Quick note: I own none of the songs referenced in this chapter; they all belong to their respective artists.
Following the excitement at lunch, the afternoon classes went by quickly, and Jasmine soon found herself in the school's computer lab. She had finished much of her homework with a lot of help from Max. Fortunately, he was incredibly patient and helped check her work, and she felt like a huge weight was off her shoulders when she finally put the completed assignments in the correct corresponding folders. He was also pleased to hear that she'd email him one of her recipes as payment for his help, and now she was looking over the new chapter for her new story. She knew she still had some homework from Ms. Mendeleiev to work on, but hopefully her father, who loved science and physics as much as Adrien, would be able to help her when he got home. And of course, she thought, she deserved a little break!
She took out the USB drive that had her new story on it, set up her Plague Doctor and Nurse plush keychains next to her so they could help her write, and slipped her iPod's earbuds into her ears. As she turned it on, she looked around to make sure she was alone, and she started humming and singing quietly to herself as she began typing.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see
Suddenly, she heard two more voices join her, Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
Pausing the music, Jasmine looked up to see Marc and Nathaniel, grinning as they came into the room and sang with her. "Don't stop! That's my favorite song!" Marc smiled. "Nath always sings it to me."
"Everyone loves the Muppets," Jasmine smirked. "But you guys don't mind that I'm singing in here and possibly making an idiot of myself, do you?"
"You're fine," Nathaniel smiled. "Rose is always singing to herself when she writes her lyrics for Kitty Section, and we hear Juleka humming along with her. Pretty soon, everyone starts singing along with someone, and we've got a room full of singers."
"You've got to love the unintended karaoke day!" Jasmine smiled as she remembered some of her mother's students humming to themselves as they worked on their homework, or the times in her own study hall when someone would start playing music and everyone would join in the song.
"I can relate to that," Adrien said as he came in the room. "It drives Father crazy when someone starts playing music during photo shoots and everyone, including the models, starts singing, but everyone has a good time, and he actually likes the end results." He didn't mention that those only took place when Lila wasn't there, but Marc, Nathaniel, and Jasmine all got the idea. At the same time, Adrien looked over at Jasmine's open physics book and asked, "Do you need some help? I've got some time before the Gorilla picks me up, so I can help you if you want."
"Bless you, Adrien!" Jasmine cheered, but then she looked confused. "But I thought you and Ms. Sancoeur said some of your activities were postponed until later."
"That's true," Adrien agreed. "But remember what I said about those oral reports in Mendeleiv's class? I finished up some of it with Marinette a little while ago, but she, Max, Kim, and I are going to be working on the next part of it at my place tonight."
"That's right," Marc added. "Ms. M. just added Jasmine to the group that Nath, Aurore, and I are in today."
"And I'll only be part of your group and help contribute if you call me Jazz," Jasmine smirked as she found the paper with the assignment on it.
"Okay, and if I have to call you Jazz, you have to call me Nath!" Nathaniel jokingly added.
Everyone laughed and agreed to the terms, and they all helped Jasmine get her remaining homework completed.
***LBCNLBCNLBCN***
A short time later when everyone's homework was done, they were in the art room enjoying Jasmine's remaining lemon bars when she asked, "Hey, Adrien, can I ask you something?" On his nod, she continued, "You probably don't want to talk about this, but you told me that the art kids, along with Ms. Mendeleiev's class, don't believe Lila's lies. But earlier today, Kim was acting like he didn't believe her when he was about to give her that wet willy. As far as I know, he's not one of the art kids, so what's going on with that?"
"Well, actually, Nino and Ivan don't really believe what Lila says either," Adrien admitted. "It's just that Alya and Meylene are so drawn to Lila's lies that they just stay close to them to keep an eye on Lila and make sure their girlfriends don't get hurt. And it's the same deal for Max and Kim. Max, who wears glasses, actually believed Lila when she said that a paper napkin could gouge his eye out, and he's been listening to her ever since."
"Max wears glasses, but he believed Lila when she said a paper napkin can gouge someone's eye out?" Jasmine repeated. "The people on that Mythbusters TV show back home would have a field day with all the BS she's spouting!"
"I've never seen that show, but you're probably right," Adrien agreed. "But at least Kim stopped believing Lila a few weeks ago when she told him something about one of his favorite swimmers teaching her a stroke that she used to win a gold medal, and this was following his winning his own gold medal at his latest swim meet. Kim got so mad when he heard that, and that she stole his thunder, that he vowed to tell everyone what she'd said, but Lila told him that if he did that, she'd tell everyone that he threatened her, and she'd turn them against him just like she turned them against Marinette. He told me and Marinette that he'd do what we're all doing now, writing down and recording what Lila says, looking her stories up, and sharing information. And the art kids, Kim, and even Nino told me that I had to make it up to Marinette for giving her that stupid high road advice by taking her on the fanciest date she'd ever been on, hence what you and I were talking about that night when you first came here."
"And how did the art kids find out about her?" Jasmine asked.
"I never believed her, especially after she said she knew Stan Lee personally, and she called him every week to brainstorm ideas for his comics and movies," Nathaniel frowned. "Also, she claimed several of my sketches were hers, but everyone knew that was a lie right away, since they know what my style looks like! I've got one signature style, and she has at least eight or nine that she uses, and just so you know, I despise art thieves!"
"I can understand how you'd feel that way, but it's still unbelievable. Even I know Stan Lee's dead, may he rest in peace," Jasmine frowned and took her hat off in respect as Adrien, Marc and Nathaniel bowed their heads in agreement, "And I don't even follow Marvel movies. I mean, I know of them, and I know of some of the characters, but I don't watch the movies or read the comics. And Nath, I saw the sketch of Ladybug and Chat Noir you made after I hung up with Dad and Randy, and it was incredible! I can't draw to save my life, but at least I can draw halfway decent anatomically correct stick figures!"
"That's okay," Marc smiled as she put her hat back on. "Anyway, Alix didn't believe Lila when she caught her in a lie about a new Greek exhibit at the Louvre. It's based on classic stories from mythology, and Lila told her that she was the model for a statue of a woman who lost a race against a guy when he threw something…what's her name, and am I getting the story right?"
"Yes, you're thinking of Atalanta," Jasmine explained. "She told her father she'd only marry the person who could beat her in a foot race. After defeating many possible suitors, she finally lost to Meleager when he threw three golden apples that Aphrodite gave him in her path, and she stopped to pick them up."
"You know your myths," Adrien smiled. "Anyway, Juleka never believed Lila since…well, you know the story Lila tells about her saving Jagged Stone's kitten?"
"Oh, yes, but he never had one since he's 'deathly allergic' to cats," Jasmine frowned. Nino had played some of his songs for her, and even though she thought they weren't bad, the fact that Jagged Stone said he was allergic to cats was still a touchy subject for her.
Remembering her 'cats are sweet precious babies' comment from earlier, Adrien had to fake a coughing fit to mask his laughter before he continued. "And even if he wasn't, his crocodile Fang, whom he's had for over fifteen years, would probably eat it. Anyway, all of us are die-hard Jagged Stone fans, so we know his music, and there's nothing in his discography about a song called Lila, or whatever Lila claims is the title of the song. Along with that, Juleka wants to be a model. Lila gave her some makeup for a photoshoot that Marinette was having, and she had a reaction to it on the day of the shoot. She recovered, and the photoshoot took place a week later, but Juleka was really upset that her debut had to be postponed."
"And let's not forget about Rose," Nathaniel added. "She's friends with Prince Ali of Achu, and she's offered to help him with some of his charities. She's even been to his palace, but Lila always told us that she's been there all the time and helps with his Go Green charities."
"Prince Ali… I think I've heard that name before…" Jasmine got her phone out and started looking up the information, just in time to hear Alya's voice at the door.
"Jazz, girl, what are you doing? You don't know Prince Ali? I heard you talking about Lila and her adventures, and I had to see what you're doing!"
"First, didn't your mother ever teach you that listening in on other people's private conversations is wrong?" Jasmine frowned. "Second, I didn't say I didn't know Prince Ali; I said I know of Prince Ali. I just want to make sure we're all thinking of the same person."
"You don't have to do that," Alya protested. "The Ladyblog has all of Lila's interviews about what she's done, where she's been, and who's she's met."
"Maybe, but it never hurts to double check on different sources and see what other people say," Jasmine tried to sound innocent. "But maybe you could send me the links to the interviews you had with Lila so I can watch them again, you know, just to be sure I wasn't mistaken." 'And possibly give my dad more things to sue Liar Rossi over…'
"No problem!" Alya agreed as she started looking for some interviews.
"What are you doing here anyway, Alya?" Nathaniel asked. "Aren't you supposed to be with Lila, interviewing her about some other lie, or doing her part of Mendeleiv's assignment for your report, since she's also part of your group?"
"Nath, Lila doesn't lie!" Alya protested. "Anyway, I wanted to ask Jazz if I could interview her or film her baking something."
"Sorry, Alya, but I'm not going to have much time for interviews or baking, since my family's going to be busy unpacking for a while and getting everything set up in the house, and I want to help them as much as I can. You guys are also welcome to come and help us, because as my grandma used to say, many hands make light work," Jasmine started. "Besides, Socks can be nervous around strangers. On our second night here, Mr. Agreste, and by Mr. Agreste, I mean Ms. Sancoeur with a tablet so he could be there via video call, came to visit, and Socks ran upstairs and hid under Mom and Dad's bed. She didn't come back down until about an hour after Ms. Sancoeur was gone!" As she spoke, she looked at her phone. "Well, that's funny…"
"What?" Alya asked.
"I don't see any…" Jasmine gave her a mock frown.
"Any what?" Alya pleaded.
"Stories about Lila helping Prince Ali. Not a single one," Jasmine glared at her. "And are you sure you and Lila weren't thinking of his brother? Because according to what I just read on an actual news site, Prince Ali's brother works with environmental issues, while Prince Ali himself works with charities and things relating to children! And Rose is the only one Prince Ali ever invited to his palace! There's nothing at all about Lila here!"
"But-" Alya started.
"Alya, I think it would be best if you left now," Nathaniel broke in. "We don't want to talk about Lila right now, so just go."
"And check your sources while you're at it," Jasmine added. "If you write retractions to the stories with Lila in them and apologize to the people she talked about, you might regain some credibility. You're a good journalist, but these tabloid stories won't help you if you want to apply to a newspaper in the future."
When Alya was gone, Adrien said, "You speak from experience."
"I was actually thinking about a friend of mine," Jasmine explained. "She wrote for the school paper back home, and she got some information wrong on one of her articles. She wrote a retraction for the next issue, and the people she wrote about forgave her."
"And did you ever write for it?" Marc asked.
"Once, when I submitted a freelance article about a concert I went to with Mom and Dad," Jasmine started, "Anyway, after she wrote the retraction, my friend won a prize for submitting the best story to the actual newspaper, which was about a memorial scholarship the school set up to honor one of the football players, who died in an accident."
"Talk about redemption!" Nathaniel smiled.
"Yeah, what a prize: a pen and a visor with the name of the local newspaper, and she got a Student of the Day button from the principal," Jasmine smirked. "Still, everything worked out for her. Because when I left for Paris, she told me that she was going to be the new assistant editor of the school paper!"
"And did she give you one of the keychains you told us about?" Adrien asked, remembering how Jasmine had squeezed the Plague Nurse plushie that she had in her pocket whenever she was nervous.
Jasmine nodded as she rooted through the small section of her bag. "Yes she did," she held up a pink puffball. "She gave me this baby Puffskein keychain as a souvenir from her trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter…" Next was a brown puffball. "This Tribble was from Shauna since she likes Star Trek, and she thought I might like one too…." Her Plague Nurse and Plague Doctor keychains were from two of her cousins, who were moving to different states to start new jobs (they also told her to keep an eye out for packages from them from their new places of work), her Elf on the Shelf keychain was from her Secret Santa following last year's holiday party, and her Hello Kitty and Grumpy Cat keychains were the only ones that she bought for herself.
"You also said they help you write your stories?" Marc asked.
"I took a Creative Writing class last year, and the teacher said that we had to bring in small plush toys to help us with our solo assignments," Jasmine explained. "He said that if we listen closely, we can hear them give us ideas, so I thought, why not?"
"Oh, that's so sweet!" they heard another unwanted voice. Lila grabbed the keychains and spun them around while Marc and Nathaniel flanked Adrien so she couldn't get near him. "I'm sure they gave you all kinds of wonderful ideas!"
"And I'm getting another wonderful idea for something to write right now," Jasmine snapped. "Another charge for the lawsuit my dad and I are working on against you, for theft and illegal search and seizure!"
Lila glared at her as she glanced at the keychains, then threw them back at her. "They said they don't want you to do that if you know what's good for you!"
Jasmine scowled as she put them back in her bag. "Do you not understand the concept of 'go away?' What are you even doing here?"
"I just wanted to see what you were up to," Lila simpered. "Your lemon bars from this morning were so tasty that I wanted to ask you for the recipe so I could share it with my great uncle, who named his soup after me-"
"You mean Marinette's great uncle who named his soup after her?" Adrien snapped.
Lila pretended to ignore him and continued, "Then I heard your cute little song! I also heard all of you talking about my accomplishments!"
"Yeah, it's called debunking all your crap," Nathaniel snapped.
"Adrien, you won't let them say that about me, will you?" Lila pouted, turning on the waterworks as she tried to sidle up to him, only to be blocked by the redhead.
"Leave me out of this, Lila," Adrien glared at her. "You're the one bothering Jazz, you took her property, and you're harassing us."
At the same time, Marc and Jasmine were writing up the incident so they could get it to Mr. Damocles. When it was completed, Jasmine took a picture of it on her phone to print off a copy for the lawsuit she and Roger were going to work on. "Thanks for helping me with this, Marc," she murmured as she put her phone away, but she frowned, thinking, 'I knew I should have started recording this incident when she came in.'
"No problem," Marc smiled confidently. "And don't worry; Nath, Adrien, and I will go with you to Mr. Damocles and tell him about this too."
"Witnesses are good," Adrien smirked.
"I won't let you do this!" Lila yelled. "I'll tell him that all of you ganged up on me! And I have Adrien's father on my side!"
"Is that a threat?" Jasmine suddenly snapped, taking a step toward her.
"Jazz…" Marc started, but he smirked, knowing where this was going.
"Is that a threat?" Jasmine yelled, taking another step toward Lila as she grabbed a paintbrush.
"Jazz…" Nathaniel smirked as he joined in the dialogue.
Waving the paintbrush over her head like a wand, Jasmine ran toward Lila, yelling, "I could tell you stories about Adrien's father that would curl even your greasy sausage hair, Lila!"
"My hair's greasy?!" Lila squeaked and ran out, Jasmine right behind her.
"Jazz…" Adrien smirked at the same time.
"It doesn't end here!" Jasmine yelled after her as she paused at the door.
"Jazz!" Marc was smirking as he came up to Jasmine as Lila finally left. "We never use Transfiguration as a punishment! Surely Mr. Damocles told you that?!"
Jasmine shrugged, looking bored. "Meh, he might have mentioned it…"
"Well, you would do well to remember it!" Nathaniel smirked as the four of them fistbumped.
***LBCNLBCNLBCN***
After dropping off the report in Mr. Damocles' office and giving him their statements, and forwarding the interviews Alya sent Jasmine to Roger, the three boys walked her out to Nancy's car when she saw it arrive.
"Thank you for helping her with her homework, and helping her with that girl," Nancy said as Jasmine put her stuff in the backseat of the car, and they told her what happened. "Roger told me about the video call, and I agree that she shouldn't lie about things like that, since it can lead her to trouble."
"Don't worry, Mom, I…kind-of-sort-of tricked Alya into sending me links to Lila's interviews on the Ladyblog, so all Dad has to do is contact the people she talked about, and see if they want to have legal action taken," Jasmine assured her.
"Well, we'll have to see what these interviews say, won't we?" Nancy agreed.
***LBCNLBCNLBCN***
When they got home, Roger greeted them, and he was actually dancing around the kitchen in excitement. "Jazz, you've struck gold!" he cheered as he grabbed her hand and spun her around. "I've never seen so many blatant lies in one blog! Along with the lawsuits for Rossi, I'll even get a C&D order and lawsuit started for the publisher of the Ladyblog!"
"If the celebrities she talked about agree to that, then go ahead. And I'll print up the other report Marc and I made as well, and we'll add it to Lila's pile," Jasmine agreed. "I should have gotten a recording of her bothering us when she first came in, but I forgot."
"Live and learn," Roger smiled as Socks jumped up on the table, then climbed up on Jasmine's shoulders. He scratched Socks' ears while mussing Jasmine's hair. "That's right, Socks, you need to celebrate with us too!"
***LBCNLBCNLBCN***
The next day, Jasmine had just arrived at school when she saw a small crowd of people around her locker. Among them was Mr. Damocles, and to nobody's surprise, Lila was crying her crocodile tears. "Is there a problem, sir?" she asked before Lila could get a word in edgewise.
"Miss Rossi claims you stole her necklace," Mr. Damocles started.
Jasmine frowned, but thanks to Adrien telling her about what had happened with Marinette, she knew what to expect, and she was prepared. "With all due respect, sir, I just arrived here a few minutes ago. I had no time to take anything. And before you tell me that this happened yesterday, I have three very credible witnesses here who can vouch for me," she smirked as she saw Marc, Nathaniel, and Adrien in the crowd, and motioned them forward. "We were all together in the art room after school, and at four o'clock, or 1600 hours if you prefer, we all walked out together to meet my mom, who was picking me up. And as I recall, sir, before we left, we were in your office where we gave you a report regarding one Lila Rossi, and how she was harassing us and stole my property. And if you had even looked at my locker when Lila first told you about this, you'd see that it's the only one here with a combination lock, and I never gave anyone the combination," she covered the dial with her hand so nobody could see the numbers she dialed, and proceeded to open the door, "And look at this, it's empty, save for what I'm going to put in it now." She put the books for her afternoon classes in it, then she motioned to the door. "Also, I have a barrier on the door to keep people from trying to slip things inside, and it's still intact." She looked down at the ground. "Finally, if someone could please lend me a pencil?" She nodded as Nathaniel handed a pencil over, then she used it to scoop something up that was lying at her feet. "Ladies and gentlemen, Lila's infamous fox-tail necklace…Max, could you please have Markov check this for fingerprints?"
"Of course, Jasmine!" Max agreed. He watched as Markov scanned the necklace, then a moment, he proclaimed that Jasmine's fingerprints were not on it.
"Thank you, Max and Markov," Jasmine smiled.
"You're welcome, and if I may say so, the peanut butter and jelly bar recipe you sent me last night was most delightful!" Max smiled back.
"Glad you liked it. In any case, Mr. Damocles, I didn't do anything wrong," Jasmine concluded her story. "And before Lila tells you that I threatened to turn her into a ferret, it was only in self-defense, my friends and I were only quoting and reenacting a movie, and you can't really do much damage with a non-magical paint brush, can you?"
"I suppose not, and everyone does enjoy quoting and reenacting a movie now and then," Mr. Damocles admitted. "Very well, Miss Dinsmoore, you're cleared of any wrongdoing. Miss Rossi, for filing a false charge, you've got after school detention with Ms. Mendeleiev for the rest of this week and all next week."
"Nice work, Jazz," Marinette whispered, then she quickly drew Jasmine away as Lila started throwing the world's biggest tantrum.
Since Jasmine had her hands over her ears to block out Lila's screaming, she didn't hear Marinette's compliment, but Adrien did. "I'm just glad Marc, Nath, and I were there to witness that too," he murmured. "And again, Marinette, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when I should have been."
"Y-you made up for it that-that night you took me ou-out," Marinette tried not to stammer too much as she remembered the date she and Adrien had gone on. "And-and even when we were starting out, you apologized. I-and I did say I forgave you after dinner and before the m-movie."
"I'm still going to be there for you whenever you need me," Adrien vowed, squeezing her hand. "I won't let Lila hurt you anymore."
'Marinette's brain is not here right now; please leave a message after the beep!' Marinette managed to smile and nod as she and Adrien led the way back to Miss Bustier's class.
***LBCNLBCNLBCN***
Later that morning, Jasmine went to her locker to switch her books for her afternoon classes when she saw Lila approaching out of the corner of her eye. 'Okay, I'm not going to make the same mistake I did yesterday by not recording her, since she's probably mad about getting caught in her stupid lies, but how can I get away to set everything up?' she thought as she looked around. She saw the girls' bathroom and started to go toward it after she shut and locked her locker.
However, Lila grabbed her arm. "You think you're so clever, don't you?" she snarled.
Thinking quickly, Jasmine spoke in a rush, getting a panicked look on her face. "Lila, if you want to talk to me about what happened this morning, can you give me five minutes? I'm sorry, but I can't be harangued under pressure!"
Lila frowned. As fun as it would be to see her have an accident in front of everyone, she waved her off. "Five minutes, then we're talking."
"Thanks!" Jasmine literally sprinted toward the bathroom. Once inside, she locked herself in a stall and got her phone out. "Okay, let's try this…" she murmured. She set the phone to record, and spoke softly, yet clearly, hoping she remembered the format Roger used to make his recordings. "This is Jasmine Dinsmoore, recording a conversation between myself and Lila Rossi. Time is 9:58, and we are coming to Ms. Mendeleiev's classroom." She slipped her phone into the pocket of her sweater, making sure that it was lying flat and couldn't be seen. 'Okay, if Lila's talking to me, I'll try not to zone out too much, but I'll also see if I can get her to snap and tell me some more interesting things that Dad can sue her over,' she thought as she approached Lila.
"You showed up so we can talk. Good," Lila started. "I like to declare war on people privately."
"War, huh? What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" Jasmine quoted one of her cousin's favorite songs. "But I thought you were already at war with Marinette. You can't be at war with two people at once."
"You don't know me at all," Lila snapped. "I've turned Marinette's whole class against her, and I can do the same to you!"
"I haven't been here all that long, so your crap doesn't work on—mmph!" Jasmine started before Lila covered her mouth.
"Now you listen to me," Lila snarled. "I am going to remove my hand and keep talking, and if you try to call for help, I will make you regret it. Nod if you understand."
Jasmine glared at her and slowly moved her head from side to side in a deliberate 'no' fashion.
"You don't understand that I'm threatening you? What's not to…" Lila paused, feeling something strange on her hand. Her eyes widened as she figured out what Jasmine had probably just done. She jerked her hand away with a disgusted screech and frantically wiped it on her jacket. "You licked me?! That's disgusting!"
"You're telling me," Jasmine shuddered. "What kind of lotion is that, Cazu Marzu mixed with Cream of Toenails? Ugh! Nothing's going to taste right for a week! But then again, you already leave a terrible taste in several people's mouths!"
"Ooh, you're so funny," Lila sneered. "But I'll have the last laugh when I get you expelled, just like I did with Marinette!" She saw Jasmine smirk, and she continued, "Oh, you don't believe me? I have everyone in this school wrapped around my little finger! I can make them believe anything I say! I can tell them that you stole the answer key to our upcoming literature test or…"
As Lila continued her threat, Jasmine was thinking, 'I'm so glad I'm recording this. Man, is she full of hot air! Let's see…songs about wind and air…Dust in the wind…All we are is dust in the wind…'
"And you think you're friends with Adrien?" Lila was continuing, "Like I said, he's mine and mine alone! He may think the people in this school are his friends, but I'm the only one he needs! I even spy on him for his father! He can even pull Adrien out of school if I tell him to!"
'Keep saying your words…' Jasmine thought. 'And just wait until Dad hears about this!'
"You don't believe me?" Lila shouted, seeing her bored look. "Well, it's true!"
"Mark it down, the first true thing you've said since we met!" Jasmine smirked.
Lila grabbed her by the throat. "I only tell people what they want to hear! I stole all of Marinette's friends from her! And I can do the same to you! I'll claim your stories are mine! I'll tell them that you stole my writing helpers!"
'Okay, now it's getting personal,' Jasmine thought as Lila's nails dug into her skin, 'But I have to stay calm, and I can't antagonize her anymore…or at least I'll try not to. Okay, stay calm…Go with classic songs…Sundown…Beautiful…Carefree Highway…I Used to Be a Country Singer…Race Among the Ruins…A Painter Passing Through…Nous Vivons Ensemble…If You Could Read My Mind…Harmony…'
"Are you even listening to me?!" Lila's shrill voice interrupted Jasmine's silent recital of her favorite artist's songs. "I'm still talking and you're not even listening!"
"Oh, you're still talking?" Jasmine asked as Lila took her hands off her throat. "Well, this has been fun, but I'm going to go to class now."
"If you won't take this seriously, I'll make you! We are now at WAR!" Lila screamed the last words in her face and stormed off.
When Lila was out of earshot, Jasmine got her phone out. "This has been Jasmine Dinsmoore recording Lila Rossi," she murmured as she stopped the recording. She emailed it to herself, and as she was preparing to send it to Roger, Ms. Mendeleiev came out to her.
"Miss Dinsmoore, I heard yelling out here. Is everything all right?" she asked. She suddenly looked at a strange mark on Jasmine's neck. "Are those bruises? What happened?"
"Give me one minute, and I'll explain," Jasmine said as she found the recording in her phone's gallery. She tapped the image, and she let the teacher hear certain words. "Share message…Dad business phone…'Dad, play this for Mr. Agreste ASAP…threats made toward me and Adrien…pictures to follow.' And...send."
"I can help you with that," Ms. Mendeleiev spoke up. She took Jasmine's phone and took pictures of the bruises on her neck, then as Jasmine sent the pictures to Roger, she took her own phone and took some pictures for her own records. "And you said there was a recording?"
"Yes, and I know I'm not supposed to do that, but…" Jasmine started.
"You were threatened, so it's all right," Ms. Mendeleiev assured her. "Send the recording to me, and I'll take care of the rest. If this involves Lila Rossi, she won't get away with this!"
***LBCNLBCNLBCN***
When lunchtime came, Jasmine was relaxing under a tree, quietly singing along with a song on her iPod.
When it's midnight on the meadow and the cats are in the shed
And the river tells a story at the window by my bed
If you listen very closely, be as quiet as you can
In the yard you'll hear him, it is the pony man
"That's really pretty, Jazz," Rose smiled as she and Juleka sat with her.
Jasmine smiled and let them hear the song. "Thanks, Rose. Along with writing, music is another way I destress, and Gordon Lightfoot is a favorite artist of mine."
"Nice," Juleka smiled.
"Sounds like a talented dude," Nino smiled as he sat with them and heard the soothing melody. "And this reminds me of one of the lullabies my grandma used to sing to me and my little bro Chris when we were younger."
"That song may be pretty, but you listen to music that people's grandmothers listen to?" Chloe scoffed.
"You have your favorite artists, and I have mine," Jasmine shrugged, then she gasped and was lurched forward as Lila snatched the iPod out of her hand.
"I think we need to get you some better music!" she sneered as she threw it into a bush.
As Nino helped her get the iPod out, Jasmine glared at her. "Lila Rossi, so help me, you are going down! And look around you, these are some more the people who don't believe your crap! You may get one of us, but you can't get everyone!"
As she and Nino checked the iPod over to make sure it hadn't been damaged, they were unaware of the small black butterfly fluttering toward them.
Author's notes
The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie is not mine.
The Discovery Channel show Mythbusters is not mine
Part of Jasmine and Alya's conversation was taken from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
In some stories I've read here, Prince Ali has a brother who works with the environment, while Prince Ali works with children.
The reference to Marinette's great uncle and his soup was from Kung Food
Jasmine, Marc, Adrien, and Nathaniel's dialogue was taken from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Lila tries to frame Jasmine for stealing her necklace like she did with Marinette during Ladybug, but this time Jazz was prepared.
Jasmine's 'War' quote is in reference to War by Edwin Starr, which I do not own
Cream of Toenails is a reference to the Pudding of Sadness from Teen Titans
Kansas' Dust in the Wind is not mine
The Gordon Lightfoot songs that Jasmine was reciting to herself (Sundown, Beautiful, Carefree Highway, I Used to Be a Country Singer, Race Among the Ruins, A Painter Passing Through, Nous Vivons Ensemble, If You Could Read My Mind, and Harmony) are not mine.
The Pony Man by Gordon Lightfoot is also not mine.