Chapter 24.1

 "Alright, your attention, please! Good," a middle-aged woman in the middle of the classroom shouted at the children who were enacting their own version of a zoo. She was wearing dark pants and a lilac sweater on top, giving her a warm dissipation. She smiled and continued in French once the children were settled down. "Everyone, we have a new friend that will be joining us today. Michelle, come along now, don't be shy."

The teacher urged a quiet little girl to come to the front, and the latter did so hesitatingly. The little girl's blonde hair was braided, fluffing her round cheeks even more, and she was wearing a simple casual outfit with tan pants and a full sleeve blue shirt.

"Class, this is Michelle LeBlanc. Let's all join in welcoming her to her very first day in cours élémentaire!"

The class all welcomed Michelle loudly while clapping and the teacher lowered herself to Michelle's height.

"Would you like to introduce yourself, Michelle?" The teacher asked and Michelle shook her head. "Alright, why don't you go back to your seat?"

At lunchtime, Michelle sat alone on her desk eating a sandwich from a convenience store. There were more than a dozen kids in the class but none approached her, for a reason.

"Did you hear? Her last names LeBlanc, it's her isn't it?"

"It should be. I heard my mom say her mom is a homewrecker and a slut."

"What?"

"Yeah. I overheard my parents talking. They said that her mom ruined the LeBlanc family!"

"Do you think she'll do the same?"

"Should be. She's probably just like her mom."

Whispers and snippets made their way to Michelle's ear but she ignored them while eating her lunch impassively. From the day she arrived in France, she had been hearing similar things, despite her father and her new stepmother treating her well.

The rumours and conversation continued even after school as Michelle, who was on her back home, was stopped by two noisy boys.

"Hey is it true your mother is a homewrecker?" One asked.

"Is it true your parents aren't even married?" The other asked. "Is it true your real mom abandoned you?"

"If they're not married, then doesn't that mean she doesn't have a father?"

"You an orphan then?"

As the two continued asking hurtful things, a clenched fist from above smashed into the two boys' heads. Both cried out before turning around, their eyes looking for whoever punched them. Standing behind them was a tall teenager in a high school uniform. His undressed school jacket was hooked in his left finger and hung over his shoulder. His blonde shoulder-length hair and long bangs were pushed back by the wind.

"Scram," he said while glaring at the kids with his blue eyes.

"Bully!" One kid shouted as they both ran away.

"Ah shut it, cuv de saindoux!" Raphael shouted back. He turned to Michelle and noticed her looking down, refusing to make sure contact with him.

"Why did you let them continue?" Raphael asked. "When dealing with idiots like that just use your fists."

"Why? They're right," Michelle spoke, quietly mumbling into her shirt with a complicated look.

Raphael sighed and patted Michelle's head. "It's only true if you believe them."

"You … don't you hate me too?" Michelle finally looked at Raphael and asked hesitatingly. Her large eyes were filled with trepidation and she regretted asking the question that had been bothering her for a while now.

"Yeah, I did," Raphael answered while looking away. "I really hated you, when I first heard about your mom and you. I even promised that I would hate you for all my life before you came here. But then I met you and …"

Raphael turned and smiled at Michelle who looked back at him with eyes full of surprise and awe.

"Well, I realized that I shouldn't blame you for something that wasn't your fault," Raphael finished. As he spoke, Raphael placed a hand on her head, surprising Michelle. "Now stop crying. You're a LeBlanc. Remember, we don't cry so easily." [1]

***

Michelle opened her eyes, waking up from her dream. She sat up from the futon and looked around, her groggy mind trying to remember where she was. Seeing her friends, Alina, Emily, and Asami sleeping nearby made her recall that she was sleeping over at the Loft.

It was at this moment she felt a numb pain in her left hand; she had forgotten to remove the prosthetic hand from her arm. Her original prosthetic was more advanced than the replacement, it could be kept on for long amounts of time, like it was a part of her body, without her feeling uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that arm was damaged.

Michelle removed the prosthetic arm before standing up and quietly exiting the room. She entered a washroom and, after washing her face, used a warm towel on her left arm. She then entered the hallway and looked around, trying to look for a place where she could sit and relax. At that moment, she heard the sounds of an object hitting the floor and followed the source.

Coming down the hoverlift, she saw Jason drinking while sitting alone in the dark living room. Across the room, she noticed the remains of a phone and realized that Jason had thrown it at the window.

"Jason? Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?" Michelle asked, concerned. She walked towards him while Jason turned to her in surprise, he was so wasted he failed to detect her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Jason said, his speech slightly slurred but not from drinking. He hadn't spoken in hours and his throat was hoarse.

"You didn't - mon dieu! What is this?" Michelle noticed the bottles next to Jason halfway through and exclaimed in surprise.

"Been a few tough days," Jason said while taking another sip.

He looked at her with a small smile when he noticed her wearing a new set of pyjamas that he had gotten for Alina. Unlike Emily, Michelle and Asami were able to wear Alina's clothes since they fit they were almost the same size. The only difference was the height, this resulted in Michelle and Asami having shorter sleeves and pants, but neither of them complained.

Michelle reached out and studied an empty bottle before her face turned serious. It was spiced rum with over 35% alcohol content, and Jason was on his third bottle.

"Ça suffit, no more," Michelle took the bottle away with a grimace. With a shake, she noticed that two third of the bottle was already gone.

"Hey now, you ain't my mom," Jason said and reached out for the bottle slovenly. He stopped when he noticed Michelle flinching with her face in discomfort. "Sorry. You alright? I, uh, didn't mean to frighten you."

Jason thought Michelle was frightened by the way he approached her, which wasn't surprising to him since he recalled how he had molested her when he was drugged and delirious.

[1] The entire convo during the flashback is in French