This was it. Today was the day. Morgana arose from her slumber and stretched out. The ceremony was at lunch today as it was officially a half day. Perfect. Making her way to her desk, she saw all her files stacked neatly, ready to take in. There was a spare piece of paper left though. Going towards her desk, she picked it up and frowned. This may be tricky. This person may or may not come. This was a gamble on a game now. She picked up her phone and dialled the number on the paper. She didn't dial however,

"Give it a few seconds," she muttered, her eyes going to the clock. One it chimed, she clicked dial.

She held it to her ear and let it ring. Then someone picked up.

Marinette was in jitter mode. She was on her way to school, her heart thumping in her chest. Tikki did her best to comfort her, but it didn't do much. All her friends tried to help too, aside from Morgana, but it did nothing. Not that anyone could blame her. No one knew what would happen today aside from the chess player. Would Lila be exposed, would she reveal her identity as MDC, would she reveal Hawkmoth, who knew? It wouldn't surprise her really.

"Relax," Marinette muttered to herself.

As she walked into the school yard, she saw members of the president's club (minus Lila) hanging up decorations and banners. A stage was also being set up with two huge projector screens. Presumably for showing achievements. Why there were two was a good question.

"Hey Marinette!" a cheery voice called.

"Hey Aurore," Marinette greeted as the girl bounced up to her.

"So, what do you think about the award ceremony. Any winners come to mind?" Aurore asked. For some reason, she felt someone watching her intensely. It must be the secret note sender. She was careful with her wording as she knew all the winners anyway.

"I think it's a nice idea. Celebrating achievements is a good way to get rid of the negativity," Marinette said.

"I agree. There are a lot of categories. Wonder how people voted," Aurore said.

"Who knows? Well, I best get to class. I look forward to seeing everything all finished!" Marinette said as she gave a wave and walked away. Aurore waved back but then looked around. She saw no one watching her but she still felt it.

"I hope they know what they're doing," Aurore muttered as she went back to help setting up.

"Alright class, settle down!" Miss Bustier said as she tried to calm her class. They were all buzzing with excitement at the ceremony results. It would be lying if Miss Bustier said she wasn't excited.

"Sorry. But can't we talk about it a little?" Alix begged.

"Oh alright. But just for a little bit," Miss Bustier said. All the members of the class then turned their heads to the centre of the room and started to discuss their opinions.

"Who do we think will win the Creative Award?" Mylene asked.

"I think Nathaniel. His art is awesome!" Alix stated with a fist pump.

"Well, creative isn't just the arts, it could be for drama," Rose suggested.

"Good point...so what else?" Ivan asked.

"Best Attendance, Most Improved, Best Teacher Most Athletic...but then there's the Most Outstanding Student. That's the big one," Alya stated. "I can't wait to live stream it."

"Ah now Alya, you remember the rules. No live recordings by students. Aurore was clear on the rules. If you or any students are caught doing filming, it is off to detention with you, and you will miss the ceremony," Miss Bustier said. She was most excited about the Teacher Award. She was sure she was a popular teacher as she was always kind to everybody.

"Fine..." Alya pouted.

"Yeah, we don't want Ladybug yelling at you," Kim said with a laugh, making Alya glare at him.

"She didn't yell at me!" Alya objected.

"No, you're right. It was Mireille," Alix snickered. Alya was about to snap until Lila opened her mouth.

"Come on now everyone, there is no need to fight," she said sweetly.

Frankly she didn't care. Ladybug could kick Alya and she wouldn't care. Heck she could kick Alya and she wouldn't care. All that mattered was her winning that Outstanding Award. After that show and MDC, she needed something good. Besides, her winning that award and framing Marinette by saying she didn't deserve it would be the perfect end to a perfect day. she knew that the class would vote for her, and she was sure her tales had spread in the school. People were in awe at her and would surely vote for her.

"You're right girl. You're so amazing! If you don't win that Outstanding Student award, I will riot!" Alya said, giving the liar a hug.

"So will I," Marinette muttered from the back. Her eyes fell on Morgana who was quieter than usual. Something was clearly on her mind, so she didn't dare question it.

"Marinette, what do you think of the awards?" Miss Bustier asked, snapping her back into reality. Looking at the class, no one really seemed interested in her opinions.

"Well, I hope the best student wins," Marinette said in all honesty.

"Yeah, not you," Alya snickered, making a few people laugh. Marinette hid her annoyance, especially when the teacher said nothing about that comment. Oh no, but what she said next nearly made her blow a gasket.

"Now Marinete, I don't want to hear you bad mouthing anyone who wins in here," Miss Bustier said.

"Of course, I would never do that," Marinette said through gritted teeth.

"Good," Miss Bustier said with a smile. "Morgana, what about you? You've been quiet too."

"Whoever wins the awards...for whatever reason...deserves them," Morgana said in stoic tone. This seemed to please the teacher, but it didn't please Lila. Time to stir the pot.

"Oh Morgana, I hope you're not envious. I know you haven't really stood out much since you're so quiet," Lila said. It came off as a kind tone to everyone else but to Morgana, it was a direct insult.

"I assure you... I am not envious. P-Please don't tell m-me how I feel. I c-cannot help being...shy...don't judge me for it," Morgana answered back. Don't you dare patronise me, you conniving little snake, Morgana thought viciously.

"Being shy is okay! I'm clumsy, it's all good," Marinette said, making a few laugh. Lila smiled but hid her distain quite well. Oh, I'll show you Maritrash, I will smash you over the head with my award, Lila thought.

"Alright, I think that's enough. Time for the lessons. Only a few hours to go," Miss Bustier said as she turned back to the board. The students could barely contain their excitement as they secretly watched the clock tick by.

"Just you wait, my little pawns," Morgana muttered.

It was now lunchtime, and the school was packed. Well, the yard was anyway. Aurore had ensured to send out invitations to the parents too, so it was extra busy. Marinette was currently in the middle of the crowd, trying not to be swallowed up by the crowd. Her parents were with her but currently talking to Marinette's class's parents. Sabine and Tom had been firmly against doing anything of the sorts, but Morgana had told them to act like nothing had happened and when the time was right, they would know when to speak the truth. Morgana was nowhere to be seen, now that Marinette thought about it. The girl had run off as soon as the bell went. No one really noticed since they were still talking about the show.

"You okay?" Luka asked. He had come along to the ceremony too. He had declined Juleka's offer to hang with the class, but no one questioned him. Not after the situation with Adrien.

"Yeah, just nervous," Marinette answered.

"You have no reason to be nervous. You are strong and fearless," Kagami said.

While Kagami was not a part of their school, she had asked to attend. Morgana was initially against it since Kagami jumped the gun usually to defend her friends. While admirable, it wasn't a good quality to have when trying to expose someone. Nevertheless, Kagami promised to say nothing until Morgana said so.

"Not in close contact like this with everyone," Marinette mumbled, and Luka gave her a hug.

"You'll be fine Melody," Luka assured.

"Hey guys," a voice said. The three then turned their heads to see Adrien coming towards them, with his hands shoved in his pockets. None looked too pleased to see him but Adrien didn't really pick up on that.

"Hello," Marinette said.

"Hey Adrien," Luka said. After what Adrien had said about him, he hadn't been too happy. He was more annoyed with how he cornered Marinette about it. Kagami just didn't care about him anymore.

"May we help you?" Kagami asked.

"Oh no, just...wanted to hang with you that's all," Adrien asked.

"With your recent behaviour, what makes you think we would want that?" Kagami asked. Adrien's eyes flashed with hurt but before he could speak, a familiar leech attached herself to his arm.

"Adrien, what are you doing? They're about to start," Lila said, then turning her eyes to the trio. "Oh hello. How nice to see you here."

"Wish we could say the same," Luka stated, his eyes narrowing. His arm stung slightly the closer she came. His mother was ready to bring out the cannons when she found out.

"Oh, now Luka, I know Marinette has been feeding you lies about me, why can't we be friends?" Lila asked tearfully. Kagami rolled her eyes.

"We don't hang around with human trash. Now go away before someone drops a house on you," Kagami said, pointing directly at Lila, who scowled at her. Marinette tried to hide her giggle as did Luka.

"Come Adrien, these guys are too toxic for us," Lila said, tugging on Adrien's arm as they both then headed back to the akuma class group, no doubt to make up another nasty lie.

"That was the best response ever. Chloé would have been proud," Luka said with a laugh.

"I'm sad she's going to miss this," Marinette said.

If there was an award for Most Improved, then the blonde would have won it. Marinette had asked if Chloé could come but she was told that she was in the middle of her school year and the time zones would not work. However, Morgana did say that no one would be left out. Whatever that meant. A loud clap then rang out. Aurore had stepped onto the stage with a microphone along with a table lined with trophies.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the Awards Ceremony!" Aurore said as cheers then rang out.

"Oh good it's starting," Sabine said as she and Tom had made their way back over to the trio.

"Good timing too, I was so annoyed with Alya's parents. How can they not-!" Tom growled but Sabine placed a hand on his arm.

"Now dear, you know what they say. The truth will come to light," Sabine said.

"Wise words," Kagami said as she focused on the stage.

"So, we are here to celebrate our students. There are ten awards in total and they have all been selected by the students. They have all been counted by me, so there is no chance of sabotage. So, without further ado, let's start!" Aurore said, which resulted in more cheering.

Marinette didn't really pay much attention. She was cautiously looking around. She was so paranoid that Lila had somehow sabotaged the whole event to make her look back. That her parents would hate her, Luka would dump her, and Morgana was working with Lila all along. She felt Luka close his hand around hers and she even felt Kagami link arms with her. She felt her parents standing behind her protectively and she even felt Tikki's warmth from her purse. She was okay. She let out deep sigh to calm herself. She noticed that as the awards were being called out, no one from her class won. They seemed quite annoyed, but they seemed certain that Lila would win one. It would be a cruel day if that happened. Nathaniel seemed happy and upset when Marc won the Creative Award. He waved at him, but Marc seemed to ignore him. Miss Bustier seemed upset when she didn't win the Teacher award. Ms Mendeleiev was extremely surprised when she did. Marinette voted for her. she was extremely professional and good at her job. Unlike an owl she knew.

"Now we have our final award. The Outstanding Student Award. The student winning this award stands out for all the reasons you have voted for! The winner is..." Aurore said as she pulled out a piece of paper from an envelope. "Lila Rossi."

"What the..." Luka muttered as he felt Marinette freeze in his arms.

Kagami looked ready to explode, as did Sabine and Tom. The akuma class cheered loudly but the rest of the students didn't seem as enthusiastic. They gave claps out of politeness but their parents seemed to sense that something was off.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Lila said as she blew kisses. Alya was cheering the loudest and Nino had to pull her back to calm her down.

"Congratulations Lila," Aurore said stiffly as Lila stood next to her, beaming proudly.

"Where is Morgana? I demand to know what is going on!" Kagami muttered angrily.

"There is no way she won this. It must be a fix," Luka scowled.

"I trust Morgana. If Lila won, there must be a reason," Marinette said, holding back tears.

"So can I have my award?" Lila asked sweetly as she reached for the single trophy that was left. Aurore however stopped her, much to the Italian's annoyance.

"Sorry Lila but I have another announcement," Aurore said, causing a stir in the crowd.

"There's your reason," Sabine said curiously.

"We have a tie! There is another winner for this award!" Aurore said. Lila was mortified at this. She didn't want to share her award with some loser!

"Who is it?"

"Tell us!"

"Don't leave us hanging!"

"The second winner of this award is..." Aurore said, pulling out a second piece of paper from the envelope. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

"Yes!" Tom bellowed as he and the student crowd burst into loud applause at this.

Marinette looked like a deer in headlights as Luka and Kagami hugged her in glee. Lila looked enraged as did the akuma class. Adrien looked mildly surprised, but he was still clapping. Well, that was until Alya smacked his hands to stop him. They knew they couldn't object; however, they knew better than that. Alya decided she would just break her award after.

"Come on up Marinette!" Aurore said brightly.

Luka gave her a gentle push and Marinette made her way up the stage, doing her best not to trip over her own feet. She ignored the glares of her class, hearing the word 'bully' being thrown about.

"Congratulations Marinette," Lila said as she held her hand out. Marinette looked hesitant to shake it, but she knew what would happen if she didn't. Her support group knew too.

"You too Lila," Marinette said as she shook the girl's hand.

She felt the death like grip on her hand, but she had faced far worse as Ladybug. Lila seemed miffed that she didn't flinch as she let go. Marinette was half surprised that Miss Bustier didn't rock up and tell her to surrender the award as Lila was more rewarding. She was sure Aurore would have something to say about that though.

"Before we award our winners, I have something for you all. Since this is an Outstanding Achievement Award, we must know why you voted for them!" Aurore said.

In her closed fist, she held the stick that she was given. True to her promise, she hadn't looked at what was on it. She went over to the projector and plugged it in. Everyone looked up at the screen as Lila and Marinette turned her head around. A voice then rang out, but no one seemed to recognise it. A picture of Marinette popped up, smiling at the camera.

"Marinette. A kind and clumsy girl, who cares and loves everyone."

A picture of her baking and handing out treats to students then speared. Marinette blushed at her appearance, but people let out small claps as the picture appeared.

"She loves to make clothes, treats and gifts for everyone, gives them out just because she wants to, or to make someone who is sad, feel happy."

Another picture appeared of her helping others with their work. It changed over to her sewing. Each picture that showed had a praising narration. It highlighted exactly why she had won the award, and no one interrupted. Well, that's not true. Alya started to but her parents shushed her.

"Marinette. Your winner. The world would be a lot better if there were more people like you."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Aurore said as everyone cheered and whistled.

Luka and Kagami whistled and cheered while her parents were beaming with pride. Lila was clapping too but it was almost a sarcastic clap. Stupid Maritrash. So what if she baked a few treats? Made a few gifts? That didn't make her amazing! Heck she could give someone a bag she bought, and people would thank her. So why did people like it when Maritrash made someone something? It was pathetic.

"So now we move onto Lila. Why did you choose her?" Aurore asked. She was extremely curious as to what was on this. Lila looked up at the projector as an image of her appeared.

"Lila. How would you describe her? I only have one thing to say."

There was a long pause. Lila tapped her foot impatiently. People started murmuring as the slide did not move. It was quite awkward. Marinette's heart started to thump in her chest. Luka and Kagami exchanged knowing glances. Then there was the sound of loud footsteps as a shadow appeared from behind the screen. People craned their necks to see who it was. The person then came out from behind the screen and people started whispering. The person held a microphone to their mouth and spoke.

"Lila Rossi is nothing more than a liar," Morgana announced.