A guest
It was an early morning study session in the library, Ms Bustier was busy with whatever school curriculum or her private obligations required and the kids were asked to spend their first class for the day quietly studying in the library..
Lila did not get Marinette akumatized and expelled because she was easy to quit. Oh no. She concentrated and eavesdropped on each conversation Felix had, she needed to know when he was going to be in his room, preferably without his mother.
Meanwhile she did slip a thing or two about her connections to students from other classes as her little fiasco with interview was slowly getting set aside if not yet forgotten and she did get an attentive listener or two to her tales that she told while she thought Rosa was too busy to listen.
Chloe began to find the presence of Felix as her seat mate acceptable. They had their own style of conversation and she always had a person to turn to when she wanted to pick a fight, but she was still able to use Sabrina to do her homework as well as help with the other assignments.
Felix did not approve of the way Sabrina was treated and he had chosen his usual boarding school look for that day, with black shoes, slacks, vest and a tie. He stood out in the crowd of students more than Chloe with her yellow designer jacket and make up ever could.
Adrien and Marinette were in their own world, they had some handwritten pages loaded on the screens of their tablets and they spend each and every free moment that they had to study what was written there. Felix was curious enough to snatch a tablet, but Adrien snatched it back instantly.
Alya, that pretentious journalist Ladyblogger girl was typing her next piece for her blog about … whatever she thought would be interesting these days while there was no akuma and she had no chance of getting an exclusive from a Chinese prison and did not bother her friends for one.
That study session, Felix found himself utterly bored in the library. The only subject that posed true challenge for catching up was French and he was not thinking about the literature but about the way people conversed with each other and their little word games.
He was determined to eavesdrop while he dealt with some worksheets. Thanks to heavens and Sabrina, Chloe was at another desk and pestered her best friend to help her with her tasks. Another desk hosted that Nathaniel guy and another boy with black hair that were too quiet for any use.
Ivan, Kim, Nino and Max formed one group while Alix, Mylenne, Juleka and Rose formed another and he was certain all the tasks were solved and explained by one person and the rest of them just copied the procedure and applied their own numbers.
Felix wanted a distraction, he needed a distraction, because if he got even slightly more bored, he just might actually work on his worksheet. And then the distraction provided itself, in a form he least wished for.
"Oh, hi, Felix, is this seat taken." Lila was already taking a seat by his side although there were two more seats at the opposite side of the desk. Felix kept the bored expression on his face, turned forwards and did not bother with pleasantries such as 'please take a seat' since she was already seated.
"I was just thinking how this look looks far better on you." One of her hands was on his forearm, another on his shoulder. He kept firm and motionless, set there as a stone, but darn, he needed to breathe, especially if he wanted to talk.
"It fits your personality much better." She noted slyly. Felix was wearing that because it allowed him to blend in if not hide in plain sight, to pull pranks and get away with it for being such a polite boy otherwise, he was not wearing bland clothes because it reflected his personality.
"It really shows how classy you are. I'm so glad you joined our class. The two of us might get along so well." Her hand sneaked from his shoulder into his hair. He was not having that, but he only frowned and made a face to warn her. She did return the hand to his shoulder.
"I know how hard it is to switch schools and countries." She continued slyly. "I might be able to help you if you let me. In fact we might be able to help each other out." Her other hand was moving up and down his arm, his body reacted. He frowned again.
"Some people in this class are … less than you want them to be." She feigned being hurt. "I know we started off a bit roughly, but I want to give you a chance to get over our initial misunderstandings, get to know each other better and become friends. I know people, I could help you."
If anyone knew people, it was his mother, and Chloe, and probably him and Adrien, but definitely not Lila, well she obviously knew Hawk Moth so maybe she had more connections in that department, but Felix seriously doubted that. One of her hands stroked his neck and the other his arm.
"Lila? What are you doing? I sent you to work on your worksheets on your own while I make a phone call to my supervisor and I find you all over this boy … Felix? Can't you see that he is feeling awkward and uncomfortable?" Rosa was talking quietly, but they were in a library, everyone overheard.
"He is just feeling isolated and alone after he transferred schools and countries, I know how that is, I was just trying to make him feel better." Lila feigned being hurt by the comments of her learning assistant, but at least she had to remove her hands off from the boy and he sighed in relief.
"Okay, we can sit here and work on your worksheets so he doesn't feel so alone." Rosa took the seat on the opposite side. There was no other choice if the two of them wanted to sit side by side. Lila switched seats and Felix realized he had unconsciously tilted away from her.
He had to work on his act more. With Rosa on the other end of the desk, he had no choice but to start to write something on those worksheets. Once he set his mind to it, it was easy to find answers and he still had a chance to overhear other conversations in the library.
Lila was delayed, again, after school, by her teaching assistant. First they had to go through all her notes and then she had to persuade the woman that she was perfectly able to finish the homework on her own, otherwise the woman would have kept her in school until finished.
She sneaked out from the library five minutes later, when she was certain to avoid the woman, and found her way out of school without being seen, or seeing anybody. Felix explicitly mentioned that he had no plans after school and he was going straight to the hotel with Chloe.
Lila sneaked around the hotel expertly, she could not go around unseen but she hoped for unnoticed, she reached the door and knocked. She heard some rustle on the other side. She waited patiently for a few moments, she was about to knock again when the door swung open.
"Hello, how can I help you." A blonde woman with green eyes in an elegant dress asked her politely with a small smile on her lips. Amelie recognized Lila, but did not acknowledge her by her name, mostly because she could not remember it at that very moment.
"Hello, my name is Lila, I was looking for Felix. We go to the same class. You see I'm also a transfer student and … " She spoke slyly about how she was there to help Felix with his school transfer and classes and worksheets and exams and avoided to mention her contract with Gabriel.
"Well, I'm Amelie, Felix's mother." The woman replied once Lila actually stopped talking. They did meet before in the Agreste mansion. "My son did not return from school just yet." She stopped talking and waited for Lila's reaction. The girl did no offer to leave and return some other time.
"The school finished, I was in the library to pick up a few things we would need for our studies and walked over here." Lila explained. She pretended that her school bag was heavy from the books and she suffered just keeping them up. "Sorry, my arthritis is picking up." She held her wrist.
"He might have mentioned that he has fencing this afternoon. He just made it into the academy yesterday, did he tell you how, it was so exciting, they seldom take new students and he made it in so exceptionally and it popped up as a surprise in his schedule." The mother gushed about his son.
"Fencing?" Lila was certain that he mentioned he had nothing just a few hours ago. Did that pop up just for his mother or the boy really had fencing was an issue. Well she was not going to betray him, that was pure blackmail material if her instincts were right.
"Yes, fencing." She smiled like a proud mother she was. "Oh, poor girl, he must have made plans with you before he learned about the changes in his schedule." Amelie sighed. "I'm so sorry he must have forgotten to tell you anything about it."
"Yes, I guess." Lila feigned feeling hurt, she covered her eyes and pretended to wipe tears that just appeared there. "I'm so sorry to disturb you Madame Graham De Vanily. I just wanted to help him with his schoolwork, he is so alone there, nobody wants to help him out and I know how it was for me. "
Amelie knew acting when she saw it. It was her job to judge if someone was acting well or not, it was her job to employ people who were good actors and to employ people who knew when people were acting well. Lila was a good actress, but not that good to hide the fact that she was acting.
"Well, why don't you come inside then?" Amelie decided she could use some company and study this girl a little more. At first she thought that Lila simply liked her son, but now she started to doubt that. This girl worked with Gabriel and Amelie wanted to know more.
"Why don't you take a seat. Would you like some tea?" She offered and turned away towards the mirror to be able to see what the girl was doing while she did not know she was being watched. She also knew how Adrien and Marinette were always ready to help her son, it was him who avoided it.
Lila did not waste a single moment, she scanned the room, it was furnished like a small living room with three doors leading somewhere, probably to two small separate bedrooms and a bathroom. There were plenty of documents all around the floor, the writing desk, the coffee table, the chairs.
Lila pretended to look for a place to sit while she tried to read them. There were financial reports, ownership status, legal statements, law exceptions, licence agreements, she was getting dizzy from everything she'd seen. But it only confirmed that Amelie intended to take over the business.
"Thank you, but I prefer coffee. I guess that's because I'm Italian." Lila sat down to the only free chair there was (right next to her but she pretended to look further). She continued to read the documents that were close enough for her.
"Oh, we do have coffee here, but you wouldn't call these instant bags coffee in Italy." Amelie played with some brown packages. "I have an idea, why don't I call up Audrey, her daughter Chloe goes to your class, we can go together to the cafe in the hotel." She looked at Lila in the mirror.
"No, no, no, thank you very much for the offer Madame, but I am here just because of Felix, to help him with his schoolwork, nothing else, I didn't mean to impose." That was a scenario Lila intended to avoid. She was very much aware that Chloe organized the learning assistant.
Amelie read panic in the girl's voice. So, she did not want Chloe around. This was the right moment to flip the record and resolve something completely different. And perhaps pave the way to interrogate about what she was truly interested in.
"Okay, then, I think we should resolve the issues that were raised with your contract with the Gabriel fashion. This is a copy of a contract that I want you to take to your mother." She handed over the sheets of paper. "The simplest solution would be if she signed it."
"Okay, thank you, I will make sure that she does." And if you turn around I might as well sign it for her and return it to you, but you'd be asking questions. Lila thought. "Should I send it back through Felix or should I bring it back myself?"
"Bring it back, please." Amelie knew her son to well. This was a test, a copy was sent formally to Mme Rossi through a lawyer, she wanted to know what would Lila do if this was given into her hands. "My son is so scatterbrained sometimes, like he forgot about his fencing today."
"Oh, well then, I will make sure my mother signs this and I can bring this back tomorrow." Lila smiled slyly and put the papers in her bag. She took her time, because her eyes were actually on one of the documents on the floor.
It was not a secret to Ameilie what Lila was doing, she observed the girl carefully both in the mirror and in person, she tried to see what was it that Lila was looking for, was there anything that drew her attention more that the other things.
"Lila, I saw your interview." Amelie finally decided to go straight to the point. She needed to clarify if anything in those fifteen minutes of fame piece was even remotely real, if there was any truth in it. She was having her own investigation, fuelled by her own knowledge and facts long forgotten.
"Which interview?" Because she did make a few. "The first one that I did was on the Ladyblog?" It still was but with such introduction that she did not want anyone to look. "Or perhaps some of the later ones or ..." She looked at Amelie. "Or the last one." There was finally a reaction.
"Yes, the last one." The woman confirmed verbally to cut out any possible acting. "I want to know why my brother in law did what he did." Amelie stated. She had her doubts, she had unconfirmed posts from a Chinese student, but there was no video, it might have been false.
"Oh, he wanted to protect Adrien. You see, it was my task to protect Gabriel's son from the bad influence he had in school, especially from Marinette, then Nino, Alya and the rest of the class. Even Chloe and Kagami were bad." Lila listed practically all Adrien's friends she knew.
"Oh, really? What kind of a bad influence?" Amelie crossed her arms. This was not what she was looking for, but she did enlist her own son into that class so she might as well pay attention and learn more, or dismiss the claim, whatever this lead her to.
"Such improper behaviour, unfit for a person of his class and family." Lila smiled slyly and feigned that she suffered just how lowlifes ruined everything. "I'm afraid it is too late for Adrien now, but you should be aware of the situation on Felix's behalf."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that." Amelie smirked. "It can only enrich a person if they make friends with persons from all kinds of origins and classes, with different life experiences and financial means. It can only enrich them as a person."
Lila shrunk in herself, defeated, she was so certain she pressed the right buttons to get in favour of this woman, she did not expect it to hit her right back.
Amelie switched the subject and took her time to explain a few things about Lila's contract and nudge the girl to make her mother sign the original (not the useless copy she had given to the girl) and finally sent Lila home about an hour after she arrived.