Marinette Dupain-Cheng has never felt more nervous and excited in her life. She and her best friend, Alya Césaire, are about to dorm together during their final year at their boarding school. Little did Marinette realize that what she expected as a...
Alya poked her head into Marinette's room via their joined bathroom. "WHY is the alarm going off at this ungodly hour?" She growled.
Marinette poked her head out from under the covers. Alya was glaring at her with the intent to kill. Her hands gripped the door of the bathroom so tightly the wood might've splintered. If she weren't half-asleep, Marinette would've laughed.
Instead, she mumbled sleepily, "Sorry. Sorry. I wanted to wake up early so that there's no chance I would be late."
"You better not be," Alya grumbled. "After waking me up at," she checked the clock. "Five-thirty?! Class doesn't even start until eight." With that declaration, she slammed the door shut and Marinette could hear her climbing back into bed.
"Are you sure this will work, Marinette?" Tikki, Marinette's ladybug kwami, flew up from under the covers. "You'll never know when an akuma will strike."
"I absolutely refuse to believe that my luck would be so bad that an akuma will come on the very first day of school," Marinette threw the covers aside, shivering as the cold morning air rushed in to envelope her. "However, there is no harm in being prepared. I'll get ready, and whenever the akuma strikes, I can get to school right after and not be in my pyjamas."
Tikki nodded sleepily. "That is very wise, Marinette. It's always good to be prepared." Marinette smiled as she watched her kwami snuggle back under the covers. In no time, Tikki was snoring softly.
Opening the bathroom door ever so carefully as not to wake up Alya, Marinette got ready for the day. She brushed her hair into her signature pigtails, dabbed on just the slightest hint of makeup and stood back to admire her work. The hardest part of getting ready would be to choose her outfit. After nearly fifteen minutes of debating, she settled for a pair of jeans and a red, striped blouse.
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Once she made her bed, Marinette stole a glance at the clock. Six-fifteen. Okay, so not nearly as quick as she hoped to be, but there was no need to fret. There was still plenty of time before class, and it only took five minutes to walk from the apartments to campus.
I'll have breakfast first, Marinette decided. And then, I can work on some of my designs before class starts.
Marinette's most prized possession, besides her ladybug earrings, was a little notebook full of her outfit designs. She aspired to become a fashion designer. Hopefully, one just as successful as Gabriel Agreste, Adrien's father. But really, she just loved the smile on people's faces when they tried on her designs.
She was lucky enough to have impressed Gabriel Agreste himself, and he offered her an internship as a junior designer on one of his modelling sets. Marinette was only more than happy to accept. Happy didn't even begin to describe how she felt. It was more like ecstatic. What made things easier was that it was close to school, and Adrien modelled there, meaning every time there was a shoot, she only needed to catch a ride with him.
Marinette hummed to herself as she closed her bedroom door, but it seemed as if the surprises weren't done with her just yet. As she exited her room and strolled to the kitchen, she was surprised to find out that Adrien was already there, dressed and looking very sleepy.
Marinette smiled to herself a little seeing his slightly messed-up hair as if he hadn't bothered to brush it. It was quite cute. Marinette mentally slapped herself.
You have a boyfriend, she scolded.
Adrien turned, jumping a little when he saw her in the shadows, but a natural smile quickly slipped onto his face. "Hey, Marinette," he greeted. "Why're you up so early?"
"Oh, erm," Marinette shifted from foot to foot. "I just wanted to make sure that I'm not late today. You?"
"Same," he laughed. "But since it's so early, I thought that I would go for a run. You know, my father would kill me if I didn't look camera-ready at all times. Croissant?" He held one out to her.
She took it gratefully. "What was that about being camera-ready at all times?" She teased.
He pouted, which only made him more adorable, but Marinette kept that to herself. "I can indulge every once in a while," he protested playfully. "What's the point of living if you can't even have croissants?"
"True," Marinette grinned, and they bumped croissants as if toasting a glass of champagne.
The hours quickly ticked by, and before Marinette knew it, it was seven-thirty. Alya and Nino were already up and moving about in their rooms while Marinette and Adrien had been chatting for the past hour. Marinette dared to hope that she got lucky, that there wouldn't be an akuma attack on the first day of school. Oh, how foolish she was to dare to hope.
As she and Adrien chatted on the couch, Alya gasped from her spot at the dining table, a spoonful of cereal stopping halfway to her mouth. "A new akuma!" She exclaimed. Marinette shot up, her eyes wide. Seriously? An akuma appears ten minutes before class starts? The universe just loved screwing with her.
"Where?" Marinette demanded.
"Down by the bridge," Alya said. "Ah, dangit! I really wanted to go to document it, but classes start in ten minutes. Hey, Marinette, where are you going?"
Marinette was already out of earshot, having bolted down the hallway and into her room. Slamming the door behind her, Tikki flew up from her bag.
"I got up at five-thirty, and Hawkmoth akumatizes someone ten minutes before I have to get to class?" She hissed. The kwami gave her a helpless shrug, and Marinette shook her head in exasperation. "Well," she said. "I have no choice. Tikki, spots on!"
By the time Alya went to Marinette's room to get her, the superhero was long gone.
