April Ficlet: ZeroCool (Supernatural)

[hells_half_acre]

It's still Sunday where I am!

I took about 40 minutes writing this thing, because I wrote a whole bunch - then went and fact-checked on the SuperWiki and realized that what I had didn't fit with canon. Sigh.

Anyway, here's some Charlie backstory for you - based shamelessly on my brother (and a little bit of myself) in High School. Title shamelessly stolen from the movie Hackers, which does not accurately portray hackers or hacking in any way, shape, or form.

And yes, I realize Charlie's name probably wasn't Charlie when she was in high school, but we don't know what her name WAS. Also, I just realized that I maybe could have kept what I originally wrote, because we don't know if Charlie ACTUALLY dropped out of high school or if that was just the story for the Charlie Bradbury alias. Ah well, no going back now. 

Today's Prompt: "I am not a computer nerd. I prefer to be called a hacker!" -Lex; Jurassic Park

ZeroCool
(Supernatural, Charlie Bradbury in High School, 375 words)

The only thing less attractive than a male nerd was a female one – except, of course, when it came to other nerds, but sadly, female computer nerds were thin on the ground and Charlie just wasn’t interested in the very male Russian exchange students that she most often shared the computer lab with.

Not that Charlie was a computer nerd. No, she was much more than that. It had taken her an afternoon to hack into the high school’s computer system. She installed Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, because first-person shooters had been hot since Wolfenstein. She also installed Space Quest, because it was a personal favourite.

Her mistake, of course, had been bragging. She told too many people how to find the executables. It was a few months before the teachers became wise to the rampant gaming – but Charlie couldn’t say she hadn’t seen it coming.

They shut down all the computer labs for three days while they rebooted the system. They changed all the admin passwords and installed new safeguards. Thankfully, no one turned her in as the culprit – mostly, because only a select few knew that she was the one that had done it, and those that did know, also knew what else Charlie could do for them. Turning her in, which would either get her expelled, or, worse, banned from all school computers, would do them no favours in the end. Those Russian exchange students needed good grades to send home to mom and dad, and it wasn’t their fault there was a language barrier.

When they opened the labs again, Charlie waltz in and hacked the system in less than five minutes. She reinstalled the games, told only a few people how to find them, and then swore them to secrecy upon pain of what she could do to their permanent records.

In the world of the computer lab, Charlie was beloved. She was worshipped as a queen.

So, maybe Charlie stopped going to classes – maybe Charlie started hacking into other things – maybe, the problem wasn’t that she was a nerd; the problem was that she was in high school. There was a whole world out there and Charlie had a suspicion that she was destined for much greater things.

Comments

[ramblin_rosie]

maybe, the problem wasn’t that she was a nerd; the problem was that she was in high school
That right there is the nub of it. I wasn't a hacker, but I did clash swords a few times with the school IT administrator because (I suspect) I knew more than he did--though he did once try to get me in trouble by hacking a web design project of mine, which was for a grade, to look like I was trying to plagiarize the school's website. I was able to prove that I hadn't, so nothing came of it, and I still don't know for sure why he hated me.
Anyway, yes, I can see Charlie doing EXACTLY this. :D (And yay for the game references! Never played 'em myself, but I had friends who did--in the classroom, no less. Not sure about Doom, but I definitely remember the guys playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein 3D when we had free time.)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Oh man, that sucks. I'm glad you were able to prove you didn't do it. Sabotage is the worst!

I'm glad you liked the game references - I wanted to put more in, but decided to keep it simple. Both Doom and Duke Nukem were games that my brother put on the school's computer system. And they did close the lab for two days, and he did hack it again within five minutes of getting back inside. ;)

But yeah, high school is the worst.

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Love this! It is totally in character for the Charlie we know and love, and you convey so much of how her personality formed! Sweet!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) I'm glad you like it. It was fun to write a non-Winchester SPN-fic for a change.

[yalumesse]

This is so perfectly typical Charlie. Gotta love her :)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it. :)

[cappy712.livejournal.com]

Great story. Wonder what her name was - how many times she has recreated herself???

Sounds like she's done it more than one time and I'm sure she will do it again (even after admitting it's time to stop running).

Thank you for sharing.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

That's probably a mystery we'll never get solved. She seems content to have Sam and Dean still call her Charlie. Who knows, maybe the first time she recreated herself, it was to get rid of a name that she didn't like at all.

Thanks for reading!

[et-tu-lj.livejournal.com]

Fits perfectly, I like. Plus, Space Quest! <3

Besides being in character for a likely backstory, I also liked the "Charlie was beloved. She was worshipped as a queen" as a sideways reference. Looks like Moondor wasn't the first time she figured out it's good to be queen. :D

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I originally didn't write that as an intentional sideways reference, but as soon as I saw it, I thought "well, now I can't delete that." :P

Space Quest was the best. I was horrible at it, but my brother was a master.

[et-tu-lj.livejournal.com]

lol. Even better. :)

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

yay, this is fantastic backstory for Charlie!!

It doesn't fit with canon?

There is so much canon these days I can't quite keep up with it all. ;)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

It does fit canon NOW. It didn't when I first wrote it because I had her going to college. According to Dick Roman in her very first episode, she's a high-school drop-out. Though, that might be just for the Charlie alias, we have no way of knowing.

Glad you liked it! :)