Chapter Text
Fate. Gaty was never a fan of it. She preferred the routines of school. She wasn't the type to like fate's unpredictable nature. Although she wasn't a bookworm, she still was on the nerdier side of kids. She was on top of things constantly. Why? Because being on top of everything meant if something unpredictable happened, like a due date getting moved, she wouldn't have to worry. She put her assignment from 4th into its binder, and walked to the door as the bell rang. Perfect, right on schedule. Fate couldn't mess up how perfect today was going, right?
Fate. Ice Cube just used it as an excuse. She wasn't the smartest, but that didn't mean she was stupid. What she really needed was a new group of friends for once. She had originally been, within Middle School, stuck with popular kids Pencil, Match, Bubble, Ruby, and Book. FreeSmart, as they were called. They sure were free, but they were not smart. Why was she in FreeSmart? Because, she was sat with them on day one. What she'd take for revenge on them. Now she was in a new friend group. They didn't have a name, nor were they any better than FreeSmart. And why was she here? Fate. Fate once again. Every reason Ice Cube was miserable was fate. And the worst part was that Book was still here. Couldn't fate just drag her away for once? Why does it matter, it's just another day. Guess it was now time for 5th. Thankfully, this was the class she got away from her new stupid group of "friends".
Gaty's locker had to be an upper locker. She needed her stuff for 5th period, but here came what was always the worst part of her days. The 10 minute transitions to get stuff out of lockers wasn't bad, but this was fate's favorite time of day. She was also rather short, so it was a struggle to even get into her locker. She tried her best to reach up to her locker, as she heard that group of popular kids laughing at her. This wasn't even fate anymore, it happened every day. She was just hoping that they didn't try anything, that was up to fate.
Ice Cube was headed to her locker. It was a bottom locker, around two away from Gaty's locker. Ice Cube generally sped pretty fast through getting stuff, so she never really noticed the struggling Gaty. Gaty was short, to say the least. She barely was tall enough on her tippy toes to reach the lock on the locker, which was around halfway up the locker. She had draped, periwinkle hair (which was an interesting choice of color), a yellow jacket over her tee-shirt, simple light blue jeans, and a generic pair of black tennis shoes. Once Ice Cube had gotten her stuff, she walked over to Gaty, looking to help out.
"Hey there, do you need any help?" Ice Cube asked. Gaty's attention was diverted to this face she didn't recognize. The kid was tall enough to reach the top locker with ease, had tied up brown hair with a single light blue strand, and a generic outfit. It was a simple, long sleeve shirt, light blue except for a logo for a hockey team. Ripped blue jeans flowed around her legs, too big for them as they draped over a pair of shoes that had blue soles. Gaty couldn't tell what type of shoes, though, because of the jeans.
"Oh, yeah, sure." Gaty replied, "I need a bottom locker but they won't give me one."
"I have a bottom locker. Not great for me..." Ice Cube muttered, as she got Gaty's locker open. Inside Gaty's locker was literally the most bare thing imaginable, with nothing more than a few books that Gaty used.
"Thanks again, uh..."
"Ice Cube."
"Thanks Ice Cube." Gaty then climbed up the bottom locker to reach the stuff in her locker, setting down what she didn't need and grabbing what she needed.
"Do you want to trade lockers? Mine's just a few down." Ice Cube asked a bit spontaneously, but she really wanted an upper locker, and Gaty could use the bottom locker.
"Really? That'd be great! Like an early birthday present!" Gaty was clearly excited about this.
"You're welcome. When's your birthday?"
"Just a week away!"
"I'll try to get you something then."
"Thank you so much!!"
"Not an issue. I can just swap our stuff around during my lunch."
"Alright then! See you sometime soon?'
"Hopefully..."
Gaty walked away with her stuff for 5th period. Ice Cube was cool. Really nice too. Gaty actually found that fate did something good today. Maybe fate's not all bad. And this perfect day just kept getting better. Pushed back due dates, easy classes, low work loads, generally anything that could be good today was good. And Ice Cube? The tall girl struck something in Gaty. Gaty was unaware of this feeling, well, she had felt it for boys before on rare occasion. But those were so far and few Gaty couldn't exactly remember how it felt.
Ice Cube headed to her 5th period, with Gaty on her mind. She was short and resiliant, considering how she managed to go with an upper locker even though she couldn't reach. They were trading lockers, just because it would be convenient for both of them. But still, it was impressive. What would Gaty even like, though? Ice Cube said she'd get Gaty a present, after all. Maybe some locker decorations? That would be better than nothing. Yeah. Just a simple set of decorations for Gaty's locker. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it is meaningful. But something else was in Ice Cube's head about Gaty, a small skip of a heart beat, a slight bit of nervousness. Why was she so cute?