CHAPTER 4

"Marinette" Madame Moreau begun, "I had to inform your parents on what occurred today. They have agreed with me that the damage has to be fixed in one way or another as Monsieur Bourgeois was very upset to hear what happened."

Marinette lowered her gaze. That morning, she had hoped that maybe the old man she helped would've talked with her manager, or something like that. Instead, now she had to face full responsibility for that morning. Of course, she didn't regret her actions, but still…

Madame Moureau continued,

"Since you are a student we agreed to add an extra hour to your working hours and have you working on Sunday morning, too. Your parents decided to help you, so they'll have their time table extended too." She then turned towards Marinette again,

"I also thought it will be better if you lend a hand to our head waiter during the Mayor's party next week, don't you agree?"

Well, now she could "attend" the party.

Marinette threw herself on her bed and let out a long sigh. On their way home, her parents had given her a full speech about responsibilities and how they hoped she'd be a little more wary in the future. Indeed, it had been long since Marinette had made a mistake like that, but seeing her parents so distressed about the whole matter had her feeling more conscious of it. They were all but happy to work extra hours, but with the three of them they'd pay off that Chinese vase in much a shorter time than what Marinette alone would have needed.

Marinette rolled on the bed and the sheets tangled with her legs. She had homework to do, but her thoughts were too focused on her parents.

Then her phone rang. She reached for the it in her purse and saw it was Alya calling her,

"Hey, Alya. What's up?"

"Hey girl! I was wondering if we could prepare our costumes for the party together. You know, with your sewing skills and my supportive attitude we can do something awesome."

Marinette held back a laugh: leave it to Alya to make her feel better.

"Well…I think I can come up with something original for you, but I will stick to a classic maid uniform."

"A maid uniform? Marinette, you know I can help you make something less anonymous. You always have those smart ideas when it comes to this stuff and… Wait a minute!"

Oooooh, Alya was so smart,

"Are you telling me that you ARE actually going to wear a maid uniform because you have to work during the party?"

"…Yeah"

"Marinette!"

"What?"

"They can't do that!"

"Yes, they can. It's no big deal anyway: Chloe didn't want me there either."

"Who cares about Chloe! With a mask on she wouldn't recognize you even if you tell her who you are! We have to do something!"

"Don't wrap your head around this, Alya, really. Believe me when I say it's better this way."

"But… what about Adrien?"

"What about him?" Marinette could already feel her cheeks heating.

"He's going to be there! We have to do something."

"W-why are you bringing him up in this conversation?"

"Really? Girl, you have to do something about this crush of yours."

"Pfft," she couldn't stop the nervous giggle from escaping her lips "what crush?"

The silence on the other end of the phone had her sweating cold. Then, Alya let out a long sigh,

"What do I have to do with you? Ok, listen, you must be there! Just imagine it: you and Adrien in the centre of the dance floor, slow music playing. Then, as the song gets to an end, he leans in and… BAM! This is your chance, Marinette!"

Now Alya was exaggerating. Of course, dancing with Adrien would have been nice, but kissing him was… Who was she kidding? Kissing Adrien would have her jump to the moon. Just thinking about it made her squeal like a little girl. But at that moment, she could only dream about her prince charming. She had to take care of a more severe problem.

"Don't worry Alya, I'll still be there at the party, just not as a guest."

"But it won't be any fun without you…"

"You're too sweet, Alya, I'll get cavities."

"Your parents are bakers, I thought you were used to sweet things!"

They both broke into giggles, but then their conversation got interrupted by Marinette's mother calling her for dinner.

"See you tomorrow, Alya."

"Yeah, see ya! And don't forget to come up with some wonderful designs for OUR costumes for the party: I'll find a way to sneak you in, girl. You can count on it!"

Adrien was happy. His new friend, Nino, had shown him the school grounds after school, so they had enough time to get to know each other. Even though they didn't have many things in common, getting along turned out to be much easier than he expected.

So, when he arrived home and his father summoned him, Adrien was far too joyful to notice the frown plastered on his Gabriel's face.

"Adrien, I heard that Chloe Bourgeois invited your whole class to the Mayor's masquerade ball," word sure did travel fast, Adrien thought, "but I also heard that it was you who came up with such idea."

Adrien cringed. Told like that it didn't sound as a positive thing. Though he couldn't really understand why.

His father didn't waste a second and explained what was his main bother,

"There are going to be prestigious guests at the ball and you know they are potential clients for my brand. You know that both you and I must make a good impression with them. So, I can't have you fooling around with your friends the whole night. You are old enough to understand that our family has a reputation to maintain. That's why I expect you to be standing by my side all the time, is that clear?"

Well, that wasn't his original plan. Of course, he couldn't say no to his father, but the main reason he got the whole class invited was to do exactly what his father didn't want Adrien to do.

But only when his father had voiced his concern, Adrien realized how foolish his thoughts were: it was basically impossible that Gabriel Agreste would leave his only son behave like an overexcited kid in the presence of other well-known guests.

That's why Adrien answered to his father that he didn't even dream of doing anything that could harm his father's name,

"You have nothing to worry about father, I won't let you down."

With that, Adrien left his father's office and headed to his room, knowing he had to call Nino to tell him he had to find another wingman for the ball.