Superstar (The Elites Book 2)

Sustained

"Do you have any ideas to help your mom's bakery?" Lila sat on the edge of Marinette's bed because Marinette and Alya were taking up most of the space.

Chloe sat on her bed, blonde hair neatly tied in a ponytail. "It's got to be something BIG."

"Speaking of big," Lila said. "When's your birthday, Marinette?"

"June," Marinette answered. "And no I don't have any ideas."

"Let this group brainstorming question come to order." Alya beat her textbook to get everyone's attention.

The girl's silenced, leaving only the sound of Lila opening the package of a cupcake.

"Did you get that from the vending machine?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, wanna split it with me?"

Chloe made a face. "Those things are like all sugar."

"Well, I wanted to go to that coffee shop that has homemade pastries but we decided to meet here instead."

"Or gelato!" Chloe added. "We should go get gelato."

"No way. It's too cold," Lila argued.

Alya cleared her throat. "Girls we're not here to talk about desserts."

"Well, we kind of are," Marinette joked.

Alya gave her a look. "We stayed in so we wouldn't get distracted."

This was true. Many Clifton students hung out at the same places on the weekends so there was a high probability they would be interrupted even if they only went to a coffee shop.

Lila crumpled the cupcake packaging in her hand. "I hate how much incessant plastic they use." She held it up. "All this is just going to end up in a landfill."

Sustainability was always a topic in Marinette's design classes. She'd even switched to reusable bags since starting at Clifton. Now all she could think about was the amount of paper and plastic the bakery used at home.

Chewing on her lip, Marinette stood so she could grab her sketchbook from the desk. Still standing, she started a sketch of several different bags, some drawstring and some tote bags.

The rest of the girls watched quietly.

"You wanna share with us, Marinette?" Alya quirked her eyebrow.

"I was thinking about the amount of bags my mom's bakery uses." Marinette added a finishing touch to the rudimentary design. "We can't completely replace disposable bags, but we could offset their use by offering personal reusable bags with the bakery's logo." She turned her sketchbook around so Alya, Chloe, and Lila could see.

"I love it!" Alya exclaimed. "You could offer different sizes depending on what the regulars like."

"I can help you find ethically sourced fabric," Lila offered. "Good quality but cheap enough you could afford it."

"I bet I can get the paper I interned for last summer to cover it!" Alya said.

Marinette smiled at her friends' enthusiasm. So much had happened since coming to Clifton. She had never thought she would have this many friends willing to help her.

Chloe studied the page. "Do you think you'll be able to sell enough of them?"

"I don't know," Marinette faltered. She sank in her desk chair. "But at least the profits could go toward paying off my mom's debt. I've got to help somehow."

Chloe nodded. "I'll help you create a budget cost of each item so you can determine how many you need to sell and at what price."

"Really?" Marinette's jaw dropped open.

Chloe smirked. "I'm really good at math."

"Since we've got that settled, does anyone want to go get coffee?" Lila stood and threw away her uneaten cupcake.

Alya shook her head. "What a waste, girl."

Marinette put her sketchbook back in the desk. "Some air would probably do me good," she said. "Alya? Chloe?"

"Sure," they answered.

The girls headed out of the dorm. As they came downstairs, Marinette saw Kagami making her way through the foyer. Noticing them, Kagami turned on her heels and took a step toward the stairs. Then upon second thought, she took off in the opposite direction.

"That was weird," Alya said from behind Marinette.

"It looked like she wanted to talk to us," Marinette said.

"No way!" Chloe stopped on the steps.

"I'm with Chloe. What could Kagami have to say to us?" Lila asked.

Marinette shrugged, but she couldn't deny the feeling that Kagami wasn't brave enough to approach them even though she clearly had something to say.