Published October 2018
Cation: (n) (in chemistry) a positively charged ion, i.e., one that would be attracted to the cathode in electrolysis
"Can anyone tell me the difference between a cation and an anion?" Ms. Mendeleiev asked, peering at them over her glasses and leaning forward over her desk. Marinette, who had done the reading earlier in the week, sat up a little straighter – Adrien, who had not, seemed to shrink in his chair right before her eyes, much to the amusement of Nino beside him.
"Alya?"
The brunette, who had spent most of the previous evening chasing Ladybug and Chat Noir around Paris while they tried to patrol, burst into a sudden coughing fit, scrambling for her backpack and the water bottle in its side pocket. Marinette tried hard not to laugh as her friend struggled to inhale, tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the force of her sharp exhales. Their teacher grudgingly turned her attention elsewhere, and the blue-haired girl poked her friend in the side accusingly.
"What convenient timing you have there, oh she-who-always-does-her-homework." Alya, getting her breath back, fought back a smile as she took another drink of water from the almost-empty bottle and crossed her legs, siting back in her seat once again.
"Marinette?"
"It's an ion with a positive charge in an atom, opposite an anion, which has a negative charge."
"Well done, Marinette, well done!" Ms. Mendeleiev turned back to the board and began drawing a diagram, thankful that at least one person in the room had done their homework. "These ions may be small, but they are very powerful. Often we find students that will use the cat in cation to help them remember the difference between the two, because cats are always paws-itive!"
The designer smiled, thankful she had a kwami that liked science so much and was always willing to help her study ahead of time. In front of her, Adrien looked up, seemingly both started and impressed at the pun (little did Marinette know that he was mentally saving it for later).
"Oh who cares, anyone could have guessed that. It's not like it's hard anyway." Just like that, Chloe was at it again. Marinette dropped her head slightly and bit her lip, suddenly very interested in the open notebook on her desk, the page already half-filled with small, neat handwriting and carefully labeled diagrams. She had to resist the urge to doodle in the margins, and crossed her arms to hide her fidgeting.
"C'mon Chloe, you don't have to be so catty about it."
Marinette snorted, clapping her hand over her mouth before anyone noticed. The words might have come from the boy that sat in front of her, but for just a second all she could picture was another head of blond hair, complete with green eyes and a black suit. She could hear him say the very same thing in her head, patting himself on the back for the pun that not only fit him, but the topic of class as well.
If only Chat Noir was here right now…then Chloe would pay attention to him instead of me!
Marinette glanced up to find Adrien looking at her over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised and a smile fighting for control of the lower half of his face.
And Adrien claims that he doesn't know anything about Noir…a pun and that face? Geez, it's like he's trying to look like Chat!
She managed to look back at him with a semi-straight face – that is, until he hissed quietly at her in a near-perfect imitation of her masked partner. The laughter started somewhere in her stomach, working its way through her until she was literally shaking, lips pressed together and tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she held her breath in a vain attempt to contain the giggles that were trying to force their way out of her. She glanced up at their teacher (who had glared at Chloe and was now facing the board once again, trying to explain the parts of an atom), then at Alya, who had missed most of this exchange and was looking rather concerned.
"Girl, are you okay?"
Marinette looked back at Adrien, who wiggled his eyebrows and crossed his eyes at her, puffing out his cheeks at the same time. A snort of laugher burst briefly from her mouth, and she broke into a coughing fit as half the room began to look her way to see what was wrong. Alya, eyebrows raised and a slight smirk on her face, offered up her water bottle as Marinette continued to cough to hide the now impossible-to-hold-back, hyena-like laughter that was exploding out of her. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she laughed this hard, and it was starting to hurt her midsection. Ms. Mendeleiev, looking alarmed, took a couple steps in her direction in case she needed assistance.
"Marinette, do you need to step out for a moment?" Marinette nodded, holding up the empty water bottle in a request to go fill it up as she continued to struggle for a proper breath. The teacher nodded, and Adrien jumped out of the seat in front of her and grabbed for the bottle. "I'll help!" He was out the door before Ms. Mendeleiev could say anything, and Marinette followed behind, feeling the stares of her classmates on her back and finally starting to catch her breath again. By the time she made it down the stairs, Adrien had filled the bottle and was attempting (unsuccessfully) to screw the lid back on.
"Here, I've got it." Marinette took it from his hand and twisted the cap slightly to the right before turning it left, getting it back in the track and screwing it shut. She opened the flip-top of the flexible plastic bottle and took a long drink of water, her breath finally calming to normal levels (well, normal for being around Adrien, anyway).
"You okay there, Mari? I didn't mean to make you…die a little," Adrien said, attempting to look guilty. Marinette knew better, though, and had learned what it looked like when someone was trying to hide a secretly-pleased-with-themselves kind of smile (her partner had taught her well, after all). She took another drink of water just as his expression shifted mischievously and he took a step closer to her.
"Are you…feline better?" Marinette snorted just as she tried to swallow, resulting in a startling spray of water out of both her mouth and nose.
"Do you need a…purramedic?" The blue-haired girl, water now dripping from her face and onto her jacket, glared up at him (or, tried to – it's really hard to be mad at someone that you're secretly in love with, after all). At the sight of his friend's attempted-to-be-indignant face, Adrien began to laugh slightly, holding it back just enough to say, "You look like a drowned cat, there, Marinette!" The blond snorted at his own joke, which quickly triggered a giggle, then a chuckle, then full-blown peals of laughter at this, his hands on his knees as his laugher echoed around them (his cackling had spooked a poor younger student walking by, which only made him laugh more). Taking advantage of his distraction, Marinette slowly raised the mostly-full water bottle, the top still open, aimed carefully, and-
Adrien shrieked – literally shrieked, which sent Marinette's poor heart racing once again – as the water hit him in the face. He tried to jump out of the line of fire, but it was too late; the front of his shirt was already half-drenched.
"Oh that's it!" He lunged forward for the bottle, but Marinette was quicker and ducked sideways around him, leaving him reaching for empty air. She laughed as the next squirt of water caught his head and his hair drooped down over his eyes. He attempted to flip the hair out of his eyes, but only succeeded in flinging water in an arch around his face.
"C'mon Adrien, you don't have to be so…catty about it…"
"Get back here!"
"Catch me if you can!"
Nino may claim that science is boring, but even he couldn't deny the power of a single cation and the puns that followed.
