"Luka! Marinette!"
We pulled apart.
Adrien had somehow found us, grinning. Maybe he didn't mind my awful behavior a few hours ago, or maybe he was just polite enough to not show it. Either way, all my calmness had morphed into panic and embarrassment once again.
"Uh…Adrien. Hi!" I waved too fast and smiled too big.
"What are you guys doing?"
Yeah, what were we doing? What was I doing?
"I just led Marinette to her dorm. Her class is about to start."
"Lucky. Mine started earlier, I'm on break now, I'm so sure I failed that test." Adrien was the type of person who would say he's so worried about a test then get one point taken off and talk about how bad he was and how everyone around him was so talented. He was confident in himself and I don't think he exactly got that his mimics, gestures, expressions, everything, gave him away. His words contradicted his feelings. Adrien's face was easy to read. Luka spoke his mind, but his expression never changed. It bugged me how they were exact opposites of each other.
"Good luck!" Adrien waved goodbye.
"See?" Luka seemed to read my mind, "Adrien doesn't bite, Marinette."
I pouted and crossed my arms childishly, "Very funny, Luka."
We shared a good laugh, and Luka held the door open for me. Feeling utterly exhausted, I returned to my dormitory with every intention of just resting my eyes for a few minutes. I collapsed onto my bed, and before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep once again.
Time seemed to slip away from me, and when I finally woke up, the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly through the window. I groggily checked the time and felt my heart sink in realization. I had completely missed my class.
"No, no, no!" I muttered in frustration, kicking the blankets off and jumping out of bed. How could I have let this happen? I had promised myself that I wouldn't oversleep, and yet here I was, failing to keep my own word.
I quickly got dressed and rushed out of my dormitory, hoping that maybe I could still catch the tail end of the class and pretend I hadn't missed much. But deep down, I knew that wasn't possible. I had missed the entire lesson, and I would have to face the consequences.
As I walked through the hallways, I couldn't help but feel a sense of shame and disappointment in myself. How could I expect to become a Hero if I couldn't even manage the most basic responsibility of attending my classes on time?
When I finally reached the classroom, I hesitated outside the door, my hand hovering over the doorknob. I took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to face the truth. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Marinette, you're late. Everyone was just about to leave." she said, her voice firm.
"I'm so sorry, Captain Bustier," I replied, "I overslept."
She sighed, her expression softening slightly. "This isn't the first time, Marinette. Being a Hero requires discipline and responsibility. You need to be more mindful of your time management."
"I know, Captain Bustier. I'll do better, I promise,"
She nodded, "You're a talented trainee, Marinette, but talent alone won't make you a Hero. You need to put in the effort and show that you're committed to this path. Perhaps a session in detention would serve you some good."
"I understand," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. As if I had any talent in the first place. If she was looking for talent, she should be talking to Adrien, not me.
I left the room with a heavy heart. I knew I had let myself down, but I also knew that this was a wake-up call. I couldn't afford to keep making the same mistakes.
As I left the room with Captain Bustier, a group of guards awaited us outside. My heart sank as I realized they were here to escort me to detention. It was a humbling experience, to say the least, walking alongside the very guards who were usually assigned to protect the heroes. Now, they were leading me to a small room as if I were some sort of troublemaker.
The walk to the detention room was silent, and I could feel the curious glances from other trainees as they passed by. I had never been in detention before, and the thought of being labeled as undisciplined or irresponsible made me feel even worse.
As we reached the door, one of the guards opened it, gesturing for me to enter. The room was small and plain, with a single table and chair in the center. The cold, sterile atmosphere only added to my feelings of guilt and shame.
"I'll be back to check on you in a few hours," one of the guards said before closing the door behind me.
Alone in the dimly lit room, I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts, but they seemed to scatter in every direction, like leaves in the wind. I felt like I was drowning under the weight of my own mistakes.
Sitting down at the table, I buried my face in my hands, unable to contain the overwhelming surge of emotions. A small, choked cry escaped from me, and I tried to muffle it with my sleeve, but it was futile. The tears flowed freely, my body shaking with each sob.
In that moment, I felt utterly lost and overwhelmed. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't measure up to the other trainees. I felt like an outsider, trying to fit into a world where I didn't belong. The doubt and fear gnawed at me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was failing at everything.
The weight of Captain Bustier's disappointment and my own self-criticism crushed me, making it hard to breathe. I wanted to be strong, to be the hero I had dreamed of becoming, but right now, I felt anything but heroic. I felt like a failure.
I didn't know how much time passed as I sat there, tears soaking my hands and the table beneath them. All I knew was that I couldn't stay in that dark place forever. Slowly, I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
I thought I was hallucinating for a second, but piano music started playing out of nowhere.
I scanned the room, my eyes red and puffy, still sniffling. The room was dark, with eerie shadows dancing on the walls. I noticed a dim candle sitting on a nearby shelf and quickly grabbed it. Lighting the candle, I held it close to me, using its feeble glow to navigate through the gloomy space.
As I walked, the candlelight flickered, casting haunting silhouettes around me. My heart raced, and I tried to keep my imagination from running wild, conjuring up images of ghosts and spirits lurking in the shadows.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, I finally came across a small, unassuming door. Intrigued, I turned the knob and pushed it open slowly. To my surprise, the room beyond was even darker than the one I had left behind. I stepped inside hesitantly.
And there, in the corner of the room, was Adrien, playing the piano with a mesmerizing intensity. The music echoed in the confined space, creating an otherworldly atmosphere that sent shivers down my spine.
"Adrien?" I whispered, unsure if he had noticed my arrival.
He looked up, his expression turning from surprise to genuine delight when he saw me standing there with the candle.
"Marinette! You found your way here too?"
"I got detention for oversleeping," I explained, still captivated by the haunting ambiance of the room.
Adrien chuckled, "Well, it seems we're both in the same boat then. It's quite creepy in here, isn't it? A random piano in a dark room with cobwebs everywhere... Who knows, we might even find a hidden treasure or a dead body," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
His words sent a chill down my spine, and I couldn't help but gasp, half in amusement and half in genuine fear. "Don't say that! You're scaring me!"
He immediately realized his mistake and laughed sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just the atmosphere in here, you know?"
We both laughed, and I suddenly felt bad about what happened at the library.
"I should have apologized earlier, but I didn't. I'm sorry. I should've been a better friend at the library. I let you down."
Adrien shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. I understand. Everyone has their own problems— I'm not the type to hold a grudge."
"Well, now that we've found each other here, I think it's the perfect time to catch up. How has your Hero training been going?" I asked, hoping that the darkness masked my tear-stained face.
"Fairly decent, I think." Adrien didn't seem to notice, but something deep inside me wished he did, for whatever reason.
"That's good."
"You?"
"Also good."
The creepy ambiance of the room slowly disappeared as we continued talking. My responses were always short, and the conversation felt rather abrupt, but at least I wasn't completely alone.
About a couple minutes later, detention finally ended and we went our separate ways.
We never talked about anything that happened in detention again, but the memory was now permanently etched into my brain forever. Somehow a memory that could've ended disastrously in tears brought happiness to me, and I found myself replaying the talk I had with Adrien several times in my head.