Chasing Butterflies Chapter 47: Birds of a Feather (Patreon)

Olivia let out a long breath as she left the band room—and Alyssa—behind. She probably could have handled that situation a bit better. Still, she wasn't particularly inclined to let the section leader expand her petty tyranny.

Of course, that, decision would have repercussions. How could it not? But whatever revenge the section leader planned to inflict upon her was well within her ability to manage.

"Olivia! Hey!"

A grinning Emma accosted Olivia just as she stepped out of the band room, her top all rhinestones and glitter. Chrissy bounded along behind like a loyal puppy.

"Good morning! Oh my gosh, I had so much fun at homecoming. It was awesome! I can't wait till the next dance."

"It's, uh, going to be a while, unfortunately…" Chrissy informed them. "But I'm sure it'll go by quick!"

"Right! Anyway, we should totally get together again next time!" Emma plowed ahead.

Olivia felt the tension slowly leave her as she smiled at the two girls. "I'd love to. Maybe next time we can get together beforehand as well."

"Omigosh, yes!" Emma grinned. "I can do everyone's makeup!"

Please, no.

With how garish Emma's fashion sense remained, Olivia very much hoped it wouldn't come to that. But for now, she just nodded. "Maybe. That might be fun. We'll have to make sure Luna comes along next time as well."

"Of course!" Emma waved her off as though it were a given. "Maybe we can get Madison on board, too. Or maybe the whole section! We can totally make it a thing!"

Olivia's smile turned a bit forced. “Maybe. Though by the time the next dance rolls around, people might have dates to go with.”

“Oh. Well, the guys can join too!” Emma continued with hardly a pause. “Easy! I mean, we all ended up as one big group anyway, right?”

That didn’t seem particularly likely. Not just because of how her talk with Alyssa had gone, either. Olivia recalled that people with dates tended to be a bit more independent in their preparations. At least, she had. Though perhaps that was another example of her own skewed viewpoint peeking through. But rather than burst the girl’s bubble, she simply gave a tolerant nod.

"Oh! By the way, you totally missed it! While you were gone, the saxes—well, Daryl really, but the others joined in—started doing this hilarious thing. A song came on, the one that goes do-do do-do doooo—"

"Sorry to interrupt," Olivia cut Emma off before she got going. "But I'm gonna be late to class. Tell me later?"

Emma deflated for only a moment before brightening again. "Yeah! I'll tell you at lunch."

"Um... will we see you at lunch?” Chrissy tentatively asked. “I don’t remember seeing you around…”

"I usually eat somewhere else," Olivia admitted. "I've always felt a bit too awkward to come by the band room."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Psssh! C'mon, you're part of the band, too! You have to come sit with us. Especially so I can finish my story!"

Chrissy nodded along with such enthusiasm that Olivia feared the girl would get whiplash. She chuckled. "Sure. I'll stop by today."

Emma looked as though she was going to say more, but the five-minute bell sounded through the campus. Olivia waved to the pair. "Gotta go. See you later."

She left the girls behind and hastened toward her English class. On one hand, this was a good thing. She finally got the lunch invite she'd been hoping for from the band kids. On the other hand...

...I got it right after torching any semblance of a relationship with Alyssa. And her posse. So this might prove a lot more awkward than I was hoping.

She sighed. It couldn't be helped. Besides, it wasn't like she had any better plans for lunch today. Maybe it was worth it to stop by at least once. And if it did end up being a dumpsterfire, she could always leave.

Hefting the backpack on her shoulder, she quickened her pace toward first period.

***

In all honesty, her rush was completely unwarranted. Being late would hardly result in any consequences, if it was even noticed. But it was a convenient excuse to get moving. And besides, even if her so-called "teacher" didn't care, that didn't mean Olivia would let her own personal standards slip.

The bell rang just as she stepped across the threshold. Despite that, the room remained half empty. Most of the missing students would trickle in over the next few minutes rather than skipping the period altogether, she knew. As much as they might want to use this time as a free period and sleep in, most freshmen were still beholden to the bus schedule or family dropping them off for school. Then again, the persistent absence of a few kids suggested they did find better things to do elsewhere for an hour.

She set her backpack down on her desk and sat heavily. This day had barely started and she was already exhausted. What happened to kids having limitless energy?

Then again, teenagers are kind of known for sleeping a lot... So maybe I'm past that phase. At least I haven't had to deal with my wrist randomly aching when I wake up. Or my ankle clicking.

With a wry smile at just how old she was—or rather, had been—Olivia pulled her notebook and pencil out to draw. Suddenly, crystallizing the memories of her family felt far more imperative than before. She'd already filled a good third of the book with such drawings, but it didn't feel like anywhere near enough.

"Hey, Livi!"

Her head rose. A smiling Trisha stood over her desk, one slender hand on her hip. A sunset-colored shawl of light silk fluttered over a cute knitted tank top and some faded jeans.

Olivia returned the smile. "Hey, Trish. I like your top. Custom?"

"You know it!" The blonde beamed, spinning in place. The shawl fluttered around her. "The pants came as-is, though. I've been thinking about turning them into shorts, but the deep pockets would make it look kinda funny..."

I'm pretty sure that was a fashion trend at some point, too. Not sure when though...

Olivia shrugged. "No sense in cutting up a pair of good jeans, I think. Not with winter on the way."

"Pssh. I’ve already got plenty of cold-weather stuff I've been dying to show off..." The cheerleader's gaze went dreamy for a second before snapping back to Olivia. "But! That's not the point. Don't even tell me you're gonna try and sit alone again."

She blinked. Oh, right. I guess I don't have to.

The familiar routine had honestly made her forget that there was an alternative. An expected one, considering how she and Trisha had bonded over the weekend. Going back to sitting on her own might even come off as a snub.

Her eyes fell to her notebook. She'd honestly been hoping to draw, but...

...It's ok. I'll have time in other classes, too.

"Good point." She scratched her neck. "Sorry. I honestly kind of forgot."

Trisha waved a dismissive hand. "Pssh. Don't apologize! Just get over here!"

Putting her things away, Olivia rose from her seat and glanced around. Ms. Roche still sat at her desk uselessly, not even looking up at her. In the past month, the "teacher" had gotten up to actually teach a single time. The result was exactly as useful as one would expect.

If I'm already changing things around, maybe I can come up with a way to get her fired. Though that might be an even bigger challenge. Taking on a teacher's union is no small task.

Olivia followed Trisha to the edge of the room, where the cheerleader and her friends had already pushed together a cluster of desks. The others paused their chatting to greet them as they approached.

Olivia frowned, her expression turning serious as she tapped her chin. "Wait. Don't tell me..." She pointed at each girl in turn. "Sophie, Leah, and... Ellie?"

"Close! It's Eileen." The last girl grinned. "You got the other two though."

Olivia shook her head in disappointment. "Dangit. I knew it started with an E."

"Ellie was the tennis player, remember?" Trisha chimed in. "The sophomore?"

"Let me think..." Olivia mimed flipping through a book. "Ah, yes! There she is! Right on page two-hundred and three of people you introduced me to this weekend. Right next to the rest of the tennis team."

The cheerleader pouted. "Well now you’re just exaggerating. I didn’t introduce you to the whole team. Aisha wasn't even there!"

"Honestly, I'm shocked you remembered my name," Leah giggled. "We talked for, like, what, a minute?"

"You remind me of someone I know,” Olivia answered. The girl bore a striking resemblance to another Leah she'd known in the future, a rather bubbly teacher who worked at the boys' elementary school. It was almost certainly coincidence, though. "That really helped."

"Well, I hope you remember our deal at least." Eileen's eyes sparkled.

It took Olivia another moment to recall what in the world she was talking about. Her eyes widened. "Oh! Makeup, right?"

"Yep!" Eileen grinned, reaching deep into her backpack. She drew out a padded rectangular case half the size of the bag itself. "Because I came prepared."

The girl unzipped the case to reveal a veritable studio's worth of supplies. Blushes, bronzers, highlighters of such astonishing variety they couldn't possibly all work for the girl's skin tone. And that was only one tiny section. The sheer amount of lip, eye, and general face makeup was frankly dizzying. Brushes and applicators of every shape and size crammed together in the lid compartment, so tightly packed that Olivia feared that retrieving one would have the others tumbling out with it.

She stared at the collection, speechless. "That's... a lot."

"This?" Eileen snorted. "This is just my travel stuff. You should see my counter at home."

Olivia felt her heart shatter at the sheer amount of money all of these supplies represented. How much of this could one person possibly use? Nowhere near everything, right?

Eileen was already plucking out supplies with unwavering precision. "So. I already put some stuff on this morning, but I left my eyes clear. I'll show you how I do wings on myself, then you can show me how you did that look you had at the dance. Sound good?"

She nodded. "A deal's a deal. Though I'll warn you, what I did was pretty darn simple. I won't need anywhere close to all of this."

"That's fine. I'm not expecting you to. I just like to be prepared." Eileen gave her a wink.

There was a difference between "being prepared to travel" and "being prepared for every cosmetics manufacturer to simultaneously self-destruct without warning." But Olivia kept that to herself.

The girls got to work. Olivia paid rapt attention as Eileen began to demonstrate her techniques, applying the eyeliner with practiced expertise. The other girls also watched on, albeit less attentively, as they chatted about the past weekend's happenings.

Trisha did mention Dom's afterparty, but didn't linger on the topic much. It was a bit unexpected. Considering the small number of freshmen in attendance, Olivia figured that it would be far higher on her list of things to talk about, especially as a way to reinforce her own clout. But it made more sense as she thought about it.

She already gets clout from mentioning it at all, of course. But by not rubbing it in, she also manages to keep the other girls from feeling too left out.

At least, that was how it seemed. It was a surprisingly skillful balance the girl managed to strike. It also helped that Trisha showed genuine interest in the other things that happened at the homecoming dance itself.

Eileen checked her eyes in a small hand mirror and nodded. "By the way... I gotta know. Where did you get that dress?"

Sophie and Leah leaned forward with anticipation. Olivia kept her gaze from straying toward Trisha. Instead, she simply held a finger to her lips. "It's a secret."

All three of the girls groaned.

"C'monnnn! No fair!"

"You can't keep something like that to yourself!"

"Was it at the mall at least?" Eileen pressed. “Or did you go to one of those fancy places downtown?”

Olivia shook her head with a smile. "Not telling."

"We won't tell anyone! Promise!" Sophie looked between the others. "Right?"

"Right! Promise!" Leah echoed.

Olivia remained steadfast. "If I spill the beans, there's no chance I'll ever be able to get a dress there again. Sorry."

The other girls groaned. Eileen glanced over. "Trish? Do you know? I swear, if you both got fantastic dresses at the same place..."

The blonde shrugged with thinly veiled amusement. "Maybe."

Eileen let her head loll back in her seat. "Ugh. That's it. Next time you two go dress shopping, I'm going with. I don’t care if I have to follow your car there.”

"Hmmm..." Olivia rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "You might have to sign an NDA for that."

The girl looked at her blankly. "An NDA?"

"Oh. Non-Disclosure Agreement. A contract saying that you won't tell a soul."

Eileen's eyes widened. "Seriously? Who are you getting things from, the mafia?"

"Not a bad guess," Olivia mused. "Wrong, but not bad. Especially considering that Trisha has connections everywhere."

The other girls stared at the cheerleader in stunned silence. Trisha just waggled her eyebrows. "Everywhere."

They burst out laughing at the absurdity of the statement. Though given what she'd seen, Olivia wasn't entirely certain if it was absurd anymore.

At this point, Trisha being some well-connected politician's daughter wouldn't be that surprising. Or a celebrity's kid. Probably not, though. Otherwise everyone would be talking about her parents.

Olivia let herself simply enjoy the company, listening to the pleasant banter and gossip and occasionally chiming in. All in all, she had to admit iIt was a nice way to spend the morning. And a breath of fresh air.

I can only hope the rest of the day is half this good.