Chapter Text
Locket is a science whizz, but what she is more—is petty.
Locket didn’t exactly mean to actually win in science trivia. She joined out of spite and pettiness, maybe a little arrogance.
———
“Hey Locknerd!—“
“LOCKNERD?! That’s the best you thought of?” She knew it probably wasn’t the best of options to call out a wannabe movie bully in front of a class, but it’s warranted when she’s given a nickname so ass it rivals Nightwing’s. Her sense of shame was selective, but she wasn’t selecting when.
A few students laughed, the guy just rolled his eyes and turned to another student. “You, hey. You gonna join the science trivia?” He slung his arm around the poor dude’s shoulders, smirking down at him in an attempt at intimidation.
Science trivia? She turned to her side, leaning towards the desk next to hers. “Hey, Ely. What’s that about science trivia? Is it like the other events I didn’t go to?”
“Yeah. I thought you’d know about it considering…” Ely gestured to her backpack, which was packed full of handmade items attached to different parts of her bag. Clay planets and the like.
“I don’t pay attention to events, you know this.”
Ely—Eliza—is Locket’s friend, one and only in the classroom.
“It’s exactly how it sounds, science trivia, general science I think. Out of the five events it’s the only one that actually matters since whoever gets the highest points wins a science museum visit on Monday for the classroom.” She explained briefly, shrugging in disinterest.
Eliza isn’t as big a science lover as Locket. She understands the subject, but has no desire to pursue it.
“Mmm. Sounds fun.” It didn’t. At all.
High school students in the classroom were rowdy enough. Put them in a place where they can run off and cause mayhem makes it worse. No matter how much Locket likes science, she’d rather go on her own time and money for a peaceful and productive search, than go with a classroom that will get them kicked out before they even set foot past the doors.
Her attention shifted to the bully wannabe again. “Come on, chum. Win us a free day, you're smart, probably the smartest student here or something with your dumb science grades.”
Okay, backtrack. Locket is the smartest in the classroom when it comes to science. She didn’t request extra five minutes in the lab in front of the entire classroom just to hand that title to some rando.
She turned to Ely again. “You know where I can sign up?”
———
Now she’s here, on the verge of throwing up. She didn’t expect the questions to be about actual general sciences, whenever they say that it’s usually lies and just biology, chemistry if she’s lucky.
What was the emotion pinkie pie said? Nervousited? Sure checks all the boxes.
She’s biting her tongue to keep herself from smiling, she’s so close to winning. 15 points, tied with a dude from class B, and Daniel from class A is just one point behind from tying with both of them. She’s also biting her tongue to keep her mouth closed, she might gag if it’s open for a second too long.
Her hands couldn’t stay still, fiddling with her sleeves and digging inside her nails as if it’d give her the answer.
“Okay, last question. Are you ready?”
No, she isn’t, but go ahead go ahead. It’s only her pride on the line, and playing jump rope with her nerves is totally fine and encouraged!
“How many radioisotopes are seen in nature?”
She knows this.
She quickly pressed the button, accidentally hitting her nail and bending it. Ouch.
“84!”
She sounded like those rubber chickens that scream when you squeeze them, just pair that with a smoking addiction and she’ll be used in the next hit horror movie that heavily relies on jumpscares.
“Correct!”
Obviously.
Whatever happened next was a blur, something about going to an office. She just followed the other two students and hoped she wasn’t being weird.
Something something, she wants to throw up. There’s nothing in her stomach to throw up, but maybe oxygen will do. The office was too cold, she could feel herself trembling more.
They left the office eventually, and Duke (she thinks) placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, congrats to you both. You did very well.”
She nodded, wanting to follow with her own praise, but her throat felt dry.
Silence. Why is it silent? Are they waiting for her to say something? Say something then, just don’t look at them. They’ll forget who you are within the next hour.
“I’ll, uh, go back outside. Enjoy the museum trip.” She sped off, rounding the corner and gagging the moment she knew she was out of sight.
Idiot, you won! She covered her mouth, taking deep breaths through her nose to calm down whatever was wracking her body.
Fuck. Maybe oxygen would do. Can she hide here for the next few days? She doesn’t want to show her face to anyone who heard her shriek like that. Nevermind forgetting who she is within a few hours, she won’t forget this until she dies.
Overdramatic? Maybe. Embarrassment usually is.
———
She didn’t wait until the event was over, she called her uncle to tell him she’d be going home early and left before anyone could question her.
She unlocked the door to her apartment. “I’m home!” She took off her shoes and hung her jacket and vest on the rack. Thank Gotham for the cold, she wouldn’t be able to stand so many layers back in New York.
“Hey, Locket. How’d it go today? Did you win?” Uncle Ben called out from the kitchen.
“Yep. Free museum trip on Monday, no class. Woohoo.”
“Tired? You haven’t gone to a school event in so long.” Aunt May was also in the kitchen.
“Locket and tired in the same sentence? I never would’ve guessed. Brain finally exhausted its energy?” Uncle Ben encouraged her science dreams as much as he teased her about it.
She loved them as much as they loved her, they had moved from New York to Gotham of all places because of Gotham Academy’s science program (Thanks Mr Wayne, whoever that is) and the scholarship they offered. They left the familiarity of their home city for her.
“Are you going to walk there or do you want us to drive you?” Aunt May wasn’t the biggest fan of letting Locket roam around Gotham. Locket could defend herself (better said: she can run), but Gotham hadn’t waited an hour before showing them its claws and chaos.
“Bus, ‘came with the win.” She didn’t actually know that, but she didn’t want to bother them and interrupt their work.
She entered her room, flopping down on her bed instantly.
Her room was small, but it had a lot of decorations. The walls were lined with random posters and ripped pages taped to it.
Her head hurt from the event. It hadn’t been all that loud, most of the students that had actually attended the trivia to watch their fellow classmates participate were students who didn’t want to be outside, where the unnecessarily unhinged crowd was.
…
Sleeping in your school uniform actually isn’t that bad if you’re exhausted, and if you don’t notice.
———
Monday, 9:24 am.
She could’ve been eating by now. Instead, she’s stuck in a bus with she-doesn’t-feel-like-counting many students, all of which are unfamiliar with the concept of an inside voice.
At least Ely was there. They sat next to each other as close to the door as they could, though the first two seats were taken by teachers.
The bus also smelled horrible, courtesy of the people who decided it would be a good idea to eat spicy chips and smelly food inside a closed bus. Thanks, assholes.
“Outside Gotham air is better in terms of smell, I think it’s mildly toxic, though. It’s been cleaning up recently.” Eliza spoke as if she could read minds
“Sure can’t, you murmur a lot when you don’t pay attention.”
“Oh.” More things to be conscious of, nice. Locket looked out the window, reading street names she still didn’t recognize. “How long has it been? Feels like an eternity of smelling rotten eggs and unhygienic teens.”
“Haven’t been keeping track, we shouldn’t be far though.”
“You’ve been to the museum before?”
“Obviously, it’s a standard family trip place.” Eliza is from Gotham, so Locket should’ve expected it. “It’s not entirely boring, but it’s mostly stationary presentations with long explanations. Average museum.”
“Not anymore!” Ms Taylor spoke up from the front of the bus. “In the past few years, Mr Wayne has donated to the museum for a better experience!”
I still don’t know who that is.
———
The museum was divided into three main sections: biology, chemistry, and physics. Some smaller sections of said main sections went into more detail about more specific science areas. Locket, for one, couldn’t wait for astrophysics, if they had something for it.
The class was (miraculously) allowed to go wherever they wanted, they weren’t tied to a guide or teacher, but they were forced to go in groups.
Eliza mostly just followed Locket while she took notes on her phone. She could just take photos, but they don’t hit the same.
Though they decided to cut the exploring short for the moment, Eliza’s stomach started to growl. Cafeteria it is.
“Cafeteria should be around here, if they haven’t changed that part.”
“Passing through…” she stopped to read a small sign. “Genetics.”
“…you’re okay with going on without me just for this, right? Thanks” Locket didn’t wait for an answer, already walking to the different notes and physical representations of DNA structures.
To the right side of the room, there were four glass box-containers with synthetic habits and a note on the corner that said the scientific name of the species. All four had different kinds of spiders.
Yuck, Locket shivered. She hates spiders and all their legs, they creep her out. Nevertheless, curiosity beats fear.
Latrodectus, loxoscelus, atrax, and hadronyche.
They all made her skin crawl. She’s further startled by an employee coming up to her and clearing their throat.
“Hello, Miss, please step away from the glass a little bit.” The worker had a name tag that said Ana.
“Oh, sorry.” Locket quickly stepped away and blurted out a question before she got too nervous to ask. “What’re the spiders in there for?”
Ana smiled and pointed to the bottom left box. “These are spiders that were ideal for toxin research on venom and antivenom production. The scientists who brought them to the museum also researched DNA exchange in different arthropods. They have their own exposition later at 2 p.m, if you’d like to attend.”
2 p.m? That’s a little before her class leaves at 2:50, she thinks.
“Here? In this section?”
Ana nodded.
Locket gave her a quick thanks and continued on her way to the cafeteria. Her arm itched, but she paid no mind to it.
“Hey, hey, Ely.” She quickly sat down across from her the moment she saw where her friend was sitting, crossing a knee over the other and leaning forward. “We leave at 2:50, right? There’s an exposition I wanna see later.”
Ely looked up from her phone, nodding before glancing down.
“There’s a spider on your hand.”
“What.”
Locket looked down. There was a spider on her fucking hand.
She screamed, loud and high pitched. Pushing herself backwards and slapping her hand. She fell on the floor, the chair falling with her with a loud thud.
Ow.
A few people turned to look, some tried to laugh discreetly.
Locket didn’t pay attention to them, trying her best to take off all the spider guts from her hand.
“Ew,” she repeated frantically as she stood up and shook her hand. “I think it bit me without me noticing. How did I not notice?”
“You’re in a science museum, you wouldn’t listen to me yelling for help if you were reading about meteorites.” Ely just laughs, putting the chair back in its place and handing Locket a mini milkyway. “Snagged one from the cafeteria, your super brain needs more fuel.”
“Thanks…” Locket grumbled, now starting to feel the stares of everyone who heard her shriek her vocal chords out over a spider. She could hear them giggling or making comments. How many more times was she going to embarrass herself over this museum trip?
———
She did NOT go to the exposition. Her head started hurting and she got a fever. So much for having a super brain.
The bus ride back to the school building had been hell, and the walk home had been the head equivalent to testicular torsion. She’d never been so happy to flop down on the floor instead of her bed willingly.
Aunt May was at the market, Uncle Ben was fixing someone’s plumbing or whatever.
Sleep came easy in that moment, her eyes closed before she even realized it. She was also woken up before she knew it.
“Locket!” Uncle Ben shook her shoulder, crouching down beside her to make sure she woke up.
Any groggy question she could’ve slurred was cut off by the onslaught of sound that entered her head. The ringing hadn’t gone away yet, but it had changed. It sounded like it had an actual direction now.
“Good, up and at it Locks, you’ve been asleep on the floor for three hours. Your aunt and I have been dodging you the whole time. Now come on, help us move the fridge, May dropped the spatula behind it.”
She’s been asleep on the floor for three hours? And they just moved around her? They probably did try to wake her up sooner, but to no avail. She’ll ask later.
“Right, right, sure.” She stood up and stretched. Her fever was gone, and the headache had dwindled, but the ringing remained.
Locket isn’t all that strong. She’s athletic, but that really only applies to her agility. Brains over brawn as they say.
“Don’t we have one of those things to get things out of creaks? I thought you bought one last year.” Aunt May would make some unnecessary purchases every other month. It was never anything completely useless or expensive, simply unnecessary.
“We left that in New York, get with the times.”
“Not what that means I’m pretty sure.”
“Oh, just move the fridge. It’ll help after sleeping on the floor for so long.”
She always enjoyed these moments with them. Careless laughter while being able to aid them in whatever they needed.
The fridge was lighter than she expected, it felt more like carrying a box of fragile contents than a big metal container with food.
“See? No problem for you youngsters.” Uncle Ben quickly snatched the spatula from under the fridge and pat Locket on the back. She put down the fridge and grinned.
“Yeah, no problem, my brains aren’t the only strong thing.” She flexed her arms. There was some more muscle than she should have, which, weird. She doesn’t work out or anything of the sorts.
Her uncle just cackled. “Don’t get too cocky, Locks, it’s probably teenage buffs. But I’ll tell you the same thing I told you years ago. With great power—“
“Comes great responsibility, use your smarts for good. Yeah yeah, I know that. It’s engraved into my head with how much you repeated it when I was a kid.”
“You needed it! All cocky and rude about how smart you were, if recess had been a class you would’ve failed out of every school.” Aunt May chimed in. “Gotta get you off your high horse every once in a while, even if you do have the means to back it up.”
“I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just said what I thought was true.” Locket knew trying to defend herself in this subject was like trying to count the smith of stars in the sky. Useless, but she’d do it to spend more time outside.
“But you came off rude and stuck up, intention doesn’t mean execution.” Fair point Aunt May. “Now leave my kitchen, your energy can mess up even grilled cheese.” She shooed her away.
Locket put her hands up and walked backwards. “Okay, alright, I get it—“
“Nevermind, there’s nothing in the fridge. Go to the convenience store and grab some milk, bread, butter, and eggs.”
The newly dominated fridge mover let out a dramatic sigh. “Ughhh, fine. Move the fridge, go get food, don’t sleep on the floor. This house is a prison.”
Out the kitchen and on her way to the front door, she passed by the mirror above the couch.
She was still in her uniform. Blue vest still wrapped around her waist, visibly uneven hair tied into a ponytail, and locket necklace clashing with the rest of the color scheme.
Locket, locket. My parents weren’t very creative.
Aunt May always told her she looked like her mother more than anyone else, though she inherited both her father and uncle’s double moles. Uncle Ben had one on his upper right cheek and another on his lower left cheek, while her father had one on the upper left cheek and another on his lower right cheek. Quadruple moles, how great.
Her hair is jagged and uneven. Naturally dark brown but the hair framing her face at the front is dyed blonde. Bad bleach job too. Locket is the last person you want to trust with scissors.
“Hurry up!” Aunt May snapped her out of her thoughts. “Grab Ben’s wallet! He should have enough!”
Locket just grabbed the first bag she saw. 16 years and she still didn’t know which bag was whose.
———
The convenience store was more or less far away. The bus would be overkill but walking was really slow.
Bread, eggs, butter, and milk. She doubted there’d be eggs, but the rest should be there.
The store was small, obviously, but it looked like it had been recently stocked. There were only two people, her included. She found milk and bread, and by the time she found butter (which was NOT in the section it should be in) someone else walked in as well.
“That’ll be $11.09.” The cashier said as monotonely as the word monotone can monotone.
She reached into the bag and pulled out the wallet. It was red with silver accents.
Aunt May. It was May’s bag.
She cursed under her breath, already speedrunning different prayers in her head that her aunt had enough money. She had started keeping her money in a card she always had on her person, meaning it was unlikely she had much.
“Uhh…” she eventually found $11 and handed it over.
“Sorry, Miss. It’s $11.09.”
“It’s 9 cents, I don’t think it matters that much.”
“If you can’t pay in full, leave. It’s not my problem” Not his problem, huh? Gotham really is stingy. New York would let her break into random dumpsters for any kind of spare electronic parts without batting an eye, the most they’d do is wave if they’re nice people.
She just groaned and took her money back, already walking out the door.
The other dude who had walked in after her paid for his cigarettes by throwing his money at the cashier, the clinging of coins rattling and bills just floating.
The cashier made some comment about manners and ‘could’ve just handed it over.’ Clearly not because the man grabbed extra cigarettes while the worker was distracted, and shoved them into his pocket. He took one glance at Locket and quickly grabbed the butter and a bar of chocolate.
“Hey-!” The cashier tried to snatch it from the man, but the latter ran out the door and ran to the other side of the road, hiding behind some random trash can big enough for him.
The cashier ran out some time after, looking around before giving Locket a look of irritation. “You could’ve gone after him!”
She shrugged. “Not my problem.”
Pettiness 1, being a good citizen 0.
The cashier just stomped his way back into the store, expression livid.
She wanted to sulk and continue being petty, but the man came out from behind the trash can and jogged over. He handed her the bar of chocolate and butter.
“Couldn’t snag the bread and milk, too many items.” He smiled at her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re a good kid, thanks for the help.” He let go and walked away.
Well, maybe half a decent citizen. Sure, thievery is bad and all, and it’s for cigarettes of all things. But she doesn’t judge, and Gotham is too stingy. She’ll let him go.
There was an inkling in her head that made her uneasy. It felt like the back of her hair was standing on end, something shouting at her to not let the man get away. The ringing in her ears was back.
It’s just the Gotham atmosphere. It’s nighttime, she’s hungry, and she has to walk back home alone with only butter. Uncle Ben could get groceries tomorrow. She needed to go to bed so she wouldn’t be late for school tomorrow.