chamomile | miraculous ladybug

8 | Lady Wifi

Panting, I ran as fast as I could to get back home. My father had come home early from work today for some reason, and I was running late. If I had been at school the whole day, I would've come home 30 minutes ago.

There was a sudden akuma attack that I had to take care of in the middle of the school day, and I ended up disappearing in the middle of lunch. Fortunately, I had brought my school bag with me, but I hadn't gotten any of my homework or anything.

"I can't believe I missed a whole half day of school!" I groaned as I turned onto my street. Ellie popped out of her hiding spot.

"Whoever Hawk Moth is really is keeping us in constant motion," she responded. I nodded as I entered the house, then heard the kettle squeal. Ellie ducked back into place.

"Just in time," my father said as I closed the door behind me. I walked into the house, putting my bag on the island top once I took a seat at it. "Welcome home. You got home later than I thought you would've, though I suppose there was an alumna earlier. How was your day at school?"

"It was pretty good," I told him, technically telling the truth since I was there for part of the day. "Why are you home early?"

"There was some kind of pipe leak at work. I'll be back full time tomorrow," my father sighed and took a seat as well. He set down a mug in front of me full of hot water, the chamomile tea bag already in it. He slid me a spoon, and I thanked him quietly. "Your teacher called. She said you've missed class twice so far this week, and you always are absent at least once or twice each week. Not to mention you're late almost everyday."

I looked down at my cup as I dunked the tea bag up and down in the mug, trying to think of an excuse. Two akuma attacks had happened in the middle of the school day this week, causing me to miss school so I could help Ladybug and Chat Noir rescue the akumatized victim and prevent destruction of Paris.

"[Y/n], you can talk to me," my father continued. I looked up from my mug, and over to him. "I know you must be missing your mom, especially around this time of the year."

"No! I mean, yeah, I miss her, but that's not the reason I've been missing class," I averted my eyes, feeling guilty. He thinks I'm upset about mom so I've been skipping?

"Whatever the reason is, try and make sure you keep your grades up and don't miss so much class anymore. I really do hope it's nothing dangerous. If you ever do decide to tell me the reason, know I love you and will listen." He got up from his seat, holding his mug, and kissed my forehead. "I've gotta go into my office to work. I love you."

"Love you too," I responded quietly as he slipped up the stairs and away into the guest bedroom we had converted to an office on the second floor. Once she made sure he was gone, Ellie popped out of her hiding place and took a seat on the island. "Now I feel guilty and like I'm lying. He thinks I missed mom."

"Don't feel bad! You told him that isn't the reason why, and it's the truth," Ellie assured. "Sadly, you have to lie if you want to keep your identity a secret."

"I know, it's just that I hate having to always lie to everyone. My dad, especially, since it's getting close to my mom's birthday.." I trailed off with a murmur. Shaking my head, I pulled out my phone to distract myself. "Three messages from Alya?"

"Hey girl! Where'd you go? You didn't come back after the lunch break. Call me back and let me know you're okay."

"Hey, Alya again. Just letting you know that the homework was uploaded to everyone's tablet, so you should be good for tonight."

"You'll never guess what! I've got the hottest scoop, and I think I know who the real Camoufler is! Call me back ASAP!"

I felt my eyes widen at the last message. I looked to Ellie in a panic, who was still calm.