A Miraculous Story: Tough Decision? AU by Summer Cheng

Chapter 14 South Carolina Here We Come!

          Marinette wakes up the next day!  She decides to quit her job is a bit extreme.  She ask her boss to see if she can take a leave for vacation to visit relatives in South Carolina?  Her boss listens and tells her she may have a week off.  She agrees to this.  She goes back to her house. She packs her toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, hairbrush, deodorant, a pair of tennis shoes, an umbrella and raincoat, a few t-shirts, a sweater, two pairs of shorts, some pajamas, a pair of gloves, a scarf, a coat, three pairs of jeans, two tank tops,socks, and all the other basic essentials she may need while out of town.  She looks at the book Luka gave her and decides not to bother with it.  She feels no need too.  It is not as if she has any reason to read it.  She does dislike the science fiction genre of books, movies, etc.  She closes her suitcase, adds her name tag to it, grabs up her sunglasses, and her purse and heads out the door. She locks the door with her keys.  She gets into her car and drives to the airport.  She does not even bother to call Luka to tell him she will be gone for a few days. She does not try to find Adrien either, she just goes.  

         Marinette arrives an hour later at the airport. She parks her car and pays the rental fee to leave it her while she is away.  She goes inside, with her things and pays for a ticket to South Carolina.  She smiles when she sees she has a short lay over in Georgia.  Well, at least I can get that Atlanta Braves hat I  told my Dad I would buy for him next time I saw one.  She gets on the plane when they call for it to board. She sets in her seat and falls asleep.  She does not notice when the plane takes off,misses all the special announcements, the refreshments, and wakes up shortly after the plane lands safely in Atlanta, Georgia. She stretches her legs with her purse over her arm as she waits to get off the plane.

       Meanwhile, back in  Sunny, California, Adrien arrives for work.  Luka does the same. Both have no idea that Marinette is no longer there.  They just think it is odd when she does not show up for work.  

Lila comes by later and brags,  "Oh, have you guys not heard?  Marinette left for a last minute vacation out of state!"    It is then, they realize she is not here because she went out of town for a bit. 

 Luka ask, "When will she be back?" 

  Lila just rolls her eyes and says, "Oh, who cares about her anyway, Lukie, you still have me!"  

   Adrien tries not to laugh at Lila's  ridiculous nickname for  Luka.  He too is not sure how to handle the news that Marinette just up and left without a word to either of them. He  would have thought for sure she would have told Luka about it.  Now, he wonders, if he was mistaken about everything!  If so, what exactly was he wrong about and was there anything he was right about?

    "What?  Why would she leave without a note to tell us, where she went?"  Adrien ask. His face looks crestfallen. 

    "Yeah, why would she not tell us ?"  Luka says.

   "Lukie, forget about her!  You can hang out with me !  I promise, I will not bite!"  Lila says.

    "Ugh, Adrien!  How did you put with her for so long?"  Luka says,to show his annoyance at once with Lila.

    "Luka, I would not bother trying to figure her out!  I never did.  Besides, it was my father who said I had to date her, remember?   One day, I had enough so  I dumped Lila!"  Adrien walks off more upset with Luka than he has been all day.

     Adrien's  POV:  Good grief, as if Luka's stealing Marinette from me is not bad enough, he cheats on her with Lila, and ask me for advice?  Are you kidding me?   I  have no plans to help him make Marinette feel in more pain than she is already!  I mean, it is no wonder she left town!  Why if she could Luka and Lila together like this she would be so disgusted.  The only thing is why did Marinette go without telling me?  Where did she go?  How long will she be away?  Will she really come back?  What if she enjoys her vacation to much, quits her job and decides to never leave?  What would I do without her?  Man, I really missed up!  This must be partially my fault she left since I did give her the silent treatment the other day!   

    Back to the Atlanta International Airport...

      Marinette finally, gets off the plane and makes her way to the baggage clam area. She sees her suitcase and grabs it up. She finds her gate and heads their with her few pieces of luggage. She sits down to wait for her connecting flight to South Carolina.  She can hardly wait to see her aunt and uncle that live there!  She wonders what kind of expressions they will have on their faces when they see her. She did not exactly tell them she was coming.  She sits there and waits. 

   To her surprise the layer over was shorter than she thought because the next thing she knows she hears the flight attendant say now boarding connecting flight to South Carolina! 
      Marinette runs to the stand area where they have Atlanta Brave stuff, picks out a hat for her father and another one for her uncle, pays for them, thanks the lady for bagging them for her and runs back to the gate just as they call the group number for her sitting area on the plane.  She boards the airplane all out of breath and sits down with her purse and bag of purchases. The plane takes off soon afterwards.   This time she is wide awake and left to her thoughts. Her thoughts, and blend of emotions as she flies away from Georgia to see her family elsewhere.  

   When the plane lands, Marinette can hardly wait to see her relatives. Perhaps, the week with them will help her to some how sort out everything. She sure hopes so anyway.  Soon after she disembarks the plane, she reclaims her suitcase from the baggage area, and calls for a taxi. 

   The taxi service company claims all the taxi's are busy. She sighs, pulls her phone back out and calls her uncle to tell him she is in the area and where to come pick her up.  She sits down in a nearby chair to wait for him to arrive. 

    Twenty minutes later, her uncle arrives and takes her to his place.  Once there the two go inside and are greeted by her aunt with a friendly hug.  Marinette is glad her family members do not seem to mind she made such a last minute visit.  They are thrilled to see her, and more than happy to let her use their guest bedroom during her stay.  

         to be continued in Chapter 15   Adrien Calls Marinette?