"You're looking rather... Chipper today, Mari," Alya commented dryly on arrival outside of Marinette's locker, smirking slightly to gauge a reaction from her best friend.
"Yes, well, I've never felt chippier!" Marinette smiled wider which caused Alya to smile less.
"'Chippier', huh? Interesting choice of vocabulary. So, 'fess up. What's got you so 'chippier'?" Alya approached playfully.
"Oh, nothing really, just happy to have such good friends! Like you, and Nino- Hi, Nino!" Her ponytails bounced in a zealous manner as she stood on her tiptoes to wave energetically to Nino upon his arrival.
"Hey, Marinette, Alya," he smiled and adjusted his cap while Alya side-eyed Marinette. "You're looking bubbly this morning, Marinette. Anything good happen?"
"'Chippier'," Alya corrected to which Nino quirked an eyebrow. "She's just full of life due to her epiphany that she has amazing friends," she gestured to herself. "But I also think she's full of late nights and too much caffeine."
"Oh, right, well, I can kinda see that," Nino mused while Marinette continued her dance and tried to peer over Nino's head.
"Hey, so has anyone seen Juleka? She's got 'jet black hair' and 'eyes as blue as the heavens'. Is she here yet?"
There was a simultaneous: "uh..." As Alya and Nino exchanged uncertain glances.
"Dude, I'm fairly certain she has brown eyes. Like copper. Not like the heavens," Nino said with a hint of nervous laughter, like Marinette was a coiled spring about to snap at any second.
"But have you seen her without her mask?" Marinette deadpanned suddenly, becoming eerily still and looking through Nino yet somehow looking at him. "Her hair is always in her eyes, has anyone actually seen her real eyes? It's like a mask... A 'mysterious mask'..."
Nino made an audible gulping noise and began to back away. "Um, I'd better get going to meet my boy, Adrien. Enjoy yourself, Alya. And, Marinette? Maybe get earlier nights..." And then he fled.
Alya watched him make his escape with puzzled eyes. "What was all that about?" She turned to Marinette. "Juleka? You'll see her in class." She put an arm around Marinette's shoulders and it seemed to snap her out of her trance as she blinked slowly before her shoulders heaved.
"I just creeped out Nino, didn't I?" Alya chose not to answer and instead rubbed between Marinette's shoulder blades. "He won't tell Adrien, will he?"
Alya shook her head. "I doubt it. It's not that big a deal. Now why don't we go and find Juleka. Did you want to talk to her?" She knew at once that it was the wrong thing to suggest if the slowly creeping smile on Marinette's face was anything to go by.
"Ah, yes. I have many a thing to tell her, you know!" Marinette sang and began performing her tippy-toe dance once again. Alya wanted to look upon her fondly but could only do so in perplexity; Marinette must not have slept in a week and replaced sleep with a tonne of coffee.
Unfortunately, Marinette's quest was cut short by the ringing of the bell. The harsh noise only seemed to make her more resilient and she continued her stride to the classroom, where once she had made it inside, rushed over to Juleka's bench and waited.
Alya simply shook her head at Nino once he entered and saw the sight of Marinette continuing her tippy-toe dance right next to Juleka's empty bench, seemingly performing for an invisible audience.
"Why does she wanna talk to Juleka so bad?" Nino asked, turning to Alya after he slid onto the bench in front of her. His eyebrows were hunched together and continued to tighten as Juleka walked through the classroom door alongside with Rose.
"She has 'many a thing to tell her' apparently," Alya responded, her voice laced with sarcasm and defeat as she watched Marinette's eyes widen spectacularly as Juleka approached her.
Juleka had approached Marinette rather warily and was met with a painfully tight smile. "Good morning Juleka, Rose," Marinette greeted chirpily. Too chirpily.
Juleka only found herself becoming more confused as Marinette peered closely at her eye, and she picked at her bangs nervously. "Morning, Marinette. Are you okay?"
"You seem so happy!" Rose emerged from behind Juleka and let go of an easy radiant smile. "Did something nice happen?"
Marinette's smile almost seemed stuck onto her face like it had been painted on in comparison to Rose's graceful grin. "Not really. But yes!" She turned to Juleka so abruptly it caused the girl to flinch slightly. "So, Juleka. I know about your secret admirer!" Her voice dropped to a playful whisper. Well, it would have been playful if it hadn't sounded so hysterical.
"S-secret admirer?" Juleka stuttered, bashful and puzzled. "I don't have one of those... Have you got the right person?"
"I do!" Marinette imposed indignantly. "Unless, you don't have 'jet black hair' or a 'mysterious mask'." She laughed slightly but her laughter sounded delirious.
"Are you allowed to wear masks to school?" Rose asked thoughtfully, appearing as if not to be disturbed by the way Marinette was rocking dangerously from side to side.
"Not a mask-mask. But a facade, a persona! He wants to get to know the real you, Juleka!"
Rose's eyes dulled quickly upon the news but she covered up her deflated spirit by letting out a shriek and clapped her hands. "Oh, that's simply wonderful, Marinette! Who is he? Did he tell you? Oh, Juleka, you're so lucky!"
"I... Am?" Juleka spoke uncertainly, thoroughly confused as to what was going on.
"Yes!" Marinette replied enthusiastically, although her reply was too short to appear supportive. It almost seemed like an order. "He practically told me himself, it was so obvious I can't believe I didn't see it sooner! You two would be so... So... Amazing together." Her zealous nature had been rained upon and now she had deflated significantly.
Her mood change was drastic and left Juleka and Rose to exchange nervous glances.
"Everyone get back to your seats. The school day has begun," their teacher shot Marinette a pointed stare.
"Talk to you later," Marinette murmured limply and staggered down to sit next to Alya (ignoring the sudden strain in her purse), who raised her eyebrow.
"Girl, what was that about? Juleka has a secret admirer? Why didn't you tell me?" Alya's voice was a hushed whisper.
"If I had told anyone else then everyone would know! He would totally not make a move if everyone knew, after all, look at him and Chloé!" Marinette hissed back, avoiding eye contact and concentrating on getting out her books.
Alya's eyebrows furrowed as she processed what her distracted friend had said. "Chloé? You don't mean... Adrien?" She mouthed, in fear that Nino might overhear, and Marinette looked resigned as she nodded.
"But how do you know? Did you ask him?" Alya asked doubtfully and was met a shake of a head.
"No. But he wrote this... This poem. And it described the girl he likes, so I convinced myself that it was me and sent him a poem in reply- only now I don't know if I've signed it, and now he's going to think that Juleka replied meaning that she likes him back! Oh, I've made a mess of things, Alya!" Marinette looked so disheveled and droopy that Alya couldn't even boggle at the complexity of the situation.
Alya bit her lip and patted her friend's arm sympathetically. "We'll sort things out- just don't think about him too much," was all she could say before the classroom door opened to reveal the person in debate.
"Adrien, you're late," Miss Bustier pointed out and gestured that he should sit down.
"Sorry, miss," he responded as he made his way to sit next to Nino, who smirked at him. "It won't happen again."
Miss Bustier cocked her head slightly as if debunking his statement and he grinned knowingly. "Well, you and Marinette seem to have habits of being late, and interrupting the class," she looked pointedly at said girl, who looked caught out. "If I catch you talking to Alya while I'm teaching, I'll have to move you."
"Sorry, miss," Marinette muttered foolishly while several people laughed. Chloé looked up at her triumphantly.
"Anyway, I was about to announce partners for the Literature project on William Shakespeare's play: Othello. You should all have your copy of the play with you. Now, when I read your name out, go and sit next to the person I have paired you with."
"Hopefully you get paired with lover boy," Alya muttered below her breath in a teasing manner. "Then you can sort this mess out."
Marinette's stomach lurched violently at the thought of having to explain to Adrien, the person of her uncontrollable affections, that she had been digging around in the rubbish for a poem she had watched him write.
She smiled weakly in response, one of the first real smiles Alya had seen all morning. "I doubt I'll be able too; your expectations of me are too high."
Alya chuckled and rolled her eyes fondly. Miss Bustier looked up from her list to Alya and spoke clearly: "Alya and Max. Max, move next to Alya. Marinette sit next to Kim, who is also your partner."
Marinette waved briefly goodbye to Alya and distractedly walked on over to sit next to Kim. "Hey, Marinette," he greeted with a nod of his head, she nodded back and mustered a small smile.
"Nino and Sabrina. No, Chloé, Sabrina can't help you this time. Chloé and Nathaniel..." Marinette's conflicting thoughts distracted her from her teacher's voice and instead of listening she began to stare at her open book and thought of Adrien and Juleka. Adrien and Juleka holding hands.
"And... Adrien and Juleka. Adrien, please move next to Juleka."
Marinette stiffened, and whirled around to see Juleka sitting behind her, there was an empty space where Rose should have been. A vacancy that was going to be filled with Adrien. Adrien and Juleka.
A painfully bright smile etched its way onto Marinette's face and Juleka looked slightly surprised before looking away as if she hadn't seen.
Alya looked up from her phone below the bench after hearing the last pair of names. She saw how Marinette had turned to face the front with an unbearably flashy beam painted onto her face after Adrien had slotted in next to Juleka and flashed her an easy-going smile.
"Oh no," Alya dragged out, and Max looked at her and traced her line of sight before adjusting his glasses in confusion as to figure out what-the-heck-was-that on Marinette's face. "This is not going to be good." And she was right.
