Marinette sat inside her room bored out of her mind.  She could not think of a single thing to do. It was weekend and she had already completed the homework assignment for her online class.  Now what?  She noticed it was a hot day outside.  
        
         She would go to the swimming pool, but then she remembers it is closed for repairs. Then, she considers the skating place but is not open today either.  It seemed there were few places opened this day in time due to the situation.  She was at a loss of what to do about it.  She figured she will just have to wait it out like everyone else.

      Adrien was bored too. He had already finished his homework, practiced piano, recited his recent Chinese lesson out loud three times, and completed four jigsaw puzzles. Next, he worked on a painting of his father. Somehow he felt like the angle was all wrong then again who was he kidding?  His father was a hard subject to get to hold still let alone draw.  
 
    Nino texted Adrien to see what he was up too. 

     Nino's text to Adrien

    "Hey, man!  What are you doing?" 

      Adrien's text to Nino

     "Trying not to go stir crazy!  How about you? "

    Nino's text to Adrien

   "Right about now I am missing Andre's ice-cream stand."

    Adrien's text to Nino

    "Same here because it is rather hot weather today."

    Nino's text to Adrien

   "You are right about that dude.  Alya's folk's power went out and the solar-charged fan quite working.   They are all stuck in the air-conditioned hotel not far from here."


   Adrien's text to Nino

   "Well, I guess it is better than being stuck at home with nothing to do."


    
     Meanwhile, Alya can not stand it.  It is the fourth day since her parents, along with Norah, the twins, Eta and Ella, and herself came to stay in the hotel.  She just wanted to go to the park, but her mother said no.   It is not like she could do much there anyway since the playground is off-limits for the time being.

      Alya 's  text to Marinette

   "How are you holding up, girl?"

  Marinette's text to Alya

  "To be honest it is so dull being here with few customers in the bakery."

   "I do not know how much longer my folks will be able to keep it open."


 Alya's text to Marinette

"Do not worry, I am sure it will all blow over soon."


 Marinette's text to Alya

"You speak about it like it is a weather issue or something.  Goodness, Alya sometimes even I do not understand you."

  
  Alya's text to Marinette

    "Well, try to remain calm, wash your hands, and find something to keep your mind off it."


  Marinette's text to Alya

  "Alya that is just it there is nothing to do."


    
  "Marinette, come here for a second!" Sabine calls out.

   "Sure, mom I will be right there," Marinette says.

       Marinette went to the bakery and notices her mother has been crying. She thinks whatever this is can not be good.

       "Sit down, for a minute," Tom states.

      Marinette took a seat and looked at her parents unsure what the commotion is all about anyway. 

    "Marinette, I am sorry to tell you this, but we have to close the bakery.  It means things will be tight for a while and it will put us behind schedule for a few of the upgrades, but at least will be able to pay the bills," Tom explains.

  "Yes, your father is right," Sabine tells her.

  "What? Close the bakery, why?"  Marinette asks.

   "It is just temporary until people have a chance to get back on their feet and besides you know as well as we do that we have fewer customers every day,"  Sabine replies.

     "Oh, okay," Marinette says.

      Her parents gave her a sympathetic look because they know it has not been easy on her being away from her friends and all.

      Marinette went back to her room and sits on her bed unsure what to do now.  It is as if all this stuff keeps crashing on her at once. She is not sure how to respond to it or how to keep from losing her mind. She paces back and forth. Then, she does what she should have done in the first place. She sits and prays. She calls out to God amid the hardship and asks him for help and to keep the others healthy and safe.

     "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in time of need," Psalm 46:1 came to mind and she repeated this over and over again. She was not sure how many times she had done this in the last few weeks.  She knew that no matter what the outcome God was here to see her through it all.

     Marinette finished the prayer.  She somehow felt better about the whole thing. Now, she just needed to trust in him. 

     Adrien's text to Marinette 

       "How are you?"

    Marinette's text to Adrien

   "Great, and how are you?"

   Adrien's text to Marinette

  "Other than missing seeing my girlfriend every day I am great!"

  Marinette's text to Adrien

  "Girlfriend, you have a girlfriend?"

   Adrien's text to Marinette

  "Sure, I am texting her right now, are not I?"

     
   Marinette immediately blushed and thought since when has he called me his girlfriend. She could not believe it.  Sure she knew they were friends, but it was not he had asked her out or anything.

    Marinette's text to Adrien

   "Adrien, we are not dating."

    Adrien's text to Marinette

    "We are not?"

    Marinette's text to Adrien

   "No, what made you think we were?"  


Adrien's text to Marinette

"I did not ask you out?"


Marinette's text to Adrien

"No."


Adrien's text to Marinette

"No wonder, you acted so weird."

  "Goodness, I feel so awkward now."

  "Well, will you be my girlfriend?"


Marinette's text to Adrien

  "Sure, and we even go on a date as soon as everyday life is back in its usual way of things."

Adrien's text to Marinette

  "I will hold you to it you know. I look forward to dating you, honey."

   Marinette's text to Adrien

"Okay, sweetheart!"



     Plagg laughed at the silliness of the whole thing.  He thought it ironic Adrien asked Marinette out despite most places being closed and the rules where you could not go to a friend's house and such.  

    "Adrien, I see you found something to smile about, so mind handing me that cheese?" Plagg asks.

  "Plagg, is all you ever think about cheese?" Adrien asks.

"Sure, what else is there Adrien?" Plagg asks.

"You know what forget it you would not understand anyway," Adrien says as he hands Plagg his cheese.

   Now, Adrien sat and daydreamed about Marinette as he wrote in his journal.


     Marinette wrote in her journal and daydreamed about Adrien. 

      Tikki got into the fresh batch of cookies and had already eaten a few. 


    Sabine and Tom shared a bowl of Raspberry Sherbet from out of their freezer. 

        Alya finished off the chocolate chip cookies at the hotel while the others just sat around and napped. 

    Nino read a comic book and wondered why the characters in it seemed so familiar.  The details in it were even similar to the very last sentence. He shrugged his shoulders as he said "Coincidence I think not."

   the end...