Work Text:
Marinette had realised that now she was getting some higher profile clients and only one phone she better give them code names. someone like Lila would copy their numbers down as soon as she realized who they were.
She sent out a message to all her clients. To ask them just in case they wanted to choose something themselves. For fun, she changed all her friends too.
Alya: Future Journalist
Alix: History Sk8er
Adrien: Spineless
Ivan: Drummer Kitty
Juleka: Goth kitty
Mylène: Go Green
Nathaniel: property of Marc
Nino: Director DJ
Rose: UniKitty
Kim: Wanna bet.
Max: 76278
Luka: 💖punk kitty💖
Kagami: sword queen
Marc: property of Nathaniel
She kept her family's names the same. The celebrities on her phone were charged too.
Jagged: Fang's daddy
Penny: Fang's mummy
Clara Nightingale: Sing sweet.
Nadia: sitting
The last one gave her an idea for their name and it made her laugh out loud. It also caused trouble for her class a couple of weeks later.
Marinette was sitting in class, looking at her messages on her phone when her phone was snatched out of her hand.
“Really Mari-brat, I knew you were obsessed with Adrian but going as far as to name him Fabulous he on your phone?” Alya almost yelled so the whole class could hear.
“Adrian isn't fabulous he.”
“Don't lie Marinette, it's not good. I saw you stalking him the other day at the Seine. Oops, I'm sorry Marinette I didn't mean to say that out loud” Lila said crocodile tears rolling down her face.
Alya hugged Lila. “No, you did right, we needed to know what she's up to.”
“She is lying to you. I didn't stalk anybody and Adrian isn't Fabulous he.”
“Well, I have your phone and can prove you're lying.” Alya rang up Fabulous he.
The class looked towards Adrian. His phone didn't ring.
Lila and Alya’s smug smiles slipped off their faces.
The person on the other end picked up.
“Hello Marinette, is something wrong with my order? Are you going to need more time making them?” In surprise, Alya had hit the speaker phone. The whole class could hear him.
“Prince Ali? You're Fabulous he?” Rose squeaked recognising his voice.
Nathaniel snorted it seemed like he got the reference.
“Rose? What's happening?”
“I'm sorry Prince Ali, a classmate took my phone convinced Fabulous he was an old crush. I'm on schedule with your order”
“Wait, this is Prince Ali?” Alya screeched and turned to the phone still in her hand “How could you hire Mari-brat when she's been so awful to poor Lila, and after everything Lila has done for you!”
“I'm sorry but I don't know a Lila.”
“Yes you do, you cooperate a charity together, you know the one about pollution”
Alya was shouting at the top of her voice the classroom door burst open Mme. Mendeleiev standing there.
“I'm sorry to tell you this, but your friend is lying to you. I only work with children's charities.”
“No no no. Mari-brat tricked you into saying that, what did she threaten you with?
Is she withholding her work? Lila is an amazing person, she doesn't lie.” with that Alya slammed Marinette’s phone to the ground, shattering the screen.
“Alya, Lila, Marinette come with me to M.Damocles office.”
The three girls sat in M. Damocles's office. Alya's and Marinette's parents came quickly.
“M. Damocles my mama is a very busy person as a diplomat, she won't be able to come.”
“That's fine Lila it seems to me that Mme. Mendeleiev was over-eager in bringing you as well.”
“I most certainly did not. It was Lila that goaded Alya into stealing Marinette's Phone and Calling Prince Ali.”
“Well, I'm sure we can let that go. I'm sure Mme. Rossi wouldn't want to be interrupted today.”
“You better be kidding M. Damocles, we had to close our business to be here.”
“I had to leave just before the lunch rush. We are short-staffed with me here.”
“Well you heard Lila, her mother is busy.”
Alya's mum Marlena Césaire took out her phone.
“Mme Césaire what are you doing?”
“Since you won't ring her I'll just ring the embassy.”
“Hello. I'm Marlena Césaire. There's been an incident at Collège Françoise Dupont, the principal is refusing to call Ambassador Rossi about her Daughter.”
A confused face crossed her face. “What do you mean there isn't an Ambassador Rossi? Lila repeatedly said her mother was Italy's ambassador. You're her mother? and you're a receptionist? Anyway, can you come? Five minutes okay.”
“Well, it seems that Lila has been lying to us all,” stated Marlena putting her phone away
Alya stood up, turned to her mum and shouted “No, she's not lying, Lila isn't a liar Mari-brat must have told the receptionist to say that!” stomping her foot at the end.
“Alya!” Her dad Otis yelled, “Alya why are you so insistent that Lila is innocent?”
“Maybe.” Marinette’s dad butted in “Maybe it's because she had completely dropped Mari as a friend and has tried to get the rest of the class to isolate her for ‘poor Lila’s’ sake and now she's broken Mari's phone in front of witnesses. Your daughter has to be in the right or she's ruined a friendship for nothing.”
“Well Alya, is M. Dupain right? Is all this attitude because you don't want to be wrong?”
“No! Mari-brat is a jealous cow, she's jealous that Lila is a model, she's jealous that Lila gets to go around the world on fabulous holidays because her mum's an ambassador, she's jealous that Lila is better at fashion design. She's jealous that Lila is friends with Prince Ali, she's jealous that Jagged Stone wrote a song about her, and she's jealous that Lila's dating Adrian. She’s jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous!” Alya was panting loudly at the end.
“But Marinette has a boyfriend, why would she be jealous of Lila dating Adrian?”
“She’s just dating that loser to make Adrian jealous.”
There was a knock on the door. On the open door. Numerous students and teachers were trying to look in on the meeting. But more importantly, a woman was standing in the doorway. She was almost identical to her daughter but had warm brown eyes instead of Lila's olive green and her hair was in a sharp chin-length bob.
M. Damocles got up from his seat. “Hello Ambassador Rossi, I'm sorry for interrupting your busy day, I'm afraid to say that things have been blown out of proportion.”
Alya's eyes lit up finally she'd be able to tell Lila's mum what Mari-brat had been doing to poor Lila.
“There must be some confusion. I'm not an ambassador. I'm a receptionist. The ambassador is a man and a lot older than me, his youngest grandchild is in university.”
Alya in her delusion that Lila was innocent ignored Mme. Rossi saying that she wasn't an ambassador.
“Hi, I'm Alya I'm Lila's best friend, I've been helping her with disabilities, I organised the classroom so Lila was in the front of the class so she can hear when her tinnitus acts up, I made a rota for what classmate Carries Lila's things so she doesn't strain her hand because of her arthritis.” Alya looked smug at all the work she'd done for Lila.
“You must be mistaken, Lila is in perfect health. She had a doctor's appointment only last week.”
Alya and M. Damocles looked shocked and Lila looked like she was trying to sink into the floor.
Marinette took this opportunity. “Mme Rossi, Lila has told us how she spent a few months in Achu with Prince Ali working on a charity to combat pollution.”
“What? Lila told me the school was closed due to teachers being akumatized, that once the basically useless heroes cured one another would be akumatized.”
Sabine and Marlena rested their hands on the shocked mother's shoulders.
Sabine was the next to speak up. “I'm going to guess that you also don't have an antique piece of jewellery in the shape of a fox tail.”
“What? No. Where did you get the idea I did?” Mme. Rossi looked confused.
“Lila accused my daughter of stealing her grandmother's necklace. A necklace fitting that description was found in her locker.”
“When was this? why wasn't I contacted?”
“The first week Lila came back to class, Lila has the whole school convicted you are the Italian ambassador and shouldn't be interrupted in your important work”
“First week... LILA ROSSI YOU TOLD ME YOUR CARD WAS STOLEN, YOU SPENT €700 ON A NECKLACE! I BELIEVED YOU WHEN YOU SAID YOU WERE BEING BULLIED AT YOUR LAST THREE SCHOOLS BUT FROM WHAT I'VE GATHERED YOU'VE BEEN THE BULLY THE WHOLE TIME. WHAT DID YOU DO, GET ME TO TRANSFER YOU EVERY TIME YOU WERE CAUGHT WITH YOUR MANIPULATIONS AND LIES”
Lila slumped further in her chair. She crossed her arms not looking at her mother.
Alya was slumped on the floor. Staring sightlessly on the ground. No no no. She couldn't be wrong Mari-brat was jealous she had to be Lila said she was jealous so she had to be. But Lila's mum was saying she was lying about her disabilities. She didn't know what to think.
Mme. Mendeleiev coughed “Mme. Rossi, I have a complete list of the disabilities and allergies Lila has claimed to have. I would also check the Ladyblog for her lies.”
“Thank you Mme…?”
“Mendeleiev, I am your daughter's science teacher” Mme. Mendeleiev turned to the Césaire parents. “I can also tell you about Alya's behaviour the past few months since Lila's return and some of her concerning behaviour before that.” Mme. Mendeleiev turned to the Dupain-Cheng family. “It appears that since M. Damocles is going to continue to be useless. I'll sum up what happened. Your daughter has changed the names on her phone, Alya and Lila thought someone on her phone named Fabulous he was Adrian Agreste, so took her phone and rang it to humiliate her as she ‘has a crush on him’ according to them. Fabulous he wasn't Adrian but Prince Ali. Alya then decided to shout at Prince Ali, that he is a terrible friend to Lila because he is working with Marinette on something.”
Everyone looked at Marinette seeing if she would say anything.
Marinette shrunk in herself “It's top secret, I can't say anything”
Mme. Mendeleiev continued “When Prince Ali politely told Alya that he didn't know Lila she threw a tantrum and threw Marinette onto the floor breaking it.”
Marlena and Otis looked horrid. “Marinette, we're so sorry. We'll make sure Alya replaces your phone.”
With that. Mme. Rossi and the Césaire parents took their daughters to Mme. Mendeleiev classroom to continue the meeting.
Marinette went home with her parents for the remaining lunch period. It was calm and relaxing. A needed break from what had happened in the past half an hour.
A more relaxed Marinette returned to school, sitting in the back of the class. Lila and Alya hadn't returned by the time Mme. Bustier,
“Where are Lila and Alya?” the confused teacher asked.
Adrian slowly put up his hand.
“Yes, Adrian.”
“During lunch, Alya broke Marinette's phone, Mme Mendeleiev took her, Alya and Lila to M. Damocles's office.”
“Right thank you, Adrian, Marinette where are Lila and Alya?
Her voice went from kind when talking to Adrian to accusatory at Marinette.
Marinette tried to not roll her eyes.“I don't know, Mme Césaire was able to contact Mme Rossi, some things were found out that stunned M. Damocles to the point Mme. Mendeleiev took over and took them to her classroom to continue the meeting. Since me and my family were only there because of Alya breaking my phone we left then.”
The door opened, and the Césaires along with Lila and her mother came in. Mme. Bustier
looked happy at the girls return. “Lila, Alya just in time sit in your seats”
Mme. Rossi spoke up, it seemed she was chosen to speak in the group. “They won't be sitting down, they will be apologising to, I think her name was Marinette, and then they will each be leaving France and moving to live with their respective grandparents.”
Mme. Bustier looked shocked. “Surely that's taking it overboard, I'm sure they can just apologize, Marinette can forgive them and all will be forgotten.”
The other adults looked horrified. “You have to be joking Mme. Bustier, what our daughters have been doing since Lila returned to school, after lying about travelling is something Marinette shouldn't forgive that easily, especially since it seems like you are going to coerce her into forgiving her tormentous.”
Mme. Césaire added to what Mme Rossi said. “Is this why our girls think they can do what they want? Because you force the victim to accept all apologies.”
The classroom was quiet enough to hear Nathaniel say “When we even get an apology and don't have to apologise to them for getting angry at them.”
Mme. Rossi looked shocked. “You make victims apologise for being upset at getting bullied.”
Mme. Bustier. Was taken back “Of course, they should know better than to make such a disturbance, people won't learn if they just keep getting shouted at. They need compassion to change their ways.”
“You are a fool. Since you are going to force Marinette to forgive my daughter I will be taking her now” Mme Rossi turned towards the class. “I'm sorry to tell you all that everything my daughter has told you is a lie. The only thing she hasn't lied about is her name. She doesn't know any celebrities, she doesn't have disabilities and she has never helped any charities.” With that Mme. Rossi dragged Lila out of the school.
The Césaires also turned and left, taking their daughter with them.
Adrian was the first to move after their classmates' departure. He stormed up to Marinette. “You have to get them back since it's your fault they're leaving.” He hissed.
Marinette looked up at the boy she once had a crush on. “No, they dug their own graves now they are reserving the consequences of their actions.”
“But Mari. They are our friends”
“Don't call me Mari, only my friends call me that, and I will not interfere with them getting their just punishments.”
Adrian went back to his seat and for the rest of the day he kept looking at the back of the class giving Marinette betrayed looks.
Marinette went to Liberty with Juleka and Rose. Luka was already there, Marinette sat next to him resting her head on his shoulder.
“Rough day?” He asked.
“More like an eventful day, Alya stole Mari's phone and rang up Prince Ali thinking it was Adrian because his name on her phone is Fabulous he,” Rose told Luka
“So I'm guessing all of Lila's lies came out because of a Disney reference.”
“A Disney reference?” Rose look confused
“You know Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa,” Luka explained
“So that's why Nathaniel laughed in class today” Juleka realised.
“Who came up with that name anyway?” Rose asked Marinette.
“Prince Ali, it's one of his favourite Disney movies.”
“More importantly, what are our names on your phone?” Rose asked Marinette. Bouncing in her seat
“I know it's silly but I called you ‘goth kitty’” she pointed at Juleka “UniKitty” pointing at Rose “Ivan is drummer kitty and” Marinette pointed at Luka “you are punk kitty. Although I put that between two hearts.”
Rose giggled “I like our names”
“I have the best one,” Luka smiled, kissing Marinette's cheek.
“It's still funny that Lila’s tower of lies came down because of a Disney reference.” Juleka sighed, hugging her girlfriend.