Chapter 5
School Starts
Celine was almost tempted to get rid of her alarm.
Seriously, what was the point of having an alarm when you were always up before it could wake you?
Celine tried to stay in bed a little longer. After all, she'd had about 8 hours of sleep, and was, once again, up before the sun.
She gave up after 15 minutes and no head way.
Her wristwatch glowed, and Celine got up at 6:15am.
After a quick shower and towel drying of her hair, Celine flicked on the light in her walk-in wardrobe and criticized her outfit choices.
It took a few minutes, but eventually Celine was dressed and smiling at her reflection.
A cream coloured off-the-shoulder, long sleeved top, embroidered with purple and blue orchids, and green vines.
Dark blue jeggings with white flowers and leaves embroidered on the cuffs.
A tawny-coloured trench coat, lined with tortilla brown fabric, the coat an inside-out creation that could also be worn the inverse of her current choice, and a pair of light brown flats, topped with purple and white bows completed the look.
Satisfied, Celine began to hum her mother's lullaby.
Lena had always loved the night.
Celine remembered many an outing where they'd simply taken a picnic blanket into the backyard and lain down to stare at the stars.
Under her breath, she began to sing.
"Starlight,
shine bright,
in this darkened night.
Let the light,
fade away,
with the dusk of today.
Stars shine,
and the moon glows,
in this velvet sky.
Watching you,
wishing you,
the sweetest dreams of all.
So…"
She broke off when the tell-tale signs of Scaale's awakening filled the room.
"You going to groan and mutter like that all day, or did you want to have some breakfast?"
He was up and floating in front of her in a whiz of black and white.
"Uh… You realise I still have to GET the food before you can eat it? But we'll be headed down soon anyway."
She giggled sweetly when he rolled his eyes at her.
A quick brush through of her hair, she'd pull it into a bun before they got to school, and the clasping and sliding of her necklace, earrings, rings and white gold bracelet, and Celine had hefted her satchel over her shoulder and was out the door.
A few seconds passed, and the door was tentatively pushed open…
"…Oops? Sorry. Shall we go?" Celine said, her eyes sparkling with laughter, but also genuine apology.
Her hands held her bag open invitingly.
Scaale could only shake his head.
He hadn't had the time to move from his hovering spot, what with the whirlwind pace his charge seemed to have whenever she was excited.
Flying over to Celine, Scaale quickly disappeared into the open satchel.
Touched, though not overly surprised, at the comfy setting she'd made in his corner.
Celine waited until she was certain Scaale had settled into his temporary room, and made a dash for the elevator.
It was barely past 07:00am, and the breakfast buffet wasn't yet open, but Celine knew well enough about the perks that came with fame.
Silently making her way over to the kitchens, she wasn't disappointed.
Preparations had probably been underway for more than an hour, by the looks of things.
Kitchen staff were bustling about the place, each with their own job and agenda. One checked the eggs, another was seasoning the bacon, two were taking inventory, and the head chef had her eagle eye overseeing EVERYTHING.
The smell of freshly buttered croissants gave Celine a better idea though.
She knew of the quality of the hotel's food, but she ate at least one meal a day there, and sometimes, she craved something a little… homier.
Her mind made up, Celine slipped away, surprised and pleased that no-one seemed to have noticed her.
She just remembered to tie her hair up into a messy bun, before exiting the hotel.
Her head turned this way and that, and her intuition didn't disappoint.
Timeo stood next to one of the family limos, pressed suit and sunglasses without a hair out of place, a tower of strength and indifference.
Celine felt herself stiffen at the sight.
'My name carries a heavy weight. Miss Doux is an icon of the media that is a target for misfortune, which is why everyone always tries to protect me.'
Celine allowed herself one last sigh, rubbing her hands together in silent reprimand that she hadn't thought to bring a scarf.
The morning was a bit on the biting side, especially considering the sun had yet to rise, though the earl grey of the sky was starting to dilute, the clouds decorated with roses, oranges and buttercups alike.
Timeo straightened the instant Celine stepped out of the hotel, his expression giving away nothing of his confusion at her earlier appearance.
It was his job to remain cool and collected at all times, protecting his charge from anything that would wish her harm.
"Good morning, Timeo."
Celine's voice was sweet, despite remaining distant.
"Good morning, mademoiselle." He replied, offering her a flitting smile, which served to brighten hers. And somewhat unwind the tightness her discomfort caused his heart.
No child should have to go through what she had.
It just served to underline the unfairness of life.
"We'll be making a quick side stop at the Bakery on the corner, near the school." Celine said, a smile in her voice, which stopped Timeo from prying for her reasons.
The big man opened the car door for her and immediately got into the vehicle himself, glad that he'd thought ahead to warm the car up a bit.
Celine's shivering had been well disguised, but some bodily reactions simply couldn't be hidden, or supressed.
Celine sighed at the thought.
Still. She might even catch Marinette before going to school, and THAT thought certainly cheered her up somewhat.
"Here we are, Miss Doux." Timeo said suddenly.
Celine had expected it to take longer, but was pleased to note that she had plenty of time to enjoy a nice breakfast before going to school.
The door jingled a jolly tune, which only seemed to be amplified by Tom's happy humming.
Celine chuckled quickly to herself.
Having to restrain herself somewhat in Timeo's presence.
"Good morning Tom, Sabine." Celine called to the back of the bakery, addressing Sabine with a kind nod as the confused woman stood behind the counter of her bakery.
Recognition lit her eyes quickly enough, but she took the silent hint beautifully.
"Good morning dear. What can I help you with?"
Sabine's good-natured welcome immediately had Celine relaxing. Her smile turning sunny and warm at the simple feeling of, belonging, that washed over her.
"Hm… I'll have one of your brown bread rolls with lettuce, cucumber and cream cheese please… Oh, and a packet of roasted almonds." Celine answered, her eyes skimming over the various products on view, her mouth watering at the delicious scents stemming from the back of the bakery.
"Coming right up sweetheart. Now. Was that to have here, or…" Sabine trailed off, eyeing Timeo with a mixed look of uncertainty and disapproval.
"To have here, please. I was hoping to see Marinette before headed to school. I have to be there a little earlier for my first day." Celine elaborated, offering a sheepish shrug and smile when Sabine shook her head in slight exasperation.
-o-
Sabine wasn't at all pleased with the child's confined freedom.
Though she could only assume that the extra protection was necessary because of her name, Celine was very much a young teen, spontaneous and curious about all things LIFE…
She shouldn't have had to be taught poise, propriety and politeness for the sake of an external appearance.
Sabine was simmering silently, but the smile never left her lips as she directed her two customers to one of the bigger tables, sat right next to a large window AND the stairs.
"Would you like to have something too, Timeo?"
Sabine heard Celine ask as her bodyguard took a seat next to her.
"No, thank you, Miss." Timeo answered dully, his eyes never moving to see Celine's somewhat defeated expression, as he continued his observation of the quaint, little establishment.
Sabine's hands clenched around the mug she'd just gotten out of the cupboard.
'How COULD he!'
Sabine had seen Celine's reactions, glad to have seen the Bakery work its magic in relaxing the teen.
But that, that imbécile!
She'd closed up like the sky before a storm, like the life had been drained out of her.
She'd wiped the look from her face quickly enough, straightening her shoulders and plastering on a smile meant to blind people to the spark her eyes now lacked.
It tore at her heart to see a child so placid.
So obedient and defeated.
Celine was lacking in the love department of her life, Sabine was sure of it, and how ANY parent could let such a thing happen to their child was beyond her.
Then again, Celine wasn't the only child she knew who lacked in the parental love department.
Sabine replaced the store brand mug and hurried to the back of the bakery, where some of the family mugs were still sitting.
Quickly washing them off, and taking one back to the front counter with her, Sabine set about making Celine a nice cup of hot chocolate to enjoy with her breakfast.
No child would feel unloved or uncared for in her bakery.
Not. A. Chance.
-o-
Celine did her best to remain still and silent while waiting for her breakfast, but soon gave in to temptation. The window behind her was open, and noises, scents and colours were proving to be very distracting.
So, she turned around to have a look.
The side-street that Celine could see, lead directly to the park opposite both the bakery, and her new school.
Parisians of all ages were currently bustling along the little avenue.
A man in a suit, with a newspaper tucker firmly under the arm that wasn't carrying his briefcase.
A young woman holding two red leads, twin, brown, miniature poodles at the of each one.
A group of primary school kids chasing each other, no doubt on their way to the park for some morning sport, their parents trailing behind them with gentle smiles and laughing eyes.
Every person sported their own style, matching clothes with colours, and hairstyles with accessories.
The process never ceased to fascinate Celine.
How a person could be made to look bland or bright, simple or extravagant, handsome or devious, sexy or sweet.
Celine loved standing in front of a mirror and trying out all those different looks.
It was a way to match her emotions to her clothes, her hair to her outfit, in a secret language only she seemed to understand.
She cast a discrete sideways glance at Timeo…
She wished she had someone to share her language with. It was no fun having to converse with yourself all the time.
Celine was pulled out of her ponderings by a startled yelp, followed by a series of crashes and a final "Aie!", which presented Marinette at the bottom of the stairs.
Celine immediately sprung up from her seat and rushed to her new friend's side.
"Oh my gosh, Mari! Are you all right?"
On her part, Marinette couldn't decide which issue to deal with first.
The fact that she'd actually woken up to the sound of her alarm, the fact that Celine was in her parent's bakery so early in the morning, OR, the fact that a very intimidating figure was currently overshadowing Celine.
"Umm, I, uh, that is, ah, I-I'm good. Thanks Leni."
Marinette finally found her voice to answer Celine's question.
Once the words registered, it seemed as though a thought struck Celine and she half-turned to the person currently standing behind her.
"Timeo, this is my friend, Marinette. She and her family are no threat to me. You may resume your position, thank you."
Her diplomatic tone. The imposing stance of her posture, despite still being half-crouched on the floor. The way her voice almost seemed to resonate around the room. Celine was slowly starting to remind Marinette of Adrien when he was around his father's employees.
The young blonde then turned her attention back to her friend.
"No problem. Want a hand up?" Celine asked, rising to offer Marinette her hand.
"Sure."
Marinette took Celine's hand in her own and rose to her feet.
"Thanks."
Celine smiled at the acknowledgement of her help, moving to sit back down, with Marinette right beside her.
Once they were both seated, Sabine brought out a tray with two cups of hot chocolate, as well as a fresh baguette, and variety of spreads, meats and cheeses, and Celine's order too.
"Oh, this looks just lovely. Thank you, Sabine." Celine said, the awe in her voice undeniable as she took in the spread laid before her.
"Thank you, dearie. Now, would you mind accompanying Marinette on her way to school, she's usually late, for reasons she's made rather obvious."
Sabine chuckled at her little joke, and although Marinette's cheeks flamed embarrassment, she was laughing quietly.
"Well. Bon appétit Leni." Marinette said, cutting herself a slice of the baguette and reaching for the butter before Celine quite had time to register the fleeting family moment.
She smiled at Marinette's enthusiastic approach to her breakfast, make the food fast, enjoy it slowly. It was a good principle.
"Bon appétit Mari." Celine answered, taking a testing bite out of her bread roll, and almost moaning in delight.
The bread was soft, fluffy and warm and somehow hadn't gone soggy from the cucumber.
The vegetable had a light seasoning of salt and pepper and the lettuce was fresh and juicy.
Celine immediately noted that Sabine had used a low fat, skim variety of cream cheese as well.
Mothers were interesting like that.
Celine hadn't said a thing, and it was like she hadn't needed to.
Sabine had just known that she'd prefer light to normal cream cheese.
The hot chocolate was no less perfect.
Steaming and creamy, thick with milk, chocolate and a dressing of cream on top.
Pure. Heaven.
"Oh, that was delicious." Celine said at the end of the meal, having to restrain herself from licking her lips as Marinette was, and instead carefully cleaning her mouth with a serviette.
"No question about that." Marinette agreed, taking the tray to the back of the bakery, where her mother was quick to shoo her out, neither girl having checked the clock since starting their meal.
"You've got twenty minutes till school starts you two, you'll want to get going soon." Sabine called from the counter, the bakery slowly filling with more and more customers as the morning brightened.
The two teens cast identical looks of shock at the clock, that seemed to have stood still as they chatted over their breakfast a few minutes earlier.
Light met dark blue, both sparking in friendly competition.
"Race ya?" Celine challenged, making sure Timeo held the door open.
Marinette's eyes narrowed as a competitive smile lit her face.
"Oh, you're ON, Leni." She replied, grabbing her pink backpack and hightailing it out of the bakery, with Celine hot on her heels.
"Haaa, kids."
Sabine sighed as they exited, offering Timeo a polite smile as he paid for Celine's meal, and quickly made his way to the car, knowing he was expected to escort Celine on school grounds, until the teacher invited her into her new classroom.
"Ha, ha, man, ha, you're FAST, ha, ha, phew." Marinette complimented, still panting from the short sprint.
Celine had actually managed to beat her in a fair race, and she'd been so focused on her opponent, that she hadn't tripped up once.
"Ha, you're, ha, ha, complimenting ME? Phew… I haven't had a workout like that in AGES." Celine replied, grinning despite the splitting stitch she currently had in her side.
She really needed to warm up before deciding to take up a race like that.
Marinette shot her a grin of her own.
"Well, remind me to bet against Kim if you ever get caught in one of his dares." She murmured, causing Celine's brow to crease in confusion.
"Oh. Right. Kim's one of my classmates. Tall guy with blond-tipped hair, really proud of his athletic capabilities, and you can get him to do pretty much anything if you dare him to." Marinette elaborated.
"Right… Well, I guess I'll catch up with you during the break?" Celine said slowly, both girls noting Timeo's approaching shadow.
"You got it. My friend Alya and I usually meet up out here before deciding what to do during break, so we'll meet up here." Marinette confirmed, causing Celine's smile to brighten.
It was amazing how that happened.
"Great. See you then Mari."
Celine waved her good-bye, quickly checking her surroundings and retying her messy bun as Timeo lead her up the steps to her new school.
The next couple of minutes were boring, but necessary.
The Principal formally welcomed her to Collège Françoise Dupont and introduced her to her homeroom teacher. Caline Bustier. A kindly teacher who was both young and knowledgeable.
A short haircut with a natural ginger colouring, and bright, intelligent eyes.
"Good morning, Miss Doux. It's a pleasure to have you in my class." Madame Bustier said, the words were well versed, but genuine, so Celine offered a smile in response.
"Good morning to you Madame Bustier. I look forward to meeting my new classmates."
The red-head's smile softened at the truthful admission. She turned her attention to her employer, and the hulking form of Celine's bodyguard.
"I believe I can take it from here."
Mr Damocles nodded his consent as his employee turned her attention to Celine's bodyguard.
"She will be completely safe during school hours, you may pick her up at the end of the school day." She addressed Timeo.
The man completely ignored her, waiting for Celine's orders.
"Don't worry, Timeo. I feel very safe here, and Marinette's here too. Stay in the area if it makes you feel better, and you may pick me up at the end of the school day… Unless I call for you earlier." Celine said, and Timeo nodded his understanding, bid the two adults a good day and took his leave of the school building, forcing his gaze to the car as Chloé and Hugo passed him, no doubt on their way to Miss Bourgeois' first class of the day.
Chloé refused to let Hugo leave her side until her teacher for homeroom showed up.
"Now then." Madame Bustier said, turning her attention to the young blonde standing before her.
The poor dear didn't seem to know quite how to act.
In fact, she reminded her very much of a new student she'd had only two years ago, they even had the same hair colour.
"…Any schooling experience?" Caline asked, trying for a normal conversation to get the poor girl to relax a little.
"I was home schooled." Celine replied, her voice quiet, almost reminiscing, Caline decided to change the subject.
"You know my class president then?"
When all she got was a curious, though also confused, look, Madame Bustier elaborated.
"You mentioned Marinette's name, so I just assumed…" Caline trailed off, amazed at the change Celine seemed to undergo just by hearing the girl's name.
Her eyes lit up like stars coming out from behind the cloud cover, her lips, which had
been pressed into a thin line only moments before, now split into a sweet and caring smile.
Oh, they knew each other all right.
Looked like Caline Bustier had just found a very good topic to discuss with Celine until they reached the classroom.
"So, how'd you two meet?" She asked the teen, as genuinely curious, as she was doing her job.
"Um…"
Celine fiddled with her hands, eyes flicking about the place in slight embarrassment.
"I got caught out in the storm yesterday, and ended up in Marinette's parents' bakery. She let me dry off and warm up, and we got to know each-other while I worked the rush hour shift with her, as thanks."
Though the teacher's external appearance didn't change, inside she was honestly shocked. Though, she quickly realised, that it was rather foolish of her to be.
Celine may have grown up in high society, but that made her no different than Adrien.
They were expected to behave a certain way, but that didn't mean they didn't know how to work, to be thankful, kind, aware.
If anything, children like that were typically more AWARE than others.
Aware of their surroundings, aware of their social standing, aware of their parent's expectations, aware of the value of friendship, honesty and genuine kindness.
"So, what made you come to THIS collége?" Caline asked, hoping to learn a little more about her new student.
"Oh, well, my cousin goes to this school, and my mother said it was the best school in the district. So, I guess I just figured it was my best choice?"
She didn't sound all too sure of herself, but Caline supposed that that was normal when you grew up in such a demanding environment, always pressured by people and parents alike.
"A-huh, and, what are you looking forward to at this school?"
The question seemed to surprise the blonde teen, though she downplayed her external reaction remarkably well. She'd make a good actress, if she wanted to be one.
"Well… making new friends, and, maybe learning a few new things."
Celine's response was fumbling and vague but as honest as it could be.
Madame Bustier found her fondness for this new student growing.
They reached the classroom in no time.
Madame Bustier pinched the bridge of her nose as the noise of her class crept through the cracks of the door, and into the hallway.
"Sounds like fun in there."
Caline turned her head in surprise, eyes widening at the wistful expression in Celine's eyes.
Oh, the poor darling.
Caline swore that THAT expression would evaporate whenever Celine was in her class.
Again, scolding herself for holding Celine to the mould her parents had created for her.
Every child was a unique individual, and Madame Bustier was going to find Celine's talents, and teach her to learn more about them, and enjoy being at school.
"Well. I have to go in and get them settled down. Come in and stand up the front when I call you, and we'll take it from there."
Celine nodded up at her new teacher, she liked this red-head, she seemed to genuinely care for her students.
There were a few words exchanged between students and teacher, and Celine soon heard Madame Bustier call her into the classroom.
"Alright class. This is our new student." Madame Bustier said, cueing Celine to introduce herself.
Celine searched the room from corner to corner, curious glances and quiet whispers going unheeded as she scanned over each of her new classmates.
In the back row, there was a pair of girls at the left desk, a noirette with purple streaks and shy brown eyes, and a petit little blonde with a pixie haircut, and open blue eyes.
On the right, there was a slim brunette with tan skin and olive-green eyes, her gaze reminded Celine of a lonely liar, while the guy on the very right seemed to be quite the rock fan, black hair with a small blonde tip, he was big in every sense of the word, but he had a softness in his gaze.
In front of him, there was a skinny red-head busying himself with a sketchpad, Celine guessed that he was the shy type. Not unlike his desk buddy, a tubby little girl with blonde dreadlocks, some of which had been dyed pink, green and blue, who was also avoiding eye-contact.
At the desk to their right, or Celine's left, sat a short, skinny girl with pink hair pulled into a short side-ponytail, her outfit dubbed her a sporty little whirlwind who wasn't afraid of a challenge, but she also didn't seem overly interested in the new girl.
In front of her sat two guys, one look at the guy on the very left, and Celine knew he was that Kim kid that Marinette had described to her earlier that morning, next to him sat a small, dark-skinned guy with glasses and a keen eye, obviously one of the smart ones in the class.
Next to them sat a shyly waving Marinette, which had Celine smiling a little brighter, and next to her was a brunette with auburn tips, glasses, and intelligent eyes; she was whispering to Marinette, casting flicking glances between her and Celine. She seemed nice.
In front of them sat two other guys, a tanned guy with glasses, dark hair, and an orange cap, and a green-eyed, blond model that seemed oddly familiar to Celine, though that may have been because his face was on so many French fashion magazines...
Quickly moving her gaze to the last desk, Celine almost did a double-take upon recognising her cousin, and whom she suspected to be Sabrina, since Chloé had mentioned a helpful red-headed acquaintance when Celine had asked her about life at a public school.
The class quieting down as Celine finished looking at her new classmates, she decided to introduce herself.
"Good morning. My name is Estelle Celine Doux, but please just call me Celine. It's nice to meet all of you." She capped off with a smile, and everyone returned her greeting in voices of varying loudness, tone and time phrases.
It couldn't have been a more perfect introduction to her public-school life.
Madame Bustier called everyone's attention back to her.
"Very good. Now, Celine, why don't you take a seat next to…" The teacher trailed off as she realised she was missing a student, didn't quite know where to seat Celine, and had yet to mark the roll.
The small pinkette raised her hand and called out,
"She can sit with me Madame. Léo can squish in with those two."
She gestured to Kim and his desk buddy upon their mention.
Madame Bustier heaved a sigh of relief.
"That would be perfect, thank you Alix."
Celine immediately noted the new name, and the face to which it belonged.
When she didn't move right away, Madame Bustier made a motion with her hands, and Celine immediately took the hint, and moved to take her seat.
-o-
"Is it just me, or did she look at Adrien longer than all our other classmates?
It's just me, isn't it? I mean she was looking at everyone, and everyone includes Adrien, but... What's so funny?" Marinette asked Alya in a hushed whisper.
Alya just chuckled at her friend's predictability.
"She was looking at everyone, Marinette. Maybe she recognised him from a magazine. She is new around here, so it makes sense that she'd recognise someone famous." Alya says, trying to comfort her freaking-out friend.
Secretly though, Alya's reporter sense was tingling.
Celine's gaze HAD lingered on Adrien longer than on their other classmates, and it hadn't JUST been the recognition of a model that had flashed in Celine's dark blue eyes.
But Marinette didn't have to know that… Yet.
She was much too tight strung at the moment as was.
"She's pretty though." Alya commented, wanting to hear every detail of how those two knew each other.
She wasn't lying either.
With her hair pulled into a high, messy, bun, loose ringlets of pale gold framing her face.
Small ears sporting a pair of plain diamond studs.
Big, bright eyes of dark blue, like the velvet colour of the night sky after dusk but before darkness.
A tall, toned body, and KILLER fashion sense.
The girl could've been slapped onto a magazine cover herself.
"Yeah, she is. She moved here from Germany just last week, her parents want her to have a French education, and she's living with her uncle and cousin at the moment." Marinette said, relaying what Celine had told her over breakfast.
Alya's eyes gleamed.
She loved new stories, and the latest gossip had just taken a seat next to Alix.
Looks like Léo would be squished in with Kim and Max.
Alya didn't think he'd complain, the guy had only just enrolled last term, and was already known as the class clown, alongside Kim.
Which was funny, because he and his parents performed with the circus, but as acrobats and trapeze flyers.
He had a morning show today, but boy was third period going to be entertaining!
"She's taken Léo's spot." Alya pointed out, trying not to laugh at Marinette's lightning fast reaction. Her head whipping about to see the formerly unoccupied seat.
Marinette groaned.
"Ugh. No WONDER it was so quiet this morning."
Alya chuckled. Léo wasn't just a class clown, but also a HUGE flirt, which, as Alya had found out last term, COMPLETELY rubbed Marinette the wrong way.
"Don't worry, you don't have to deal with him until third period. But you WILL have to deal with him, since I doubt he'll turn a blind eye to that." Alya said, flicking her wrist in Celine's general direction.
Alix had taken the wall seat, so Marinette and Celine were sitting directly diagonally to one another.
"Oh, we'll have to warn her during break." Alya spluttered at Marinette's worried words.
"…and miss out on the show of a lifetime. Hell no! I wanna see how she reacts to him! No matter the outcome, it's going to be one hilarious show."
Marinette can only shake her head at Alya's words.
She'd give Celine fair warning, and she'd offer to step in, if it became necessary.
-o-
"So, uh, did you want to have the aisle seat, or stay next to the wall?" Celine asked Alix, standing uncertainly in the aisle.
Alix raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "Are you seriously asking me that?"
She seemed to remember something though, Madame Bustier had probably told everyone that it was her first time at a public school, since she gave her an answer.
"I'll take the wall."
Her voice reminded Celine of a river, changing with her emotions, but always spoken clearly and honestly, with a hint of challenge in every tone.
Celine smiled at her, which got her an uncertain smile in return.
She'd have to change that.
"Right then, let's take the roll, shall we?" Madame Bustier said.
Celine cast Alix a confused glance, which made her chuckle quietly.
"It means she'll read out everyone's name, so that she knows who's here today." Alix explained, causing Celine to blush a little, giggling at her own lacking knowledge.
"Oh." She whispered in response, tuning in to the names of her classmates, and trying to remember who was who.
"Adrien Agreste." Blonde guy who seemed to remind her of someone.
"Chloé Bourgeois." Already knew that one.
"Ivan Bruel." Big guy at the back of the class.
"Alya Césaire." Marinette's friend, auburn tipped, brown hair, seemed to like plaid patterns.
"Juleka Couffaine." Purple streaks girl with slightly goth inspired wardrobe.
"Celine Doux."
…
Oh, right, that was her name.
"Uh… Present?" Celine said, once she snapped back to herself.
Adrien and his bench partner both seemed to develop sudden coughing fits, the oldest trick in the book to cover up laughter, but, oh well.
Madame Bustier gave her a reassuring smile, and then continued marking the roll.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Black pig-tails, sweetest person Celine knew, honest and open blue eyes, had the biggest heart ever… Madame Bustier was calling the next person.
"Mylène Haprèle." The shy girl with the multi-coloured dreadlocks.
"Max Kanté." The dark-skinned guy that sat next to Kim.
"Alix Kubdel." Celine's sporty, little, desk partner.
"Nathaniel Kurtzberg." The red-headed sketcher with a German-sounding name.
That'd be easy enough to remember.
"Nino Lahiffe." The tanned neighbour to Adrien, who seemed to be the physical yin to Adrien's yang.
Celine swallowed a chuckle at her mental comparison.
"Rose Lavillant." The pixie hair cut girl who seemed to love all things pink.
"Kim Le Chien." The self-proclaimed dare-master, as Alix described under her breath.
"Sabrina Raincomprix." The somewhat nerdy red-headed friend to Chloé.
"Lila Rossi." The falsified liar, with what sounded like an Italian background, and a good poker face.
"Léo Soleil."
Wait… That was everyone.
Why was there another name on the list!?
"He's performing this morning Madame, he'll be back for third." Kim called out confidently.
"Oh, alright then, thank you for letting me know Kim." The teacher said, moving to take a stack of papers out of her bag.
"Now. We're going to write a brief description about all the things we learnt about Louis Aragon last term."
Madame Bustier chuckled as her class let out a collective groan.
"Yes, yes, don't worry, this is the only thing we'll be doing on French Literature today."
The red-headed teacher smiled watching as her class handed around the papers and started writing their responses.
The sheet of paper was lined, with a brief description of what was expected written at the top, but the rest of it was blank.
"So, I just write down everything I know about the Poet, Louis Aragon?" Celine whisper-asked Alix, who nodded her head, not looking up from her writing.
A furrow marred Celine's brow at the vagueness of the task description.
Nonetheless, she quickly took her purple pencil case out of her bag, selected her recently dubbed, favourite pen, and began to write.
'Louis Aragon was a French poet born on the 3rd of October 1897. He died, aged 85, on December 24th, 1982. He was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France, and he helped co-found the surrealist review "Littérature". Louis Aragon's father, Louis Andrieux, seemed to refuse, or simply be unable, to accept Aragon as his son. He was a bastard child, born of the passion and naïveness of a seventeen-year-old woman, and a man thirty years her senior. These facts later influenced Aragon's poetry, to a certain extent…'
And so, Celine continued to write, until she was done.
She sighed in relief, pleased when she finished the task, though a little annoyed that she'd had to write on the back of her page to get everything down.
Still, as Marinette collected everyone's work, and the bell for second period rang, Celine felt herself release a contented sigh.
She was already beginning to enjoy public school life.
-o-
Adrien had barely managed to conceal his laughter with a sudden coughing fit.
Nino had commented on Celine's painfully similar reaction to having her name called from the class roll for the first time.
Of course, that left Adrien's face flaming red at the embarrassing memory.
Still, there was something familiar about the new girl in his class.
An odd sort of feeling spread through him in her presence, something he might describe as comfort or ease.
Why she had this effect on him? He hadn't the slightest clue.
He'd have to catch up with her during their break, because she'd OBVIOUSLY recognised him, and there was no way he was going home without figuring this out.
Adrien wrote his answer without really paying attention.
Gifting his classmate with a smile as she collected his work with a small smile and shaking hand.
Adrien's mood soured a little.
He never really understood Marinette's nervousness around him.
She was loyal, caring, and had a tongue like a whip when she was annoyed or worried.
Not that he could let her know he knew about that, oh no, that privilege only belonged to his alter ego.
He'd taken to visiting her as Chat Noir ever since the Evillustrator incident.
Something about her calmed him, made him feel loved, wanted, and, even just a little bit, normal.
In the two years, they'd gone to school together they had become friends, of a sort.
But it was a slow process, going from being able to say "hi" to one another, to being able to sit next to her without her flinching at his every move, to speaking to him without her nervous stutter.
Because she DIDN'T stutter, not if she wasn't nervous or caught off guard.
Adrien shook his thoughts free of his perplexing classmate.
The bell for next period had rung, and they had to change rooms for physics.
-o-
Confused as to why everyone was packing up to leave the classroom, when the bell tolled, Celine decided to do as everyone else did, before making her way over to Marinette and her friend.
"Hey."
Her smile brightened when she was greeted by the upward curl of Marinette's lips.
"Why's everyone packing up? School just started…"
"ADRIKINS!"
Celine flinches at the sudden squeal, cutting off her sentence on impulse.
It was such a high-pitched, LOUD call, that she automatically checked for any signs of an Akuma.
Instead, she found her classmates looking more annoyed than truly fearful… and, in a flash of blonde and yellow, Chloé had rushed straight past everyone, and was hugging Adrien close to her.
"Good morning, agh, Chloé." Adrien greeted, trying desperately to hide his grunt as she squeezed the air out of his lungs.
The image the two blondes portrayed was priceless.
A politely struggling knight, and forcibly oblivious princess.
Though Adrien's discomfort was of mild concern, so Celine stepped in.
"Chloé? I hate to be rude, but, it seems like you're asphyxiating poor Adrien by hugging him so tightly."
The pin-drop silence that followed her statement was somewhat alarming, though no more so than when the remaining student's jaws DROPPED at Chloé's reaction.
"Hmph. It's not like a hug can kill him, but, whatever, since you're new I'll let it go. See you in science, miss concern." Chloé responded, purposely omitting her relation to Celine, and PRAYING that her cousin would keep up the act.
Chloé didn't need Celine's chances at friendship ruined because commoners took out their inability to understand her on her relative.
With her piece said, Chloé released Adrien from her deaths grip, called Sabrina to her side, and left the room without a backward glance…
Which left Celine with Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien.
All of whom seemed to be in some sort of shock.
"Um, does anyone know what just happened there?" Alya asks, her reporter instinct allowing her to be the first to recover from the odd occurrence.
Celine turns a curious eye on her other classmates, the remaining three synchronizing their replies in a triad of shaking heads.
"Why? What was so special about that?" Celine asks, curious, and obviously out-of-the-loop.
She gets four dumbfounded stares in answer, until Alya finds her voice again.
"Um, well, let's just say that Chloé's not usually so… nice." She tries to explain to the new girl, not sure HOW to explain what just happened.
Celine's expression turns puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
Alya sighs, there wasn't enough time to explain everything BAD about Chloé to Celine, in the time they had left until second period began.
"Put it this way Leni… Chloé not the nicest person in our class…" Marinette steps in, trying to explain what Alya seemed unable to, though she was quickly cut off by a lot of coughed words.
"cough, Brat, cough."
"cough, Bully, cough."
"cough, Prissy, cough."
"cough, B*tch…"
"OKAY!"
Marinette's suddenly loud voice instantly cut off Alya's and Nino's descriptions, easily replacing them with poorly concealed sniggers.
Celine watched the interactions with intrigue and fondness.
She hoped to have friends like these too.
"Anyway…" Alya continued, knowing Marinette wouldn't be able to say the next bit.
"Chloé ALSO has a not-so-secret crush on our naïve blond model-boy over here..."
"Hey!" Adrien cuts in, knowing that Chloé's affections were obvious, but also misplaced, while also playfully denying Alya's well-meant insult.
"You know it's true." Alya teases, causing Adrien to shoot her a brief glower.
"Alya." Marinette hisses, the whisper soft enough that Adrien and Nino didn't hear it.
Celine chuckles, causing everyone else to turn their gazes to her, smiling fondly at the picture she made.
'Cute.' Was Alya's impression, she was starting to like this girl.
'Nice.' Was Nino's impression, happy to see the somewhat wary girl warm up to them.
'Sweet.' Was Marinette's impression, glad to see her friends taking a liking to Celine.
'Pretty.' Was Adrien's impression, relieved to see that Celine was honest.
Celine notices the sudden attention, blushing as she silences her chuckles.
"Sorry. I wasn't laughing AT you… It's just, you guys have such an awesome friendship… and, haa, I don't have a clue how to even MAKE friends." Celine sighs, eyes trained on one of her shoes, which is currently toeing the ground fearfully.
Everyone's expressions immediately become softer, conveying their understanding.
"Well. You're already friends with me." Marinette says, moving to give Celine a friendly nudge, both smiling at one another.
"Thanks." Celine says simply, happy to have one more friend in Paris.
Her gaze wanders over to Adrien, a flicker of memory trying to force its way to the surface…
Her focus is shattered, however, when the warning bell rings. Four sets of eyes widen, while Celine just directs her confused gaze at Alya.
"We've got a minute till class officially starts, and Ms. Mendeleiev gets to class." Alya explains in a rush.
THAT gets a competitive smile to curl Celine's lips.
Marinette catches her eye and gives an encouraging nod.
"Any of you guys think you're faster than me?" Celine says, the challenge sparking in everyone's eyes at her implication.
"Oh, don't fret girl, I can keep up with LADYBUG for my Blog… Staying ahead of YOU? Piece of cake." Alya boasts, already tensing to run.
"Yeah? Well I have to keep up with you when you drag me with you, so don't think you're the fastest fox around." Nino warns, non-threateningly.
"Oh please, don't tell me you guys have already forgotten who always wins the class races we have during PE." Adrien admonishes, grinning like a fool who'd won the lottery as his two friends fix him with duel steely glares.
"Hey guys…" Marinette says in a slightly exasperated tone.
"We could've been there by now, if you'd dropped the bravado and just run."
And with that, Marinette disappeared out the door, Celine right behind her.
"Did, they just, ditch us?" Nino asks, disbelievingly.
"Yep, and we're SO getting them back for it." Alya responds, sprinting after the two girls.
"Well. Guess it's just us dude." Nino says, turning to find Adrien already in the doorframe.
"What? You think I'm going to let them win?" Adrien says, sending Nino a grin as he dashes after his friends.
Nino only shakes his head, easily making it to the classroom without breaking a sweat, just as Ms. Mendeleiev enters her classroom.
"What's got you so out of breath dudes?" Nino asks slyly, earning him three, red-faced glares.
Shame Celine couldn't hear him from her new seat.
Physics was BORING.
Mainly because all they did was go over the holiday homework half the class hadn't finished, and Celine hadn't even gotten to begin with.
"Excuse me Ms?" Celine called, raising her hand to draw the teacher's attention.
"Yes?" Ms. Mendeleiev said, walking over to her new student.
"Um, well, since everyone is working on the holiday homework, could I, maybe, have a copy to work through as well?"
The purple-haired teacher smiled at her new student's academic mindset.
Immediately giving her a copy of the physics questions her students SHOULD have answered over the holidays, to prepare them for this year's course work.
The work wasn't overly hard, mainly because Celine had been ahead in her home-schooling.
The odd stares she got from her classmates did unnerve her a little, but she decided to ignore them in favour of figuring out the one question that she didn't seem to get.
The class flew by, and soon enough the bell for first break rang… and everything EXPLODED into a loud cacophony of noise.
Packing up her stuff, telling Alix she'd see her next period, and receiving a rather blasé response, Celine then moved to where Marinette and Alya were waiting for her at their desk.
"Hey Mari?… Why's it suddenly so LOUD in the corridor?" Celine asked, genuinely confused, since it hadn't been this loud when the first bell had rung.
Marinette simply shook her head, while Alya seemed to choke on her own laughter. Though she wasn't the only chuckling classmate still in the room…
"…and what, pray tell, do you guys find so amusing about this?" Celine huffed, truly confused, and VERY thankful that Chloé had already left the classroom.
"Sorry Leni… It's just that, your cluelessness is incredibly cute." Marinette confessed, her smile more amused than welcoming now.
Her mention of that name seemed to straighten Adrien's spine a little, which didn't go unnoticed.
"What's up with you, bro? Not like you to be so quiet after physics." Nino said, giving Adrien a not-so-subtle nudge in the ribs.
Adrien WAS about to answer him,
"I, uh…"
But Celine decided to satisfy her own curiousity, and confusion, first, cutting him off before he could begin to form his response.
"I meant to ask before, but, do I… know you, from somewhere?"
Three pairs of eyes were suddenly focused entirely on her.
Thank GOODNESS everyone had already left for first break.
Adrien decided to answer her with a shrug, not really sure either. Though his suspicion was now confirmed that he DID know HER from somewhere.
"It's just… you seem, familiar? Somehow?"
Celine didn't really understand how she knew him either, but that subconscious connection, she wasn't just imagining it, the memory from earlier slowly trying to make itself seen again.
"Could be the magazines. Dude does a lot of advertising for his old man." Nino throws in, unnerved at how, serious, the atmosphere in the room suddenly seemed.
"Oh, I'm aware of his fashion fame. We do frequent the same social circles, after all, but names aren't overly important to that level of aristocracy; It's the private life that everyone's always desperate to glimpse." Celine answers, a slight bit of exasperation notable in her tone.
"What, so, you're some sort of modern princess?" Alya scoffed, her opinion of Celine swaying slightly.
Celine blinked a few times, letting Alya's words sink in… and then she snorted.
An incredibly un-ladylike thing to do, and she hadn't done so in YEARS, but the reaction was appropriate.
"Seriously? A modern princess? What part of me reminds you of some snobby brat? No, no, I'm no princess, just someone who's acquainted with the Agreste Family…"
There was a pause, her eyes widened a fraction and her mouth dropped open in a typical expression of total and utter, shock.
'You've GOT to be KIDDING me!?' She thought, the realisation finally dawning on her.
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Author's Note
OK... I'm hoping Three's the Charm.
Cross your fingers peeps, I hope this time the update will be legible!
And also, that you have lots of fun reading this double-chapter (since it's twice as long as usual)...
Yours,
Hana