CHAPTER 8 – FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

It was a typical day in Ms Bustier's class in Collège Françoise Dupont. Rose, Juleka and Mylène were in a small group, giggling about the prospect of a slumber party the coming weekend. Chloé sat resplendent at the front of the class while Sabrina prepped her on the homework that Chloé had "done" the night before. Alya and Nino were discussing how to improve the Ladyblog while Nathaniel put together ideas for a cartoon collaboration he was planning with Marc.

It was about ten minutes before class was due start when Adrien walked into the class with Félix.

Adrien had gotten used to creating a stir wherever he went. Often there would be gasps from female fans, but his class was used to him by now and he could normally walk into the class with only a few cheery "hellos" to mark his entrance. Today was very different though.

As the cousins walked through the door it was as if someone had flicked a moot switch. Stunned silence filled the room. Adrien hadn't created such a stir since his first day at school.

Most of his classmates had been on the receiving end of Félix's message a few days before. Those who hadn't been there had heard the whole story. And although Félix was not dressed to look like Adrien, there could be no doubt as to who he was. The hypnotic green eyes. The straw gold hair. The identical face to Adrien. The fact that he was with Adrien.

"Hi everyone. This is my cousin Félix" said Adrien cheerfully.

A hiss sounded at the back of the class.

"Yeah, we know who he is" said Ivan sullenly.

Adrien's heart fell. This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid. He turned to Félix.

"Do you mind waiting outside for a few minutes?" he asked.

Félix nodded. "Mr Perfect is going to sort out everything for me. Typical!" he thought to himself as he walked outside.

-000-

"What's HE doing here?" asked Max as soon as the door shut.

"We have standards Adrikins," said Chloé.

Everyone had something to say about Félix attending school, but it was Alya who was the most scathing. "I know he's your cousin Adrien, but he's evil. He went out of his way to hurt you and to hurt us. I don't have time for people like that."

Adrien's shoulders slumped. He knew this was not going to be easy. If only one student could stand by him. His eye fell on Marinette's empty seat. Marinette would help him, but there was no way she would be on time for school, let alone early.

"Everything you say is right. Félix has behaved terribly and I understand why you are all so upset. But his mother is sick. I mean really sick. She is in a deep coma, nobody knows what is wrong with her. He just lost his house. His father died a few months ago and he spent yesterday afternoon crying on my shoulder.

He is going to be staying with my dad and me until his mother gets better. I know he was not very nice, but he is having a terrible time and he needs my love and support. And he apologised for his actions to me, please can we give him a second chance?"

Adrien listened to the same awkward silence that had greeted him a few minutes before. Would nobody give Félix a chance?

Surprisingly it was Chloé who proved to be his saviour:

"Well Adrikens, if you say he's fine, I guess I'm ok with it. Its more eye-candy for me to feast my eyes on at any rate, so I guess I'll tolerate him."

Dear sweet Rose was next.

"Do you really think we can change him for the better? That would be amazing!" she said, screwing her face up between her hands as her eyes looked skywards.

Nino stood up.

"I don't like it, but If you think he's worth it, I'll stand by you," he said, fist bumping his friend.

"He's lucky to have a cousin like you. Given what he's gone through, I think it best that he sit next to you while he's here," he said, winking at Adrien. Nino got up and started walking to an empty space at the back of the class.

Adrien felt a weight lifting from his shoulders as one by one his classmates agreed to give Félix a chance.

"Thanks guys, you are all awesome," Adrien said. "You won't regret it!"

Adrien opened the door and called Félix in. He gave a shy wave to the class, and one or two of the students waved back. It wasn't exactly a friendly atmosphere in the class, but it was a far cry from the glacial atmosphere of five minutes before.

-000-

A loud crash sounded from outside the class. "Late, late, late, always late" a voice chastised herself. "Marinete Dupain-Cheng, you really need to get up earlier. Tomorrow girl, tomorrow!"

The door flew open and Marinette raced into the classroom. As she did so she tripped, strewing her books all over the floor and ending up in an undignified heap on the floor.

The class chucked. Typical Marinette! Félix leaned forward and offered her a hand up.

Marinette blushed as she accepted Félix's proffered hand: "Thhhannks Adrien. You're here. Your hair. You've done something with your hair." Marinette blushed brightly and looked down at her shoes.

"Hi Marinette, this is my cousin Félix," came a voice from her left. Marinette glanced to her left and saw Adrien standing there. She looked back to her right at Félix, then looked back at Adrien.

"Twwoo Adriens?" she stammered. "That's perfect. No, you're perfect. I mean it's perfectly confusing".

Adrien chuckled. "This is Félix, my cousin," he repeated. You might remember him from the other day.

Adrien's words finally worked their way into Marinette's brain.

THAT Félix.

"Oh!" she said. The rosy glow behind Félix that Marinette's mind had created disappeared as she realised who he was. She could still remember the satisfying thump of her fist on his chin when he had tried to kiss her as Ladybug. Worse than his assault on her was what he had done to Adrien on what must have been a very emotional and difficult day for him.

She glanced at Adrien. His beautiful green eyes were silently pleading with her to greet Félix. Much as she could not stand Félix, she could not disappoint Adrien by dismissing his silent plea to her. And her father would always insist on his daughter being polite.

"Manners Marinette, manners," she thought to herself.

"Ugh, nice to meet you?" she said, holding out her hand.

Adrien smiled. Though Marinette had been hurt just as much as the others, if not more, she was the only one that had acted like a real lady and made some sort of effort to welcome Félix from the start. She really was an amazing friend.

"Félix's mother is very ill. He's staying with me for a while and I would really appreciate it if we could all make him feel welcome at school," said Adrien.

Marinette's expression softened as she heard about Félix's mother.

"You poor thing, I'm so sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Marinette gathered her books and moved to the desk behind Adrien and Félix where she sat with Alya.

Adrien turned around and smiled at Marinette.

"I knew I could rely on you Marinette. You are amazing!" He gave her a big wink and turned around to face the front of the class. As a result he missed Marinette turning a bright shade of pink and collapsing in a heap as she considered Adrien's words, repeating them over and over in her mind. "Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! He thinks I'm AMAZING!" A goofy grin crept onto Marinette's face. Alya buried her head in her hands and tried not to laugh.

Adrien thought back on his words. They were true, Adrien thought to himself. Marinette was amazing. He was so lucky to have her as a friend. He often wondered though why she struggled to speak to him and he sometimes wondered if she even liked him. If his heart was not set on Ladybug, he would definitely consider dating Marinette. After all, she was his "Everyday Ladybug".

His train of thought was broken as Ms Bustier walked into the classroom, greeting the class.