Yo, who made a prequel to Taking Bets? (this girl!)

Yeah, I'm avoiding writing Whiskers on Kittens, shush now...

Alix chewed on the end of her pen, chin in hand as she stared at the board. One letter in Miss Bustier's usually immaculate handwriting was out of line, drawing the focus of the girl.

She glanced to the side, noting that Mylene would look up from her work, frown at the offending letter and back down again, several times a minute. Rose mumbled something under her breath to Juleka, a slight breath in the otherwise quiet classroom. Max's hand was raised, probably to try and point it out to the teacher.

She rolled her eyes. So this was the most interesting thing to happen in months? A letter on the board being slightly out of line with the word?

Strangely enough, Alix found herself wishing for an Akuma attack.

There'd been plenty in recent times, of course, but no peep of the students at Francoise Dupont being the latest victim. It made everything boring.

A balled-up piece of paper hit Alix square in the back of the head, and she glared backwards at whom she knew exactly to be the cause. Kim shrugged innocently back, then motioned for her to read the note. With nothing better to do, Alix picked up the paper, folding it out.

I dare you to go and fix the word on the board

She frowned scribbling out a response of I won the race, no more dares for the rest of the year, remember? P before tossing it back at him, managing to land a hit on Kim's nose. She stifled a laugh, turning back around in her seat, only to catch sight of the misplaced letter again and lean forward to hit her forehead on the desk with a groan.

The paper landed next to her, now folded into a crude paper plane, unable to fly much at all due to the prior crushing. Tactfully hiding it behind Sabrina from the teacher, she opened it. I know that it's anoying you.

Alix snorted, deciding to correct Kim's typo by adding another 'n' and throwing it back, this time getting his ear.

His reply came through moments later, landing in her cap as it sat upside-down on her desk.That's not a response

is too

Max is going to lose circulation in his arm if he doesn't put it down soon

not my problem

but Alix

but kim

that's getting us nowhere, why can't you just go up there and redraw the stupid letter?

because your not allowed to make dares anymore

The note returned with a corrected 'you're' and That race didn't even count because you turned into an akuma.

stuff you, that totally counts.

fine, I'm ordering you to go up there and fix the typo.

it's not even a typo. the letter's just out of line

But it's annoying everyone

so why don't YOU chang

'Alix, Kim, do you have something you'd like to share with the class?' Miss Bustier called from her seat, looking up at the two students.

'No, Miss.' Alix replied guiltily, tucking the paper into her pocket and out of sight, still midway through the sentence she was writing.

'Then stop throwing that paper around. I don't appreciate notes being passed during class time.'

'Sorry, Miss.' Kim said. With a nod, the teacher looked back down to her work again.

Max made an offended noise, checking his watch to see how long his hand had been up for.

'It's been eleven minutes and forty-three seconds.' He muttered. 'Forty-five. Forty-six.'

No less than five people rolled their eyes, Alix slamming her head into the desk again. Discretely, she pulled out the note again, finished the last couple of words and sliding it behind Mylene's head to Kim. so why don't you change it?

Because that would mean admitting defeat, Al

yeah, but I'm not gonna do it.

What are you, chicken?

Alix sucked in a breath, narrowing her eyes as she glared at the boy. He grinned in response, pulling out a whiteboard marker and waving it close to her face. Of course Kim knew she couldn't turn down a challenge- especially if she was going to be called chicken.

Reaching out and snatching the marker, Alix let her eyes scan the classroom for the best path to do this. Mylene gave her a look, which she pointedly ignored, noting the fact that neither Adrien nor Marinette were there.

That had happened a lot, lately. The girl pursed her lips in thought, focusing on the two empty seats at the front of the classroom. Why were those two always missing at the same time?

'Is something the matter, Alix?' The teacher called out to her again. She started, knee banging on the underside of her desk.

'N-no, no...' Alix stammered, wincing in pain as she massaged her knee. Miss Bustier seemed suspicious, but didn't follow up on it.

Max waved his hand frantically, but Miss Bustier went back to her papers. Alix could've sworn she heard Nathanael chuckle quietly, but when she turned in her seat, the boy was stoic, hunched over his drawings. 'Thirteen minutes and twelve seconds.' Max moaned.

Kim grinned at Alix, as if goading her on. She squared her jaw, turning back around to the front.

'Sorry, kids, I've got to go and pick up something from my office, are you okay while I'm gone?' Miss Bustier didn't wait for an answer, walking out the door. Perfect timing.

Max nearly sobbed once the teacher was out the door, finally putting his hand down in defeat. Alix laughed, turning around again to watch the boy massage his numb hand.

'So, Al?' Kim taunted, leaning over the desk to reach the tiny girl. 'Are you gonna do it?'

'This is so stupid.' she proclaimed in response, jumping onto her table and into the aisle in the middle of the class.

'H-hey!' Mylene stuttered as Alix stepped on her worksheet.

'Sorry!'

The door swung open and she panicked for a second, sliding into Marinette's empty seat. For good measure, she gave a wink to Alya, who tried to bite back a smile. She glanced up to the doorway, finally catching sight of who had come in.

'Adrien, dude!' Nino's face lit up as his best friend came in, face tinged red from running.

'Sorry I'm late.' he panted, swinging his bag from his shoulder. He waved to Alya, eyes sliding over Alix before doing a double-take. 'Where's Marinette?' he asked.

'Later than you, as usual.' the pink-haired girl replied, resting her chin in her hands. 'and I decided to switch it up a little.'

Adrien raised an eyebrow, sitting next to Nino and pulling his books out. That was the moment Marinette came barreling through the doorway, face flushed.

'Uwuagh!' She yelped, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground. Light laughter filled the room.

Alix, on the other hand, frowned, thoughts grinding as she looked between the two late students. Both were usually gone at the same time, usually around the time of an Akuma attack. They'd never been seen at the same time as Ladybug and Chat Noir. They were always out of breath, like they'd run across the city to reach class.

They couldn't be, could they?

They totally were.

'Al, you 'kay over there?' Kim called.

'Huh, wha?'

'You spaced out a little.' Alya explained, tapping Alix's shoulder.

'Oh, um, just thinking.' She stood up from Marinette's seat, letting the pigtailed girl sit down in her spot. She pulled the whiteboard marker again, sprinting to the front of the classroom to make her move.

...

damn her height.

'Kim, you ass, I'm too short!'

'Alix Kubdel! What are you doing?!' Miss Bustier scolded, marching back in, now carrying a pile of paper. She set it down on her desk in a huff as Alix saw the opportunity to draw an ugly caricature of Kim. 'Hallway, now!'

'Yes, Miss.' Alix said, struggling to keep a straight face. She walked past Adrien, humming. 'I know what your secret is~'

Adrien's mouth fell open in shock. 'Y-you do?'

'Oh, come on! You're totally skipping class to make out with Marinette!'

Said girl make an unintelligible noise, choking on her own spit. Adrien's still-red cheeks darkened a hue. 'What makes you so sure about that?' he said, choosing his words carefully.

'Alix, that's it, go to the Principal's Office!'

Shooting a wink at the boy, Alix turned back to the door. She paused, spinning on her heel again, before chucking the whiteboard marker as hard as she could at Kim.

'Alix!'

'Sorry, miss!' She dashed out of the class, barely containing a grin.

Ooh, she was going to catch them in the act of it one day. Adrien and Marinette were most certainly secretly dating.

She was so sure of it, in fact, that she'd bet on it.

A bet Kim would lose.