The whole school was buzzing with excitement because of the talent show. Due to the diversity of the participants, a jury of 5 was assigned to hopefully cover all fields of art. It started a bit later than normal classes, but of course they had to get to school as if they had classes. Dani hoped for an hour of extra sleep, but no. So they were just sitting in the hall waiting for the judges and some people from the media to record the participants arrive.

"That's Jagged Stone" Alya whispered to Danielle. "He's a super awesome rock star."

"The one with a pet crocodile, right?" Danielle asked in return, making Alya's face lit up with excitement.

"Yeah" Alya said happily. "He's super cool."

"I read about him the other day" Dani said. "He's… uuh… one of a kind, huh?"

"That's one way to put it" Alya laughed. "The woman behind him… Urgh… She's Audrey Bourgeois."

"Is she Chloé's…?" Dani started, leaving the question open.

"Mother" Alix finished her sentence, hopping down next to the girls. "And as you can see, Chloé wouldn't stop following her when she's around…"

"And why is she here?" asked Danielle, making Alya look at her funnily. "I mean… what does she do? For a living"

"She is the director of a fashion magazine, called Style Queen" Alix said with complete boredom.

"She basically dictates fashion. If she doesn't like something, that's considered a failure in the industry" Alya elaborated.

"Sounds harsh" Dani commented.

"Yeah, so you can imagine from where Chloé got her attitude" Alya said with a dismissive hand wave. "That man there is Simon Grimault" she continued, looking at a tall man with wavy brown hair. "He's a really talented magician. We saw one of his shows with my sisters and WOW. He's good."

"He's kinda okay, I guess" said Alix over her shoulder. "But she? Now, she is COOL. With capital letters."

"Look, there's Clara Nightingale" Alya said, pointing at a lady with long brown hair. "She is incredible. She speaks in rhymes. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME" she said with emphasis. "Can you believe that?"

"Oh… okay" Danielle said with a hint of confusion. "That sounds…"

"Awesome" Alix interrupted.

"I wanted to say a bit creepy, but…" Danielle replied with a small smile, making the other girls giggle. "At least I know the last guy. That TV host."

"I'm sure you do. His name is Alec Cataldi" Alya added. "Now, he's what a good host should be. Always so energetic and enthusiastic."

Alya and Alix talked a bit more about each of the judges to Danielle before the show finally started. Every contestant got a random number before the show and they had to perform in that order. After each performance, the judges commented on it briefly, and the final results would be announced after the end of the show, after the jury having some time to talk through their opinions.

The first one from their class was Nino with Nr. 7, then Marinette with Nr. 17, Mylène/Marc with Nr. 22 and Kitty Section with Nr. 30. Nino's mix was a hit. They were only in the beginning of the day and he already made a big show, with most attendants dancing, giving him a standing ovation. Even though Chloé's mother's only response was some unamused humming, everyone else beside her (and of course Chloé mimicking her mom) had a blast. On the other hand, Marinette's pieces blew her away, similarly to the other judges. Obviously, both musicians implied that she should design their new wardrobe. Mylène was an exceptionally talented actress. With the monologue she wrote with Marc, she brought tears to many attendees' eyes. The other performers from the rest of the classes were also very good, and then came the time for Kitty Section.

As the band entered the stage, they all had matching costumes, designed by the one and only Marinette.

"Hey, Alya" Danielle said as the band set up their instruments. "What's the name of Jule's brother?"

"His name is Luka. Guitarist extraordinaire" she commented cheekily, making Dani chuckle.

"He's a very chill dude" whispered Alix, as they started playing.

They performed a new song, named Little Fluffy Cats, and Danielle thought it was hilarious. The music was incredible, the lyrics were cute and funny, and Rose did a fantastic job singing. The crowd was wild, Jagged Stone had to be dragged off his desk, and Clara Nightingale was singing their praises for a solid few minutes. When they took off their masks to bow and leave the stage... Danielle felt something move inside her. Actually, she felt like everything was moving inside. Looking at Juleka's brother, smiling, she could swear she stopped breathing and only continued after he left the stage. This was bad…

At the end of the show, obviously, everyone was told how incredible they were and everybody was encouraged to continue and pursue their dreams and work hard. The typical mantra they say at talent shows. However, the final winner of the day was a pair of lyrical dancers from a higher class who were offered a spot at a national TV talent show. The gang wanted to celebrate anyway, with some ice cream at the bank of the river and Ivan asked Danielle to join them. Unfortunately, Danielle couldn't attend, yet again, as the party her father mentioned was tonight and she had to get ready for it. Ivan saw how sad Dani was for not being able to go with them, but assured her that they will make up for it sometime. Going out of the building, Danielle saw that Adrien was also dragging his feet towards his ride.

"Are you not going with the others?" Danielle asked, walking next to him.

"No… I would love to, but my father is really strict with my schedule" he replied with a sad voice. "How about you?"

"I'd like to go as well…" she said, looking back at the others. "But I already made a promise to my dad…"

"I see…" Adrien said, feeling a bit better that he's not alone in a situation like this. "Would you like a ride home?" he asked suddenly.

"Oh, that's very kind of you, but no, thanks. I like walking" Danielle smiled. "And our apartment is like, a few minutes of walk away from here."

"Oh, alright" Adrien replied, awkwardly scratching his nape.

"I… should go now" Dani said after a few seconds of awkward silence. "See you tomorrow?" she said with a questioning tone.

"It's Friday…" Adrien said slowly, smiling, making Danielle turn red in embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm so dumb. Sorry" she said, hiding her face in her hands.

"You're funny, Danielle" Adrien said, chuckling. "Well, see you on Monday" he said as he sat in the car.

"Yeah, on Monday" she replied with a weak wave, shaking her head.

"Oh, Danielle" Adrien said, rolling down the window. "You shouldn't come to school on Saturday" he whispered with a grin, earning an unimpressed look from her.

ˇˇˇˇˇ

A bunch of old people drinking expensive champagne and eating expensive food, talking about nothing for hours. At least her dress was well fitted and she could eat all she wanted without feeling constricted in her dress. Danielle knew that technically speaking, these people are not old. Being in your 40s is not that old. Still, compared to her, they did seem like members of a retirement club. International businesses from the right, elite private schools on the left, no matter what she heard from the crowd, everything was boring. She could hear the mayor giving a speech to some people about the newest investments for the city, with all listeners being blown away by his greatness. The crab snacks were marvellous, though. She'd eaten at least 15 of them. Not to mention the mini ham sandwiches. Even with the low entertainment value, this night was not going too bad so far.

"What are YOU doing here?" a familiar voice asked with an accusatory tone.

Turning around, she saw Chloé with her everyday clothes on, with her hand on her hips. She looked a bit out of place among all the elegant adults.

"Snacking" Danielle replied simply after swallowing the food in her mouth. "The crab is delicious."

"Ugh… I can see you stuffing your face" Chloé replied angrily. "How come they let you into MY DAD'S special event? Only the most influential people are allowed to enter."

"Well, thanks, I guess" Dani said with a confused half-smile.

"I didn't mean it as a complement" Chloé said, looking up-and-down at Danielle. "Whatever, I guess one of the invitations went to the wrong place."

"Right" Danielle said, turning around to get one of the mini cherry pies.

"Well, if you're already here, you could get me one of those yellow macarons. They suit my clothes" Chloé said, motioning to Danielle to go.

In response, after a few long blinks, Danielle got a plate from the table and handed it to Chloé. Looking back at Danielle with a confused face, she couldn't believe this new girl wasn't serving her the food she wanted.

"That's it" Chloé snapped. "I gave you the chance, the opportunity to be able to be MY assistant. Not once, but twice. How dare you refuse to do what I ask. You are utterly ridiculous" she said, letting her frustration out. "And what is up with this hideous dress?" Chloé finally asked, just to nitpick.

"Excuse me?" Danielle said, successfully hiding her anger with a forced smile.

"That is basically a modernised, adapted sarafan. One of the two major types of Russian ethnic dresses. If you were well-educated in foreign matters or just simply had an interest in any cultural activities, you would have seen it worn at any Russian folk song and dance performances or on Russian folk and religious holidays" said monotonously a Japanese girl with short blue hair. "You calling her dress hideous is disrespectful to the whole Russian culture."

"Uhh… Whatever, I'll leave you losers to hang out" Chloé replied, leaving, not caring about the situation anymore.

"Exploiting another nation's cultural heritage is just as disrespectful as her comment" the girl said with a stern face. "Why do you even wear this dress?"

"Потому что я русский" Danielle replied simply, earning a wide-eyed look from the Japanese girl, just as she was dragged away by her father so he could introduce her to someone important.

"You won't believe who I just saw here" Mr. Proulx said enthusiastically. "One of your mother's old friends. He is like a designer I guess. I don't really remember. You met him when you were this little" he said, showing the height she was at the time.

"Dad, I don't know how tall I was when I was a kid" Danielle laughed.

"Well, it was back in Saint Petersburg" her father replied, looking for the man in the crowd.

"Hmm… So I was around four? Five?" Danielle asked. "Well, I probably won't remember him."

"Oh, no, that's not the point. But I think he will remember you" he smiled, finally finding the one he was looking for. "Gabriel!"

ˇˇˇˇˇ

On Sunday, Kitty Section was practicing the new song, and Marinette also accompanied them. Suddenly, a very excited Alya also arrived to the Liberty. After saying hello to everyone, she sat down next to Marinette.

"Hey girl" Alya started, as she could hardly contain her emotions. "I have some interesting news… I just talked to Nino who just talked to Adrien and you will NOT believe what he told me."

"Adrien?" Marinette asked worriedly. "Wha-what happened? Is he okay?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess "Alya said unsurely. "You don't need to freak out."

"Well, you seemed freaked out" Rose commented, hopping down next to Marinette, eager to listen.

"That's because I have an interesting story" Alya said, grabbing everyone's attention. "So, Nino said that there was some kind of party the other day. Mr. Bourgeois invited all these rich and famous people over to boast about his new projects or whatever..."

"Hmm… I remember my parents making several trays of macarons for Mr. Bourgeois for Friday" Marinette said, thinking.

"Yeah, so Adrien was there with his father and who do you think was there as well?" Alya asked, leaning back.

"Chloé?" Marinette asked with a questioning look.

"Umm, yeah, probably, but..." replied Alya, not expecting this answer.

"Jagged Stone?" asked Ivan excitedly. "Was he there?"

"I guess. I mean, he's there for most of the Mayor's events" Alya said unsurely.

"Kagami?" asked Rose shyly.

"What? Wait, was Kagami also there?" asked Marinette frantically, scenes of her and Adrien getting together already flashing through her mind.

"Okay, it was my fault for phrasing it as a question" Alya sighed, making Luka chuckle. "Danielle. I was talking about Danielle. She was also there."

"Danielle?" Marinette asked, somewhat relieved. "Well, I suppose her father's a rather influential man."

"Right" Alya agreed. "And, it turns out her mother was a famous Russian ballet dancer AND Mrs. Proulx was friends with the one and only Gabriel Agreste."

"WHAT?" the question simultaneously came from many of the listeners, to Alya's satisfaction.

As they continued gossiping and speculating about what could've happened at the party, Luka couldn't stop thinking about how Alya talked about the new girl's mother in past tense. Did she stop being a dancer? Did she and Adrien's father have a fallout, or something? Maybe Danielle's parents got divorced and now she's with her father. He remembered that Adrien's mother disappeared, could it be something similar, or maybe… Not that it was any of his business. Seeing that the practice was at a halt, he decided to work on the melody inspired by his muse.

ˇˇˇˇˇ

"I just hope it won't be too awkward… You know, meeting Adrien at school and all" Dani whined to Buzzy.

"Why would it be, Dani?" Buzzy asked with a laugh. "Your mom knew his father. That's it. You shouldn't feel awkward because of that."

"I know…" she replied, exiting the apartment. "But I feel awkward because of basically everything."

"Hihi" Buzzy laughed. "I know, that's why I'm here to help you feel better about it" Buzzy said sympathetically, snuggling to Dani's face.

With a small laugh, Dani put her earphones on, and with a Clara Nightingale song in the background, she followed the GPS to school. Yes, she did need it to tell her the way, otherwise she would get lost along the way and wouldn't make it to school in time with her terrible sense of direction. When she got to the school, she had a strange feeling, as if everyone was watching her. But before she could think about it any further, she saw Chloé marching towards her, followed by the loyal Sabrina.

"You" Chloé said, stopping in front of Danielle. "I need to talk to you."

"Hey" Dani said, taking her earphones out. "Sup?"

Taken aback from the informal greeting, Chloé hesitated a bit, before talking.

"Do you know who my mother is? A world-famous fashion designer. She knows everything about fashion. She IS fashion" she bragged, earning a long blink from the confused Dani. "So I talked to my mother about your… dress… And she said it was made by one of the top Russian designers who makes dresses for models and actresses and all kinds of famous people for photo shoots and events."

"Oh… okay. Cool..." Dani replied, having no idea what Chloé wanted to say with this. "I didn't know that."

"I don't doubt that" Chloé said with a slight disgust, looking at Danielle's attire. "Whatever, what I wanted to say is… It wasn't as hideous as I thought, I guess."

And with that, she turned around and walked away, not waiting for Dani to reply. Not that she knew how to react to that or what to say to this… Whatever this was.

"Good morning, Danielle" said Rose, stepping close to her.

"Hmm… Mornin'" Dani mumbled.

"What a way to start a Monday… With Chloé looking for you" Rose said with a slight shiver.

"Yeah... " a dumbfounded Danielle replied, still watching Chloé walking away.

"What did she want, anyway?" Alya asked, as she and Marinette got there as well.

"I…" Dani started, looking at the girls with a confused face. "I have no idea" she said, making the others giggle, as they proceeded to go to the class together.