Chapter 8: Sole Sisters

Ladybug met with Chat Noir on a rooftop early in the day, before school.

"Minou, I have to do a chore for my folks, so I can't stay. I had an idea if you'd like to try it."

"I'm always open to new purr-sibilities," said Chat.

"What if you Unify with the Fox Miraculous? You can make an illusion that both of us are on patrol together. That should discourage Shadow Moth from sending out another akuma, if he thinks I could just catch and purify it."

"Sure, I'll be a Kit Fox for you, M'Lady."

Ladybug handed him the Miraculous, then swung to a concealed place, detransformed, and went to get the crate of apples she was supposed to fetch home.

Zoé Lee rode in a taxi from the airport. Her father, Marcus Lee, worked on Wall Street. In spite of his recent financial troubles which had caused him to pull her out of boarding school and send her to live with her relatives in Paris, Zoé had a fair amount of money. She allowed herself to spluge and let the taxi driver take her on a tour all over Paris. It also put off for a little longer meeting her mother and her half-sister. She wasn't looking forward to that.

"You'll discover for yourself, Mademoiselle, that one can never see too much of Paris," said the driver. "Does the Eiffel Tower need an introduction? And to think that when it was first built, the Parisians thought it stuck out like a sore thumb."

They drove on to the next landmark.

"And over there are the Trocadéro gardens. Did you know that underneath there is an aquarium, the first in the world built in 1867."

And on to another famous place...

"The Louvre, the largest museum in the world. So huge that it would take a hundred days to see everything! Originally, the Louvre was a fortress built to protect our city. These days, it protects our art."

And so on...

"Speaking of protecting the city, there are our local miracles, Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Two superheroes were leaping around on a nearby rooftop. Americans frequently treated them as a joke. President Camilla Hombee (herself a superhero called Victory) had been known to call them "the superhero cleaning lady and her sidekick pet cat." (Their reputation had improved in NYC when they saved the city from other heroes who had lost their limitations and gone wild).

As they drove closer to the Grand Paris Hotel, Zoé started feeling more uneasy and looked for another excuse to delay.

As they passed a bakery, Zoé said, "Can we stop here? I've always dreamed of eating a real Parisian croissant."

"You couldn't have picked a better place this is the best bakery in Paris. My kids adore their croissants," said the driver.

Zoé went in and ordered a croissant.

"You're lucky, they're fresh out of the oven," said the woman behind the counter, handing her purchase in a paper bag. It felt warm and smelled wonderful.

As Zoé turned to leave, a girl who apparently worked there rushed in with a crate. "Here are all the apples, just in time for your batch of pies."

Apples dropped out of the crate and the girl tripped on one, knocking into Zoé. Both girls and many apples ended up on the floor.

"Is everyone all right?" asked the woman behind the counter.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" said the apple girl.

"It's totally okay, but maybe I should be asking if you're okay," said Zoé. "That was quite a fall!"

The apple girl chuckled. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, thanks. I'm pretty clumsy so I'm used to it. Come to think of it, I fall a lot. I fall on my face, fall asleep, fall out of bed, fall apart of the seams, fall in love..."

This made Zoé laugh.

"I really am sorry about all of this, how can I make it up to you?" said the girl.

"It's nothing, don't worry!" said Zoé, helping her pick up apples.

"It is! Mom, can you put together a dozen more croissants for..."

"Zoé."

"Hello, Zoé, I'm Miss Walking Disaster. Where's your accent from? It's really pretty!"

"I'm from New York."

"Wow, cool! And what are you doing in Paris?"

Zoé paused for a moment before she answered.

There was a story behind Zoé's fluency in French, and it all started with what she had heard from her father about her mother, Audrey Bourgeois, the fashion magazine editor. She was apparently quite eccentric, and she had had an affair with Marcus right after the birth of another daughter, while he was on a business trip in Paris.

It seemed she had fallen for some wild stories by a fashion-industry friend in France who said he was going to have a perfect son, and he wanted someone to have a perfect daughter to marry that son. Audrey decided to have two daughters by two different men to "double her chances."

When Zoé was a little girl, it had been an enjoyable fantasy – living with a handsome prince in a castle in France. According to her mother's tales (as reported by her father) she would have a magic ring so that she could make her husband do anything she wanted.

Her father was a very busy man, and she saw little of him. She was raised by French au pairs – she got them to speak to her in French and grew up very fluent, so that one day she could converse with the prince.

Zoé later figured out that her mother had given up on that silly fairy tale and dumped her into the custody of her father. Double motherhood was too much trouble for Audrey, so she dived back into her fashion career. After a few years in Paris, she had come to live in New York, but she never visited Marcus or Zoé.

Now Audrey was back with her husband André and her daughter Chloé in Paris, and Zoé had to live with them. She wasn't happy about it.

Continuing the conversation in the bakery, Zoé said, "I'm- uh- here to be with my family."

"Well then it's gonna be a great trip. No matter where you are, if you're with the ones you love, then you feel right at home," said "Miss Walking Disaster".

"If she only knew," thought Zoé.

They continued to pick up apples, bumping heads once.

The girl noticed Zoé's shoes. "Wow, your sneakers are awesome! Did you decorate them yourself?"

"Yeah, I've written every nice thing that anyone's ever said to me, to keep them with me all the time."

"But there's only one message!"

(The message was "I heart you.")

"I only had one friend."

"One real friend," Zoé thought. Zoé had learned to act, to fit in with any group. At the fancy boarding school she had fit in with a group of "mean girls" who put others down. But one girl they bullied, Zoé found she really liked. She was tired of the game, and tried to defend the outcast. This got her "cancelled" herself.

The others were never real friends like Annabel was. "Miss Walking Disaster" reminded Zoé of her.

The girl packed up many extra pastries in a bag and gave them to Zoé.

"If you're not doing anything with your family tonight, my friends are performing a concert on a river barge. Let me give you my number!"

She wrote her number on the top of a box of macarons, and Zoé finally learned her name – Marinette. Zoé wrote her own number on Marinette's hand.

"See you tonight, then," said Marinette.

Zoé smiled and went back to the taxi. She wasn't sure it was going to be possible, though she wished it was. Zoé was going to have to be a social chameleon again, to fit in with her family.

The taxi arrived at the Grand Paris Hotel. Zoé got out with her large bag of baked goods, but she hesitated. Her relatives might look down on her for shopping at a common bakery. The only thing she kept was the box of macarons because that had Marinette's number on it, and it was small enough to hide in her bag. The rest she gave away to the taxi driver for her kids.

The doorman got her bags from the taxi, while the butler showed her in to meet her mother.

Audrey was sitting at a table in the dining room having breakfast.

"Pardon me, Madame, but your daughter, Mademoiselle Zoé, has arrived," said the butler.

"Zoé ? Oh, you look terrible! I'm guessing the flight was horrific."

Zoé put on a parody of her mother's manner, to see if her she would catch on. "Someone in economy class smelled like disgusting cologne, and the flight attendants refused to open a window to air out the plane!"

"Your father forgot to provide a private jet for you? Too busy for anyone, as usual. It's fine that you want to come live with us in Paris, but what exactly was wrong with your boarding school again?"

Audrey had obviously paid no attention to her father's reduced financial status, and Zoé wasn't going to tell her.

"I... I found roaches in my locker. Can you believe it?" said Zoé. (This was true, but not for the implied reason that the school was run-down.)

"Well, that's nice, dear. Jean Quentin, take her to see her sister," said Audrey, getting up and walking away.

That was her mother – so self-centered that she tuned Zoé out before she even finished answering her question! Maybe Chloé would be better. They might bond over common disgust with their mother.

It was not to be. Zoé had to endure her half-sister looking in her mouth, touching her hair, and peering into her eyes. She was determined to fit in. Being quiet and accepting everything seemed to be working.

"So… you're Zoé? Blonde hair, blue eyes… Good, so far you're measuring up to the family standards. You can make an acceptable sister. Physically, at least."

Chloé went on to reject her cellphone case because it didn't have enough gold or diamonds. She gasped in horror at her shoes. "What are those?"

Chloé picked up a box from a table and showed off the glittery shoes inside.

"See these? These shoes are life, and in life there are winners and losers. Winners have their perfect little feet in these shoes while losers get crushed under their soles. So, you want 'em?"

Zoé reached for the box, but Chloé pulled it back.

"Ah, ah, ah! If you want to be a winner and be part of this family, you're gonna have to earn your place. But don't worry, I'll be your mentor and if you prove worthy enough to be my sister, well then, maybe…I'll let you borrow my shoes!

Chloé held up a finger in Zoé's face.

"Rule number one: your father only exists to give you everything you want whenever you want. DADDY!"

Her father appeared at the door.

"I want the limo painted pink before I go to school!"

"Huh? What? But sweetheart – " said André.

Chloé shut the door in his face.

"Since your father isn't here, you'll use mine! If you become my sister, of course."

Chloé went on to explain her second rule, that Zoé needed a minion to do everything for her. She showed off her own minion, a red-haired girl who was working on Chloé's math homework in the closet, in the dark.

On the way to school in the now-pink limousine, Chloé explained her rule about having a patsy, someone to suffer for her entertainment. She said that Zoé could use her old one, since Chloé had gotten too soft after becoming a superhero.

"A superhero?" thought Zoé. She vaguely remembered that one of the heroes of Paris had a public identity. She looked at her half-sister and tried to match her up with pictures she had seen on the internet. There was a fox, a bee, and a dragon. Maybe the dragon...

Zoé tuned Chloé out as she talked about various other rules for being like her, while they walked up the stairs and into the school courtyard.

The minion rolled out a red carpet for Chloé and Zoé.

Chloé called out, "Hey you nobodies! Stop your meaningless chatter for a minute and listen up! This is uh...", stopping to whisper to Zoé, "...what's your name again?"

Zoé told her, and Chloé said they would buy her a new name later.

"This is Zoé. She's only my half-sister for now but you must still treat her with respect, so bow down...uh, I mean give her the welcome her status deserves."

This didn't seem to be making a great impression, but as Chloé pointed out a guy she said was her boyfriend, Zoé saw Marinette from the bakery walking up.

"Ah, here comes the patsy I was telling you about. If you can do a number on her, then I'll make you my real sister. Watch and learn."

Chloé tried to put Marinette down with a lame pun about "loafing around" since she was a bakers daughter. Chloé laughed loudly at her own joke.

"Hey, Zoé," said Marinette, "What'd you think about the macarons? Good, huh?"

"What?! You know Dupain-Cheng?!" asked Chloé.

"Y-yeah, we've met," said Zoé nervously.

Zoé had to choose. She had to live with her half-sister. She didn't wan to be rejected here as she had been in boarding school. She went to her mean girl side.

"This clueless klutz knocked me down! So she gave me some super, uh… disgusting… macarons, thinking that it would be enough to make up for it, but since I have good taste, I threw them out."

Marinette looked sad and walked away.

The red-haired minion grabbed Zoé's arm and said, "Can I do your homework?"

Zoé was back at the hotel after an unpleasant first day at school. She had managed to get enrolled by threatening the principal, Chloé style. She didn't like going back to the mean girl act. It wouldn't get her any friends – Chloé had only her minion and her "boyfriend", no larger posse.

She was pleased to get a text from Marinette: "I can tell something is keeping you from being yourself. If it's Chloé, we can talk about it tonight, if you want. You're still welcome to come to the barge."

Marinette was really offering a second chance to be friends? What a forgiving girl!

Zoé texted back, "Sorry. I'll explain tonight."

Chloé, who had been digging through her closet for shoes, came over and caught Zoé just as she sent the text.

"Are you texting Dupain-Cheng?! I warned you! You walk over people, or I walk over you! Either you're proud to be who you are, proud to be a part of my family and you walk in my footsteps, or you clear out!"

Zoé instantly turned on mean girl style. "Are you through? This is all just part of my plan! I tricked Dupain-Cheng into thinking I'm her friend, and tonight at the Barge I'll throw her disgusting macarons into the Seine. Total humiliation!"

"Ah!" said Chloé. "Brilliant, utterly brilliant!"

She handed Zoé her glittery shoes and got out a notebook to plan more bullying against Marinette, including putting roaches in her locker.

Zoé was feeling sick and needed air. She headed out toward the patio.

"Hey, where are you going?" demanded Chloé.

"I'm... going to try them on outside," said Zoé. "I want to see the diamonds sparkle in the sunlight."

Zoé's mind was racing back and forth. Defy her sister and have friends, or act like her to fit in? She went up to the top of the hotel and nearly threw the shoes off the building. Then she held back. She needed a home, more than friends.

André came up to her. "Is everything okay, Zoé?"

Zoé was glad at least one person here was kind. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.

André told her about his former dream of being a movie director, which he gave up when his family ordered him to. He asked about her dreams.

"At first, I– I wanted to be an actress. I'm good at acting. Then I found myself acting all the time, playing these different roles trying to please everyone, until I couldn't do it anymore. I just want to be accepted for being me, the real me. And now it's happening all over again, I just can't..."

André showed her his "Cellar of Dreams," a compartment on the roof where he stored things from his first and only movie, "Solitude."

"It can be lonely when even your own family can't accept you for who you are," said André. "We end up burying out feelings deep, here. And here," indicating the compartment. "If you want, I can make some space for you."

"He's trying to be kind," thought Zoé, "But he had no power in this family to stand up for me. I'm going to have to give in and crush who I am. Crush Marinette."

Zoé took off her decorated sneakers and put them into the compartment. Bitterness overwhelmed her. She sat down on the steps and put on the glittery shoes.

She thought about what Chloé said, "I warned you: either you walk over people, or I walk over you!"

She wished she had the power to walk over Chloé.

The next thing Zoé knew, she was lying on one of the deck chairs on the roof of the hotel.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were in front of her, saying, "Pound it!"

"What happened?" thought Zoé. "I must have been taken over by that terrorist villain."

"This is a magical charm, Zoé," said Ladybug, holding out a small round object. "With it, Shadow Moth can't get to you any longer. Always keep it with you to remember what you overcame today."

"Thank you, Ladybug," said Zoé. "You really are Miraculous."

"Bug out!" said Ladybug.

Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt away.

"What did she mean, what I overcame today?" thought Zoé. "I didn't overcome, I gave in. But I felt bad about it, bad enough to be taken over by that villain."

That evening, Zoé went to the barge where the band Marinette told her about was playing. She had the box of macarons with her. She knew Chloé was watching from a distance, and had even brought their mother to witness Marinette's "total humiliation."

"Welcome aboard, Zoé," said Marinette with a big smile. "Let me introduce you to everyone. Guys. This is Zoé. She just arrived here from New York."

"I'm... really sorry about today," said Zoé. "I thought that if I did everything Chloé wanted me to, she'd accept me. I just wanted to meet my family's expectations. Which is why I left New York in the first place. At the boarding school, I was playing a part; being someone else, hoping they'd accept me. But finally, I just couldn't anymore. That's when everyone turned against me, and one day, I found roaches in my locker. They all said I was a loser. Maybe they were right. I get that I'm different, and... I'd understand if you guys didn't want me as a friend."

It wasn't entirely true. It was Zoé who put the roaches in the locker of her friend, betraying her in hopes of getting back with the others at school. It didn't work – they still didn't accept her much as before. Soon after that, her father had to pull her out of school for financial reasons. She never got to apologize or say goodbye to Annabel.

The drummer got up and gave Zoé a hug. The others gathered around her.

"We're all one big, happy family," said one girl.

"You'll be fine with us!" said another.

"You'll never have to leave again, Zoé. Welcome to Paris," said Marinette.

Zoé knew this was true. André had promised to defend her, in a passive-aggressive way, by claiming it would take months to enroll her at a new boarding school. She would still have a home, and many friends.

She would be all right. She would fit in.