Chasing Butterflies Chapter 30: Team Player (Patreon)

The sharp trill of a whistle bounced around the walls of the gym, silencing all but a few scattered conversations. “All right! Teams, everyone!”

The students rose from the numbers painted across the gym floor and quickly clustered together in their groups. Olivia did the same, casting her gaze around the gym until she spotted Miranda’s brooding figure. She walked over, flashing a smile at the girl. Miranda just looked away and scowled.

Hey, at least she’s not scowling at me. That's an improvement.

Olivia saw Luna fiddling nearby as though anxious to approach. She waved at the blonde girl. “What are you doing over there, Luna?”

“...Ah.” She hesitated before hurrying over anxiously. “S-sorry.”

“It’s ok. You know, if you want to look for another team, you’re more than welcome to.”

There was no rule stating that their teams needed to remain the same day to day. But practically all of them did. Some of the popular girls seemed to trade members between each other as the eddies of high school politics ebbed and flowed like mercury. But those reorganizations had nothing to do with a trio of misfits like them.

Luna’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “T-that’s not… I wasn’t sure if you still wanted—I didn’t want to assume…”

The girl stammered nervously, her fiddling intensifying. Miranda rolled her eyes. “Oh, pipe down. It’s annoying.”

Luna deflated, folding in on herself. “…S-sorry.”

“It’s ok. You’re not annoying, trust me.” Olivia said reassuringly. “I just wanted to make sure you know that you don’t have to join up with us. But if you want to, then you’re more than welcome on our team anytime. Right?”

She shot the brooding girl a sharp look. Miranda glared back, but Olivia didn’t back down. She continued to meet Miranda’s gaze evenly.

I don’t care if you want to be all dark and edgy over there. But I won’t let you lash out at Luna when she’s done nothing wrong. That’s taking it too far.

Whether or not the message made it across, Olivia couldn’t be sure. But some part of it must have. Miranda broke first, scoffing and rolling her eyes again. “Whatever.”

The tension lessened by just a notch. Mr. Wolfe called out again as the groups settled. “All right! Girls over here, boys over here. We’re pairing teams up today.”

That was new. Up until this point, the girls and boys had played separately on either end of the gym. It had actually been going rather well, with Olivia actually enjoying herself and getting a few rallies going on occasion. Usually with teams that were more willing to go easy on them, at least. Even the team composed of actual athletes, after realizing how completely and utterly they outclassed Olivia’s group, switched to giving them advice and pointers between serves.

It was a pretty comfortable flow. Even Luna was putting in the slightest bit more effort on occasion, though she was prone to retreat back into herself at a moment’s notice. But if they would be getting more members…

She glanced at her teammates. Let’s just hope they’re not expecting too much from us. Or that they’re too disappointed.

Of course, they had no such luck. As soon as the groups of teams were lined up, Olivia saw that there was one group unlike the others. A group of five among all the groups of four. Its members were lanky and energetic, all goofing off and ribbing each other like old friends. Two of them had musculature indicating they were involved in some kind of sport, though none of the others looked particularly frail or out of shape either.

“You five, you’re going with this group,” Mr. Wolfe gestured to Olivia’s group. “The rest of you, pair up!”

The boys glanced over at Olivia’s group and she immediately saw their faces fall. Honestly, she couldn’t blame them. They were quite obviously the bottom of the barrel, and not just in the competitive department.

Knowing teenage boys, they’re probably a little disappointed we’re not more attractive, too. I wouldn’t be surprised.

The boys slunk toward their group, their jovial demeanors dimmed slightly. One of the more athletic redheads gave them an upward nod. “Sup.”

Olivia offered a small wave. “Hey. I’m Olivia. This is Luna and Miranda.”

She supplied the introductions, knowing full well that neither girl would be particularly keen to introduce themselves. The boys followed suit as well, and Olivia tucked their names away as best she could. The redhead that seemed to lead the group was apparently named Sean.

Soon enough, their group of eight was facing down a similar group across a tall net. The opposing team’s boys began jeering provocations across the court.

“Looks like we got an easy win to start.”

“Hey, fuck off Jeff, You guys lost last time.”

“Only cuz you cheated.”

“It was a legal serve!”

“Bullshit! We weren’t even set up yet!”

“Not my fault you’re so slow.”

“Serve already so I can kick your ass!”

She saw the boys’ eyes light up with competitive drive as they prepared to play. Sean served the ball, sending it arcing toward the other side, only for another boy to leap up and return it. The ball shot straight toward Luna and—

—The shy girl let out a yelp and covered her head. The ball hit the court beside her feet, bouncing a few times before rolling to a stop.

Olivia saw the boys’ faces fall again. Whatever lingering hope there’d been of Olivia’s group actually contributing evaporated in an instant.

Shoot.

She felt her own heart sink as well. It was one thing for their trio to suck. It didn’t bother them. But with others added to the mix…

“You got served!” A boy called out triumphantly from across the court. “Our ball! Hand it over!”

One of the boys sighed and scooped up the ball, tossing it toward the other team. They didn’t say anything, just prepared for the next serve. But Olivia could read their body language plain as day. They were settling in to carry this game by themselves.

The next few volleys proved that expectation true. The boys quickly abandoned any illusion of including their female counterparts, disregarding them almost entirely. Olivia tried to stay out of the way unless the ball came to her, but quickly realized that tactic often proved more harmful than helpful.

To their credit, Sean and his friends really were pretty good. The five of them were giving the other team a run for their money, in part because they had fewer other teammates to consider. The courts felt a bit cramped now that they’d doubled the team size, and half of the challenge became navigating around one’s own side and figuring out who had the right of way to return the ball.

At the same time, Luna and Miranda acted effectively like obstacles on the court. Any shots sent their way wouldn’t be returned unless one of the boys was willing to practically body check them out of the way—something that their opponents took full advantage of. They were losing. It wasn’t as much of a blowout as expected, but when the whistle blew, they still found themselves behind by three whole points.

The opposite team celebrated their victory, the boys slapping each other’s backs enthusiastically as the girls giggled with amusement. Olivia and her group stayed put as the others moved down to the next court.

“...S-sorry.” Luna’s words were a faint whisper. The hem of her gym shirt crumpled in her white-knuckled grip.

Sean looked over and sighed. “It’s fine. Just… At least try and hit the ball. You’re acting like it’s gonna take your head off.”

The girl flushed and ducked her head sheepishly. Olivia felt a twinge of sympathy. The guy was right, but at the same time, the poor girl looked even more mortified now. The flute still wasn’t used to talking to Olivia, much less these newcomers.

As the opposing team got into position, Olivia looked over her new teammates. Their faces were set with determination, though lacked much of the enthusiasm they’d shown just minutes before.

Well… I guess there’s no harm in trying a bit harder, is there? Maybe it’ll make these guys feel a little less resentful towards us.

She shifted her feet and pressed her wrists together in what seemed like the right stance. The next time the ball came toward her, she sprinted all out, making it just in time to connect with a solid hit. She wasn’t good enough to get it over the net with any consistency, she knew that. But she could get it in the air.

The contact stung her forearms but sent the ball flying. She backpedaled away quickly so that someone else could take it. A pale boy darted forward to intercept, the brief airtime enough for him to position himself and angle the ball toward the opposite corner. It smacked into the ground before anyone could reach it, earning their team the first point.

“There we go! Nice!”

The turnaround was instant. Sean gave her a high five and a lopsided grin before turning to catch the ball. He tossed it over to one of the other boys to serve.

Olivia smiled. Good. Now just keep doing that.

This game progressed far better than the last. Olivia managed to assist a few more times, though her success rate was far from perfect. More than once her hits went wild and forced her teammates to dive forward and save the ball. But each time, she felt her efforts be rewarded with a little more acceptance from the boys. Once it took every one of their side’s three hits to juggle an awry ball back into the air and get it across the net. But rather than annoyed at her failure, the whole exchange had the boys laughing and dramatically reenacting their desperate leaps.

It seemed that her practice over the past week was starting to pay off. She wouldn’t be joining the volleyball team anytime soon, but she wasn’t completely useless either.

And the mood is getting better. Much better.

Her attention wandered to the other two girls. Miranda steadfastly refused to budge during all of this, and the occasional ball in her direction was met with cold indifference. And Luna…

The ball sailed toward the blonde girl again. Olivia saw her eyes widen. But rather than duck and hide, the girl pressed her thin forearms together. As the ball descended, she awkwardly swung them upward, turning her head aside and closing her eyes in fear.

A hearty smack echoed across the court, accompanied by a much softer “eep!”. The ball bounced upward, albeit with far less height than one would expect. Still, it was enough. One of the boys managed to save it on the way back down and continue the rally.

“Nice!” Olivia shot Luna a thumbs up and a grin, as did some of the other boys. That was leagues better than anything she’d done before. Maybe Sean’s words had gotten through to her?

The shy girl’s face flushed as she quickly turned away from the others. Despite that, Olivia thought she saw a hint of a smile.

Olivia felt her grin flicker. Dangit. I’m supposed to be acting like Luna, not reassuring her, She admonished herself. But… I can’t help it. The poor girl seems scared of her own shadow. She needs someone to give her a little confidence boost.

They continued on like that for a few more games, improving a little more each time. By the time the fifth game rolled around, everyone but Miranda was actually managing to contribute at least a little bit, albeit with various levels of success. Their team felt like a team, rather than two mismatched groups shoved together. Things were looking up.

Mr. Wolfe’s whistle shrieked to signal the end of another game. Sean elbowed her in the side as the opposing team rotated over. “Hey. You’re not doing half bad. Now that you’ve stopped sandbagging.”

She looked over and smiled. “I was just trying to stay out of the way.”

“Yeah, well, guess we’re lucky you’re better at playing than doing that.” The guy shot a baleful glance toward Miranda, who continued studiously ignoring all of them. “Also, what’s her problem?”

Olivia grimaced. “We… haven’t talked much. Surprising, I know.”

He snorted a laugh. “No kidding.”

He looked like he was about to say more, but Olivia’s attention was drawn away by their next opponents. Their female half arrived on the opposite side of the court in a gaggle of chatter, painted nails, and carefully styled hair completely incongruous with their gym outfits. And there, at the center of it all, was a familiar blonde figure, presiding over them like a princess above her maids. Trisha Atwood.