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This may not be the worst day ever, Marinette thought. But it’s right up there.
Falling out of bed had only been the beginning of the day. Since her bed was in a loft, this was a lot more of a problem than it was for most people. The good news was that she fell down the stairs- which was also the bad news. Cleaning up the cut on her hairline, even with Tikki’s help, left her with no time for more than a croissant for breakfast before school. And she only got half of that as it was- a passing car splashed through a puddle, soaking both her and her half-eaten breakfast with dirty rainwater. Her raincoat had taken most of the damage, but her hair was still wet and there was water draining into her boots.
From there, things went straight downhill, with all the speed of a runaway bus. Lila had the class fawning over her “accomplishments” all morning, telling all about- what was it this time? Oh yeah, working with an animal conservation league in India. This left Marinette by herself during breaks between classes; if Adrien had been there, it might have been better, but he had a photo shoot scheduled and wouldn’t be back to class until around lunchtime. She really wished he had been there, because anyone with half a brain knew that gorillas lived in Africa.
Her homework for science had gotten corrupted somehow, and a solid fifteen minutes of both her and Max trying to get it back resulted in recovering only part of the assignment. It was enough- barely- to avoid a punishment, but not enough to avoid a lecture from Ms. Mendeleiev about finishing her assignments on time. Which she had- Marinette had no idea how the file had been ruined; Max speculated on various reasons, but that wasn’t the point! She sighed, and thanked Max for trying.
And her head felt like it was caught in a vise; her temple throbbed in time with her heartbeat. It made it tough to pay attention in class, so much so that Ms. Bustier had already called her out twice for being distracted.
Her clumsiness was also in full swing, as she stumbled down the steps and twisted her ankle slightly on the way back to her locker before lunch. It had only been the fourth fall that day; stairs were now as much her enemy as any akuma she’d faced.
Alya came up beside Marinette. “Girl, you are really out of it today.”
Marinette rubbed her temple as she limped toward the locker room. “I should’ve stayed in bed today. Nothing’s going right,” she grumbled.
“Don’t think you could get away with that. Given the number of times you’ve disappeared…”
“Alyaaa, don’t remind meee.” Marinette knew her attendance record was spotty thanks to Hawkmoth’s akumas. Normally, her good grades would make up for it, but the way things were going today…well, she’d just have to try harder. Somehow. Her headache increased.
Her best friend stopped her in her tracks. “Seriously, Marinette, you look awful. At least go to the nurse- get some help for that headache and maybe your foot.”
Marinette ducked around Alya and opened her locker. Or… tried to. The door was jammed shut, and no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t open. After a full minute of trying, she gave up and banged her head against the stubborn door. A mistake- she hit herself right on the cut from the morning, making it hurt all over again.
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll go to the nurse,” she muttered, too low for anyone but Alya to hear.
Alya grinned. “Good girl. I’ll save you a seat in the cafeteria. Meanwhile, eat this.” She pulled out an apple from her bookbag; Marinette took it with a half-hearted smile.
Thanks, Alya.”
Marinette munched on the apple on the way to the nurse. Maybe part of her problem was low blood sugar; even so, it took entirely too much effort to eat the hard fruit with her head splitting the way it was. She only managed about half the apple before throwing the rest away, her stomach uneasy because of the pain. She wished she could have finished it, since Alya had been so nice to give it to her; she added guilt to the ‘things that are going wrong today’ list.
Trying not to feel overwhelmed and grouchy (attracting an akuma was so not on the agenda, but how much worse could this day get?), she limped into the nurse’s office. The nurse looked at her, with a slight smile. “How can I help you, miss?”
“I-it’s nothing, just-“ Marinette sighed as the pain surged. “Do you have something for a headache? A really bad one?”
The nurse turned to the counter with the tiny sink and cabinet. “Let me get you something.”
Adrien walked into the school just as the rest of the class entered the cafeteria. Except for Marinette- she was heading to the nurses’ office. She was limping heavily, and from the set of her shoulders, she wasn’t having a good day.
He thought about going up to her and lending a hand, but truthfully- things were just so awkward between them right now. With thinking she hated him, then maybe had a crush, then more uncomfortable things happening- she probably wouldn’t want to see him. His shoulders slumped, unconsciously echoing her posture.
A slight movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. An akuma was fluttering into the courtyard- and it wasn’t heading for the cafeteria full of students. It was fluttering toward the nurse’s office.
Adrien broke into a run. The akuma was after either Marinette or the nurse- and he’d lay serious money on it not being the nurse.
He wasn’t quite fast enough. The akuma fluttered ahead of him and landed on something- a pill- in Marinette’s hand- just before she popped it into her mouth.
He yelled at her in a panic. “Marinette! Spit it out! Don’t-“
But Marinette jumped at the sound of his voice, gasping. Adrien’s heart lurched as a familiar purple energy materialized in front of her face. He watched, speechless, as he waited for the most amazing girl in the school to turn into a villain.
Marinette’s eyes were locked on his. She didn’t breathe for a few seconds…and then a few seconds more…her face began to turn red as she tried to inhale. “Can’t…breathe…” she mouthed, her hands going for her throat.
Oh. OH NO. Adrien leaped into action before his mind finished processing the thought. He grabbed Marinette around the waist and pushed her against the edge of the sink. He hoped he could do this right- Adrien locked his arms around her from behind, placed both his hands, fisted together, under her ribcage and gave a sharp thrust upward.
The deep purple pill popped out of Marinette’s mouth into the sink. Clutching the edge, she began to retch in earnest, losing whatever she’d eaten that day and possibly even the memory of food. Adrien rubbed her back as she heaved.
When she finally stopped being sick, the nurse handed her a small bottle of water. “Rinse and spit,” she instructed, as if people choked and threw up in her office every day. Marinette nodded, her eyes barely open.
Adrien’s attention was on the purple pill- which was dissolving in the aftermath of Marinette’s illness. A butterfly fluttered out, and promptly drowned in the sick. Stomach acids purify akuma, thought Adrien, trying to keep a calm mind and swallowing hard as he watched the butterfly turn from purple-black to white. Who knew?
Marinette groaned. “Should’ve stayed in bed, ” she mumbled.
The nurse helped her over to a small cot. “I think you’d better have a rest before anything else, my dear.” She then turned to Adrien. “If you could turn on the faucet and rinse out the sink, please,” she asked.
Adrien obeyed, watching the dead butterfly swirl down the drain.
The nurse came back and gave him a pat on the back. “That was quick thinking- I’d gone to get her an excuse for her teachers. I didn’t see the akuma.” She looked over to Marinette, who was curled up on the cot, eyes closed and apparently asleep. “I’ll see how she is, she might be up to class in a while.”
“I’d like to make sure she’s okay. Can I sit with her?”
The nurse pursed her lips, but smiled at Adrien’s begging look. “I would feel better if she wasn’t alone. All right, you can sit with her during lunch, then go explain to her afternoon teacher.” She turned back to her desk and the paperwork there. “I’ll be right over here if you need me.”
Adrien sat in a chair next to the cot, where he could keep an eye on Marinette. She really looked like death warmed over; she must have been having a terrible day. He gave her shoulder a pat before he left at the end of lunch.
Adrien spotted Alya coming over just as he left the nurse’s office; he waved her down. “Don’t go in; Marinette’s sleeping,” he warned.
“Sleeping? Because of a twisted ankle and headache?” Alya narrowed her eyes at the model.
“Was that what she went in for?” Adrien shook his head. “Anyway, things happened, and now she’s sleeping. I’ll explain later, I’ve got to go tell Ms. Bustier.” He headed for the steps.
“Hold up! What things , Agreste?”
He sighed. He didn’t really want to tell Alya about the akuma; she’d never leave Marinette alone about it, and the girl needed some rest. “Look- just, something she ate didn’t agree with her, she choked, and- well, she was pretty sick.”
Alya froze. “Oh, no. The apple…I should never have given it to her…”
Oh. Now that she mentioned it, there had been a rotten-apple scent…but Alya shouldn’t feel guilty for it. “I’m pretty sure it was the pills, Alya. She’ll be okay.”
They had reached the classroom, and Adrien approached Ms. Bustier about Marinette. After explaining, he headed for his seat. Which is when he heard what Lila was telling the class.
“-she wasn’t at lunch, and Adrien just said that pills made her sick. She’s got to be made to stop- drugs are bad news!”
Adrien felt his temper rising. Normally he’d ignore Lila, but now she was attacking Marinette’s reputation. “Marinette’s not doing drugs, Lila,” he grated. “She went to the nurse for a headache, and choked on the pill. That’s all. ”
Ms. Bustier’s cheery voice broke through the tension. “That’s right, and thank you for giving us a wonderful example of the way not knowing all the facts can lead to wrong conclusions, Lila!” She beamed, as Lila sat there, unsure of why the teacher was thanking her. “That is one of the themes we are studying in the next set of short stories. Please read the list this week, and write a short essay on the nature of wrong assumptions for Friday.” She turned to Alya and Adrien. “Please be sure to pass the assignment along to Marinette.”
“Absolutely.” Adrien went back to his desk for the lesson. Maybe this would give him an opportunity to talk to Marinette, and clear up some of the awkwardness between them. He hoped whatever they talked about would make things better. For now, though, he was determined to take great notes to pass along to the girl who nearly ate it.