Work Text:
She hates it here. She hates it she hates it she HATES IT! She was just lying by herself in her room, no one but her thoughts to keep her company. She hates the feeling of rage boiling right beneath her cover. Today was a good day, it started as a good day, but then she just had to play that stupid board game with her team! She just wanted to read in peace, but they insisted! "C'mon, the game's better with more people!" "It'll be fun!" And then she joined.
It was her first time playing that game. Ever! She made one small mistake, a slight miscalculation in the first round, and then everyone targeted her. How did she stand a chance in a game where everyone was against her? They all had played it before; she was still learning the rules! She lost that round barely before the game had even begun.
Next round wasn't much better. She lasted longer, sure, but it still sucked.
She got further, wasn't in the lead by any means, but she stood a chance! And then one of them, Pencil, started targeting her. "It's just strategic, don't take it personally!" Kind of hard not to after the first round..
And then the worst part of this all happened. Pencil was narrating her plan, to let the others know or to think it through out loud, she didn't know for sure. No matter the reason, what came out of her mouth stung.
"I'm just gonna take some of his pieces my next turn."
Dead silence.
"What?"
Book had to make sure she heard her right.
Pencil seemed confused for a moment before she realized and corrected her error. "Oh, sorry, I meant I'm gonna take some of her pieces my next turn."
It was an honest mistake, just a slip of the tongue, but it still hurt to hear. It confirmed a fear of hers, or fueled it at the very least. Her team, if even only some of them, despite never knowing her as one, see her as a boy.
To add insult to injury she lost the game not long after.
She went back to reading after that round.
Now she was just pissed lying in her bed, tossing and turning, trying to calm down enough to sleep.
She could've dealt with losing the game twice in a row. It was frustrating, sure, not being given any breathing room to learn the game, but she was used to things like that by now. But to be misgendered? In front of all her friends like that?
She couldn't help but wonder why. Was her voice too deep? Too masculine? Did she stand like a guy, act like one? She never really thought about it that much before, not since joining BFDIA, but now all these thoughts and feelings were coming back full force.
She just wanted to sleep...