Ok, so, three people took up an interest in this story.
That's good enough for me!
If this chapter feels weak to you, then you aren't the only one. I feel like this one is weak, too, but I have no idea how to fix it.
Also, Brit isn't a real person, nor is she an OC... technically, she is, but... well, you know what I mean.
April O'Neil sat inside the airport with her friend, Casey Jones, staring at her phone. Neither had moved for quite a while.
She looked up at the flight times. The Paris flight is about to arrive. Just another five minutes.
She looked at her assembled classmates. They were lucky enough to be chosen to greet the incoming foreign students. Yay!
But there was another reason for the two to be here. Their turtle friend, Donnie, had picked up the presence of the incoming plane hours ago. Hey, he was a genius.
But there was something off about the plane. Donnie told them that the plane with the Paris students that April and Casey's French class was supposed to greet was holding a variety of strange readings. Namely, strange readings that made them think that there was something not entirely human on that plane.
April and Casey had volunteered to keep tabs on the students coming off the plane, since they were all going to be spending some time together, anyway. They figured, what the heck?
Casey looked at the time on April's phone, then back at the flight times.
"One minute, and counting," he said, to no one in particular. Their classmate, Brittany, scoffed.
"Thanks for the useless information, Jones," she said. April would have smacked her for being so rude, but she knew that Casey had a way of dealing with snobs. It was much more effective than any physical violence.
Also, Donnie preferred Casey's method. Whatever could get those two to agree on something was something worth believing in, in April's opinion.
"Not a problem, Sunshine. Just trying to pass on my golden book of knowledge," Casey said to their rude classmate, who just turned away from them with a huff. April couldn't help but giggle.
A plane flew around them from above, and April knew without a doubt that it was the students. She pocketed her phone and fingered the tesson in her boot. If push came to shove, she would be able to pull it out in a matter of seconds. She knew that Casey even had his hockey gear with him. Their classmates thought that he had brought it all just to annoy them, but he really brought it in case of a fight.
"Alright, students, let's get moving!" said their teacher after having returned from a nearby book store. April took a deep breath and stood up, Casey right behind her. She only hoped they didn't have a fight on their hands. Because if they did, a lot of people would get hurt.
Marinette was the last one off the plane. She didn't remember New York very well, except for a few small details. Now that she was back, it felt like returning home, though she had never lived here.
"Um, EW. What is that disgusting smell?" Chloe asked immediately, taking out her expensive perfume and spraying it everywhere.
"I don't think you have enough of that to go around," Alya told her coldly. Chloe glared at her. Marinette stretched her sore limbs.
"Well, seeing as we just spent the last 9 hours on a plane, I would say we aren't exactly used to any smells yet," she said. "It's called jet lag."
"I don't care what it's called," Chloe told her. "I just want it to go away."
Marinette resisted the urge to facepalm. She stood next to her friends as they all waited for the American students they were paired up with.
"I wonder who we'll get?" Alya asked. Marinette shrugged.
"Who knows?" she asked. Nino sighed.
"I just hope we get someone cool to hang with," Nino said, putting an arm around Adrian. "Won't be much fun if we get someone who's only interested in themselves."
"It looks like we won't be waiting around for much longer," Mrs. Bustier said. She gestured to a group of teens headed their way. "I'll bet that's them."
A kindly-looking black woman with curly black hair smiled at them and stuck out her hand. "Bonjour," she said. "Bienvenue à New York!"
"Merci," said Mrs. Bustier. She smiled. "Nous avons en fait un étudiant qui parle couramment l'anglais." (We actually have a student who speaks English fluently.)
She gestured to Marinette when she said this. Said girl smiled and waved to her, saying in perfect English, "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
The woman smiled back at her.
"And it is a pleasure to meet you as well," she said. "Now, how about we introduce everyone?"
"Sounds good!" Marinette said. She translated the request for her classmates. Alya, being ever the social one, introduced herself first. Then it moved on to Alix, then Adrian, Nino, Kim, Ivan, Mylene, and everyone else. The final introduction was given by Chloe, who wasted no time in explaining who her daddy is and what she expected of them.
"And my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she said. The woman before her smiled.
"Ah, so you're the third-place winner? I must say congratulations on your victory!"
"Thank you," Marinette said.
"My name is Mrs. White," said the woman. "This bunch of... interesting people is my class."
Marinette giggled when the teacher said that. Sensing their cue, her students stepped forward and introduced themselves.
"Hi! My name is Brittany, but everyone just calls me Brit," said the first girl. She was blonde with blue highlights in her hair that matched her blue eyes. She had red eye shadow and blood-red lipstick.
"Or Brat," someone mumbled in the audience, causing a few of the girl's classmates to snicker. The girl glared in their direction before turning a sickeningly sweet smile back to Marinette.
"It's nice to meet you," Marinette told her, mindful of her manners. Brit was pushed aside by the other members of her class so that they could introduce themselves as well.
There was Roger, Blaine, Rachel, John, Amelia, Rosa, Lena and Leland (who were twins) and Trevor. There were two more people in the back that walked quietly to the front.
"My name is April," said the red-haired girl. Marinette felt Tikki nudge her through her bag, signaling that there was something odd about this group. Unfortunately, being surrounded by a bunch of people, Marinette couldn't pull her out and talk to her about it.
Marinette smiled at her warmly. Alya came up behind her and put her arm around Marinette's shoulders.
"Who's he?" she asked the red head. April turned to the guy behind her, who wasn't paying attention, and grabbed his shirt, effectively dragging him to the front of the group.
"This is my not-so-charming friend," she said. The guy smiled nervously, revealing his many missing teeth.
"The name is Casey Jones," he said. Marinette's breath caught.
"Casey?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yep. You've heard of me?" he asked. Marinette blinked. How did he not remember her? She was younger than he was the last time they met.
"Casey, do you even know who she is?" April asked. Casey turned his nervous smile to her.
"Not at all," he said. Marinette tried not to let her heart shatter.
"We've said her name like, 3 times already!" Brittany exclaimed. "Were you not paying attention, you giant rat?"
"First of all: I'm Casey Jones. I don't pay attention if I can help it," he said. Marinette felt a little better about that. Maybe he just didn't recognize her. It had been 12 years, after all. "Second of all: don't call me a giant rat. I happen to have met a giant rat before, and he was one of the most respectful and vigilant dudes I've ever met."
Brittany rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, dumpster boy. Her name is Marinette."
Casey almost fell over.
"Wait... WHAT?!"
He turned to Marinette and studied her with such an intense look on his face that she was afraid it would break like glass. She just smiled nervously at him.
"Uh... hi there," she said. Casey smiled really big, confusing all of his classmates.
"As in, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" he asked. She nodded. "What's up little cousin?"
"Well, it's about time," Alya said in French. "I was worried that he had the memory of a walnut."
"I will have you know that walnuts have exceptional memory," he said in perfect French. April just stared at him and Alya facepalmed.
"Right... I forgot that this is the French club."
"Hold on there, Jones," April said. "Did you just call her 'little cousin'?"
"Qui," he said. April flicked the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"Thanks for the heads up!" April told him angrily. Everyone watched the two with interest.
"Hey, I didn't know she was gonna be coming here," Casey tried to defend himself, but Brittany was on April's side.
"We've been talking about her for the past week," she said. Casey's face grew red and he mumbled something incoherently. Marinette giggled and noticed Gabriel Agreste talking to Mrs. Bustier and Mrs. White. The two teachers turned to the two gathered groups of students.
"Alright, students," said Mrs. White. Mrs. Bustier repeated what she said in French, for her students.
"We've already paired you all up. We advise that Parisian students stick with their partners, as they may not be familiar with the streets of New York City. Now, the pairings are as follows: Chloe Bourgeois, Sabrina Raincomprix, and Brittany Baker. Adrian Agreste, Nino Lahiffe, and April O'Neil. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alya Cesaire, and Casey Jones. Kim-"
Marinette stopped listening to the pairings after that. Alya hugged her close while the two walked a little ways away from the massive group along with April and Casey.
"What were the chances of that?" April asked. Casey shrugged.
"A coincidence, perhaps?" he asked. April punched his arm playfully. The two turned to their French guests. "You guys hungry?"
"Always," Adrian said, making everyone laugh. April gestured for them to follow.
"Come on, we've got a great place to eat at," she said.