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“Alright, ladies, please welcome our two newest members to the Girl Squad,” Marinette announced, motioning toward Kagami and Chloe. She smiled, glad to have them both as friends after some recent scrapes with akumas and Hawk Moth himself.
“Let’s get this meeting started,” Chloe said, tossing her ponytail. “I do have other things to do today. Adrikins’ birthday is next week, and I have shopping to do.”
Her smile grew wider. “That’s exactly why we’re here. Ladies, our next mission is called Operation: Adrien’s Birthday. It’s his eighteenth, and it needs to be the best one yet.”
The girls cheered, echoing around her small room with their enthusiasm.
Alya shushed them, taking her place beside Marinette.
“Settle, girls. We have a lot to accomplish in a week’s time.”
To emphasize Alya’s point, Marinette pulled down the large itinerary she’d created. Tasks covered several time blocks with names written beside them.
Reading over all she’d written down, she asked, “Rose, you and Juleka have new songs written for Kitty Section to perform?”
“Yep. Luka created a new one, too.”
“Awesome. Will you make sure Luka and Ivan see me tomorrow about their costume fittings? It shouldn’t take longer than an hour or two. Nino will be ready to shoot their video the day after tomorrow and will have it edited in time for Adrien’s birthday.”
“Will do.”
As Rose jotted down notes on her phone, Chloe piped up, asking, “What about me? What am I doing for this amazing bash?”
Marinette scrunched her eyes at the large schedule, a smile lighting up her features. “I have the perfect job for you and Kagami if you’re up for a challenge.”
“When am I not up for a challenge, Dupain-Cheng?” Chloe countered, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring. “Tell me what it is, and I’ll get it done.”
Kagami nodded, scooting forward in her seat to hear this latest assignment.
“There’s that new club opening next weekend. It’s supposed to be packed. I was hoping with both your connections you might get us into a private lounge.” She bit her lip as she eyed them. “I wouldn’t ask, but I overheard Adrien and Nino talking about it. If you can’t do it, that’s fine. We’ll figure out something else.”
“If Adrikins wants a club for his birthday, he’s getting a club for his birthday.” Chloe whipped out her phone and nodded at the others in the room. She stood and walked to a corner of the room as her phone connected with whoever she called.
Kagami smiled, impressed with Chloe’s certainty in having the matter settled.
“Once we have those two, all that’s left is presents. Everyone know what they’re getting him?”
Everyone nodded, smiles creeping over their features as they turned to face her.
Feeling nervous by the undivided attention, she blurted, “What’s going on?”
“Everyone’s wondering if you’re finally going to confess your feelings for him,” Kagami said as the others nodded. “It’s time for you to stop hesitating and tell that boy how you feel.”
“Amen, girl,” Alya piped up. “I’ve been saying that for the past four years.”
Several giggled.
Marinette’s face turned beet red. Her voice stammered as she tried to come up with a perfectly good explanation why she hadn’t been able to tell him in the past. In the end, she realized she had nothing, accepting the teasing.
Chloe saved her further embarrassment as she sat back down, her phone dropping into her lap. “Club’s VIP Room is all ours next weekend. All they ask is we clean up once we’re done, but they practically bent over backward when they heard who would be attending.”
“No surprise there. Bourgeois and Tsurugi are big names alongside Agreste in this town.”
Chloe snorted. “Well, those didn’t work, Dupain-Cheng. Turns out the owner is a long-time friend of Jagged Stone’s. When he heard you were the hostess, he dropped everything. Who would’ve guessed you, Dupain-Cheng, would eventually outrank me?”
The proud smile Chloe shot her told her their past rivalry might not be completely dead, but it had changed enough over the years to become a real friendship between them.
“You’ll always be the queen, Chlo.”
“Well, duh. Like anyone ever had any doubts about that.”
Everyone chimed in with her, saying, “Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”
Good natured laughter filled the room.
It was truly amazing to see how much their friendships had changed yet remained the same over the years, Marinette thought. Warmth filled her, knowing she wouldn’t ever find another set of friends like she had in the room at that moment.