-A Normal Girl with a Normal Life-

Autumn in Paris, the signal of an ending to summer fun and the start of beautiful changes. The lesser daylight- unfortunate for some- meant an early and productive morning for others. The crisp morning air filtered through a cluttered apartment room. It whisked away class schedules, loose sketches, unfinished recipes, sending them flying every which way. It was no fault of their own. The young woman who lived here was meant to put it all away ages ago. Neat and tidy just didn’t seem to suit her. She was a bundle of chaos no matter how hard she wanted to contain it.

The gentle winds blew harsher as her narrow window became her own personal wind tunnel. She groggily awoke to stop the madness she had helped create. Tucking her deep indigo hair back, she started to organize the papers like she should have done nights before. She took a second to take in the view before closing the window and properly cleaning up. Nothing helped motivate you like a gorgeous view of cotton candy clouds trimmed with golden sunlight.

She placed everything out of place in one of her dresser drawers. Not exactly organized but at least there wasn’t a chance of it flying out the window this time. She made her way out of her room, leaving behind what most would call a disorganized mess, but she could make sense of it all. She shuffled through the papers on the ground she felt weren’t important, scrap fabrics, and mannequins before heading to the stairs.

Not even able to take a few steps without falling seemed to be a tradition at this point. She felt her heart drop as her heel slid across the wooden floor onto the carpeted steps. She slid down akin to a poorly made fair ground slide. She sat at the bottom for a while, rubbing her head as two others rushed into the hall. “Marinette, are you okay!?” A concerned, effeminate voice asked?

“Yes, I’m alright!” She could only laugh at herself. She was such a clutz. It was amazing that she still hasn’t had a single broken bone at this age.

“That’s my girl, tough as nails!” A booming and zealous voice filled the space before being hushed by the other.

“You guys can head back to bed while I set up!” She listened to their footsteps fade away as she stood. Or maybe that was just her pounding headache forming? Either way it didn’t matter. She had a lot to do today. Most of their business was slow but summer was coming to a close. That meant lots more people coming to spend their last bit of freedom there, eating pastries and sipping coffee to start the day, not to mention those that desperately wanted the last of their seasonal items. But, she could worry about that when they opened. That wouldn’t be for a few more hours at least.

The Dupain-Cheng Family Café is a quiet and homey place, specializing in their unique Chinese and French fusion pastries and their welcoming atmosphere. It’s successful enough to make enough profit to get her into a prestigious school, pay for vacations, and still have some savings left over, but it’s nowhere near as successful as Marinette wants it to be. She loves helping out around the kitchen and spending time with her family, but her empathetic mind can’t stop thinking of the future. She needed something besides the bakery to help her parents so they could enjoy their eventual retirement. They couldn’t let them work forever.

She dreamt up a life where she followed her true passion. Instead of placing down cutting boards she’d be laying down felts and chiffon, crimping lace instead of pie crusts, and rolling up a skein of yarn; not croissant dough. She wanted to get out of here and use her creativity for models to wear, not cake decorating.

She looked outside at the sight she had only glanced at earlier. The sun had risen some by now, its golden rays beamed almost directly inside their quaint little shop. It reflected off of the coffee machines’ corners and display case glass, bathing everything in its inviting warmth. Marinette would never get used to that feeling. How could a place restricting her so much be the one place she’d always call home?

●・○ ◈ ○・●

As Parisians ambled about just outside, she busied herself with wiping down counters, cleaning windows, and stocking what she could from yesterday. She dramatically wiped the nonexistent sweat from her brow as she looked over at her father. “Phew! Are we ready to open?”

He chortled at his daughter's actions as he opened the oven. The smell of freshly baked bread filled up the space as he carried two pans to the back to cool. “Now we are!” Marinette’s mother came up right after him to close the oven door. She gave her husband a loving kiss on the cheek just before he walked out of view. “Hurry back, honey!”

Théo Dupain and Xia Bing Cheng were truly one of Paris’ best bakers. They both show extraordinary skill in the kitchen, even without as much experience they could rival greatest chefs in all of France. Instead, they humbly choose to keep this little cafe, never daring to venture out or expand their business besides a few catering gigs here and there. They liked this simple life with each other and their daughter.

The family worked together serving whoever walked through the doors. The usual orders were something simple: small coffees, croissants, bagels, rolls- things they could get anywhere else, but they chose them. That’s what made this job so special for them, they were a community. They always came back to them when they could.

Marinette took her mother’s place at the register so she could help her father seal apple dumplings for later. Only a few minutes passed when another customer opened the door. The ringing bell announced their presence to the girl who seemed to be more interested in reorganizing spatulas than facing the customers.

She rushed over, nearly tripping over her own feet and the sharp tones reached her ears, grabbing onto the counter so she wouldn’t head face first into the wall. She kept up her usual cheery customer service attitude under the flushed face of embarrassment.

“Bonjour, madame! What can I get started for you?”

“Just a coffee with 4 dashes of milk.” The red-headed woman smiled down at Marinette as she spoke, unfazed by her antics and awkwardness. She adjusted the collar of her teal dress shirt and tugged on the sleeves of her overshirt. She was clearly someone of high importance with the way she was dressed, prioritizing professionalism over keeping warm. “That’ll be to go aswell.”

Marinette nodded as she wrote down the order and totaled everything in the register. As she looked back up to receive the payment something in her mind went fuzzy. She knows she’s never seen this woman enter the café before or anywhere near there for that matter. But, there was something familiar about her. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

The woman chuckled. “No. Well- Not yet.”

“Not yet?” Marinette questioned. Why was she being so vague? Was she just pretending they’ve crossed paths before?

“You’re going to Jeanne University for Creatives, am I correct?”

Okay, now this was really starting to freak Marinette out. She had only talked about her schooling with her parents, no one else. She refused to respond. After a few seconds the silence broke. “Don’t worry, I work there. My name is Caline Bustier. I’ll be teaching you a lot actually. I saw you in at least 3 different classes of mine.”

Phew. What a relief. At least now she wouldn’t have nightmares of a crazed stalker following her to classes. Maybe. Marinette turned away to work on the coffee before she forgot in the midst of their conversation. “I knew I recognized you from somewhere. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Miss Bustier!”

Caline nodded. “And to you as well. It’s nice seeing so many students before school starts. I’ve already met a few of your peers a few weeks prior. You are all very talented.”

“Oh, I don’t know- I’m just a baker girl. Have been all my life really.” She stared into the paper cup as she mixed in just the right amount of milk. She turned back to place the order on the counter.

“I’ve seen your portfolio, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Yours is one of the most promising. I can see just how much passion you have for designing. Don’t be so humble about what you love.” She picked up her drink and took a sip. Right before she left, she gave one last look to Marinette. “I look forward to seeing you in class.”