"A villain and a victim are two different types of people. Do not confuse the two."
Dear Diary,
I finished reading Reached. Spoiler alert. Both guys found someone. It makes me wonder if I'll find someone. Adrien doesn't seem interested in me. It's obvious he has a crush on that spotted superhero. Stupid boy. In love with a mask. I say mask because read any comic book and more often than not the superhero is a different person when they take the costume off.
"Lila!"
The sudden and abrupt noise made Lila drop her pen. She cursed and pushed away from her desk. She peered under the table and tried to grab the pencil just out of reach.
"Lila?" The voice repeats.
"Coming mamma!"
Lila stretched her arm as much as she can and trapped the black HB between her palm and the floor. Clutching it tightly, Lila headed for the kitchen. She's greeted by warm aromas of freshly baked bread and herbs.
"How's your homework going, sweetheart?"
"Good." Lila launched into a story about her day. She selected the best parts to tell the truth about and changed the bad parts.
"Coming to you live from the Louvre, we have found Paris's guardians on their dusk patrol. Cat Noir and Ladybug have agreed to have an interview with Kids+ News. You're watching Nadja Chamack. Don't be bemused, it's just the news! Cat Noir, Ladybug; What are your opinion of the recent return of Volpina...?"
Lila felt her cheeks heat up. She turned away from the screen and focused on her plate. She tried to block out the sound of Nadja listing all the horrible things that Volpina apparently did to Paris a day ago.
"Volpina's alter ego, Lila Rossi, was unreachable for comment."
Volpina's alter ego?! Lila wanted to jump right through the screen and rip Nadja's microphone from her hands.
"We are all left wondering whether this is the last time we'll see Volpina or will Paris witness a returning threat?"
Lila repetitively stabbed her pasta with her fork, struggling to eat any of it. Villain, akuma, threat. There's a nice new list of words to add to all the other things people have called me. She thought bitterly.
She choked down a few mouthfuls of pasta, and politely asked to be excused. Her parents let her leave without a word.
Lila curled herself into a ball under her desk. She noticed the fox necklace she bought sitting on the floor a few metres away. She wanted to crush the thing, but at the same time she wanted to hold onto it.
Lila closed her eyes, and reached for the small piece of jewellery. It felt cool to touch, and sort of comforting. If she couldn't see it, then it didn't remind her of the mistakes she's made, and that now she was the bad guy she read about the comic books and watched in action movies.
What no one knew, was that every time Ladybug fought and purified Volpina, fuel was only added to the flame in Lila's fragile heart. Every passing day was a day closer to when she burned up completely.
