It was at the break of dawn that Marinette decided to leave the hotel for home. Every step she took up to her bedroom was nerve-wracking.
Chloé and Pollen were fine on their own, but it was lleaving them unguarded, which made her feel so unsettled. Marinette had experience fighting criminals up close and personal, but Chloé was more of the pretty princess that watches her knight fall into the mud on her behalf in her tower. In one way, she was a bit worried that Pollen wouldn't keep up with her attitude and mood swings.
As soon as she reached her room, she aimed for the hidden drawer in her desk. One click later and it popped open with the peacock brooch was sitting pretty next to the black box. That's one down.
The next thing was to verify if the earrings were even in the box. She flipped the lid open and let out a long sigh of relief. Both earrings were still in there.
"Looks like we are in the green," she said, making the kwami pop his head out of her clutch bag.
"Good."
Marinette gently placed the box of earrings into her school bag and thought of were to put the brooch. It wouldn't fit in the box with the earrings but she couldn't wear it like she was advertising it to the world.
"Mayura should have given me the box too," she wished before placing the brooch in her plastic pencil case. "Hopefully no one asks for a pen today."
"But if the earrings are still here, what was Alya looking for?" Plagg poundered.
"Well, let's see if she'll talk to me today. I'll be lucky to even get a simple greeting out if her. We might have to be on lookout for anyone suspicious at school too."
"Well, that Damian boy is a starter," Plagg raised his stubs in the air, only to have Marinette push him down into the bag with her index finger.
"He is not our enemy."
The bluenette went down stairs and opened the refrigerator. It was time to start taking the gang's suggestion seriously and she was going to start by eating all the leftovers that were dated.
"The pak choi is still good," Marinette munched as she snuck a few pieces of last night's smoked pork bones in her bag for Plagg. "Didn't know mom was going to going to cook."
"If you were that hungry, then you should have come back home immediately," her mother's voice rang out.
"Mamon?!" Marinette jumped. "I didn't think you would be up."
"Well, when someone sneaks into the house and ramages through the fridge, my culinary senses tingle to protect the leftovers, " she smiled as she shuffles her bunny slip ons over to her daughter. "Well, how was it?"
"The cabbage? It's good, best thing you've cooked this week!"
"Not that," her mother rolled her head around. "The sleepover with Chloé."
"Oh. It was... actually fun."
Her mother crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.
"Chloé was really kind to me. I guess I everyone just judges her too soon."
Sabine gave Marinette a meek smile before pinching her cheek.
"I'm glad he had a good time," she said in Mandarin. "You're skin is glowing so I figured I'd ask you what happened."
Marinette gave her mother a leafy grin.
"The only downside of the night was hotel food. Can't remember a thing I ate."
"Only good food is worth remembering," her mother soothed her cheek. "And good friends are worth more."
As her mother left the kitchen in her morning gown, the teen felt a strange warmth growing from her belly. It felt nice to know that her mother approved of a friend of hers. She was always every picky about who she played with.
After the girl decided to heat up the rest of the food, she got a text from the phone Robin gave her.
'Lockers. 10.30am'
Speaking of friends her mother approved of, Damian must have gotten a lead on Mayura. He was fast.
After waiting for the sun to start bringing the school run heat, Marinette made her way to her wayward high-school. Standing by the entrance to wait for Chloé's limousine to roll by didn't really spell 'low-key' so the seconds best thing was going to class.
Admittedly, this was her first time being the first one to class as the representative.
"Well, isn't this a surprise, " a sultry voice echoed from behind Marinette as she entered the classroom.
Startled, she turns around to meet a long haired brunette with green eyes.
"Lila?"
"What's wrong Marinette?" She asks with a smile. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
The bluenette is frozen in place, not daring to break the away from the glare that has entrapped her. Her eyes were searching for a particular feeling in Marinette's soul. They seemed so empty, so hopeless, a pit where goodness struggled to crawl out of. As the brown skinned girl leaned in closer, Marinette's goosebumps began resurfacing, anticipating the worst. Then Lila opened her jaw and blew a stream of cold air onto the other's nose, making her tailbone connect with the floor.
"Oh my goodness, Marinette, " Lila said with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"
Marinette lifted herself off the ground and nodded.
"Oh yeah, I'm totally fine."
She lied. She was absolutely terrified of the intimidation that had radiated out from Lila and to make matters worse, it was so swift and cunning before it disappeared into the concerned girl before her like a figment of her imagination. Lila looked just as puzzled as she was.
"Good," Lila let out a sigh of relief before placing her hand on her chest. "I guess you weren't expecting to see me, right?"
"U-um," Marinette averted her gaze from her.
"You don't have to act so humble about it, I'm sure you read the school paper already."
"Ugh, the school newspaper?" Marinette looked up to Lila's nervous grin.
"It's been all the rage since last night. I'm surprised she didn't tell you about it."
Lila took out her cellphone and opened a website where the main headline read 'THE END OF AN ERA: THE TAINT, THE TYRANT & THE TRAITOR.'
"What is this?" Marinette cocked her eyebrows as her eyes shook across the screen.
"Your friend's hit piece on how she's going to expose the high school's most 'elite' seniors. Although, I could hardly call myself that," she let out a tired laugh. "I'm just here before the crowd rolls in with their pitch forks."
"That doesn't sound like Alya at all, she won't do deep dives like those gossip columns," Marinette scoffed.
"Then why is she turning the school newspaper into The Sun?"
Marinette eyes finally settled to scroll through article.
It was aimed to be an exposé on the big three of the high school's social structure with a three part series. Alya and Chloé were the main targets but she was withholding the name of the last individual. 'Saving the best for last,' it read.
"There's got to be a way to stop her Marinette, I mean I haven't even done anything wrong," Lila said sorrowfully." I listened to your advice and put the worst parts of myself behind and asked everyone for forgiveness but now she's calling me a tainted saint."
It's true, Lila did turn over a new leaf for the best so there was no reason to dig around old gossip and resurface it. Unless Alya's intentions were to defame others and build mistrust.
"Chloé and I already tried talking her out of this since we found out last week at the design competition, but Chloé... didn't hold back her tongue against her. They had fight and then Alya stormed off to look for you."
Marinette hummed. So, that's why Chloé asked about Alya in the bathroom that day.
" It's not like we have anything to hide, I'm just ashamed of how I acted in the past. It's painful to look back at those times," her eyes watered. "Chloé said that it would all blow over as long as we aren't seen talking to each other anymore, but I'm just not sure anymore. "
Marinette bit the inside of her cheek.
"The two of us aren't really on the best terms right now," Marinette admitted, "but I'll try to talk Alya out of it. I'm sure she has a good reason as to why she doing this."
Lila held onto Marinette's shoulders as they stood face to face again.
"Please," the grip on Lila's hands increased as her eyes went wide, "tell her that it's not to late to let bygones be bygones and that I'll act like that never happened."
The tone of her voice was menacingly low.
"Can you do that?" Her lips drew together a sinister smile.
Marinette swallowed her spit and nodded.
In an instant, Lila let's the bluenette go and turns around to leave.
"You absolutely need to tell her Marinette," a sinister smile overtook her face. "It's a matter of life or death."
As the door closed in Marinette's face, she held onto her shoulders and rubbed them. She's been caught in between a rock and a hard place but one thing's for certain, this school week wasn't one to skip out on.