Check Mate

Chapter 3

A week had passed since Marinette was tripped down the stairs. She had said she wanted to transfer in the moment, and with how distressed she had been about the situation as a whole, but now that she had been pulled from the school she felt... relieved. She hadn't realized how badly it had affected her until her Maman came home with her records and she realized she didn't have to go back.

The doctor they went to informed her that her eye would end up scarring, which made sense. She had cracked it on the edge of the stair in her fall, but she was still upset that the reminder would be on her face for life.

The weirdest thing about it was Chloe. She came by every day during lunch break and even after school to check in on her, and even helped her look for a new school.

Actually it was Chloe who had found the new school she was applying to.

Jeanne d'Arc Academie.

"You'd have to be utterly ridiculous to not apply there Marinette. They focus on art, the program is insanely good, and all of the most successful people in Paris have been there!"

"It's too expensive Chloe. I don't think we could afford it."

"Puh-lease. With your talent, and your grades you could get a scholarship easy. I bet Jagged Stone would even write a recommendation letter for you. Gabriel, as much of a jerk as he is would probably do the same. Hell, even my own mother would recommend you."

"Are you crazy?! I'm not going to bother them for a recommendation letter!"

"Fine. I will."

"Chloe, what are you doing? Wait no, put your phone away. Chloe!"

In the end, Chloe ended up getting her mom, Gabriel, and Jagged to write her a recommendation letter. Jagged even got Clara Nightingale in on it! So she put together a portfolio, put it with her schools records, and sent it all in.

Marinette was nervous about the whole thing, wondering aloud to Tikki if she was just as bad as Lila for using her connections to switch schools.

Tikki shut that down real quick.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, absolutely not! Lila lied about having those connections and used them for popularity. You didn't even contact them, Chloe did! You are nothing like that no good, two-faced lying b-"

"Tikki!"

"What! It's true!"

Marinette stared in shock at Tikki, but then saw how angry the kwami was. She cupped the small being in her hands, and Tikki clung to her thumb.

"Tikki... are you okay?" She asked hesitantly, worried for her kwami.

"I was scared Marinette. Lila... she did so many terrible things to you. I'm just glad you decided to transfer, I was going to try to convince you to transfer myself."

"Oh, Tikki. I'll be alright, really. It'll take some time to really move on, but I won't let this keep me down forever."

"Just promise me something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"When you get accepted at Jeanne... try to make new friends. Don't let people like Lila and Alya keep you from making new friends."

"Of course, but what makes you so sure that I'll be accepted by Jeanne anyway?"

Her kwami just smiled at her cheekily, "You'll see. And I think Chloe just texted you."

She went to her desk and grabbed her new phone. She'd gotten a new one when her old phone had been spammed with hateful comments from her classmates for "trying to trip Lila" down the stairs. That and the screen had cracked. So she had a new phone, a new number, and only her Maman, Papa, and select few other people had her number. Chloe being one of them, which was honestly weird. They weren't exactly friends yet, but Marinette had hope after everything Chloe had done for her lately. Chloe had even apologized for everything she put her though. Chloe. Apologizing!