"Pick up those feet ladies!" Tikki said, watching the girls as they practiced another one of her impossible point combos, "Alya! Straighten that leg! Good Chloe! Rose keep in time! Alright we will call it there for the day ladies".

"Does she always have to do the leg killer combo at the end of the day?" Marinette asked Alya,

"Just be glad she doesn't make us do them at the beginning of the day instead, then we would be dead" laughed Alya.

"Don't be such a child Marinette" Chloe sneered as she walked past on her way out of the classroom.

"Oh, before you go ladies, a quick reminder that the roles for our end of year performance will be announced tomorrow" Tikki called out to the retreating bodies.

"Oh I wonder which one we will be doing this year" Lila said, "Swan Lake? Or maybe the Nutcracker?"

"Nah we did those 2 years ago. Maybe it will be one of their original dances?" Marinette wondered.

"You will just have to find out tomorrow ladies, now off with you" Tikki chided.

"Yes madam." They chorused back.

As the girls walked to the changing room to get back into their street clothes they saw the boys leaving the other studio.

"Get out of here before I make you do another combo class kids!" a voice rang out as the boys sped out of the room.

"Plagg is going to kill me one day, I swear!" Adrien complained to Nino as they walked past Marinette and Ayla, "Hi ladies, good class? I hope Tikki was nicer than Plagg today"

"I heard that Agreste, should I show you just how mean I can be kid?" Plagg asked as he leaned against the doorway, "No thanks Plagg, I don't think I could take another impromptu boot camp, you actually made me consider quitting ballet last time" Adrien said, a shiver ran through his body remembering the brutal 10 hour boot camp Plagg had sprung on him last summer. "Yeah but just look how great your jumps are now, compared to where they were last year" Plagg grinned.

"Enough Plagg, leave the poor boy alone and seeing as you have the time to do nothing you can help me make the final decisions for the roles tomorrow" Tikki reprimanded as she walked out of her studio.

"Oh come on Tikki! I was just having some fun with them, giving them motivation and offering some help, if they wanted it" Plagg begged.

While their teachers were distracted, Adrien, Nino, Marinette and Alya took the opportunity to run for their lives before they got caught up in another heated argument between the two.

After getting changed Marinette said her goodbyes for the night as they all went their own way and started to walk towards her apartment in downtown Paris. She was very lucky that her parents had insisted on paying for the loft so that she was closer to the dance studio, smiling as she recalled the studio, Marinette stopped and turned around to look at the building. It was massive, with 10 studios, plus changing rooms to fit over 100 dancers, offices and kitchen, it was almost a mansion.

The Kwami Dance Troupe was the most famous dance company in Paris and perhaps even the country. Tikki and Plagg had done an amazing job raising the company from the ground, scouting some of the best dancers in the country and making a reputation for modernising some of the classic dances. Imagine watching Swan Lake and then in the middle of the Black Swan duet, Prince Siegfried starts dancing improv instead of dancing with his partner. What a sight it would be; especially since Adrien was playing Prince Siegfried that year and Chloe was playing the Black Swan.

Marinette smiled at that memory, then started thinking back to when she was asked to join the company. Tikki had seen her dancing in her local studio, where all types of dance were studied. Marinette wasn't even dancing ballet at the time, she was completing a hip hop/tap combo she had choreographed and hadn't noticed a strange woman leaning against the mirrors until after she had finished. Marinette did that a lot, she just lost herself to the music and would lose track of her surroundings and would find that people would be staring or had left the room without her ever realising.

Tikki had introduced herself as the co-owner and teacher of the Kwami Dance Troupe and asked Marinette if she danced ballet, once she had replied yes, Tikki smiled and then handed Marinette a large envelope which contained a contract for 5 years with the dance company. When Marinette had asked if she was serious, Tikki just replied that if Marinette worked hard over the next few years she might even be offered a principal role in the company as she had that kind of talent. Marinette had signed the paperwork that night and by the next week had started as part of the Kwami Dance Troupe.

To think that it had been 3 years since that day and she still thought it was a dream. Marinette had been working her butt off for the past few years in hope that maybe this year was the year that she would be offered a major role. The only thing stopping her was Chloe. Chloe had been principal dancer for as long as the company had been running alongside Adrien. They were almost the perfect pair when it came to ballet, the only thing it Marinette noticed was that Chloe seemed to be too clingy during the duets and that made Adrien uncomfortable.

Not that she paid that much attention to Adrien and how he felt, but as a fellow dancer she could appreciate how something like that could be awkward.

Crap, I need to get home and sleep if I am going to wake up in time tomorrow! Marinette thought as she started walking again, unaware that she was being watched.

"You really think she can pull it off this year?" Plagg looked at Tikki.

"I know she can", Tikki replied.

THE NEXT DAY

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, gather round and we can start reading out the roles for this year's performance!" Tikki yelled over the dancers chatting.

"This year we will be doing a first for this company, we will be dancing the Dance of the Ladybug" Plagg added before he had to put his hands over his ears from the shrieks that erupted in front of him. "SHUT UP!" he yelled over the din.

"Sorry Plagg." They all chorused with grins on their faces, the Dance of the Ladybug was one of the more unusual ballets, as there were many different versions but all with the same core dances and roles.

"Alright, I will now announce the roles for the main characters; Princess Fragrance will be performed by Rose, Dark Cupid will be Kim, Evilustrator will be Nathanael, Tortue de Fer will be danced by Nino, Volpina will be Alya, Queen Bee will be Chloe-"

"WHAT!?" Chloe screeched, "I think you are mistaken madam, I will be playing the role of Ladybug."

"No you will be Queen Bee this year Chloe" Tikki said straight faced,

"As if I will be playing some minor nobody. I am the principal dancer of this company and I will only play the lead." Chloe huffed.

"Well if that is how you feel Chloe then you can leave" Plagg growled, "We make the decisions in this company not you and if you don't like it then there is the door and don't bother coming back"

"Fine, I just can't wait to see how badly you crash and burn without me there to bring some class to the performance!" Chloe yelled as she grabbed her things and stalked out of the studio.

"Alright, well now that that is over. As Chloe has graciously given up her role, Lila you will play Queen Bee, Hawkmoth will be Felix, Chat Noir will be performed of course by Adrien and in her debut performance as principal dancer as Ladybug will be…..Marinette!" Tikki declared.

Huh? What?

"OMG girl! You did it! You're Ladybug!" Alya screamed in Marinette's ears,

"W-what? I'm Ladybug? B-but-", Marinette stuttered where did this stuttering come from?

"No buts girl you did it, now we definitely have to celebrate!" Alya cheered.

"Oh! We are going to be celebrating of course", Plagg said with an evil glint in his eye, "Surprise boot camp time!"

"Oh come on Plagg! Really?" Felix cried, "What did we do this time?"

"You can thank Adrien for this one, he got me in trouble with Tikki last night so payback is a b-"

"Plagg!" Tikki said

"Sorry Tikki, but boot camp is still on people so move your butts!" Plagg laughed "And one, and two, and three and four!"

Marinette didn't mind the gruelling boot camp since it took her mind off the fact that she had just been made principal.

Just you wait little bug, you will never make opening night.