At school the next day, Marinette hunted through the crowds trying to find Alya. The hallways were busier than normal due to an early morning recruitment meeting for the fencing club next year. Mr. D'Argencourt was giving yet another speech praising the noble art of the sword, but despite the fact that his loquaciousness caused students to tune him out, many still were drawn to fencing anyway. Especially the crowd of admirers that followed Adrien around. Whether it was girls who wanted to watch him, or boys who thought that it would curry favor with him (although Marinette supposed there was probably quite a few boys who would like to watch Adrien as well), when the news that the Agreste heir was fencing, it caused numbers to swell.
The two girls had planned to meet in front of the gym before school in order to discuss Marinette's chances at a class representative position now (would it even be possible after Chloe's smear campaign?), but it was impossible to do anything but go with the flow of the crowd. Marinette was swept into the gym, and resigned herself to her fate. Another one of the fencing instructor's lengthy and impassioned speeches would be the perfect opportunity to check her answers to her math homework. With any luck, Alya would be in there as well.
Plans of revising flew out the window when Marinette saw the main attraction. Adrien stood next to the teacher as he spoke, dressed in his fencing gear and bearing a saber. Mr. D'Argencourt finally stopped his speech and beckoned for his student. They both pulled down their face guards and began a slow match. Quickly, however, the bout intensified in a flutter of parries and feints. The fencing instructor managed to land a blow, causing Adrien to stumble, but he smiled as he was helped from the ground. Marinette was suitably impressed with her classmate's skills. The gym was quiet for a moment before a round of applause burst out, most students clapping politely but a few girls loudly cheering for Adrien.
Seeing as the meeting had concluded, the students began to slowly exit the gym. Most were chattering excitedly about what they had just seen, excited to try it or just excited about some of the people on the fencing team. All in all, it would have been the end of a perfectly wonderful meeting had Chloe not spoken up.
The blonde girl glanced back from where she was walking with Sabrina to sneer at Mr. D'Argencourt. Turning her nose up, she pitched her voice loudly to ensure her teacher heard what she was going to say.
"I just know that I am going to be class rep! After all, my father, the mayor, is helping me with my campaign. And I know we'll confirm again tomorrow that he will beat all the other riff-raff who think that they have a shot at the spot!"
Mr. D'Argencourt looked up, startled, before realizing who it was that was speaking. As he processed the insult, his eyes narrowed and he hastened to the door. As he passed by Chloe, he began to mutter under his breath in his signature old-fashioned speech. Marinette sped up as if to follow the man, but realized that she was hardly able to calm down the gym teacher as a mere student. She groaned; she had gotten far too used to the brief period of peace in the city. Marinette hurried up the stairs so that she wouldn't be late for attendance.
In homeroom, her teacher made the announcement that Marinette had been waiting for. The campaigning for class representative would begin the next day- anyone who wished to be in the running needed to come forward now. Chloe casually thrust her arm in the air, a predator grace in her movements. She was daring anyone to challenge her, to even bother to run against her. Marinette's blood boiled as she realized that everyone had a reason not to, especially with what had happened over simply filming. Most people could see that Chloe's reaction there had been over the top- how would she respond to someone actually running against her for class representative?
A smirk pulled at Marinette's lips, showing the bravery of Ladybug that lay underneath her shy exterior. Let's see exactly how Chloe responds to someone running against her. After all, Marinette had nothing left to lose. Chloe, short-sighted and petty as she was, had used up all of her ammunition on Marinette a few days prior. Any new rumors would hardly be able to take hold, assuming that every really did think that worst of her. Marinette had been put at the bottom: now, she only had room to go up.
Turning deliberately in her seat to face Chloe, her eyes tracked across the classroom, getting stuck on a different blond. Adrien met her gaze head on.
"Anyone? If there is no one running against her, that means that Chloe…"
Not looking away, Marinette slowly raised her hand, ignoring her fluttering heart and the butterflies in her stomach. Hopefully Alya would go along with this; the two hadn't had the chance to discuss it earlier.
"Actually, I'd like to run for class rep."
Her announcement was met with stunned silence. For a heartbeat, you could hear a pin dropped in the classroom. Adrien's eyes softened, and the corners of his mouth quirked into a brief smile, quickly melting back into an indifferent facade. Looking around, it seemed that most of her classmates were taking this news rather well, considering what the note had professed they really thought about her. That's something that Marinette would need to inquire after.
Of course, Marinette's moment of triumph was brought to a screeching halt by (as usual) none other than Chloe. Marinette, still facing Adrien, was startled to see the girl directly in front of her as she turned around. Before Marinette could recover, Chloe started talking, voice loud for the class to hear. Instead of screaming, her voice was sickly sweet.
"Marinette doesn't really mean that she wants to run. Right, Marinette?"
Marinette could have started laughing. Chloe was really trying to put on a show, wasn't she?
"Actually, Chloe, I am perfectly serious."
With that, the polite veneer dropped and Chloe's smiling features contorted into a chiseled glare.
"Well then," she said, voice dropping to a whisper, "game on."