Requested by mlb2008 - Marinette has ADHD, which Miss Bustier cannot handle. Cue in a protective Chloè and Ms Mendeleiev who actually put's the 'teach' in teacher!
I hope I have depicted ADHD accurately. If not, please let me know.
Marinette was currently in the back of the classroom, to the generosity of Lila and several other classmates who deemed her as selfish. Why selfish? Well, apparently Lila, having pulled the tinnitus card, which Marinette called out on, was enough to warrant a seat change. Miss Bustier, being the enabler she was, let this action happen due to her pushing on the point that Marinette should set an example. An example? Ha!
"No...it's not fair..." Marinette mumbled under her breath. She was looking at her lap, where she was fiddling with a piece of string. It was cut from her commission she was working on last night. The outfit involved a lot of knitting, a rather unique design to say the least, so Marinette found herself mimicking the knitting motion with her fingers and string. It was all she could focus on.
"Marinette!" Miss Bustier all but barked, making Marinette shake her head and look at the teacher, with everyone looking at her. Some looks contained annoyance.
"S-sorry," Marinette said as she rubbed her eyes.
Having spent so long on the commission, she hadn't slept properly, nor had she drunk or eaten anything. Her mother had tried to offer her breakfast this morning but she rushed out of the bakery in order not to be late.
"Can you answer this question?" Miss Bustier said as she gestured to the board, which had an equation on it. Marinette was so tired she could barely see it.
"No...sorry," Marinette said.
"Sorry isn't good enough. I expect better off of you, to set an example to everyone," Miss Bustier said.
"I didn't sleep well... would it be okay if I came to the front to see the board better?" Marinette asked, knowing what the answer would be but had a small amount of hope.
"B-but..." Lila faked whimpered, causing more glares at the bluenette.
"Marinette! I have had enough of this! It's bad enough you're not being considerate to others, but now you're slacking off in class and not paying attention!" Miss Bustier sad crossly.
"There's...a reason..." Marinette said quietly.
Her ADHD had been documented in her school file when she had been diagnosed. It was quite clear that Miss Bustier had NOT looked at it, or she would know what was going on. When she had first been told she had ADHD, she was scared as she didn't know how she'd managed it. No one aside from her parents knew, bar teachers, and she didn't want to tell her friends. Well, after Lila came along, she was glad she didn't. There was a huge chance that they would say she's making it up, and saying it now would definitely look that way. It's why she hated people like Lila, with people who actually had conditions, weren't taken seriously and the fact that Lila was using them to her advantage was sickening.
"Marinette there is no excuse for slacking off. Now pay attention," Miss Bustier said sharply as she turned back to the board. Marinette did not miss the sly smirk Lila shot her before turning back. The disappointed look from Adrien killed her inside a little too.
She just wished that someone would understand. Little did she know, that the most unlikely of people did.
*****
As the bell rang for lunch, and another harsh lecture from the teacher came, with people watching her, Marinette was quick to run to the bathroom, ignoring the jeers that followed. Tikki watched her owner from the purse as she locked herself in the toilet and pulled her feet up so no one could see. It wasn't fair. Once Marinette had explained it to Tikki, she understood. Marinette often when days on projects without taking breaks on commissions, homework, Ladybug duties and even when her so called friends were asking for free favours. Marinette still fidgeted with the string in her hands, going over the design in her head. It has to be perfect, it has to be perfect, it has to be perfect...
"Marinette..." Tikki started but quickly hid when the door slammed open and someone walked in. Marinette held her breath and continued to fidget, even when the person knocked on the door.
"Dupain-Cheng?" a sharp voice asked. This made Marinette raise her head slightly, but continued to fidget. Even so, she knew that voice.
"Chloé?" Marinette asked timidly.
"Yes, it's me, now open the door!" Chloé all but ordered.
"No, I'm okay in here by myself," Marinette said, looking back down at her hands.
"Dupain-Cheng, you open this door right now! You...you need to drink something! I have water," Chloé said, although there was something gentle about that last sentence. Marinette swallowed, finally realising how dry her throat was as she literally felt it creak. Slowly, Marinette got up, and still holding the string in one hand, she opened the door with the other hand, to reveal Chloé standing there.
"Um..." Marinette started, but Chloé held the drink in front of her.
"Less talking, more drinking," Chloé ordered, as Marinette took the bottle. As the first sip of cold water touched her lips, Marinette found herself gulping it down so fast, it was gone in about in a minute. She found herself panting once she finished.
"Thank you," she said, only for Chloé to scoff.
"You need to watch yourself, there are better ways to manage you ADHD than dehydration," Chloé stated, making Marinette freeze. How did she know?! Did she see her file? Did her parents slip it? Was it that obvious? Was it...
"Hey, hey, I'm right here! Slow down on that string, you're going to give yourself string burn!" Chloé said, suddenly taking Marinette's wrists and holding them firmly. She didn't try to take the string away, but more so gently squeezed her wrists as if calming them down. It did work as Marinette's knitting finger motions slowed down.
"How do you know?" Marinette asked.
"I'm not stupid. It's just something I've seen," Chloé said, not giving anymore answers on that.
"Oh...well thank you," Marinette said with a smile.
"No need to repeat yourself, you're not a parrot. Now come with me," Chloé said, then taking Marinette by putting her arm around her shoulder and ushering her out of the toilets.
Marinette was dumbfounded as Chloé took her through the canteen, noting that nearly everyone was looking at her. None seemed more surprised than her class, with Alya giving an annoyed and shocked glance at the pair. Heck even Lila looked baffled. It was then Marinette realised that Sabrina was still with the class and not Chloé.
"Why isn't Sabrina with you?" Marinette asked, as they entered a hallway. Chloé looked slightly miffed and sad at the question but answered nonetheless.
"That little liar has her reeled in and doesn't want to hang out with a bully," Chloé said with a sniff. Marinette didn't know what to say. Clearly to her ADHD, it wasn't something she had noticed, given the lack of attention she paid.
"I'm sorry," Marinette said.
"Don't be sorry for me, just...look after yourself," Chloé said. Now Marinette was shocked. How much had this girl changed? Looking down at the string her hand, she felt a little ashamed for not noticing. She didn;t even notice when Chloé practically kicked down a door, to reveal a very annoyed science teacher.
"Chloé, what on earth..?!" Ms Mendeleiev started but then dropped the annoyed tone when she saw the girls. "What happened? Is there an akuma? Answers now."
"Miss Bustier is useless as a teacher. She can't see that Marinette needs help!" Chloé declared.
"She hasn't talked to you about ADHD management?" Ms Mendeleiev asked, and Marinette looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"You read my file?" she asked with a few tears in her eyes.
"Of course I did! It's my jobs to know about my student's wellbeing! Are you telling me..." Ms Mendeleiev asked but saw the blonde's look and then pinched her nose in annoyance.
"Vexing, isn't it?" the blonde said.
"Very. Now thank you Chloé, you may return to lunch. I would like to have a little chat with Marinette," Ms Mendeleiev said. Chloé gave a huffed and turned on her heel towards the door. She then felt herself freeze at the sentence Marinette then uttered.
"I don't think you're a bully," she said with a smile. Chloé said nothing but even the teacher could sense the smile appearing on her face before the girl left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Now, please have a seat," Ms Mendeleiev said, noting how Marinette's fidgeting sped up as she sat down. "You're not in trouble." Sure enough, the fidgeting slowed down.
"I'm not?" Marinette asked.
"No. I just want to ask you how you're managing in class. Is what Chloé said true?" Ms Mendeleiev asked.
"Yes... I'm slacking off when not paying attention, people think I'm making it up. I don't want people to know, they'll think I'm a liar... so I just... focus elsewhere," Marinette admitted.
"Why would people think you're a liar?" the teacher asked, noting how the fidgeting was going even faster now as Marinette was looking around the room to avoid eye contact.
"I don't..." Marinette stuttered. Seemed like there was a trigger word there. Liar. Hold on a moment. A certain student came to mind from her class who claimed to have arthritis. After not having a doctor's not, she hadn't believed her, but she had certainly not missed the look of fury on that student's face.
"Ah. Miss Rossi. You don't want to be linked to her do you? A liar," Ms Mendeleiev asked, making the girl freeze.
"You know she's a liar?" Marinette asked.
"Marinette, I have been a teacher for over fifteen years, I know all of the tricks in the book. Illness to get out of classes are more common than you think. Bringing it up in meetings... well it gets brushed to the side by our so called principal. Marinette... I think you should be in my class this afternoon. I will take care of your other class. Would you like that?" Ms Mendeleiev asked.
"Y-yes!" Marinette squeaked.
The poor girl's eyes were brimming with tears of joy that someone actually believed her. Ms Mendeleiev smiled but on the inside she was livid. How dare Caline let a student's mental health deteriorate to the point where she is clearly having issues! No! No akuma today. She was going to sort this the old fashioned way with what she did best. Provide actual discipline.
*****
Marinette was currently sitting in front of Ms Mendeleiev's class as the other students poured in. She recognised a few as Marc, Aurore, Jean, Wayhem and Mireille. They all gave her a wave but noticed her appearance. They asked if she was okay and did not push it when she nodded in response. The mood in here felt lighter already and Marinette didn't feel... as pressured or watched. Her desk was pushed a little forward in the front than others. No one was either side of her so her focus was now at the front of the class, with one blind being drawn so no sunlight was flickering in her eyes. It was oddly relaxing.
"Attention now! Lunch is over, so let's begin!" Ms Mendeleiev called as she walked in.
After giving an explanation to why Marinette was in her class for the afternoon, her blood almost boiled at the response Caline gave. 'Strictness is what she needs. She's slacking too much and setting a bad example. You'll wake her up to be the person she's supposed to be.' Honestly! This was a young teenager! Not a solider or a superhero! Now she was going to be there for a student, which is what a teacher is supposed to do.
Marinette took a deep breath and played with her string and kept her eyes on the board. She could do this. She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng!
*****
If there was one word that could be used to describe the lesson? Amazing. Just amazing. Marinette, while she played and fidgeted, focused the whole lesson. Rather than stand still in the lesson, stiff as a board like Bustier did, Ms Ms Mendeleiev engaged the class, made gestures to the board and books. When Marinette found herself being side-tracked, Ms Mendeleiev asked her with a clear and direct question and even when she got it wrong, it was explained to her. Marinette took notes that she understood in her own way and found herself smiling in the lesson. Even hen she felt like she had to rush, she was told to take her time and if she was stuck, she could give it a try. If she was wrong, that was okay. The answer was just explained to her. The lesson went by so fast, Marinette didn't even realise that school was over. She was called to the front of the class as everyone else exited.
"Well Marinette, how did you find the lesson?" Ms Mendeleiev asked.
"It was amazing! I just felt so at ease! I mean... I did fidget and you know... but you weren't mad," Marinette said with a smile.
"Of course I wasn't mad. You can't help having ADHD Marinette. It's okay to have mechanisms. Here, take this," Ms Mendeleiev said as she handed the girl a few sheets of paper.
"What is it?" Marinette asked.
"It's a list of how to cope. Granted I am sure your parents have got you sorted on that front but these are good for class. I have taught students with ADHD over the years. I taught myself on how to help them, to adapt and change to make teaching fair an equal for everyone," Ms Mendeleiev explained.
"Wow...well...would it be okay if... I transferred here permanently?" Marinette asked.
"Of course. I will run it by Miss Bustier. Ah, don't look so worried. I will sort everything," Ms Mendeleiev said, oddly calm. As Marinette was about to question this, Aurore poked her head round the door.
"Hey Marinette, do you want to join is? Chloé said something about buying us lobster!" the girl said excitedly.
Marinette looked eager at this as Ms Mendeleiev gave her a nod to join them. Just before the girl left however, she looked at the string in her hand. Marinette then looked back at the teacher and gave one last smile before putting it in her pocket and heading off with her new friends. As soonas she left, Ms Mendeleiev frowned. Now it was time to do some real teaching.
*****
Miss Bustier was currently cleaning up the papers on her desk, smiling at a good afternoon. The class went along much better without Marinette causing disruptions to everyone. Once she was back in here, she use Lila as a good example for Marinette to model after. Nothing like a star student to straighten her out! A knock on the door made her look around to see Ms Mendeleiev with her usual frowned face.
"Ah Rachel! I trust Marinette wasn't too much hassle for you?" Miss Bustier asked.
"Oh no, she was a delight to teach," Ms Mendeleiev said as she came in and shut the door. The redhead looked confused.
"Really? Well I wish I could get her to focus like that here," she said, almost making Ms Mendeleiev snort.
"Maybe you could if you'd actually do your job," Ms Mendeleiev stated. The woman's eyes flashed with hurt as she stepped around her desk.
"Now see here, Marinette is being a bit of a trouble maker recently!" Miss Bustier argued.
"Having ADHD doesn't make you a trouble maker," Ms Mendeleiev said irritably, making Miss Bustier freeze then scoff.
"She doesn't have that... whatever it is. She would have told me, she lying," Miss Bustier said.
"It's in her health records here at school. That and the fact she apparently tried to tell you, but you brushed it off as lying, while a student in here is clearly faking having disabilities," Ms Mendeleiev said, her voice raised now.
"Now see here, Lila has...!" Miss Bustier started.
"No apparent conditions, no doctors note, nor have you actually contacted her parents! Marinette has done all of these things but you've proceeded to ignore her, treat her differently and accuse her of lying! She was on the verge of tiredness, hunger and dehydration when she came to me! Something, as her teacher, you should have picked up on!" Ms Mendeleiev shouted, making Miss Bustier back up against her desk.
"I am not equipped to deal with Marinette's issues!" Miss Bustier tried to defend but now Ms Mendeleiev slammed her hand down on the desk.
"ADHD is not an issue! It is a condition people live with! They have support around them to help manage it, which is something Marinette doesn't have in this room! Off your or her classmates! You isolated her to be an example, burdening her with jobs that YOU are required to do! If you honestly thinking that ADHD is an issue then you should NOT be a teacher!" Ms Mendeleiev said, doing her best to manage her temper at this point.
"I...I am not a bad teacher..." Miss Bustier said as she sank to her knees in tears.
"Yes, you are. I am not going to sugar coat it. You can expect a complaint going to the board from me, and Marinette's family. She is to be transferred to my class effective immediately. If you dare to even speak to Marinette about this, I will know and you'll have something worse than an akuma to worry about. I'll have Miss Rossi brought to the board about her fake disabilities. This could have been avoided if you' just done your damn job," Ms Mendeleiev stated before leaving the room and practically slamming the door.
She could hear the sobs come through but she didn't regret it. Tough talks are needed. Marinette isn't the only one out there not being helped and ADHD isn't the only condition. Ms Mendeleiev sighed but with a smile.
Marinette may just be one student but it was she was now a student who now had the support she deserves.