I walk into the school, before forcing a small smile. My smile was sheepish and nervous, but I didn't care too much. As I hurry in there, fear fills my mind. "Marinette, I can sense your concern," Tikki whispers. "Don't be nervous. You'll be great!"
"Thanks, Tikki," I say softly, as a genuine smile forms on my lips. "I'll do my best." She stares at me for a long moment with her big, blue eyes, as I nod in her direction. "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you."
She studies me. "Huh?"
"I mean about my father running for mayor," I utter. She chuckles to herself and then rolls her eyes, as I scratch the back of my head. "Tikki?" I ask. Her eyes sparkle, as an enormous grin forms on her face.
"In a way, Chloe deserved it," she proclaims, putting her hands on her hips. "Honestly, Marinette, I didn't want to see you getting hurt." I hug her, as a genuine warm forms in the pit of my stomach.
All of a sudden, Nadja came up to the stage, as I hurry right behind it. "Thank you all for coming tonight!" She proclaims, holding the microphone a few inches from her face. "There will be fifteen amazing acts tonight, so get ready to enjoy yourselves!"
"Good luck, Marinette," Tikki murmurs, as I shoot her an enormous grin. "You'll do great! Just try your best, and we will be proud of you no matter what!" I run a hand through my nicely curled hair, as my heart hammers within my chest.
"Okay! Thank you, Tikki!"
"The first to the stage is Max Kanté!" She announces, as he starts towards the stage. "Max is going to make a robot!" I raise my eyebrows in astonishment. He's really impressive. "Okay then! Go for it, Max!"
He takes out some tools, before constructing a humanoid robot. Max started with the feet, before building up to the head. Within five minutes, he was completely finished. "Done," he says, before picking up the controller that he just made. "Let's see if it works." Max presses a button on the robot, as the humanoid's gears start to spin. He presses another button, as the robot starts to walk forward.
"How impressive!" Nadja exclaims, clapping her hands. "Now, judges, give a score of one to ten. One being the worst, and ten being the best!" Gabriel Agreste, my dad, and Jagged Stone sit in the first row, being deep in concentration. No matter how you look at it, that was an extremely good performance. The thought of building an operatable robot in five minutes is unbelievable, I think to myself.
"I'll give it a ten!" Jagged Stone declares, giving him a thumbs up. "That was rock n' roll! Nice job, son!" I shift nervously, knowing that my chances of winning were extremely low due to his amazing performance.
My dad was next. "I will give it a ten as well," he says, nodding in Max's direction. "I have never seen anyone with such a unique talent. You should be proud of yourself." Max turns to look at Gabriel Agreste, as the fashion designer furrows his eyebrows in concentration.
"8.5," he states, adjusting his glasses. "It's not perfect, but it was still an exceptional job. If you took your time more and focused on the details, then it would be almost flawless." Max nods lightly, understanding where he came from.
"Awesome job, Max!" Nadja declares, as he leaves the stage. "Next up, we'll have Ella Vicente, Mia Michelot, and Layla Saliou to the stage!" Three girls make their way to the stage. The first one has dirty blonde hair, with emerald eyes and fair skin. She wears a pastel pink dress, with white heels. The second girl has dark brown hair, with brown eyes and olive skin. She wears a sparkly, red dress, with black heels. The last girl has light blue hair, with hazel eyes. She wears a white dress, with light blue heels that perfectly match her hair. "So, what will you be doing for us today?" She asks.
