18. Day 2 Part 3

Chloe was nonplussed, if not a little amused, that most of the cretins around that circle could understand the majestic creation that was she.

"Really, Miss. This isn't necessary..." Chloe tried to ignore the gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach, to let out a derisive laugh. "All of their opinions can be considered biased and unfair. I know for a fact the only reason they're about to say something nasty is down to pure envy for yours truly. I mean, just to look at most of these sorry specimens, I'd say they'd struggle to use a knife and fork properly, let alone discern the inner workings of the upper class. It's not my fault they'll never fathom what an absolute privilege it is to merely share the same school as me, or breathe the same air. After all, my Daddy says..."

"Miss Bourgeois..." the teacher took a break from trying to count the many arms dangling in the air, some of them now waving frantically at hearing Chloe's latest bout of rudeness. "Your classmates are equal to you in every regard as far as I'm concerned, as difficult as that is for you to accept. Also, I do wish you'd stop throwing your father's name about, and expect it to excuse everything abhorrent that comes out of your mouth. You are your own person, and maybe you should start thinking for yourself, by beginning to take responsibility for your own actions. Or is such a minor request beneath you?"

Chloe's cheeks turned pink upon hearing this outright dismissal of her intrinsic superiority, as well as the blatant disregard of her male parent's credentials. "W-why, how dare you! M-my Daddy is the mayor of Paris. W-whatever he says, goes. I-if he heard what you were saying about him, and me, now..."

"Don't tell me. He'd increase my rent, decrease my pension and arrange it so it's impossible to find a decent parking space near to where I live..." Miss Bustier shook her head. "It's too late, Chloe, he's already done all of that, and plenty more besides. In the meantime, as much as his office may hold sway over most of our city, one of the things he can't control is this teacher giving his daughter a long-overdue reality check. In any case, from what I've heard, he's in complete agreement with the school as regards your chosen reparations, and this is part of it. So, perhaps you should settle down..."

"W-whatever. I don't have to listen to this. " Chloe flicked her blonde locks dismissively, before beginning to stand up. " I won't be held open to scrutiny by a bunch of peasants. All it would take is one tap of my phone, and you'd be in the dole queue by Christmas, Miss Bustier. I might just make that call now. Come on Sabrina, we're leaving. This kind of shoddy treatment is inexcusable... Sab?"

From Chloe's viewpoint, something strange was going on. Her bestie was usually as well-trained as a prize-winning dog, and she should be cantering up to the heiress by now, ball in mouth, tail wagging, waiting for further instructions.

Instead, Sabrina stayed right where she was, with an apologetic yet determined expression on her face... and her hand in the air.

Initially taken aback by the unprecedended mutiny of the redhead, Chloe soon fell about chuckling, albeit rather nervously. "Oh, I get it, Sab! This is just a joke, right? You're getting your own back for me for almost forcing you to do my homework yesterday, aren't you? I thought we'd already forgotten about that! Well, if you're still ticked off at me, then I'm sorry. Can't we just move on from there, now? Tell you what: I'll let you borrow my ballgown after the big gala reception next week, to make it up to you..."

"This isn't a joke, Chloe. I've a few things I've wanted to say to you for quite a while, but I could never find the courage to. Now, I think I'm ready. Y-yes I am, I'm sure of it. "

"S-Sabrina, w-what's the matter with you...?"

"I'm doing this now, because I fear that if I tried to tell you these things in a few minutes, I wouldn't have the strength. This will benefit both of us in the long run, Chloe. Please, stay a while and hear me out. I'm still your best friend, which is why I think you need to know all of this..."

Chloe, who just a short moment ago was on the verge of leaving the room in a sneering 'blaze of glory', suddenly found herself collapsing in the seat next to Sabrina once again, too dazed to move. Her usually docile bestie had never spoken back to her in such a defiant way before, and the heiress was having trouble processing this completely unfamiliar scenario.

All around the circle were grotesque faces, highlighted with emotions that varied from shock to amazement. A broad spectrum, you might say. Even Miss Bustier had to nearly screw her eyes back into their sockets at the sight of this poodle's metamorphosis into a rottweiler... well, maybe a labrador.

"Well, I don't think there can be any more arguments..." the teacher announced, unanimously . "I think we all want to hear what our new tough-talking Sabrina has to say for herself. Go on, dear."

"Um..." The bespectacled redhead, despite her initial burst of energy, suddenly floundered upon being surrounded by so much invasive attention.

"Go on, dear... take your time..." Miss Bustier gently coaxed the nervous Sabrina out of her shell.

"Yes, take your time, Sabrina. Take all the time you need..." Chloe snarled. She'd recovered from her initial surprise at her friend's outburst, and was now staring her down, as if daring her to say another word.

"Now, now Chloe, you've had your say, now it's the turn of someone else." Miss Bustier informed the blonde in no uncertain terms. "Unless, you'd like me to reinstate the original punishment, in addition to this one..."

"E-er, of course not, Miss." Chloe was back to being meek and cooperative again. " G-go ahead, Sab" she added, reluctantly.

The disappointment that it took yet another verbal threat from the teacher for Chloe to give Sabrina 'permission' to speak seemed to give her the boost in confidence she needed. She adjusted her glasses, tried to shut out all of the eyes boring a hole into her skull, before stating her case.

"Chloe, ever since I met you, you've been my best friend. My only friend. Possibly, I'm your only friend too, apart from Adrien over there. In a way, both of us have done you wrong. Adrien never seems to tell you when you've gone too far, possibly out of loyalty or a lack of courage, I don't know. What I do know is, I'm even worse, because I've been complicit in your heinous acts from the very beginning. Every time I've trapped someone in a bathroom stall, stolen a private diary, helped you cheat to win a design contest and so on, I've felt a little piece of myself ebb away. As you know, my father is a policeman, and ever since you tried to have him fired, I've been thinking about some of the lessons he instilled in me when I was a little girl, and why I'm failing to live up to them. I'm very sorry to have to say this Chloe, but I'm afraid the main reason for my misbehaviour, i-is y-you..."

"S-Sabrina, why didn't you tell me any of this before...?" Despite trying to appear aloof, Chloe couldn't help but hold her friend's hand tightly at the sight of her almost in tears.

"I-I n-never was a very social person in school, you know..." Sabrina smiled through the trickles of water, and rubbed Chloe's palm gently between her fingers. "I-I w-was always being called 'geek' this, and 'four eyes' that. T-Then y-you came along one day, with your stories about being the mayor's daughter, and all the power that entailed, and I felt at last I could be recognised. Stand out. Finally stop being known as the awkward wallflower I'd been for years. But in amongst all the parties we attended, the fancy clothes we tried on together and the posh eateries we dined at, I always had a voice in the back of my head, asking..."

Sabrina suddenly wiped away the moisture around her eyes, and swung her chair around to face Chloe directly.

"Is it worth it? The way you order me around. The way you take credit everytime I do something right. The way you abuse and insult me whenever I 'mess up'. Most of all, the non-stop nagging at my conscience whenever I'm roped into partaking in yet another revenge scheme against an innocent person, usually over something petty. There were occasions, like that time I worked on a project with Marinette, that I almost broke free of you, because I felt the cost to both my self-esteem and morality in being your friend, Chloe, was just too much. But, you always came waltzing back into my life, knowing just what to say to make it better, purchased me a trinket or two, and it wasn't long before I was back under your control..."

Now Sabrina stared down at the ground, as if the next few words would be some of the most difficult she'd ever have to say.

"Well, no more. Seeing my grandma being interred yesterday, made me realise: Life is too short for any regrets. As many good days as I've had with you, Chloe, there's been another two or three where I've looked in the mirror afterwards and asked myself, what am I becoming? A slave, or an accessory to a future criminal? Maybe both. I'd even rehearsed a long, boring speech for after I got back, as to why we shouldn't see each other any more..."

The whole classroom gasped at this extraordinary revelation, and even Miss Bustier had her hand over her mouth. As for Chloe, the room suddenly seemed to turn into a white-knuckle ride, as it spun and spun until she began to feel slightly nauseous. But then, Sabrina was back looking at her, with hopeful eyes and a comforting arm around her neck.

"That's why, when I spoke to you on the phone last night, I was so surprised. You sounded friendly. Interested in how I was doing. Like you cared. It's like something happened between two days ago, and now, to make you more... human. Now I know you're capable of that sort of kindness... do you think you could act like that all the time, Chloe? I know it's a lot to ask, but I really think if you do, not only will I be more than happy to be your best friend, you'll make plenty of new ones, too. We don't have to keep being the most unpopular girls in the school, Chloe. We can make a fresh start, together. Please think about it. For you. For me. For both of us. Please..." She pleaded with the heiress, holding her hand so tightly the circulation was almost cut off.

Through watery eyes, Chloe could see...

A lot of hands going down, almost as if Sabrina had spoke a lot of the students' minds for them...

Plenty of bottoms on the edge of their seats, waiting for the heiress's response, particularly those belonging to Marinette and Adrien, almost as if they had a personal stake in the matter...

Miss Bustier, despite trying to appear nonchalant, just as involved and riveted in proceedings as her pupils...

And, as Sabrina stroked the blonde's hair gently, while mouthing one single word 'yes' as if trying to hypnotise her into saying it, Chloe Bourgeois realised she had a decision to make. A big one.

"I-I..."

Author's note: Sorry we haven't seen much of Zzubo so far on Day 2... but not to worry, she'll be popping up again soon. Thanks to all my new readers, you're really encouraging me to put my all into this story and hopefully make it as enjoyable as possible! I have to go now though, to work on a project for a friend... :)