Discordant Sonata

Chapter 15: Bravura (Part 1 of 5)

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I hope you guys are staying safe out  there! This quarantine is kicking my butt because it's taken away what  little free time I had ;;;;

In any case, thanks for waiting, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)

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Music glossary:

Bravura - (from Italian "bravery/spirit") Style of music in which the performer plays boldly, requiring exceptional agility and technical skill in execution.

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(Mood music: "For the Love of a Princess" - James Horner)

Sunday Evening

Marinette knocked on the guest bedroom door, or rather, on Chat Noir's bedroom door, as it had now officially become.

"Come in! It's open," she heard from the other side.

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Odd, she thought. For someone who was supposed to be guarding a secret identity at all costs, one would think that Chat would always keep the door locked. First the "bathroom incident" and now this? She wondered what his aversion to locked doors was all about.

Marinette peeked her head into the room and saw him at his desk, writing in a notebook.

"Hey Kitt–uhh, Chat Noir, dinner will be ready in a minute. Would you care to join us?"

Chat's cat ears perked up. "I'd love to! Thanks! I'll help set the table in a sec."

"What are you up to?" she asked, sitting at the edge of his bed.

Chat swiveled his chair around to face her. "Oh, it's..." he grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck to ease the stiffness there. "I was doing some calculations, figuring out a monthly budget and that kind of thing. Trying to figure out how much all my bills will cost."

"Me-owch," Marinette cringed. "Sounds suuuuper fun."

"Yeah, definitely," he replied with matching sarcasm. "It's actually been more complicated than I thought."

"How so?" she asked.

He let out a long sigh. "Well... this is gonna sound weird, but my father as a civilian is, uh... pretty well-known. There's a lot of people who would recognize me. Any potential employers would be getting in contact with him, asking him questions, or even give him an idea of where to find me. So I can't apply to jobs as my normal self." He ran his gloved hand through his hair in exasperation. "But where could I possibly get a job as 'Chat Noir'?? 'He' can't start a bank account, has no birth certificate, driver's license, address, phone number. I'd have to get hired under the table, but I might run into some shady people. They might take advantage of the situation, and there'd be nothing I could do to contest them. Or they might try to use me to get free advertisement, and then my father would know where to find me anyway. Ugh, it's all just a mess," he groaned. "Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I'm sure I'll figure something out, so don't worry."

Marinette hummed, thinking. "Well, actually..." she said, tapping her chin. "Since the school year's starting up again, a couple of our full-timers are switching to part-time to accommodate their university schedules; so the bakery will need some extra help. Obviously you wouldn't be able to work at the front of the store, attending to customers and whatnot. But there's still cleaning, washing, and heavy lifting that needs to be done behind the scenes. So if that sounds alright with you, we can talk to my parents about it. I'm sure they'd be happy to have you aboard."