Dear Bugaboo

The Storm {4}: The Calm (2)

What you have all been waiting for!

The masquerade!

Enjoy!

{+}{+}{+}

   Adrien could remember the day he wrote the very first letter that started it all.

   It is his tenth birthday. A day that was once full of joy and celebration, is now just another day spent working. His photographer had grown frustrated with Adrien's lack of a "happy smile" and took a much-needed break.

   The blonde blankly stared at a mother holding the tiny hand of her child as they strolled towards the carousel. The mother had an amused look in her sparkling eyes while the little boy tugged her along.

   It had been four years since the disappearance of his mother. As the years dragged by, so did the silence and emptiness of the house.

   Adrien sighed, looking away from the duo and back at his notebook to continue his studies, twiddling a pencil between his fingers. Nathalie is going to test him later and show his father the score he would get. If Adrien doesn't get a perfect score, there will be consequences for having anything less.

   "Hey, kid?" a muffled voice called.

   The ten-year-old turned away from the notebook and focused his attention on a young woman holding a jar with only a couple of pickles left. She is chomping on a pickle at the moment, explaining the muffling of her voice.

"Do you mind if I sit on the bench too?" She asked after swallowing down the food. Adrien blinked for a moment before looking at the bench he is currently sitting on. Besides himself, the rest of the seating area was covered with his homeschool stuff and leaving no space.

"Oh...yeah. Sorry about that," the young blonde apologized, cleaning up his things and set them on the ground. The woman gave an appreciative smile and sat down next to him. Adrien returned to his studying, the sounds of crunching in the background a bit distracting.

"Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

Adrien's orbs shifted back to the curious woman.

"Um..." Adrien began, shifting in his spot, "I...I'm homeschooled."

   The woman hummed, finishing off the pickle before responding, "It must be nice being homeschooled. You can stay at home, take tests in sweats, and don't have to worry about getting a date for the prom."

   Adrien frowned, half-heartedly shrugging his shoulders. The woman frowned, concern showing in her features. She plunged her hand into the jar, grabbing one of the pickles. She pulled it out before setting the glass containment aside.

The woman quickly took Adrien's notebook from his lap, resulting in a flabbergasted ten-year-old. He was about to ask what the woman was doing until being cut short by an offered green vegetable.

"Talk to me, kid. I can tell you have a few things you want to get off of your chest," she said. Adrien raised an eyebrow, glancing at the woman and the pickle.