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“Mme. Bustier?” Adrien clutched the strap of his bag as he approached his teacher.
Class had let out for lunch, and most of the other students had left already. Only Alya and Marinette were left, packing up the last of their things, and Nino was waiting for them by the door.
“Yes, Adrien?” The teacher smiled at him, straightening out a stack of tests to grade.
“Um, I was wondering … about starting a club?” He shuffled his foot against the floor nervously.
“Sure,” Mme. Bustier said, setting the tests down and reaching for one of her desk drawers, “there’s a form you’ll have to fill out, and you’ll need some signatures to make sure there’s enough interest, but that would be fine. Here you go.”
Adrien took the proffered sheet and thanked her, turning to leave. Alya and Marinette had finished gathering their stuff, and they were standing near the doorway with Nino - the three of them were waiting - for him. A smile bloomed on the blond’s face and he lengthened his stride for the few steps it took for him to reach his friends.
“Hey, bro,” Nino said, eyeing the paper in Adrien’s hand with curiosity, “what’s that?”
“I’m trying to start a club,” Adrien told him, carefully tucking the paper away in his bag.
“Ooh, what about?” Alya asked, and beside her, Marinette looked at him with her bright blue eyes.
“Ladybug,” Adrien said as the four of them started to move out into the hall.
Marinette choked.
“Really?” Alya lit up, after making sure her best friend was okay. Marinette waved her away, still coughing slightly. “Let me be the first signature!”
Adrien was more than happy to pull out the form as Alya grabbed a pen from her bag. First she, then Nino took the paper and held it against the wall to add their signatures onto the twenty blank lines on the back.
“Marinette?” Alya turned to her friend, holding out the pen. Nino and Adrien turned to her, too.
“Um,” Marinette said, her eyes wide. Her gaze flitted from Alya, to Nino, to Adrien, and then to the paper. “I-”
“Please, Marinette?” Adrien smiled at her hopefully.
“Okay,” Marinette said, softening. She stepped forward, taking the pen from Alya and holding the paper up to the wall. She gave it a hard stare before taking a deep breath and quickly scrawling her signature on a line.
Adrien took the paper from her and beamed at the three signatures. He only had seventeen more to go!
“Thanks, guys,” he said, tucking the paper back into his bag. They parted ways for lunch - Adrien heading back to the Manor while his friends ate in the school cafeteria. While he dined, Adrien filled out the front of the form, being careful to keep it away from any stray bits of food.
Name of Club: Ladybug Club Got Spots?
Club Founder: Adrien Agreste
Teacher Sponsor:
Teacher Sponsor Signature:
Day(s) and times of meetings: Tuesdays, 5th hour
When Adrien got back to school, he was on the hunt for signatures - as well as a teacher to sponsor the club.
As he got Marc and Nathaneal’s signatures, he considered asking the art teacher. He did already sponsor the Art Club - but perhaps it would be rude to pile another club on top of that.
As he added Mireille, Aurore, and Jean’s signatures to the list, Adrien wondered about Mme. Mendeleiev. She was strict, but she really wasn’t that bad - but then again, she was already on to the kwamis, and maybe it wasn’t the best idea.
As Alix, Kim, and Max signed, Adrien thought about asking M. Damocles, but having the principal sponsor the club would show blatant favouritism - and besides, he didn’t even have a proper classroom to host meetings in.
A couple of his fans approached him about adding their signatures as Adrien made his way to class, and he was glad to let them.
As Adrien went around the classroom and asked Juleka, Rose, Ivan, Mylène, Sabrina, and Chloé to sign, he decided to ask Mme. Bustier to host the club. She was the perfect candidate.
Mme. Bustier agreed to sponsor the club after reviewing the completed parts of Adrien’s form. After she signed her own name in the proper spot, she promised to send it off to M. Damocles to get it approved.
Adrien beamed as he sat back down in his seat, not noticing how Marinette watched their teacher tuck the club form away with slightly flushed cheeks and nervous eyes.
A few days later, Mme. Bustier told Adrien that the club had gotten the principal’s seal of approval and could start meeting next week.
When Tuesday rolled around, Adrien grinned through all of his first four classes and lunch. As his bodyguard drove him back to school, he was practically vibrating in his seat.
“Thanks,” he chirped to the Gorilla, who gave a grunt in response as Adrien flung open the door and leapt onto the sidewalk.
“Adrien,” Chloé called from the top of the steps. Sabrina was standing next to her, and Adrien waved at them as he walked up to them.
“Hey, Chloé,” he said, surprised that his friend hadn’t latched herself onto his arm. “Hi, Sabrina.”
The redhead waved as Chloé checked her phone for the time. “Let’s go,” Chloé said, “or else we’ll be late for the club!”
Adrien let her grab his wrist and lead him to Mme. Bustier’s classroom. When they got there, the room was packed almost to the brim. Alya and Marinette were sitting in the front row, crammed on his usual bench next to Nino. Marinette’s face was flushed red and she was staring resolutely at the wood of the desk.
Mme. Bustier waved him over to her desk as Chloé and Sabrina went to their usual seats. Chloé shooed the girls who were sitting there with a flourish and a, “Begone, peasants!”
“I’ll just be here to supervise,” Mme. Bustier said, “the floor is yours.”
“Thank you,” Adrien told her, and then he turned to face the mass of people, all of whom immediately quietened and turned their eyes to him. Adrien cleared his throat.
“Hi, thank you all for coming,” he said to the crowd, “welcome to the first meeting of my club! I created it to show my appreciation for our local superhero, Ladybug.” Adrien tried to remember how Nathalie led conference calls that she occasionally let him sit in on. First, he knew he had to bore everyone out so that only the investors, or students, who were actually interested would stay. About halfway through his rambling about how amazing Ladybug was, he looked around to notice that only a few people remained - Chloé, Sabrina, Alya, Nino, and Marinette, who was looking no less red.
Now Adrien focused on channelling Nino. “We’ll need a secretary, and a treasurer, and a publicist. Because there aren’t that many people, as long as there’s only one person to apply for each position, I think we should be able to cover everything without a problem.”
Chloé and Alya’s hands had shot into the air as soon as the words left his mouth - Sabrina raised her hand slower.
“I call publicist,” Alya cried.
“I’m being the secretary,” Chloé yelled, as if her volume could raise the importance of her role.
“Sabrina?” Adrien turned to his classmate. “What role did you want to run for?”
“Treasurer,” Sabrina said, and Adrien nodded.
“It’s settled, then.” A glance at the clock showed it was almost time for them to head to Mme. Mendeleiev’s class. “Meeting adjourned for today - we meet back here next week, same day, same time. Thank you all for coming!”
Chloé left after giving Adrien a friendly hug. Nino approached next, giving him a fist bump and congratulating him on a job well done. Alya joined them to talk to Adrien about setting up a club website.
“Mme. Bustier?”
The three of them turned at Marinette’s voice, the teacher looking up from her work. “Yes, Marinette?”
“I have a club I’d like to start. Could I have a form, please?” Marinette seemed to glance towards Adrien as she said this, though it might have been just in his imagination.
“Of course, Marinette,” Mme. Bustier said, handing her the paper. “Remember that you’ll need 20 signatures from fellow students. What kind of club, if I may ask?”
“A Chat Noir fan club,” Marinette said firmly as she slipped the form into her bag.
Adrien promptly choked.