Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.
It was just a normal day in Françoise Dupont when suddenly, a small woman kicked the front doors open with her foot, startling the students and teachers present.
"LAURA GARCIA!" The petite woman hollered.
She had dark-brown hair tightly woven into a bun, a few curls popping out here and there, fair skin, sharp brown eyes as sharp as a hawk's, and she wore a tight blue dress, white collared, long sleeves with white frills on ends and pearly white buttons down the chest, matched with black tights and black flat shoes.
Everyone wondered who she was talking about.
"Laura?"
"Who's Laura?"
"Do we have a Laura?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe a teacher?"
Lila knew who Laura was. "Uh oh."
"There you are!"
The tiny woman zoned in on Lila, who tried to run away. But the woman grabbed her by the back of her shirt and lifted her off the ground, despite her size.
"What gives you the right to cut class? Do you think you can attend the most prestigious school for young ladies in France and play hooky?"
"H-How did you find me?"
"I'm an ex-marine. I can hunt down a snow fox in the North Pole. And why are you wearing a wig?"
"What is going on here?" Mr Damocles demanded, appearing onto the schoolyard.
"This crazy lady is trying to kidnap me!" Lila cried.
"I am here to retrieve her and return her back to my school where she would receive punishment for skipping." The woman answered.
"Madam, I'm afraid you are mistaken. This is Lila Rossi, not Laura Garcia."
"Oh really?"
With her other arm, the woman whipped out a file with Lila's picture from behind her back.
"According to the paperwork and interview, this disobedient young lady is Laura, adopted daughter of Isabella Garcia."
"The actress?!" Rose shouted, overhearing.
While Rose and the other students were getting excited, Lila was swearing with fear.
"My boss has already contacted your foster mother." The woman informed Lila. "The police have been notified of your disappearance and the press has already released a couple of headlines."
"WHAT?!"
"Your boss?" Mr Damocles questioned.
"Headmistress of Olympe, Ms Catherine-Marie Auberon."
"C-C-Catherine-Marie?!" Mr Damocles stuttered, blushing like mad.
"Olympe? That fancy boarding school for rich girls?" Alix asked.
"No, Olympe College for Young Ladies is a revered boarding school for aspiring young ladies in the performing arts, regardless of their status." The woman correlated, pride in her tone. "Laura, or Lila as you known her, has been enrolled as an acting student just yesterday but decided to skip. One does not skip a day at Olympe."
Lila sulked.
So apparently, they sick their hunting dog on her.
"Also, a few girls at Olympe made some complaints about Laura on her very first day."
"Who?"
But then Lila remembered her first day and had a good idea who reported her.
"Hey, Laura!"
Lila, along with everyone else, turned their heads to the entrance/exit of the school.
A group of young girls were standing there in a row, all differing in appearances but carry the same air of grace and confidence.
The Divas. The talented girls in Olympe. The 'it's girls of all of Paris. The princesses of France.
"Lila!" Chloe was at Lila's side, looking frightened. "Please tell me you didn't!"
"Did what?"
"Mess with the girls at Olympe! Even I know to not to mess with them! They're devils with halos! And their leader is Satan in a tutu!"
"Hello, Ms Duchemin." The Divas said in perfect unison.
The woman in blue, now revealed to be Ms Duchemin, turned to the Divas with surprise. "Girls? What are you doing here?"
"Ms Auberon gave us permission to come here." One Diva said.
"We wish to watch you set an example for ms Garcia." Another Diva said.
The Divas set their piercing, eyelash-fluttering gaze to Lila.
"Or is it Lila Rossi, daughter of an ambassador?"
"Or Cerise Rizzo, daughter of a Broadway actress?"
"Or Maria Rizzoli, daughter of a deaf activist?"
Ms Duchemin frowned at Lila. "Just how many fake identities do you have, young lady?"
Lila was gobsmacked. "How did you…"
One Diva gave a big grin while batting her eyes 'innocently.' "You'll be surprised how fast the police work when a student from Paris's most precious school for girls goes missing."
"Our headmistress has a LOT of influence." Another Diva said.
"She'll do anything to help her students." Said another.
Lila was beyond shocked. They exposed her on the first day! They were worse than Ladybug!
"It wasn't just us."
"Right. Oh, Jake!"
"Yes, ladies?"
A boy stepped from the corner of the entrance. Lila recognised him as one of the students at the boys school Olympe was twinned with.
She flirted with him yesterday rather than doing her assignments, using her best lies to charm him. He listened to her like a perfect gentleman. In fact, he listened to every false word. And he had his phone in his hands…
Alya recognised the boy as well. "That's Jake Galella! Also known as Jake the Fake! He runs the 'Good Old Reliable Jake' blog! He's my rival!"
Jake scoffed. "Rival isn't the right word I would describe either of us. A rival is someone who matches you. Your little tabloid blog is hardly up the same level as my blog."
"TABLOID?!" Alya screeched. "My blog is top notch!"
"My blog won two awards. How many has yours?"
Alya shut up at that.
"Thanks for your statements, ladies." Jake thanked the Divas, who returned the gratitude with smiles.
"Statements?" Alya asked.
"Well, I need to gather statement from reliable witnesses. I can't publish everything I heard without vetting it. I need to check my sources. Every reporter knows that, Ladyblabber."
Alya glowered.
Lila was angry at Jake. He had tricked her into spilling all her secrets for his personal gain! The weasel!
She was angrier at the Divas.
Said group of girls merely smirked at her.
"We knew you were trouble the second you walked in our school. Lying, cheating, faking." Swanhilde, a ballet student and the leader, said while checking her nails. "I don't normally waste time in petty teenage drama but with you, I'll make an exception." She closed her hand and shot Lila piercing stare. "Your first mistake was lying that you knew my mother."
"And my dad." Aria, a singing student, added.
"And my dance crew." Tamaki, a dance student and leader of DanceMad, mentioned.
"And my fiancé!" Mohini, a hot-headed gymnast, scolded.
"And my family." Vanessa, a dancer and youngest daughter of the mayor of London, said. "Like my dad would have tea with a teenage girl I'm not friends with, and my sister would never give private acting lessons to a girl who saved her mom's pet dog when my stepmom is allergic to dogs."
"If you're gonna lie, do some homework first." Leica-Lou, a photography student, suggested.
"Don't educate her, babe!" Blaché, a young filmmaker and Leica-Lou's cherished girlfriend, chided. "We don't want her to trick anyone again!"
"The straw that broke the camel's back was putting chilli in Aria's gargle when she outed you for lying about having distichiasis as an excuse to skip class." Rini, art student, said while glaring at Lila.
"You have no proof it was me!" Lila protested.
"We know it was you who almost made Aria mute because one of the cameras from Blaché's filmmaking class was left on, you bimbo!" Sonja, a cooking student, pointed out.
"You interfered with a Diva's practice." Ebba, a unique student who specialised in strength and weights, deadpanned. "You're doomed."
Lila continued to defend herself. "I was just embarrassed! It is a real condition!"
The Divas stared at her like she was stupid.
(She was.)
"Distichiasis is a genetic mutation of the eyelashes." Aakifah, a soccer player who donned a hijab, explained bluntly.
"See? It is gross!" Lila insisted.
"It means another set of eyelashes, you dumb fox-faced bimbo!" Verity, a devoted acting student, scolded. "Elizabeth Taylor had it!"
Lila's face fell blank.
"Thank goodness you ditched because it gave us time to complain to Ms Auberon and she agreed to investigate." Jimena, a dancing student like Vanessa who specialised in the flamenco, added. "It wasn't hard to run a background check for an Olympe student. But you don't have one, because the one you gave Ms Auberon was fake."
"Everything else just unravels from there." Elisabeth, a music student who was also a popular DJ, stated. "Your mothers were really confused. And pissed."
"Did you say mothers?" Alix asked.
"Yes, as in four foster mothers who unaware they are being scammed by a teenage girl, including Isabella. Not lesbians."
Swanhilde pointed to Lila. "Apparently, Loser Rotti here is running some sort of a scam. I don't know what, why or how you're doing it. That's up to the police and social services to figure out."
Lila almost had a heart attack. "Police? Social services?!"
"Of course. Because you committed fraud and you're a minor with multiple identities and foster parents."
"Are you sure she's even our age?" Mohini questioned. "She lied about her name and her parents. She could be 50 for all we know."
"Like I said, the cops and social services will investigate it." Swanhilde shot a smirk at Lila. "You planned this scam so many times, you got arrogant and sloppy."
Jake grinned, looking at his phone which contained his notes. "The media is gonna love this!"
Lila's face turned red. She did get too arrogant. She underestimated Olympe as just another school filled with gullible saps. She failed to realise that Olympe's students were a lot tougher and smarter than they look. Her perfect scheme was torn apart in an instant. Her life was ruined by the manicured, dainty hands of a bunch of rich, pampered prissier-than-Marinette artsy-fartsy wannabes!
With a pathetic battle cry, Lila lunged, going on her last defence: attack her enemy.
Which were the Divas.
Particularly Swanhilde.
And said was ready for her.
"Hildy, look out!" Aria cried.
Swanhilde gave a bored side-eye to the charging fraud and decided to practice her ballet instead. She bent her knees and stood on her tippy toes that ballerinas do before going onstage.
Just as Lila was inches away, Swanhilde gracefully leapt to the side, allowing Lila to go flying off above the school's steps.
Everyone cringed at the pained sounds Lila made falling down the steps.
No more than a minute later, Lila stalked up the steps to the front entrance, gracing bruises, and an angry scowl, growing more determined to get her revenge. She lunged at Swanhilde. This time, the ballerina in training lifted her right leg, which Lila crashed into. And then the ballerina spun fast and strong as a tornado before kicking her right into a trash can. Her 'hair' laid on the ground.
Tamaki poked the wig with her foot. "Ew! Even her hair is fake."
"Of course it's fake!" Verity said. "No one would dare to have a sausage-style hairstyle with that colour!"
"Says the girl with her hair in the same colour as a pumpkin." Rini commented, which caused the actress to shoot her an icy glare.
Ms Duchemin picked up Lila by a leg and begun dragging her away with her face on the ground. No one cared.
"Come along, girls." The matron commanded.
The Divas started to follow her in a perfect line.
"Looks like I'm roommate-free for another year." Vanessa noted.
Then she stepped on something that almost made her trip. She glanced down and saw that she had her foot on a pink book.
She picked it up and opened it. Inside were sketches of clothes and doodles. The unique style, the perfectly coordinated colours, the sheer designs took her so aback, she almost lost her breath.
"Girls, take a look at this!" She hollered to her fellow Divas.
"What?"
The other Divas crowded around her, took one look at the sketchbook and they all share her amazement.
"Oh my God." Sonja gasped.
"I don't know much about fashion, but I can tell these are good." Ebba commented.
"Not even Gabriel Agreste have clothes this good." Aakifah remarked.
"This isn't a scrapbook." Blaché realised. "It's the Bible of fashion!"
"That's my sketchbook!" Marinette exclaimed, running over.
The Divas snapped their awed gazes to her, making her stop.
"These are really good." Swanhilde confessed sincerely. "So beautiful."
Her fellow Divas gave their own thoughts as well.
"So different."
"So breathtaking."
"So colourful!"
Marionette leaned back, cautious of the previously hostile girls who were now showering her with praise. "Thank you…"
Vanessa, the only calm Diva, gave Marinette her sketchbook back with a smile.
Then the Divas circled Marinette like vultures disguised with swan feathers.
"What's your name?"
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
"Marinette…I know that name."
"Are you that Marinette who won the Agreste hat contest?"
"The Marinette who designed those cool Eiffel Tower glasses for Jagged Stone?"
"And designed his last album?"
"Yes…"
"What is a girl like you doing in a place like here?"
"Um…I live right across the street?"
"How convenient."
"You're so talented."
"And cute."
"Guys, you're scaring her." Vanessa chided.
All the Divas looked to each other, sharing the same look.
"Would you like to apply to Olympe?" They asked.
"NO!" Marinette's classmates screamed, charging over to rescue Marinette.
However, like with Lila, the Divas were born ready for them. Each diva pushed back Marinette's friends like flies while trying their best to sweet talk the designer.
"You would make an excellent addition to our design department."
"You have talent, but it needs to be nurtured."
"That's what college is for!" Alya shouted, trying to climb over a Diva to get to her best friend.
"But…" One Diva bumped away with her hip. "College is so far away. You need to take the chance before you lose it. If you stay here, at public school, your potential will disappear. Such a waste of talent to remain here."
Marinette was unsure. "Um…"
"Hey! We're a great school!" Ivan defended while Ebba effortlessly held him back with one hand.
"A great school that was duped by a con artist in a training bra? Give me a break."
"Ms Duchemin! We found a talented fashion designer! Can we keep her?"
"Mention her name to Ms Auberon and we'll see what she thinks, girls!" Ms Duchemin hollered from outside. "Now, come along!"
"Just a minute! We trying to convert her first!"
"Ms Auberon will love you." Swanhilde said suavely, holding Marinette's chin. "She'll see the value of your work just as I did. I guarantee that if you apply for Olympe, there's no doubt you will not get in."
"Get away from her, you stuck up snob with pillow stuffing!"
Much to the surprise of everyone, Chloe got in between Swanhilde and Marinette.
"You are not taking Marinette!" Chloe snarled. "She is staying right here!"
"Ah, Chloe. Nice to see you again. This is the public school where you attend just so you can parade around your wealth and commit bullying without consequence?"
Chloe's face flushed pink.
Swanhilde swiftly moved around Chloe and faced Marinette again.
"You will never have to worry about meeting another girl by the likes of Chloe or Lila at Olyme. We have manner and humanity."
"She's perfectly safe and happy here!" Now Adrien was the one in between the girls.
"And you did such a good job, by hiding her away in a pit of liars and bullies."
Adrien frowned.
"GIRLS! COME ON!"The Divas' matron shouted again.
"Coming!" Swanhilde called back and turned back to Marinette. "We'll be in touch. Au revior."
She curtsied and sashayed away, her fellow Divas following her in perfect harmony. Vanessa, the Diva at the end of line, glanced to Marinette and gave a smile and a wave goodbye just before she left with her friends. Ms Bustier's class stared them off, frowning while hovering around Marinette.
"I get the feeling this isn't the last time we'll see them." Adrien mentioned. "They seemed pretty determined."
"But Marinette won't leave us for them." Alya said. "Would you, Mari?"
Everyone turned to Marinette, only to find her looking tempted.
She then blushed and shrugged.
"It's a big decision." She squeaked.
It turned out Lila's real name was Maya Reed, and she was as Italian as pizza from a Chinese restaurant. She was put into foster care after her swindler parents were arrested for fraud, so she decided to do some swindling of her own, by blackmailing her social worker to get her fostered by wealthy, single, vulnerable women desperate to be mothers and secretly skim money from them as well as wreck social damage in her schools for her sociopathic satisfaction.
Now she was stuck with a new foster family that specialise in 'problem children'. The parents were in the military. Her 'mothers' were suing her for all the time and money they wasted on her, never minding that she was a minor.
And worst of all, she had to attend Françoise Dupont and its sister high school for the rest of her teen years, forced to face the kids she hurt and lied to.
Every. Single. Day.
"You got our Everyday Ladybug taken away!"
The class she used to love fooling was especially angry at her because Marinette did apply to Olympe College for Young Ladies, taking Laura's open spot.
"You made Marinette leave!"
"I didn't make her leave. She left on her own." Maya tried to weasel her way out of their anger.
"Because YOU brought the witches to our door, and they put a spell on her!"
"And she's rooming with that British dancer girl!" Alya cried, very outraged. "I'm getting replaced!"
Ironically, the only Diva who not bombarded Marinette was the one who inspired her to attend.
"Jake just published a picture of her there! Olympe Welcomes Promising Designer. And everyone is calling me LadyBlabber!"
"Just visit her." Maya said, but everyone jumped at her again.
"Have you seen Olympe? It's a freaking castle!"
"She has a schedule busier than Adrien's! It's gonna be weeks until we can see her again!"
"She's locked inside! Just like Sleeping Beauty!"
"And you brought the Divas here!" Rose accused.
"Why is that bad?" Alix asked. "They exposed Loser Rotti.
"They did something to Juleka! Look at her!" Rose pointed to Juleka.
The usually shy girl was wearing a dreamy expression while lightly swaying on her heels and humming a jaunty tool.
"She's talking like Shakespeare! She keeps writing Vanessa over her homework!"
Chloe scowled at Maya. "You just had to mess with Swanhilde Von Lebedev. Of all the schools to pull your little scam, you picked hers. That snobby little ballerina thinks she's so perfect, with her ballet and loving, support mother and diplomatic immunity from being her country's 'pride and joy.' Grrl! I can't touch her without backlash! I can't believe she stole my Marinette!"
"But you hated Marinette." Sabrina mentioned.
"I do! But I hate that ballerina more! Now things are going to be really boring! Dupain-Cheng is the only one with some backbone!"
Adrien was silent throughout his friends' freakout, but his anger was worse.
"You better watch yourself from now on, Maya, because we are suffering from the guilt and fury of practically trading Marinette, a good friend, our everyday Ladybug, for you, a four-faced liar."
"And your name is now and forever Loser Rotti!" Alya declared.
Everyone nodded.
Maya aka Loser gulped.
Maya means 'illusion' or 'magic'. It refers to Lila's fake identities and the scam she pulled on the people who trusted her.