Revamped!

[You can thank guest user, L, for this update because their cute review has made my day just like I made their summer. And to L: yes, the Emily Stark vibe is strong in this story. Writing the Lunar Chronicles group gives me great nostalgia for writing Emily and her friends.] [2020: Still true today!]

A Study in Scarlet: Part Six

Commonwealth, The Earthen Union

At school the next day, both Scarlet and Wolf's desks are empty and the group knows what that means. They look at each other smirking, especially when Kai ends the call with the main office regarding Wolf's absence. A part of them has hope in Scarlet's return because Wolf will probably stay in France until she's on the plane back home with him.

"Wait, so he actually went?" Cress asks, still in shock.

Winter nods as she turns around in her desk to face her. "He showed up at our place to borrow some money."

"I'm still spooked by Levana giving him a cheque," Cinder says. "I bet she gave him a million univs."

Cress swoons louder than expected, making other classmates' heads to turn but she doesn't care. "That's so romantic!"

"Step up your game," Kai tells Thorne.

"I am," Thorne responds. "I'm working on memorizing Cress's phone number."

Cinder, Winter, Kai, and even Cress are looking at him as if that was the weirdest romantic gesture to be doing. Thorne's proud of himself and will go through with trying to memorize her number. He can't make it through the area code because he always forgets where the 3's placement. It's modern romance.

"But," Thorne adds, "if for some reason, Crescent Moon, you run back to wherever you come from in Luna, I promise to run after you."

"You wouldn't," Cress says. "My town was scary and full of druggies. You'd have to be inside before sundown if you loved your life. I would rather be floating on a satellite in space than go back."

Thorne is speechless. "Change of plans, I'll send Wolf on my behalf."

Cinder laughs. "How chivalrous of you, Carswell Thorne."

Before Thorne could come back with a snappy response, Cress's phone rings which makes her jump. She looks to see who it is and it's Wolf. Everyone circles her desk so they could get in on the call together. If Wolf called, that means he made it to France and now needs to know Scarlet's location. At least, that what they assumed and hoped it was.

-o-

Paris, France, The European Federation

Wolf is overwhelmed by France and he's been in the country for only five minutes. He has never been lost in translation for more in his life than now. Even when his mom speaks in Hebrew, he can sometimes pick out a few words. Now, every French sound goes over his head. He decided to call Cress not only to hear some English but to know Scarlet's location so he would feel complete once again.

He's relieved when Cress picks up. He might have had a heart attack if she didn't.

"Help, everyone's speaking French," Wolf says over the phone.

Winter: I'm pretty sure "au secours" means help.

Wolf rolls his eyes. "Not now, Winter."

Winter's small laugh on the other side doesn't help either. Wolf feels more anxious now than he did back in Commonwealth. Aces, this might've been stupid to do. Despite Scarlet not being there, at least he knew where he was. Now that he's in France, he still has no clue where Scarlet is and now, he's in unknown territory.

Cress: Give me a second to figure this out.

Kai: How was your flight?

"Fine," Wolf replies. "I sat in the window seat and ended up watching a French movie with no subtitles. I wasn't sure if it was a romcom or a tragedy."

Captain Thorne: It could've been a fantasy.

"Maybe," Wolf says the more he thinks about it, "they wore a lot of costumes."

Cinder: Can we not talk about the freaking movie? Cress, where is she?

Cress: I'll text you the location. The teacher's coming.

Captain Thorne: Oh, spades, I forget we were in school.

All: Bye!

Winter: Or as the French say - au revoir !

The call ends and Wolf looks down at his phone. His foot taps impatiently as he waits for Cress's message with the address to flash on his screen. If her message doesn't come soon, he may still have that heart attack.

-o-

Meanwhile, Scarlet and Émilie woke up early to spend time picking the perfect outfit for her big day, her court day by the order of the French government. Suffice to say, neither of the girls slept well that night, especially Scarlet. They were stressed about today and what might happen. And now, picking out an outfit was an unnecessary burden they didn't want to deal with. Scarlet brought some good choices and Émilie's closet had some matching pieces as well. Their major problem was finding the right message they wanted her outfit to say, especially since they have no idea what or why she'll go to court, or if the court will care about what shirt she wears with what jeans.

Whoever will be in the courtroom that day will take their first look at Scarlet Benoit. That first look will be their first impression and although people claim not to be biased, first impressions end up being a lasting impression. So, to try and cover all bases, they combined as much as they could to give off one solid message.

Scarlet left her curls down, untamed to show that she was being natural (and because they didn't want to waste time trying to fix them). She wore a little makeup to make her face look presentable and fresh. She chose a white sleeveless top to look innocent and a black blazer that had folded sleeves at the elbow to look professional. To add, she wore skinny bleach-washed jeans with no rips to show her casualty yet decency. Then, she had her combat boots to show her toughness. The only accessory she had was her sunglasses mostly because it was bright outside and for the bonus of looking mysterious to the stranger's eye.

All in all, she looks like a teenager who can and will work her way through the legal system without legal help they can't afford.

"I look terrible," Scarlet states.

Émilie nudges her. "Never think you're ugly. This outfit doesn't do any justice to your beauty."

"As flattering as that is, I can take punches better than compliments."

"Please, Scarlet," Émilie says as she finishes prepping herself to be by Scarlet's side. "I bet the boys of Commonwealth are swooning over you."

And that's the stab in the heart Scarlet never expected to hear. Still, she only smiles a little sadly to cover up her true feelings of not telling Wolf where she is and not answering any of his messages. She only didn't tell Émilie about him because her friend would get mad she didn't even tell her boyfriend about coming to France.

"Not really," Scarlet says. She only has Wolf swooning over her and that was all she needed. If only he was here now to tell her that she's got this before kissing the stars out of her. She tosses her curls over her shoulders and quickly changes the topic. "Let's go, we'll be late."

"We have plenty of time," Émilie argues. "We haven't eaten all day and you need something in your stomach before facing the law."

"I'll puke on the judge and jury."

"As long as the prosecution cleans it up, it'll be fine."

"Émilie…" Scarlet nags.

"I'm only half-kidding." Émilie smiles brightly. "Puking is better than fainting."

"That's debatable."

"Either way, you don't know your way to the courthouse so we'll eat first."

"Whatever."