Diary Of An Angelfish

The Early Years

Let's make something clear. This fanfic is aimed at all and told in an OC's perspective whose main interactions are with Professor Marmalade and Mr. Piranha. So if you just wanna simp for Mr. Wolf or Diane, I suggest reading something else. If not, please enjoy!

Before I can tell you what I know of their story, I must tell you mine. My name is Gabriela and I was born in the darkest jungles of Colombia. Most freshwater angelfish grow up to be silver with black stripes, but for some reason, I was the only pink fry. Not that it mattered to me. I liked being one of a kind.

My parents Angel and Alma were poor and unmarried, but they were were happy... until something bad happened that forced us to leave. I don't have many memories from before my third birthday, but I do know that all three hundred of my brothers and sisters were eaten by piranhas (which is actually ironic, looking back now). However, my earliest memories were the sounds of yelling and the smell of smoke. What was happening that day, I'll probably never know, but it must've been terrible, for my parents decided then and there to leave our home forever and start over in a land of promise.

I was only two years old when we moved into the sewers of Los Angeles. It was slimy and smelly and the water was filthy, but it was home to me. A few years later, I began school and had a little trouble adjusting. All of my classmates were rats (literally) and some of them were mean to me, said that I talked funny. Then one day, three girls came to my defense and pushed away those bullies. They called themselves the Rat Pack and their leader, Brenda, was perfectly fluent in Spanish so she asked me to join their group and they became my best friends in the world.

I went on all kinds of adventures with the Rat Pack. We would sneak up to the surface, scare a few humans, Brenda even taught me how to speak English. Now, I know what you're thinking. "How could you be friends with a bunch of disgusting, creepy, disease-ridden rodents?" Well, these disgusting rodents were some of the best friends I ever had and what happened when I was seven went on to prove that.

One day after hanging out with the Rat Pack, I returned home to find my parents were gone. The house was messy for some reason, but I cleaned it up to surprise Mamí and Papá when they made it back... but they never did. I told Brenda and she told her parents and they told me that I could stay with them for as long as I needed to. I missed my parents and still do, but I am forever grateful for their kindness towards me.

🐺🐍🕷️🦈🐟🐹🦊🐠💍🪡☄️💋

Our mischief became more reckless and we broke into a boutique to "borrow" some beautiful fabric to play with. I had never seen anything like it and while the other girls wrapped it around their bodies to pretend they were princesses, I decided to make something of my own imagination. I used a tiny bit of thread to stitch all the materials together and made something completely new. The others thought it was the most beautiful dress they ever saw and that was when I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Although they were angry at us when they discovered the stolen fabric, Brenda's parents told me that there were fashion schools on the surface that could accept me if I had some money and worked hard enough to prove myself to them. My friends agreed to help me and found more fabrics for me to work with. At first, I was worried they were stolen and didn't want to get in trouble again, but Brenda told me they came from old clothes in these things called drop boxes and that it wasn't stealing if no one wanted it. I just bought it and worked with the materials.

When I was a teenager, I got an after school job waiting tables at a fancy restaurant on the surface. For some reason, though, nobody got nervous or terrified like they did when I showed up with the Rat Pack. However, I decided to let it slide and in just a few months, I had a lot of money in my savings... more than what my paychecks added up to. At first, I didn't understand it... until the girls asked for a midnight tour.

We snuck in through the drains since the doors were locked. As I showed them around, I failed to notice that Sapphire had snuck off and when she returned, she was holding a plastic takeout bag full of money. They said they were just trying to help me so I wouldn't have to worry about being stuck in college debt, but I just felt so betrayed. I took the bag and tried to return the money to the cash register, but we just began fighting and I accidentally kicked Monique so hard, her little bucked teeth were broken off. I tried to apologize, but Brenda was so enraged that I hurt one of our own, she threw me into the window and I broke through the glass, setting off the burglar alarm. I landed in the sidewalk and felt my head bleed. The last thing I saw before I passed out was something small and fluffy standing above me.

🐺🐍🕷️🦈🐟🐹🦊🐠💍🪡☄️💋

I woke up in a hospital and felt stitches in the left side of my head. The room was so white and clean, not at all like the sewers. I was wearing this soft, white dressing gown and around my neck was some sort of device pumping clean water into my gills. It felt really good.

"You poor thing," I heard someone say. I turned my head to see a chubby rodent with brownish gold fur and in fancy clothes sitting on a chair in front of my bed. Aside from the teeth, he didn't look like a rat. "Mixing yourself up in the wrong crowd like that, but don't worry. They can't hurt you anymore."

"What happened to my friends?" I asked.

"The police managed to catch them and they're currently in prison," he answered. "But I wouldn't call them your friends after what they've done to you. Apparently, the judge offered them a reduced sentence if they revealed the location of everything they stole. It was all in the home you shared with one of them and under your name."

"What?" I gasped. "No... they wouldn't."

"Believe me," he said, "I wish I was making this up. The cops are planning to arrest you for possession of stolen money once you're discharged, but lucky for you, that's where I come in. My name is Professor Marmalade and I would like you to become my ward."

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked, taken aback. "You know nothing about me."

"Not true," Marmalade argued. "I checked your background personally. Your name is Gabriela Angelfish-Santiago and when you were seven, your parents were deported back to Colombia under your nose, never to be heard from again."

I felt my heart shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. "So that's what happened to them."

Marmalade nodded. "And from what I understand, you tried to get into Woodbury to pursue a career in fashion but given your association with criminals, they've rejected your application."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Everything I worked so hard for was gone.

"I'm really sorry, my dear," Marmalade apologized. "Unfortunately, I can't give back what was stolen from you, but if you agree to be my ward, I will make it to be worth your while."

"I... I don't know, señor," I said shakily. "I just lost everything. How can this be better?"

"I'll give you some time to decide," he replied, giving me a piece of paper. "Here's my number. If you say yes, I'll call in a favor to the chief and you'll be kept out of jail. Oh, and do you know what they do to pretty little angelfish in prison?"

"No, señor, I don't," I admitted.

"Well, hopefully, you won't have to find out."

It wasn't until right before I was discharged that I decided to accept Marmalade's offer. Maybe I was afraid or it was just because I had nothing left to lose, but once I called Marmalade, he showed up along with many reporters pining me for an interview, especially that awful Tiffany Fluffit. Of course, I gave no comment and fortunately, I didn't have to stay for long. Marmalade quickly got me inside his yellow limousine while he spoke to the reporters. I didn't overhear what he was saying to them, I just quietly hoped I was making the right decision.

"My dear," he said as we rode the limo to his home, "I know this is all new to you, but trust me... your life is going to change for the better."

You know what? He was right.

If I continue, it's going to take me quite a while to update this. I only saw the movie once and I can't remember all of the dialogue. Especially the parts I want to put in here.

If you have any questions or there's just something you wanna say, leave it in the comments. Until next time. 🌈