Despite the sudden appearance of akumas and Hawkmoth, class duties still demand to be performed, and it's finally time for class representatives to be chosen.
A/N: I was originally going to make this a chapter in the far future (in keeping with Darkblade's election), but then I realized it would be stupid to ignore Year 1's class rep election given that's a very important plot point in the show itself. So here you go! (I seriously don't know what I was thinking.)
School began like it always did on that fine Monday morning. Caline Bustier smiled warmly as her students settled in their seats and took out their books and tablets, eager for another day of learning (or at least eager to get it over with). Marinette was running late as usual, given her empty seat next to Alya - but she was used to the girl's tardiness and didn't care to mark her late just yet.
"Good morning, class," she began warmly, glancing at the clock above. Almost time for the second bell. "I hope you made sure to read through the email from the principal over the weekend; today we will be electing your class representatives."
Chloe automatically sat up straighter. Nearby, Felix eyed her with a suspicious look.
"Now I know there's been some unexpected excitement with the akumatizations lately, but if we don't get this done I don't think we ever will." With a small laugh, the teacher folded her hands together as the bell rang and Marinette stumbled in with a hurried greeting before heading to her spot. "Glad you could join us, Marinette. So! Do we have any volunteers to run for class representative?"
A hand immediately shot up, yet she didn't even have to see who it was. Chloe was looking at her with a confident smile, and she couldn't help but return the same.
"Chloe, alright," she wrote it down on a piece of paper, "anyone else? Kim, Marinette...?"
Hesitantly, Max looked around before raising a hand.
"Max! What a surprise." Miss Bustier nodded before writing down his name. She missed the hard stare sent the boy's way by the blonde. "Anyone else?"
Alya nudged Marinette and she slowly raised a hand.
"Marinette, good, good," she mused, writing down her name. "Anyone else?"
She looked around the room, but nobody else raised their hands.
Just as she was about to move on, Felix sighed and raised a hand at Adrien's encouraging nudge.
"Felix." Miss Bustier nodded and noted it. "Is that all? This is your last chance to volunteer!"
Nobody else took the chance.
"Alright, moving on. Chloe, do you have someone in mind for your deputy?"
"Sabrina, of course," the girl replied, and the redhead preened.
The teacher turned to the back of the room. "Max? Deputy?"
"Um..." the boy trailed off, scanning the room. He caught Nathanael's eye and hesitantly offered, "Nathanael...?"
The redheaded boy looked surprised at that, but Miss Bustier nodded. "And Marinette?"
"Alya," she responded, and Alya took her hand with a smile.
"Okay, and finally, Felix?"
"Adrien," he answered, and Chloe turned to them with surprise.
"It's good to see you branching out," the teacher warmly said as she finished the list. "You have until after lunch to prepare a speech to convince your classmates to vote for you. Good luck!"
Tapping a stack of papers against the podium, she added, "Now it's time for class to begin."
"Why did I say that?" Max breathed, covering his face with both hands as he paced back and forth in the hall. "Why did I speak up?"
"Why did you pick me as your deputy?" Nathanael added, puzzled. "I mean, I'm not mad, but..."
"I panicked," the dark-haired boy weakly responded. "Kim is brash and shortsighted, Alix doesn't care, Mylene is very meek, and I'm not close to anyone else in the class. You were the most logical choice."
The redhead blinked, slowly placing a hand on the back of his neck. "You... you think I'm a good pick for that?"
"Are you upset?"
"No," he admitted with a small smile. "Actually, I think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Thanks."
"I value our friendship, so please tell me when I overstep." Max hesitated, but placed a hand atop the taller one's shoulder. "But we still have a dilemma: how to convince others to vote for us. I do not recall anyone ever running against Chloe, nor am I sufficiently friendly with anyone else."
"This is gonna be tricky," Nathanael agreed with a quiet hum as they walked towards the library.
The sound of stomping heeled shoes made both boys pause in the corridor, about a foot from the door. Nathanael winced away, both turning to see an irate Chloe headed their way.
"Aw crap," Nathanael sighed quietly. "Here comes Chloe. Geez, I didn't think she'd be this mad..."
Max shrank away from the huffing girl as she approached, a pointed finger poking him in the chest.
"Who do you think you are, running against ME?" She exclaimed with a scowl. "Nobody even knows you, dorkazoid! What makes you think you'll win?"
"I- I just thought I could...-"
"Could what? Humiliate me in front of the entire class?!"
"To be fair, you already accomplish that on a daily basis," Nathanael retorted quietly.
He belatedly figured that was a mistake as she turned her attention to him.
"Don't think I haven't forgotten how you terrorized me with a giant hair dryer and ruined my hair!" She seethed, and behind her Sabrina stood with her arms folded and an upset, disappointed look. "I'm warning you, you will lose. You might as well go tell Miss Bustier you're pulling out now."
With another harrumph, she turned on her heel and stormed away.
Both boys remained frozen in their spots until she was gone. As soon as her clacking shoes could no longer be heard, they let out relieved sighs and slumped against the wall.
"That... was scary," Max admitted.
Nathanael nodded in agreement, a sour pinch to his face. "You aren't seriously gonna listen to her, right? We're still doing this?"
"I mean... she's right. I won't win." With a halfhearted shrug, the boy turned and opened the library door. He admitted, "I don't know what I was thinking. People don't really pay attention to me unless it's a group project or if they need help with classwork. They would be more apt to vote for someone charismatic, like Felix, or friendly, like Marinette."
"C'mon, man, you can't give up just because she tried to intimidate you." With a huff and newfound determination (and a little bit of spite- scratch that, a lot of spite), he grabbed Max's hand and tugged him into the library. "We're writing this speech and we are gonna put all we got into this."
"Alright, students! I know you're eager to get this over with, so let's get started." With a smile, Miss Bustier folded her arms behind her back and looked around the room. "Candidates, are you ready to present?"
Chloe sat up straighter, as did Felix and Adrien. Marinette exchanged glances with Alya, and Max nervously fidgeted with his pencil.
"I'll go first, Miss Bustier," Chloe volunteered, and about half the class either rolled their eyes or started to whisper.
"Alright, Chloe, come on up."
Rising gracefully from her seat, the blonde and her deputy made their way to the front of the room, paper in hand.
"I'm running for class representative this year because, well, who isn't more qualified for this position than me?" The girl began, flicking the end of her ponytail over her shoulder. "Not only have I been class rep for the past few years in a row, but I have the means to get things done, and get them done right. With my daddy's power and influence, we'll be able to go on whatever trips we want, whenever we want - with all of the best amenities. Sabrina is dedicated to taking notes of what everyone wants to contribute," at this the redhead's posture straightened a little more, "and I'm willing to hear you out on activities to do - but at the end of the day, I know what's best for the class and you'll never be disappointed!"
As she finished speaking, her chest puffed out, as if awaiting scores of applause. She got raucous clapping from Kim, much to the annoyance of Ivan right behind, who put his hands over Mylene's ears to muffle the noise.
"Very good speech, Chloe," Bustier praised, giving her a smile. "I'm glad to see you complimenting the abilities of your deputy. Alright, who's next?"
The blonde took her seat, and after her Felix pulled Adrien to his feet. Comically, she was torn between looking at one cousin in annoyance and another cousin with a doe-eyed smile.
"Felix! What a surprise." Bustier gestured to the podium.
As the two blonds took their spots, Felix cleared his throat. "I'm running for class representative because I believe I will be the best choice to lead this class. I have had ample experience in being a leader, as at my old academy I was class president in both year five and year six." He paused for a moment at the confused looks a couple of students gave each other. "Ah, I believe you would call it... fourth and fifth grade, here."
"Adrien is also the best choice for your deputy," he continued, gesturing to his cousin, who smiled at the class. "Not only do we work well together, but he's very friendly and committed to making choices that benefit the most." He stopped short for a moment, an odd look crossing his face, before he shook his head and added, "Plus, like Miss Bourgeois has mentioned, we also have the means to give you wonderful class trips and fundraising opportunities."
He glanced to Adrien, who chimed in, "We will be committed to working hard and listening to your suggestions to make this a better and happier working environment for all!"
The two looked to their teacher, who began to clap for them. One by one, a number of their classmates joined in, Alya nudging Marinette who sent an encouraging wink their way. Adrien blushed a light shade.
"That was a great speech, you two," the teacher praised. "Alright, Marinette? Max? Which one of you wants to go next?"
The two girls glanced back at Max, who sheepishly gestured for them to go first.
With a shrug, Marinette and Alya got up to take Felix and Adrien's spot at the front.
"I'm running for class rep because I'm committed to listening to your opinions and make the decisions that you want," the noirette began confidently. "Not only am I meticulous and schedule-oriented, but my deputy, Alya, is sociable and determined to make things happen."
"I will serve you well as your class deputy, and we will make this year a fun and memorable one," the auburn-haired girl added, "akumas or no!"
A ripple of quiet laughter went through the class at the joke.
"Well done, girls." Bustier looked back and smiled kindly at Max. "Max, you and Nathanael are up."
The two exchanged glances, Max panicked, Nathanael determined. As the redhead got up from his seat, the dark-haired boy followed suit.
As they went down to the front, Max fidgeted with one of the straps of his suspenders and quietly cleared his throat. "U- uh, I'm not rich like Chloe or Adrien, nor do I know many of you as well as Marinette, but I'm running for class representative because I want to make a difference in this class."
"I'm running for class deputy because I also want to make a difference," Nathanael added. "I've seen how disorganized things are, and Max and I will be sure to keep the class on track and get things running smoothly."
"We believe we would be a good choice because we're willing to work with you to get what you want." Max folded his hands together.
"Good job, boys," Bustier said as they walked back to their seats. Along the way, Nathanael bumped his fist against Max's, getting a genuine smile from the shorter. "Alright, I'll be passing out little slips of paper to each of you. Please write down your first, second, third, and last pick. Fourth will get one point, third gets two, second gets three, and first gets four. Your answers will be anonymous unless you decide to share them with each other, but please refrain from doing so until we have our representatives."
As she passed out little slips of paper to each student, the whispering ceased, replaced with the sounds of pencils scribbling.
Scarcely five minutes passed. One by one, Miss Bustier made her way back around the room. Once the last paper was collected, she made her way back to the front.
"Okay," she said, "I'll begin counting. You're all free to do whatever classwork you still have to finish until I'm done."
The murmur returned to the room as students chatted quietly and some cracked open their notebooks.
Max slumped against his seat with a quiet sigh. The suspense was absolutely torturous.
Alix reached over and patted his shoulder, making him look up. With a grin, she whispered, "You're gonna do better than you think."
"I wish I didn't have to wait to find out," he whispered back with a terse, tight-lipped smile of his own.
"Don't sweat it. You did a lot better than Chloe."
He looked back down to where Miss Bustier was slowly going through the ballots. He hadn't bothered to put himself at the top; when he thought about the competition, he wasn't sure if he wanted Felix or Marinette to be representatives over Chloe - really, either would be a good choice. In the end, they had achieved a tie for first, followed by himself, and then there was Chloe. Her name had gone to the very bottom. (There was a prick of petty smugness at the thought, but one he quickly shooed away. The last thing he wanted was to make himself another obstacle for the rich girl to pick on.)
"I'm not really sure I want another rich kid to be rep," Alix continued in a low murmur in his ear. "Adrien seems nice enough, but I dunno about that Felix. Something about him feels... weird."
"His mother is an actress, correct? Perhaps that's why."
"Maybe, but... I dunno." The pink-haired girl cast a suspicious glance towards the two blond heads in the front row.
"Alright!" Miss Bustier announced, causing the activity to pause. "I have your ranked choices! Everyone listen carefully."
"In fourth place..." she let out a surprised noise. "Chloe."
"What?!" The girl exclaimed, making to rise from her seat. At the last second, Sabrina pulled her back down.
"Please remain quiet so I can get through this," the teacher said, sparing her a sympathetic glance. "In third place, Max."
A breath left him. Alix nudged him in the side with a wink.
"In second place... Felix."
Marinette gave Alya a flabbergasted stare. The girl returned an excited one. Adrien looked back with an equally excited smile.
"That means our new class representatives are Marinette and Alya!"
Polite applause went through the classroom.
"Congratulations, girls," Miss Bustier praised, handing them both a sheet of paper. "Here's the paperwork to be turned into the school board. Please turn them both into me before the bell rings."
The murmur returned, and though Max looked over to see Nathanael giving him a thumbs-up, he couldn't help the bitter note that went through him at the loss, expected as it was.
Still, though, he mused, returning to his classwork, it was better than ranking below Chloe.
Marinette and Alya were friendly enough; at least he could trust them to listen.
A/N: (Max and Nath got... way more votes than Chloe and Sabrina did lmao. I feel like the only person who genuinely put her high enough on the list aside from herself/Sabrina was, like, Kim.)
I can't tell you how tempted I was to make Felix/Adrien the class reps instead, just for the drama of it all (and the IRONY - Chloe really doesn't like Felix, but she sure likes Adrien!). Maybe in the future they might have a shot...
Please tell me what you thought!