school time

Chapter 2

Adrien ran his hands through his hair. How was he supposed to make friends if everyone thought he was friends with Chloe, the person who sabotaged his attempts? Adrien continued walking and thought. Adrien was wandering one of the popular places in Paris, but his mind kept distracting him. Adrien had taken the precaution of hiding his hair under a hat, and wearing off-brand clothes, bought with cash.

Adrien was currently walking around the Eiffel Tower, looking at all the people wandering around. Adrien had seen the Eiffel Tower enough, since many of his photoshoots were centered around the massive building. No, he cared about the people. They were always fascinating to him. So, Adrien forced his thoughts out of their deliberation and focused on the people.

Adrien could always tell who was a tourist, and who was a local. Tourists always took pictures at all angles, trying to get large masses of people in the shot. Adrien tried to avoid those pictures, since he didn't want to get recognized through his disguise. The Locals, in contrast, were always just walking through, some only glancing up briefly. Adrien liked the place. It was always so full of a different kind of energy than anywhere else he had been. However, he had been to the Tower many times. Maybe he should try going somewhere else that was a popular tourist place. The Trocadero was right next to the Eiffel Tower, maybe he should go there.

Adrien started across the street, and stared up at the large building. It was very large, and impressively built. Adrien had seen several works of great architecture, and the Trocadero was one of the best ones in his opinion. Adrien started to go up the steps to see the Eiffel Tower from that view. It was a sight he had never seen, and he had heard that it was a sight to see. Adrien made it to the top and stared out. He turned to go up the next set of stairs, and froze. The girl with the dark-haired pigtails was sitting right there, drawing in a sketchbook. She was hunched over, apparently in an intense bout of concentration, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, her mouth set in a line. Adrien thought about if he should approach and interrupt or not. This was possibly the one and only time he could approach a member of the group of friends away from the school. But, she was so immensely concentrated. It would be extremely rude of him to interrupt her, and possibly ruin the flow of thoughts.

Adriens decision was made for him when he felt his phone suddenly shock him from his pocket. He also heard the distinctive pops of frying electronics from everyone else nearby, including the girl, who gave out a small shriek and fell back. Adrien looked around and saw a strangely dressed woman at the top of the stairs. Of course. Just when he was beginning to enjoy his day. The akuma was dressed in an outfit similar to the ones worn in "Tron", except that she had on a headlamp, which was used to short out electronics, it seemed. She laughed evilly, exclaiming "I am Technomonger!! And the age of technology is at an end!!"

Adrien immediately jumped into action. He looked down, and saw that the girl was already gone. Adrien felt a small pang of... something, but he wrote it off and ran to a nearby door, trying to find somewhere easy to transform. He still wasn't too used to the whole 'find a secretive area to transform' thing.

Plagg came out of his shirt with a big grin on his face. "Missed your chance to talk to the lady, did you?"

Adrien shot him a quick glare. "No time. Claws out!" Plagg was sucked laughing into the ring, transforming Adrien into Chat Noir.

Adrien ran to a window and jumped out, giving the illusion that Chat Noir was not at the Trocadero to begin with. He landed where he had last seen the akuma, and saw that she had moved on already. He heard a zipping sound, and Ladybug landed next to him.

"Have you seen it?" Ladybug raised an eyebrow. "I was pretty close, but I didn't see where it went."

"Same here."