She spun around, surprised to hear her name. She was dismayed to find the person who'd spoken it was Felix. He sat casually in his chair, his legs crossed, his sleeves rolled up. He watched her with interest.
"What?" she snapped, impatient to make her escape.
"Where are you going?" he asked curiously. He rested his chin in his palm and she noticed how completely different he was from Adrien. Then she winced at the thought of Adrien, hating herself for being incapable of putting him out of her mind.
"It's none of your business!" she spat. She crossed her arms and stared him down. She was gripped by a sudden fear of an akuma. The way she'd been acting, it should have been inevitable.
"Don't be like that, Mari," he replied, amused. "You don't actually know me. I might not be so bad." He laughed, enjoying her agony.
"I don't want to know you because you are bad," she responded. Her eyes darted back and forth in search of an akuma. To her astonishment, she found none. How was it possible, with all the pressure she felt building around her, she hadn't been akumatized?
"Ah, I fear you've seen right through me," he sighed. "And does me being 'bad' not excite you?"
"Not even a little bit," she vowed, a stinging venom in her voice. "Now stop bothering me!" With that, she spun around and marched away to the bathroom. She needed to be alone, and she had the rest of the lunch period to fulfill that need.
She locked herself in a stall, closed the toilet, and sat down. She buried her face in her hands, fearing she might burst into tears. Her eyes watered, the sight of Adrien and Kagami still painful.
"Oh, Tikki," she cried. "What's wrong with me? Why am I so distracted lately?" Tikki flew from her purse into the vacant air. Her big blue eyes were deep pools of empathy and compassion. She nuzzled Marinette's cheek comfortingly and Marinette appreciated the affection.
"There's nothing wrong with you, Marinette. It's just been a rough couple of days."
That whole day, there were no attacks from Hawkmoth. It set Marinette on edge, made her suspicious. He must be planning something. It was the only explanation. And she was, in fact, right, although she wouldn't know it until much later.