I Marinette

3 - Yesterday

I barely supressed a sigh of relief when I heard a school bell ringing for the next lesson. I wanted to hide from Alya's eyes watching me carefully. I felt uncomfortable not knowing even my schedule but I followed my friend and I promised myself that no matter what I was going to be quiet. No more mistakes like those from the physics class. I still wasn't sure if – in case of being questioned – it was better to answer correctly or the contrary...

Just in case I focused on making notes and being invisible. And somehow the lesson passed quickly with no more troubles for Marinette. When I heard a school bell ringing I realised that breaks spent with friends were more stressful for me than lessons!

Alya and I sat down in a corner of the school courtyard and I opened the bag with pastries from Tom. I thought that eating would help me in keeping my friend away from investigation why I'd become a physics genius.

"Your dad makes the best croissants in Paris..." Alya mumbled while eating one of Dupain-Cheng's delicacies.

"The best in the world!" I corrected her. "I've never eaten better!"

"But... you've eaten your dad's croissants for your whole life!" my friend was confused.

Damn... She was right...

"Because they're the best..." I shrugged.

"You know..." Alya began in a different tone and I stiffened. "I wanted to talk to you. About yesterday..."

What was she talking about?! What 'yesterday'? What had happened yesterday?! I felt a cold sweat on my back. Here it was – I'd be exposed in a moment.

"I don't follow..."

"Nino and I were worried how it would be like today. You know... After what happened..."

I was going to have a heart attack! What the hell was she talking about?! My brain worked in a lightspeed trying to process the reality and to find a safe question that would help me to understand what was going on.

"What were you worried about?" I asked finally.

"Oh, that you'd hide from Adrien. You know... After the ice cream with Kagami..."

Oh, ice cream with Kagami! What a relief! I thought something much worse had happened – that Marinette did something really stupid like kissing a wax sculpture of Adrien...

"Why should I hide from him?" I asked surprised.

"Well..." Alya glanced at me confused, and that made me realise how much not-Marinette-like my behaviour was. I should have sobbed or babbled about being perfectly fine with that. Definitely not such a rationale statement!

"It's just ice cream..." I muttered.

"Oh, Marinette..." My friend sighed compassionately. "Denial, of course... I don't want to hurt you but I must tell you that you should move on. Adrien invited Kagami at André's sweetheart ice cream. You must know what it means. Adrien couldn't show more clearly that he thinks about Kagami seriously."

'Just because Ladybug is an idiot...' crossed my mind, but I said nothing.

I was wondering what sweetheart ice cream Alya was talking about. Were they those at the end of the Third Season? Oh, God... That meant that Marinette would be shipped with Luka. Oh, sweet mother! Luka! The last thing I needed now was him somewhere around me! If his intuition was indeed so exceptional, he'd immediately know that there was a different Marinette in front of him...

I wrote down a new point on my Miraculous 'to-do-list': 'keep away from Luka!'

"I know it hurts..." Alya misinterpreted my silence. "But time heals all wounds."

'Will this break end soon?!' I wanted to yell. I had to look miserable because my friend began comforting me.

"What would you say if we go for something sweet during a lunch break?" she suggested in a cheerful tone. "Or we can go for a walk? You need to relax..."

"I've already promised to help my parents at the bakery." I used one of typical Marinette's excuses.

I needed some time alone. Firstly, I had to take a break from Alya's presence. Secondly, and much more importantly, I should start an investigation why I was here, in the Miraculous universe as soon as possible! I couldn't stay here forever!

"Just remember to come back at school on time. Especially, when we have a literature classes in the afternoon. I hope you remembered to read the book for today?"

The book?! What?! How could I read a book within an hour? In French! Please, let me go back to my life!!!

"Th-The b-book?" I stuttered.

"Marinette..." Alya sighed theatrically. "When will you learn..."

"It just slipped my mind..."

"Right... As always... Maybe try to find some information about 'The three musketeers' somewhere in the Internet? And pray for not being questioned by Miss Bustier..."

Did she say 'The three musketeers'? I couldn't believe I could be so lucky! Sure, I had read this book a long time ago, but I remembered main points of the plot. Mainly thanks to the movies...

"So you can see I have to go back home and read the book..." I summed up, trying to hide how happy I was I had an excuse.

"I'll write to Nino..." Alya ignored me and began typing on her smartphone. "If you're reading during lunch, I can go with him somewhere... At André's maybe... Don't wait for me then! Go for your art classes and see you later!"

What?! Art classes? God, please! I was hopeless when it comes to drawing or designing! I preferred painting with words... Give me a brush and you'll get a catastrophe... All hope in my unusual luck this day. I had to survive school and focus on coming back to my life.