The alarm woke me up around seven in the morning. I opened my eyes and briefly tried to figure out where I was. Then I realized I was in Paris and starting school today.
I got up carefully and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked more flushed than usual. My hair was messy, and my pupils were wide.
I changed my outfit three times before finally figuring out what to wear. Just a plain white shirt and light blue pants. I didn't even have time to do my makeup properly.I didn't want to be late on the first day and leave a bad impression.
I left the building and headed towards the school following the directions my dad gave me.
I was trembling the whole time, my skin was tingling, and my forearms were shaking. Something important was starting in my life.
Francoise Dupont High School was located right behind the Eiffel Tower. It had three floors and was quite tall compared to my old school. Its exterior was a yellow-brown color.
There were a few teenagers in front of the school, talking to each other. One of them pointed at me, and all the girls started walking towards me.
"You must be the new student. I'm Alya Cesaire, the class vice president. Welcome to our class. I hope you'll have a great time in our class."
Alya was wearing black-framed glasses. She had a plaid shirt on and white sneakers with black tips. Her wavy hair had reddish highlights. She was taller than me.
She seemed friendly, and I really liked that.
¸ ***
"You seem like a really sporty type, Nell. I bet you are," Kim said when we met on the stairs. That's where I also met the other kids in my class. They all seem really sweet at first glance.
"No, not really. I'm the opposite of sporty."
"Wait, Nell, aren't you the girl that Chat Noir saved yesterday?" Ayla asked me.
"He didn't save me, I saved him. Just so you know."
"Well then, we have a superhero in our class," Rose cheerfully said. She was a short girl with short blue hair and big blue eyes.
Then Nino joined us.
Alya hugged him, and that's when I realized they were dating. Nino was a tall, slim teenager with tanned skin. He had a cap on his head and headphones around his neck. Like Alya, he wore glasses, but of a different shape.
"You must be Nell for sure. I'm Nino, nice to meet you," we shook hands.
At that moment, a car stopped in front of the school. And then Adrien Agreste got out of it? Yep, that handsome blond model I see on magazine covers just stepped out of the car. Does he go to this school or something? I can't believe it. I'm probably so scared that I'm seeing things.
"Hey, dude, come meet our new student. Her name is Nell, and she's really cool," Nino said, and Adrian looked towards us. He's even more gorgeous in person.
"Nell, this is Adrien. My best buddy," Nino introduced us. Adrian shook my hand, and I felt a kind of electric shock when my hand touched his. I looked at him in shock and stared at him without blinking for a few seconds.
I thought Chat Noir was perfect-looking, but him...
There are no words to describe his beauty. It makes sense that he's a model.
"Nice to meet you, Adrien. Are you the model from the magazine covers?"
"Yes, I am, actually," he replied somewhat shyly. It seems like he's not too happy when people recognize him for that.
"That's really cool."
The school bell rang, which meant that classes were starting. Then I saw a girl with blue hair and pigtails running towards us. Probably because she was late.
Alya greeted the girl, and we all entered the school together.
***
The girl who was late for school was Marinette. I met her too. She seems like a really nice girl, but also a bit clumsy and awkward. But she's really pretty, and her face looks very familiar to me...
We entered the classroom, which was located on the ground floor. The classroom had white brick walls, brown wooden floorboards, and a pale brown wooden floor. There were parallel windows, one showing the schoolyard and the other the landscape outside. The front of the classroom included a desk with a chair and a computer for the teacher, as well as a large blackboard.
The floor was slightly elevated in the front part of the classroom. There were four wooden tables with attached benches, providing enough space for two students to sit. Underneath the tables, there was a light red carpet. The back of the room was mostly covered with wooden shelves filled with books.
Everyone sat in their seats, and I stood there confused, not knowing where to sit.
Then a slender girl with blonde hair approached me. I immediately noticed the makeup she had on her face.
"You must be the new student. Well, if you think you're better than everyone just because you're new here, I have to tell you that you're very mistaken."
I looked at her confused. Why would she think that?
"No, I don't think that..."
The blonde girl's expression changed. It seems like she didn't expect my response.
"Let me introduce myself properly, I'm Chloe Bourgeois."
"Bourgeois? Are you related to Andre Bourgeois? The Mayor of Paris?" Chloe slapped her forehead.
"Well, yes. That's my dad."
"Your dad is the Mayor of Paris?" I asked in astonishment.
I don't understand why rich kids like Chloe and Agreste are in my class.
"Really? Well, by the way, we own the Le Grand Paris hotel. The richest and most prestigious hotel in all of Paris..."
"Wow. That's really impressive..."
"Wait, aren't you jealous?"
"No. Why would I be?"
I sat next to Chloe, and she shooed away the girl with orange hair.
"Well, the whole pathetic class of ours is jealous of my wealth."
"I'm not jealous. I think it's great to have a friend who owns a chain of hotels in the capital of France."
"Well, in that case, my dad is organizing a ball tonight."
"A ball?"
"Like a banquet. You know, where us wealthy people socialize. There will be a lot of famous people."
"Like who?"
"Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, XY, Ladybug, and Chat Noir... Daddy says there's a possibility that Gabriel Agreste might show up."
"Gabriel Agreste?"
"Yes. He is the most famous fashion designer in the world, but he hasn't been seen in public since his wife passed away..."
If I understood correctly, Gabriel is Adrian's father, and Adrian's mother passed away.
I immediately looked at him. He was smiling and talking to Nina. But there was still sadness in his eyes. I felt sorry for him.
Someone as wonderful as him doesn't deserve to feel so much pain. And I'm sure he does. I can see it.
"By the way, Ladybug is my close friend. And Chat Noir too. And I also own a miraculous."
"Really? You're a superhero too?"
"Oh yes. I am Queen Bee."
"Can I see your miraculous?"
"I don't have it right now. Ladybug gives it to me from time to time when she needs my ability to fight against villains."
At that moment, Miss Bustier, our homeroom teacher, entered the classroom.
She was tall, with reddish hair tied up in a high bun.
"Good day, students. I hope you all had a restful weekend... Before we begin with the lesson, I would like to introduce you to our new student, Nell." I approached Miss Bustier and she introduced me.
"Nell, please introduce yourself to your classmates."
"I'm Nell, and I'm excited to be in class with all of you."
"Nice to meet you, Nell. The class and I would like to welcome you to our class. I'm Caline Bustier, the French, poetry, and literature teacher."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Bustier."
"Now, choose who you want to sit next to."
"I chose to sit next to Chloe." After I said this, the whole class was shocked and everyone looked at me.
"Don't sit next to her. She's so mean." Someone from the back row whispered.
"Half of Paris has been akumatized because of her." Others started chiming in.
"Don't be like that. If Nell has decided to sit next to Chloe, it's her right."
"Yeah! It's not my fault that you're incapable of controlling your anger!"
I sat down and looked towards the teacher.
"Now that I have introduced Nell to you, we can start today's lesson..."
After everyone introduced themselves, we started working. We were studying the lesson about the French Revolution. I never really liked history, but Miss Bustier explained it in such an interesting way.
During the break, I made plans to attend the ball that will be held at Chloe's hotel. I wasn't sure if my mom would let me go, so the whole way home, I was trying to come up with a way to ask her and convince her to let me go.