Chasing Butterflies Chapter 23: The Plan is Simple (Patreon)

The Ridgeview mall was a sprawling complex of mazelike corridors and earth toned facades beneath the open sky. Broad storefronts and doors propped wide open welcomed passersby inside to browse all manner of goods on display, from jewelry and designer chocolates to model trains and colorful stuffed animals.

Like the school, its open air construction took advantage of the area’s generally sunny weather. Unlike the school, someone had decided to flatten out the area before building on it, making for a far more pleasant walking experience. One that preserved shoppers’ stamina and their time spent among the place’s wide assortment of sales.

Olivia looked across the crowd of weekend shoppers—families, couples spending the afternoon together, and a frankly astonishing number of teenage girls. Well, perhaps it shouldn’t have been so astonishing. They surely weren’t the only ones in need of dresses for the coming dance. Even without that, traipsing around the mall was a time honored tradition for adolescents everywhere.

The white sedan cruised to a halt at the curb, where a high-end seafood restaurant sat across from a pretzel shop. Her dad looked over. “You have everything?”

Olivia patted herself down. “Yup. I think so.”

He gave an approving nod. "All right. One more thing—here."

Her dad dug in his pocket for a moment and retrieved a neatly folded stack of bills, holding them out to her. Her eyes widened in alarm. “No, that’s ok! I’m fine, really!”

He chuckled. “Come on. How else are you going to buy a dress?”

“With my own money!” She pulled out a noticeably more crumpled pile from her own pocket to demonstrate. But her dad was already shaking his head.

“Nope. That’s for you to spend on yourself. Not something like this.”

She gave him a flat look. “Are you really about to argue that this isn’t spending money on myself?”

“It’s a school activity—one with your friends, too. Totally different, it doesn’t count.”

Before Olivia could muster a reply, her dad firmly pushed the bills into her hand. “Now get going. I don’t want to block traffic for too long.”

She eyed the money as though it were a live snake writhing in her grip. Shaking her head, she deflated slightly. “Thanks, dad.”

“Of course, sweetie. “Have fun, and text me if you need anything, all right?”

Olivia stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. With a final wave, her dad pulled away from the curb. She watched the slightly muddy sedan go until it rounded the corner and left her sight.

Her gaze fell to the money still clutched in her palm. She really shouldn't have been surprised. Her dad always took any opportunity possible to provide for her. Good grade on a test? Great report card? First band competition? Each of those was an opportunity for a gift of some sort. It had gotten to the point where she had to be careful about voicing a desire for a figure or game she had her eye on, lest he find some excuse to buy it. It was one of the reasons her stash of birthday and Christmas money rarely saw itself depleted, the others being her own stinginess and general lack of expensive hobbies. Even the model kits she bought were carefully considered and rationed out to best extend her enjoyment.

I understand why he does it. I want nothing more than to give my kids the world too, and it’s not like we’re hurting for money. Still… It feels weird. REALLY weird.

Asking for a ride was one thing. He'd been driving her to and from school and practice nearly every day, so she’d been starting to acclimate to the lack of independence in that regard. But this? It just hammered home her lack of financial independence as well.

She slipped the folded bills into her pocket. Hopefully she could find some way to return them to him unnoticed.

Come to think of it… I wonder if there is something I can do with my own money. It’s only gathering dust in a shoebox anyway. So maybe if I invested it, made sure it at least earned a bit of interest? As long as I don’t spend anything and just let it grow, it shouldn’t change anything in the timeline, right?

Something to consider later. For now, though, she had other concerns.

Pulling out her phone, she texted the trio of flutes. Group texts weren’t really a thing in this day and age, so individually communicating with each one was the way to go.

Olivia: Is anyone here yet?

Typing out the short sentence took literal minutes—frustrating minutes of tapping the numpad’s buttons until they cycled to the right letter, overshooting it by one, then having to backspace and start all over again. By the end of it, Olivia worried that her thumb would get carpal tunnel from the repetitive motions. Worse, she had to do it two more times. By the time she reached Luna, the grammatically correct message was abandoned altogether in favor of a simple “U here,” sans question mark.

Right. I forgot that this style of texting has its roots in necessity… But surely phones with full keyboards are a thing by now. Right?

A little loading wheel spun as the message slowly pushed its way out of her phone and toward whatever satellite handled such things. A moment later, the phone gave a shrill ping.

Chrissy: @ fountain

Olivia shot off a quick “K” before heading in that direction. She began meandering through the labyrinth of shops, allowing herself to enjoy the warm sun along the way. It was still well before the time that they’d agreed to meet, which was why she honestly felt a bit surprised that Chrissy was here. Hopefully it was enough to account for her getting lost a few times along the way.

The mall had always been a centerpiece of life in Ridgeview, and not just for people who liked clothes shopping. It boasted plenty of other offerings that had enticed even her inside. The bookstore whose shelves had served as her backrest for countless hours. The arcade that had probably been the single largest drain on her finances—when her dad wasn’t right there pouring money in alongside her. The pair of rival bakeries staring each other down, neither able to definitively put the other out of business.

She liked the one on the left—at least, she used to. The last time she'd visited either had been… well, during high school, actually. She hadn’t had much reason to visit Ridgeview after that, much less its mall.

Olivia stopped in front of the bakery, then decided against it. She’d been doing well to limit her carb intake all week. No point in throwing that all away now.

Her journey toward the fountain also took her past no shortage of clothing stores that malls were known for. Colorful outfits of every shape, size, and style draped across faceless mannequins as they attempted to lure impressionable shoppers inside to spend their hard earned money—or their parents’. There was even a particularly eye-catching store whose dresses sparkled with fine iridescent fabrics and pearls like the kind one might see at a wedding.

After passing the same bakery and a toy store several more times, despite being certain that she’d taken different turns, the maze finally spat her out. Turning a final corner brought her in view of a large fountain in the center of the mall’s food court. Clear water burbled happily down its wide tiers before pooling in the basin below, its bottom filled with thousands of little copper pennies and other assorted coins. A mesh hemisphere over the entire area provided shade and shelter, doing its part to keep out most enterprising birds and other scavengers.

The dull buzz of conversation and quiet pop music filled Olivia’s ears as she neared. As promised, Chrissy sat along the edge of the fountain with her legs dangling. Though she wasn’t alone. Luna stood quietly to one side, her hands fidgeting inside the pockets of a dark hoodie that seemed far too warm for the weather.

“Heyyy! Olivia!” Chrissy waved enthusiastically as she approached. “You made it!”

She returned the wave. A slight smile flickered across Luna’s features in way of greeting as well. The blonde flute was warming up to her ever so slightly, courtesy of being teammates during PE. But they were still a long way away from prying her out of that shell.

Olivia looked around. “Where’s Emma?”

“Dunno. But she’ll prolly be here soon!” Chrissy insisted with full confidence. She tucked a dark curl behind her ear and broke into a brilliant smile. “In the meantime… Luna and I were thinking about the places we want to go. Anywhere in particular that sounds good to you?”

“Hmmm… Not in particular. I've never gone dress shopping like this, so I don’t really know what the options are.” Olivia lied, ducking her head sheepishly.

“...Same.” Luna said quietly.

Rather than disappointment, the answer only seemed to invigorate Chrissy. “That’s ok! Well, why don’t we make a list? We don’t have to go to every place on it, of course, but it’ll be a good start!”

And so, Chrissy began to rattle off names. The girl certainly seemed to have come prepared, and not just with knowledge of the mall’s various offerings. She also gave surprisingly detailed justifications as to why they should visit some spots and avoid others.

This girl must become a project manager or something when she grows up. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she’d the type to keep a meticulously color coded calendar in her binder.

Olivia and Luna’s main contributions to the conversation were simple nods and the occasional agreement when Chrissy wanted validation for her reasoning. For her part, Olivia saw no reason to do anything more. She couldn’t remember exactly what store would have the dress she remembered, but it was a good bet that they’d find it among Chrissy’s suggestions. Past that, there really wasn’t much for her to contribute, and getting pulled along for the ride was just about the best way to replicate her last go around.

Ten minutes after the time they'd agreed on, Emma strolled into view. Her smile brightened as she noticed the others and made a beeline toward them. “Wow, great! Everyone’s here! Well, let’s not waste any time—let’s go!”

Interesting choice of words from the girl who was late. Olivia eyed the girl with amusement, but said nothing. I wonder if she knows and is choosing to ignore it or is just that oblivious?

Her bet was on the latter. From everything she’d seen so far, Emma’s social awareness left quite a bit to be desired.

“Let’s see…” Emma frowned, then spun in a circle and pointed. “Let’s go that way first!”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. She half expected Chrissy to object or at least speak up about the list she’d made. However, the girl simply nodded, her slightly strained smile the only indication of her disappointment.

Come on, Emma. I know you’re the de facto leader of the group, but at least ask for input once in a while, would you?

Sighing internally, she decided to throw the girl a bone. “Actually… isn’t it mostly food and kids stuff that way?”

“Oh. Right.” Emma tapped her chin in thought. “Well… Then we’ll go a different way!”

…This girl is allergic to planning, isn’t she? Suddenly, the girl being passed over for section leader in the future was starting to make a lot more sense. There had already been a few signs, but now they were coming together to form a more complete picture.

Olivia gave Chrissy a meaningful nudge. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Chrissy perked up. “Oh! Uh… right! Maybe we can start at Gracie’s, just to get our feet wet? They uh, have a big selection, and…”

The girl fidgeted a bit under Emma’s gaze, as though fearing retribution for even suggesting an alternative. But Emma just gave a sharp nod. “Sounds good to me! Let’s go!”

Their group took off toward their first stop with a purpose, with Emma in the lead and the others close behind. They navigated past a handful of other stores on Chrissy’s list, but didn’t stop. The girl had suggested that they put those off until after they’d knocked out the big department stores. Occasionally a shop would reach out to smack Olivia in the face with a cloud of perfume or the same seasonal body sprays that curled her nostrils within the locker room, sans sweat. The difference somehow didn’t make the scents any less cloying.

It wasn’t long before they reached Gracie’s. The popular department store chain inhabited one of only a few multi-story buildings in the Ridgeview mall. A steady stream of shoppers trickled in and out of the imposing rectangle, many laden with armfuls of pristine white bags adorned with the place's logo.

Emma and Chrissy began to vibrate with barely restrained excitement. Luna remained silent, her posture tense. If Olivia had to guess, the girl was likely bracing herself for what came next. That, or hiding her own anticipation behind a veneer of nervousness. She didn't honestly know her well enough to tell.

Well… here we go.