Nikki & Charlotte: A Hearstopper Genderbend (Written by AI)

Senior Year, Fresh Start.

Nikki entered her first period English class with a mix of excitement and nervousness. It was the beginning of senior year at St. Teresa's Catholic School for Girls, and she couldn't help but feel a flutter of anticipation even though she had been there for the last three years. She took her seat near the window, already knowing full well this would cause her to space off, and she glanced around the room wondering who her classmates would be for the year.

The teacher introduced herself as Ms. Thompson, a warm and friendly woman who everyone had spoke of very highly. She was excited, but there was a weird air coming from Ms. Thompson like she was going to turn around and assign an hour's homework at any second. Nikki soon felt safe enough to dissociate when Ms. Thompson droned on about the syllabus and the plans for the upcoming semester. Just as Nikki was finally starting to adjust, the bell rang and a flood of pleated red skirts poured into the hallways.

During lunch break, Nikki joined her friends, Elle and Izzy, at their usual spot in the cafeteria. They chatted about their summer vacations, upcoming assignments, and the excitement of being seniors. Nikki's mind was occupied with thoughts of the school year ahead, and she hadn't noticed anyone in particular.

"Can you believe we're seniors already?" Izzy broke out, piercing into Nikki's thoughts.

"I know, right?" Nikki replied with a grin. Elle made sure to chime in too, saying, "It's crazy how time flies. We've gotta do senior pictures, too. And before we know it there's gonna be the back to school dance.. and then Homecoming... and then break... and then winter finals... and" (she wandered off, at this point Nikki was zoned out again)

After lunch, Nikki moved through her afternoon classes, already tired from the day but still trying to pay attention. When the final bell rang, she gathered her things and headed home, her mind already on the pile of homework waiting for her.

Back at home, Nikki worked on her assignments, struggling to focus as she delved into her studies because she just wanted to go to sleep. She exchanged a few messages with her friends before drifting off at just 8:30pm, discussing their plans for the weekend and the upcoming school events that Elle had mentioned earlier that day.

Nikki dragged herself into homeroom the next day as if she hadn't slept at all, but Elle was already bouncing up and down throughout the hallways. She said that a group of girls had just come back from an exchange trip to France, and although Elle wanted to find out who went and what they did and if they met any French boys, Nikki wasn't very concerned.

She wasn't concerned because she "wasn't like other girls and didn't care about boys and girly things." She was quite the opposite. Nikki REALLY likes girly things. In fact, she likes girly things so much she likes girls too. She looked down at her beaded bracelet reading "Love is Love" with a rainbow charm on it, wondering if any of her new teachers or classmates were going to give her trouble for it. Nikki was really wondering if there were any cute French girls, she just didn't want to ask Elle outright out of fear of getting teased.

It wasn't long until Sister Ann was done yelling at 1200 teenage girls over a screen about dress code and behavior. Nikki left for first period not expecting much from Ms. Thompson other than a review of the previous day's work on literature analysis. 

Nikki was very wrong. Like, very very wrong. 

In waltzed Charlotte just after the bell rang, a taller girl with an air of confidence and long, thick, curly,  chestnut hair. Nikki was already staring at Charlotte when she went right up to Ms. Thompson, introduced herself, and was told to sit right next to Nikki. Their eyes briefly met, as Nikki hoped that she hadn't noticed she had been staring off into space right at her. She racked her brain, confident that she had known her from another class, but just couldn't think of anything. She just sort of knew her, or felt like she did at least. She pursed her lips before locking eyes with her notebook, feeling a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.

As Ms. Thompson continued her lecture, Nikki stole occasional glances at Charlotte, trying not to be too obvious. There was something about Charlotte that intrigued her. The more she looked at her, the more she noticed how pretty she was. Nikki found herself just wanting to talk to her. Nothing more, genuinely, just talk.

There wasn't anything super notable about the class, other than Nikki making a distinct effort to not make it obvious she found Charlotte really adorable. The bell eventually rang and she gathered her things and headed for the door, taking a deep breath as she passed by Charlotte. Just as she was about to leave, Charlotte's voice caught her attention.

"Nikki, you dropped this," Charlotte said, holding out a pack of sticky notes that had fallen out of her bag.

"Oh, thanks," Nikki replied, feeling her heart race a little faster as their fingers brushed while she took the notepad from Charlotte.

"No problem. See you around, Nikki," Charlotte said with a mischievous smile before walking away.

Nikki stood there for a moment, watching Charlotte leave the classroom as her mind raced. As she made her way to her next class, she couldn't help but replay the small encounter in her mind. There was something really weird about Charlotte, and Nikki just couldn't tell what.