Work Text:
Gwen leaned back on her bed in her tiny apartment bedroom, tablet resting on her knees. Posters of sharp purple graffiti and sleek tech designs covered the walls, a black bookshelf sagging under stacks of notebooks, sketch pads, and comic books.
Her sneakers were kicked off at the edge of the bed, a half-finished smoothie sweating on the nightstand. From downstairs came the familiar shuffle of her dad, humming to himself while he moved around the kitchen.
She flicked her hair out of her face and tapped the tablet screen.
“March 2nd. Journal Entry One. Yeah… first time doing this. Let’s see if I even like it.”
Her left hearing aid buzzed annoyingly. “Ugh. Still muffled. Seriously… can this thing work for five minutes straight?”
She typed anyway.
“Met some kids at Casper High today. Danny, Tucker, and Sam. Haven’t known anyone here before, so I was ready for chaos. And yeah… there was chaos. Danny’s stressed out of his mind, Tucker’s loud and trying way too hard, and Sam… Sam’s the type who notices everything. Can’t tell yet if she likes me or just tolerates me, but at least she’s polite.”
Another tweak of the left hearing aid. “Still… ugh. Fine. I’ll survive.”
Gwen smirked and typed faster.
“Tucker actually surprised me. Normally, dudes like him just jabber nonstop, trying to be funny or impress. Today? He stopped. Listened. Didn’t do the dumb pickup thing. Respectful. That’s… rare. I might keep watching him.”
She leaned back, letting the purple streetlight spill through the blinds. Miso, her cat, pawed at her smoothie like it owed her money.
“Danny seemed… genuinely trying. Small detail, but it matters. Makes me think maybe not everyone here is complete chaos.”
She typed sharper, a grin tugging at her lips.
“Helping them with physics? Fine. Not friends or anything yet, but it felt good to be useful without being treated like a robot or ignored. I like noticing who people are underneath the surface. Can’t hurt to know.”
The hearing aid buzzed again. “Ugh… LEFT SIDE. WHY. Does. This. Every. Time. God, I need a nap.”
One last note:
“Meeting new people is weird. Today… wasn’t terrible. First impressions are tricky, but I can tell a little about them already. And yeah… that’s enough for now.”
Gwen set the tablet aside, eyes drifting over her messy-but-stylish room: half-finished earring sketches, open textbooks, laundry she was ignoring, and Miso still staring at the smoothie. From downstairs, her dad hummed another tune, completely oblivious. She let herself feel quietly satisfied—not friends yet, not accepted, but intrigued. And that’s a start.