Wheee, two chapters in a day again. Enjoy! :)

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The classroom was packed, at least thirty pairs of eyes staring her down as Marinette scanned the room uneasily for a seat. Mrs. Bonnet, the teacher, watched as she and Adrien struggled to look for a place to sit.

Finally, Marinette spotted an open seat next to a blue-haired boy while Adrien spotted one on the other side of the room. They hastily sat down, Marinette's face still flaming from her entrance. 

"Now then," Mrs. Bonnet said. "Since everyone's here, we'll no longer have to worry about any...distractions." 

The class giggled, and Marinette groaned, covering her burning face with her hands. Curse Hawkmoth. Stupid akuma. 

"Slept in?" The boy asked from beside her. He wore a grey hoodie, the blue-dyed tips of his hair sweeping over his aqua eyes. 

"Not really," Marinette grumbled. "I woke up really early just to make sure that I wasn't late, but the universe just loves messing with me." 

The boy laughed softly, his voice sweet and light. "I'm Luka," he said. "Luka Couffaine." He stuck his hand out as if they had met in a movie from the 1920s. 

Marinette cracked a small smile despite her still-burning embarrassment. "Marinette," she said. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng." 

"Nice to meet you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Luka smiled, turning back to the lesson. 

Marinette smiled too, at least he wasn't laughing at her, or at least to her face. Perhaps the day wouldn't be so bad after all, even though it did have a pretty rough start. Luckily, Marinette managed to make it to all her other classes on time, and before she knew it, the day was over. 

"Mr. Lussier gave us three assignments today!" Alya complained as she and Marinette walked home together later that afternoon, Nino and Adrien trailing behind them. "Three! And it's just the first day!" 

"I got some homework too," Marinette said sympathetically. 

"Did you guys make it on time, by the way?" Alya asked, turning back to Adrien and Nino. Marinette froze, and she was pretty sure she didn't imagine the flicker of panic on Adrien's face. 

"Y—yeah," Marinette said, trying to stop her face from reddening but to no avail. She hated lying to her best friend, but an opportunity to not have to come up with an excuse off the top of her head was an opportunity she was going to take.

"Where did you go this morning anyway?" Alya asked, bumping Marinette's shoulder. "You weren't in your room. When did you leave?" 

"Oh, I had something I forgot to do," Marinette said, praying that Alya wouldn't ask what it was. 

"What was it?" 

Great. Just great. The universe really did love screwing with her. 

"Oh...erm," Marinette frantically searched her mind for an excuse she hadn't used yet. Unsurprisingly, it seemed impossible. 

"We had to help Mrs. Bonnet with some before-class prep," Adrien interjected. "Our socials teacher. Guess Marinette was just a lot more excited than I was to be getting to school." Marinette glanced at Adrien in surprise, and an understanding passed between them. He wouldn't ask about her reason if she wouldn't ask about his. Fair enough.

Alya made a face at Marinette. "Class prep?" She echoed. "You didn't tell me that you have class prep this year."

"Well, you didn't tell me that we would be living with these two baboons," she jutted her thumb back at Adrien and Nino, "for a week. I think we're even." 

"Hey!" Nino protested, and the girls ignored him while Adrien shared a sympathetic nod. 

An easy smile slipped onto Alya's face as she laughed. "Fair enough." 

Marinette counted herself extremely fortunate that no akuma attacks happened for the rest of the day. She found herself working on her homework but spending most of the time thinking about her upcoming date with Chat instead of actually working. The ease of how the akuma had been defeated earlier in the morning tugged at her mind as well.

"I'm a little worried, Tikki," Marinette confessed. "The akuma attacks, they used to happen every day and recently they've only been happening every couple of days or even once a week. I'm grateful for all the extra time, but what if Hawkmoth's up to something?" 

"There's nothing you can do for now, Marinette," Tikki said from her spot on top of Marinette's sewing machine. "We don't know where he is, and all we can do is protect Paris as best we can while preparing for the worst. Just try to enjoy your date with Chat tomorrow night, you deserve it." 

Marinette gave her little friend a small smile. "Thanks, Tikki, you're right. I just hope Hawkmoth doesn't release another akuma ten minutes before class again. I don't think Mrs. Bonnet would appreciate me being late for two days in a row." 

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How was it? Did you like it? :P

I'm starting a new job today and ngl, I'm in a mild panic rn. 

Have a good day :) <3