

"What's homework?" She asked. Ms. Mendeleiev grinned and wrapped an arm around Ms. Bustier pulling her close.

"It all starts with the work you never got to..."