Helena couldn't help but wring her hands, keeping her eyes on the floor of the classroom. This was it, her first day of school in France, first day of school ever. Helena had already graduated school back in Michigan, the United Stated, her grandmother had home-schooled her while her mother was busy traveling the world for her career. She had received her Diploma when she was fourteen and even started working on some online college classes. Thanks to all the homeschooling she never had a chance to make any friends, her only friends were four people she knew through family friends who live across the continent.
"Class I'd like to introduce a new student-" Ms. Bustier was interrupted by a young woman barging through the doors, the class giggled and shared a collection of eye rolls as the girl moved to her desk in the second row. "Nice of you to join us Ms. Dupain Cheng, you were actually almost on time today. Anyway class as I was saying, our new student here is Ms. Helena Ann Marie Harper. Please Ms. Harper if you would tell us a little about yourself" Ms. Bustier stepped aside and Helena took a shaky deep breath and stepped forward.
"Bonjour everyone, please forgive my French, I know it isn't the best" She gave them all a small smile shrinking back into herself a little. "I am from the United States, I lived in a state called Michigan it's shaped like a mitten" She held up her right hand for emphasis. "I've actually been homeschooled my whole life, so this is my first day of school ever!" A glaring smile erupted across her lips finally allowing her excitement and happiness to overcome her anxiety. "I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here with you all, Thank you for accepting me in your class." Most of the class mates sent warm greetings to her, except for a select few who only scoffed unimpressed with her introduction.
"Now where can you sit…" Ms. Bustier thought aloud.
"Oh mademoiselle if I may" Helena said quickly whispering something into the teachers ear.
"Oh! Of course!" Ms. Bustier said suddenly. "Adrien do you speak much English?" The boy fidgeted with his pencil suddenly being put on the spot.
"Well not fluently, but I do know a bit" he admitted shyly, looking to the new student who turning a cherry shade of red and refusing to make eye contact.
"Wonderful! Ms. Harper, for today we'll get you a seat and you can sit beside Mr. Agreste, we'll keep the seating a work in progress for now. Now class!" Ms. Bustier began her lesson as Helena brought a chair next to the blonde haired boy.
"bonjour" She whispered keeping her eyes on the teacher. "I'm sorry for intruding on your space, I didn't mean to cause any trouble" Her head sagged low the feelings of embarrassment coming off her in waves.
"Hey it's no problem! I can help you with French and maybe you can help me with my English?" He suggested, the kindness in his voice had Helena lifting her eyes to meet his, the smile on his face left her beaming in return.
Much to Helena's relief lunch came quickly. The excitement of the day was burning off fast, and the anxiety was beginning to take over again. She wasn't sure she'd be able to keep a lunch down so she went outside and sat on the lawn against a tree. She took a deep breath and could feel the anxiety sinking away, this was her comfy place she felt so at one with nature that relaxing came naturally.
"Hey Helena! Do you want to join us for lunch?" She nearly jumped out of her skin as the blonde boy next her spoke. She put her hand to her chest breathing hard, she was usually more aware then that, she would have to be less careless from now on. "Oh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you, are you alright?"
"oh? Yes sorry! it's just been a stressful day so far, I guess I'm a bit on edge" A nervous laugh escaped her lips as she looked up at him. "you mentioned lunch?"
"Yeah! With my friends Marinette, Nino and Alya. Marinette's family owns a bakery so we were going to head over there for some sandwiches and pastries. You're welcome to join us" His kindness brought a soft pink tint to her cheeks.
"That sounds lovely, thank you" As she went to get up he offered her his hand. A surprise expression reached her eyes as she took it allowing him to help her. "Thank you"
Marinette's POV
Marinette felt her heart sinking as she saw Adrien offer his hand to the new girl, a dull ache echoed through her chest. This girl was beautiful, long chestnut hair, half up held by a satin black ribbon, a long black tulle skirt lightly fluffed out reaching her shins, a lavender top decorated with slightly darker purple roses, what startled Marinette most about her appearance were the black velvet sneakers laced up with the same kind of satin ribbon that held her hair in place. This girls whole ensemble screamed CHLOE! Marinette decided right then that she wasn't interested in this new girl, her and her friends were better off just the four of them.
"Hey guys you remember Helena from class right?" Adrien introduced but Marinette just rolled her eyes and turned away.
"We should start walking if we want to be able to sit and enjoy our lunch" Marinette said as she started walking away. Marinette couldn't help but notice the side eye she was getting from Alya, but the girl always had her back.
"Marinette is right, we can get to know each other on the way, don't worry it's not too far" Alya said smiling at Helena while turning to follow Marinette.
No POV
Helena skipped to catch up to Marinette and Alya leaving the boys behind exchanging a worried look. Helena tried to strike up a conversation with Marinette, but she started speaking to Alya instead.
"Oh Mari-" "Alya how is the Ladyblog coming along?" Marinette didn't even give Helena a ghost of a glance as they all pressed forward together.
"Oh it's going great! That interview I managed with Ladybug got a ton of hits! AND I was able to sell it to the local station, I made enough to finally get that new camera I've been eyeing!" Helena couldn't help but smile at Alya's enthusiasm, whatever this Ladyblog is her love showed.
"What's the Ladyblog?" Helena asked her curiosity getting the best of her.
"It's a website I run, it follows the adventures of Lady Bug and Chat Noir" Helena blanked out again at the explanation.
"Who are Lady Bug and Chat Noir?" She asked innocently, but the reaction from the four around her made her small question feel like a big problem.
"What!" "You don't know Ladybug?" "They're the best!" The chorus rang.
"oh" The anxiety was creeping back into her she could feel the pressure building up around her chest as she rolled her shoulders forward and put her head down.
"Guys she's not from around here, she's not even from this continent!" Adrien spoke up. "Don't worry you'll learn all about them from that one" He said motioning towards Alya. Finally it was someone elses turn to blush as Alya turned a light shade of red.
"Lady Bug and Chat Noir are local superheroes. This guy named Hawkmoth goes around and turns peoples negative emotions into superpowers making them villains, and they terrorize the city! If it weren't for Lady Bug and Chat Noir Paris would probably be in ruins" Alya explained.
"Oh wow, I didn't realize the city was so dangerous" Helena said, "mother won't like that at all" she whispered to herself.
"We're here!" Nino shouted happily. "Finally give me some of that sweet sugar!" Helena looked up and her smile reappeared ten times stronger than before.
"This is your parents bakery?" She asked Marinette. "I've been coming here every morning for the past five days, these are some of the best treats I've ever had!" Marinette suddenly felt a pang of guilt for being so rude to Helena, she seemed like a genuinely nice person and so far, nothing like Chloe.
They entered the bakery and bell overhead dinged signaling there were customers. "Maman, papa I'm home for lunch!" She shouted over the counter.
"The groups here too Mrs. Dupain Cheng" Alya shouted over Marinette's shoulder.
"Oh hi kids! Welcome, find yourselves a nice table and I'll grab you all some water" Sabine said peeking around the corner. They made themselves comfortable at a nice table, Helena went out of her way to get a seat in the sunshine, letting the heat on her back help her relax again. It was but a minute before Sabine appeared with a tray of waters.
"Here you are kids" She said as she placed the water on the table. When she got around to Helena she seemed a little startled, "oh there's another one of you today! Hi sweetie what's your name? Would you like a water?" Marinette interrupted before Helena could respond.
"Mama this is a new girl in class Helena, she is from the United States" Marinette shared trying to show her kinder side.
"Oh wow you're a long ways away from home, I hope you can enjoy Paris and find a home here too" Sabine said putting a motherly hand on her shoulder, it provided Helena with a warm comfort she wasn't used too.
"Merci, traveling is a passion of mine so it is exciting to be here. I do miss my home back in America though, but I believe that home is where you make it and anywhere you can feel comfortable and find love is a home" Helena spoke with such determination that Sabine couldn't help but feel her heart melt for the girl. She was looking for someone to love her and someone she could love in return. Sabine made a silent wish that she would find everything she needed to be happy here. "oh water would be lovely if you please" Helena added kindness shining through again.
"So you've never been to a school before today?" Alya asked taking a sip through her straw, Helena responded by nodding in agreement, her shy-ness taking over again. "That sounds just like Adrien here, last year was his first year he had been home schooled as well." Marinette glared at Alya, just because she was trying to be nice to this new girl didn't mean Alya could set them up! "What brought you to Paris anyway?" Alya added giving Marinette a look that said she was sorry.
"Well it's kind of complicated, but it was mostly my mothers job. I had been living with my grandmother since I was small. My mom would fly my grandma and I out to wherever she was at the time, it was usually only a week or so at a time and my mom usually couldn't get time off work to see us much, but every journey was incredible!" Helena tried keeping a positive tone and a smile, but Adrien noticed that she didn't have that sparkle of joy she'd had before. "I've actually already graduated from school in America, I finished when I was fourteen. I was taking some college courses online when my mom decided I could be furthering my education by moving to Paris with her and going back to school." Helena didn't care for the attention that was on her, thankfully Sabine returned with her water and a tray full of sandwiches. The new distraction of food was welcomed by everyone as they dug in, light chatter flew among the friends though Helena elected to observe more than participate. She couldn't help but notice how Marinette would blush when Adrien gave her his attention, she made a mental note to ask about that later.
"So Helena, what kind of things are you into? Any Hobbies?" Adrien asked it came across as small talk, but he did seem genuinely interested.
"My h-hobbies?" She stuttered out. "Well I love anything that lets me be creative" Her passion sparked and the gray of her eyes seemed to deepen into a blue. "I love to cook! And almost any kind of art, but my real passion is music"
"No way, really? Mine too?" Nino said his attention captured. Now it was Alya's turn to feel threatened. "What is your instrument?"
"Oh I am trained in Piano, violin, voice, cello, saxophone and guitar." She explained on, "my mother only approved of Violin and piano but after I fell in love I begged my grandmother to let me keep learning, but my favorite thing is composing different pieces. I used to have a spectacular garden and I would always play for my plants" The strange look she got let her to believe that maybe she shouldn't have shared that part.
"What about your friends?" Alya asked after a long silence.
"Kids if you don't get going you're going to be late" Sabine said coming over. "It was good to meet you dear, you are welcome here anytime." Sabine put a loving hand on Helena's shoulder.
"Thank you ma'am" Helena said smiling up at her. The kindness in Sabine's eyes reminded her of her grandmother.
Everyone rose from their chairs and head back out the door back to school, much to Helena's relief the previous question didn't come up again. She didn't want to tell them about her life back at home, she didn't want to have to explain how controlling her mother was over her. It was a fact though, back in Michigan Helena hadn't been allowed to leave her grandmothers home without a guard, and even with a guard she was only permitted to leave when they traveled. She had begged her mother on one of her visits to let her have some freedom, just to visit the local park but her mother was adamant that if Helena left the property trouble would befall her. She only imagined what her mother would do if she knew she had left the school property during lunch. Helena only smiled to herself, it was her secret, her own tiny piece of freedom.
Helena excused herself from the group to get the books she needed for her next class from her locker.
"Look what we have here Sabrina, another want to be" Helena turned and recognized a couple girls from her class. Chloe held her usual look of disgust and she looked the girl up and down.
"Um, hello. Is there something I can do for you?" It was moments like this Helena felt even smaller than she was already. Chloe towered over her small five foot statue getting in Helena's face.
"Adrien is mine, so keep your distance." It sounded more like a threat than a suggestion. "He doesn't associate with trash anyway, he's just to polite to tell you to your face." With that Chloe turned and walked away, Sabrina giving Helena one last disapproving look over before following behind her leader.
Helena tried to push the encounter to the back of her mind and she returned to class, taking her seat beside Adrien yet again catching Chloe's eye and if looks could kill she would be dead in her chair. She put her focus oh the teacher as class started, but she couldn't help but feel shaken at Chloe's open threat.