Rainbow High OC Scraps

The Bird Incident

 Gale knew she should get up and do something. Try to win over Nixie's friends, or work on homework, or a sculpting project. Something other than lay on her bed with nothing more than melancholy music to keep her company. It's probably what Nixie would do.

Gale stretched and rolled out of her bed groggily. How long had she been lying there? She grabbed her phone from the windowsill where it had been propped up to check the time and turn off her playlist. Outside, the sky was dismal and gloomy. It reminded her of the sea. It sent off a pang of homesickness for the ocean. She missed the feeling of-

Wait, what was that?

She squinted, making out the shape of a bird against the trees. Not just a bird. A parrot. It seemed to flit around, confused. It must be someone's pet or something. Gale couldn't help but feel sympathy. It probably wouldn't last long in the wild. ...maybe she should go out there. Or was that dumb? She wasn't the type to go rescuing something. ...But it just looked so sad and lost. She couldn't just leave it like that.

It was surprisingly easy to get the parrot to go with her. It had put up no fight at all, happily landing on her shoulder and letting her escort it inside to her dorm. It chirped contentedly, settling in amongst Gale's blankets.

She let it get used to everything while she looked up what parrots eat. As she scrolled, a croaky voice called out "snackie?" Gale nearly jumped out of her own skin before she realized it was just the bird.

"Huh?"

"'Pal Snackie??" It bobbed its head up and down, watching her expectantly.

"You can talk," was all Gale could say, amused. The parrot made a swishing noise that almost sounded like the ocean. "Ok....I'll go find you a....snackie..."

She slipped out of the room and into the common area. Thankfully, it was empty. Google had said that parrots eat fruit, so there had to be SOMETHING in the room she could give it. There were a few apples in the fridge. Hopefully, her roommates wouldn't miss one of them.

As she reentered her room, the bird bobbed its head excitedly. "Precious birdie. Precious. 'Pal snackie?"

Gale wondered how much the bird actually understood as she fed it pieces of apple. It would sometimes say little phrases or make noises, but nothing that would, say, help her find its owner.

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A couple of days went by. Gale hadn't told anyone about the parrot yet. She was...a little embarrassed to admit to anyone that she'd been taking care of a pet. It wasn't exactly "like" her, after all. But having someone around to talk to was...nice. Even if that someone was a bird.

Gale had gotten used to venting to it, telling him all about her days. She'd even been able to teach it a few phrases, like "aye aye captain", and "swab the deck!". Her favorite thing she'd taught him was "Bitch". Specifically, she'd gotten him to say it every time she said "Guy." It was VERY satisfying.

She was kind of dreading finding his REAL owner. But maybe it wouldn't come to that. She'd been thinking about names for the parrot as she walked the halls. It had to be GOOD. Something nautical, obviously. But nothing felt right yet. Maybe the name of a fish? Was that stupid?

"Guy, are you listening?"

A voice pierced through Gale's thoughts. Nixie and Guy (bitch!) were standing against the lockers, their arms interlocked. Nixie shook his shoulder gently, trying to get him to break eye contact with his phone screen. "Guy?"

"Huh? What?!" Guy snapped, looking frustrated. Of COURSE, Guy was being a douche again.

Nixie frowned and pulled away from him, fidgeting with her bracelet instead. "You SAID you'd help me look for him again today."

Guy rolled his eyes. "Babe, you've been looking for that thing EVERY day. You know I've gotta do things too, right? Like my NOVEL? I can't just drop everything AGAIN."

"I understand, but It's really important to me," Nixie insisted. Gale considered interrupting, but something stopped her.

Guy finally took a good look at Nixie and put his phone away. "My muse, I just...I don't like seeing you so upset. I'm starting to think this is a lost cause. It'll be better for you if you just give up. You know, so you don't get your hopes up."

Nixie bristled "Give up? Guy, he's my best friend, I can't do that!"

Guy pouted. "I thought...I was your best friend?" Oh, PLEASE.

"Oh..." Nixie sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. Gale SO wanted to punch him. "You are, babe...but Opal was been with me for years. I can't just give up. I'll go alone today."

Gale raised an eyebrow as Guy seemed prepared to argue, but he backed down. "FIne, fine, but I want today to be the last day, ok?"

"Ok."

Guy was SUCH a piece of shit. Gale wondered what Nixie was looking for anyway. A...friend would ask about it, wouldn't they?

"Nixie, wait," she called before she could stop herself.

Nixie turned slowly, looking apprehensive. "What do YOU want?"

"Um..." Gale tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What are you looking for?"

Nixie seemed surprised that Gale would take an interest. "It's my pet Parrot, Opal. He disappeared a few days ago. I've been looking all over."

"Oh." She had to stay calm. Nixie lost a parrot...at the same time Gale found one. It HAD to be the same bird! But she couldn't just SAY that. She didn't want Nixie to think she had STOLEN her bird...that wouldn't make her want to be friends...she had to go fix this.. "Ok."

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Gale sat on her bed, gently petting Opal. "I guess this is goodbye," she muttered.

"Aye aye, Captain!" Opal responded. Gale couldn't help but crack a smile. As much as she'd enjoyed taking care of him, it was time to send him home.

She slowly stood up and made her way outside. Nixie was for sure going to be somewhere nearby looking for Opal.

Sure enough, Gale spotted Nixie's long pink hair through the trees. "Nixie? I...have something for you."

"Gale?" Nixie sounded incredulous as she pushed through the branches. Her tone immediately changed as soon as she hit the clearing, though. "Opal?" Her eyes lit up at the sight of her pet. It was unfair how pretty she was.. "Oh my god, Opal!!!"

Opal flew to her and excitedly started talking. "Precious birdie! Snackie!"

At the same time, Gale quickly spoke over him, trying to explain herself. "I didn't steal him! I...I saw him outside, and he looked so lost, so I took him in. I swear, I was looking for his owner!"

Nixie's expression changed. "You...took care of him?"

Gale nodded. "Yo ho!," Opal added.

She looked between Opal and Gale. "Well...he does seem very happy." A slow smile crept across her face. "I didn't know you liked animals. Gale...or ANYONE."

She shrugged. "They never did anything to deserve otherwise." In fact, animals had always been a great deal BETTER than humans. "Anyway...I should go. I'm sorry. Bye."

She felt eyes on her as she left, back to her dorm. Alone.

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Nixie watched Gale walk away in awe. Opal was in great condition. She'd never seen him take to anyone this way before. In fact he straight up HATED Guy.

She never knew Gale had it in her to do something like this.

If she had compassion for Opal like this...maybe there was more to her than just a cruel bully. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

But for now, she had to get Opal home, safe and sound.