Chasing Butterflies Chapter 54: Rumor Has It (Patreon)

Friday's Algebra test went well. For Olivia, that was a given, but even Bryce held himself with a great deal more confidence than she'd feared as the bell rang.

"That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought," he breathed in obvious relief as they stood to leave.

She chuckled. "Right? The practice problems were way harder than that."

"Oh, so you were torturing me on purpose?"

"Of course. No way I’m going easy on you. I have a reputation to uphold.”

He gave her a lopsided grin before they each hurried off to their next classes. She wouldn't congratulate herself on a job well done until their results came back. But given what she'd seen? Things were definitely looking good.

In the blink of an eye, Saturday band practice rolled around. She and all the other band members arrived bright and early in the morning. They brought their instruments out to the practice field, oomphing and blatting notes until the drum majors chastised them into silence. The usual banter and goofiness of the group was laced with an air of anticipation. And for good reason—their first tournament was fast approaching. It would happen at the end of the month, only three weeks away.

That's... nine more practices? That's it? Assuming you count the one morning of, which is bound to be short.

Olivia shook her head. It felt like far too little to get everything done. The semester had been crawling by so far, yet all of a sudden everything was passing in the blink of an eye. She didn't quite know how to feel about that.

They spent a little time warming up before getting down to business. Assortments of sharp lines, grids, and other angular shapes morphed into each other as they ran through the now-familiar motions of the first movement. Olivia slammed to a triumphant halt as the band held a long sustain to end the piece. Their notes echoed into silence, only to be replaced with the sound of soft panting.

“Check! Adjust!”

Soft shuffles filled the air. Olivia checked her feet. She was a fraction of an inch too far forward, by her reckoning. But that was it. And considering how this particular section had her practically sprinting across the field to reach it, getting this close was a triumph.

No one moved as Coach Bryan called out from the sidelines. "Second movement! Here we go!"

The drum majors raised their hands back up, and the band got ready. They curved through the more graceful drill of the second movement, all arcs and swirls and the like. It was a welcome reprieve from the frantic pace of the first, both musically and physically. While the show was coming along quite well as a whole, they were a long way from being able to perform the entire thing. They were still connecting the drill and the music of the third and final movement, meaning it likely wouldn’t be ready for the first tournament. But that wasn't entirely unexpected. It usually took one or two before most bands fielded a full show.

They made it about halfway through before stopping to polish things up in the previous sections—right before the solo.

Auditions are on Monday. And then…

Olivia looked toward Naomi, standing tall as ever. Perfectly in position, as good of a guidepost as the yardlines themselves for others to go off of. There was no question in anyone’s mind who was going to get the part. It was really just a formality. But personally, she looked forward to hearing what the girl did with the solo.

Coach Brian walked into the frozen formation, his sandals slapping against his feet. "Trumpets! Your swirl isn't swirly enough. Make it swirlier."

The group laughed at the absurd statement, despite Brian's deadpan delivery. The blonde coach gave a bit more detailed instruction, calling out various improvements to different sections and individuals as he circled through the band. On his way back to the sidelines, he stopped by Olivia.

"Naomi, your phasing is just a touch slow. Olivia, yours is just a touch fast.”

Olivia blinked. "Phasing?"

Brian nodded. “Your feet. You both step off and land in time, but the middle of your movements don’t line up. Normally I don’t notice, but when you’re next to each other? It stands out.”

Olivia and Naomi looked at each other. The senior piccolo’s face remained neutral, but the slight raised eyebrow suggested that this was news to her too.

“We’ll fix it,” Naomi assured the coach.

“Good. It’s unnatural to think that either of you are off in the slightest.” Without another word, the marching coach strode off the field. "Again!"

"Reset!"

Olivia processed the advice as she ran toward her starting position. She’d never had trouble staying in time. In fact, she put a lot of effort and focus into hitting the beats with the same mechanical precision Brian expected of them. But this…

I guess I didn’t pay enough attention to the middle of the movement. Something to improve on.

A glance toward Naomi suggested that the senior was thinking the same thing. In the grand scheme of things, it was a very slight criticism, nothing major like most of the others were getting. But that didn’t mean Olivia would simply ignore it. Once again, she was reminded that despite his relative youth, Brian really did know his stuff.

I really have to stop seeing him as a college kid. I mean, it's not like it's impairing my ability to treat him as an authority figure—the way he acts and talks makes it pretty easy to take him seriously. But still... I get the feeling he wouldn't appreciate it.

Olivia was already tracing small paths in the grass, watching her feet carefully to see what the coach had explained. But a comment from a passing clarinet drew her out of her musings.

"Hey. You should take better care of yourself, y'know?" The girl smirked. "Don't push yourself too hard."

Olivia tilted her head. "Thanks?"

The response only made the girl grin with amusement as she sauntered toward her own spot. The interaction left Olivia more than a little confused. The clarinet's tone of voice and slight sneer had made it rather clear that wasn't a genuine expression of concern about her health. That much would be obvious even if she wasn't one of Alyssa's cronies. But then, what did she find so funny?

Is she calling me a tryhard in the most indirect way possible? Maybe? That's the only explanation I can think of...

"Set!"

The command rang across the field, silencing all conversation as the band shifted into position. Olivia put the strange encounter aside for the moment and focused on practice. She arced and curved through the movements of the show, putting a particular focus on the people around her. It was more difficult than she expected, requiring her to adjust on the fly as her fellow flutes and other band members fell short or overshot, sometimes alternating between the two. But she found herself honestly enjoying the challenge of making her tiny part of the form as perfect as could be.

A break came not long after, and the band set their instruments down and filed off the field for a drink of water. Chatter filled the air in moments as the kids took advantage of the opportunity to socialize.

Olivia looked toward the freshman flutes' cluster of water jugs and frowned. Hers was no longer there. Looking around, she quickly spotted it at the edge of the field, far away from everyone else's.

She sighed at the pettiness of the move. Who had done it? No clue. But it wasn't hard to make an educated guess.

Olivia ignored the surreptitious looks thrown her way. Without slowing, she scooped up the jug and kept walking to rejoin the flutes. Emma was already in the midst of some story, gesticulating wildly with her hands as a smiling Chrissy bobbed her head along. Luna hovered nearby enough to listen, wraithlike as always. Though Olivia did see the blonde smile as she approached.

"Heyyy! Olivia!" Emma greeted her enthusiastically before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Oh my gosh. Spill. Is it true?"

She tilted her head. "Is what true?"

"You know! The rumors!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Emma."

A distinct sense of discomfort settled over the group. One that Emma seemed completely oblivious to. But both Chrissy and Luna shifted, neither meeting Olivia's eyes.

"On Tuesday. You were gone in the morning, right?" Emma pressed.

Olivia nodded slowly. "Right. I was at the doctor's."

The bubbly girl's eyes lit up like she'd just won the lottery. She practically jumped in place, her hands over her mouth. "Oh. My. Gawd. It is true!"

"Emma..." Chrissy tried. "I don't think... You know..."

"What's true?" Olivia pressed.

"The rumors! Come on, you have to have heard!"

"I haven't, because you still haven't explained what they are." Olivia turned toward Chrissy with exasperation, hoping to get a more clear answer out of the girl. "What rumors?"

She fidgeted nervously. "Well... You went to a party, right? After homecoming? Well, uh, word got around about it... How things got a bit crazy. And the football team. And... Well..."

Chrissy trailed off, her blush deepening so far that she looked sunburned. An ominous feeling washed over Olivia as she remembered all of the odd looks and comments she'd been getting lately. Fortunately, Emma didn't keep her in suspense for much longer.

"You're really pregnant?"

The question was a slap in the face. Olivia froze, the words short-circuiting her brain. A familiar question, one she'd faced with enthusiasm so often in another life. Yet to have it rear its head here and now, of all places...

"That's stupid," she managed, her brain slowly stuttering back to life.

"So it's not true?" Emma pressed.

"No. No, I'm obviously not pregnant." It felt like far too tame a denial for the severity of the allegations. "Emma, I'm fourteen. That's... What in the... I haven't even had sex with anyone, much less at that party."

Not in this life, at least.

"But you were at the doctor." Emma pointed out triumphantly, as though she'd caught Olivia in a contradiction.

"That was for something entirely different. I was getting a blood test, for goodness sakes. And no, that’s not how you test for pregnancy,” Olivia immediately shut down the glittering spark in Emma’s eyes. “Even if me being pregnant was a possibility—which it isn't, not even remotely—the party happened last weekend. A positive result wouldn't show up for another week or two, at minimum. Me going to the doctor for that doesn't make sense. The whole idea is just so... so...."

She was lost for words. Who in their right mind thought so little of spreading such a reality-shattering rumor? This wasn't just a matter of he-said-she-said. The implications, not just for herself, but for the other presumably involved party...

Do kids seriously think so little of consequences? This is the kind of thing that can ruin someone's life, here.

"But the whole band is talking about it," Emma insisted.

She said it as though that fact were enough to turn the baseless bit of gossip into reality all on its own.

"That doesn't mean it's true. Not even close," Olivia countered. "Who started this rumor anyway?"

Emma shrugged. "Who knows? But it's a big deal. Everyone's talking about it. Like, of course I don’t believe it. Obviously. But…"

“Right!” Chrissy jumped in, nodding vigorously. “None of us believe it. Not even a little. Right, Luna?”

Luna nodded mutely, her entire body tense. It looked like she was making an effort not to melt into the grass. But Olivia’s attention remained on Emma. The glimmer of excitement in the girl’s eye never quite left, even after Olivia’s denial. As though the drama of the situation were simply too tantalizing to fully give up on.

Olivia slowly turned to scan the crowd of band kids. Eyes quickly darted away as they met hers, trying to hide how much they'd been paying attention. She wondered how many had been eavesdropping on the exchange.

Her gaze fell upon her section leader. She stood at the other end of the grassy area, a fair bit away from Olivia's own group as she chatted with some of her own cronies. But she fell silent when she noticed Olivia's stare. Her face lit up with barely suppressed glee.

It didn't take a genius to imagine where the rumors may have come from.

Olivia sighed. “You shouldn’t believe it. I told you. It’s literally impossible. For so many reasons.”

“Right! I said I don’t believe it, didn’t I?” Emma said.

“Then why do you look like you want it to be true?”

Emma gave a scandalized gasp. “I don't!"

Olivia shook her head. She felt tired. So, so tired.

She turned and stepped away from the group. Emma called out to her. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

"I need a minute."

She was far too tired to field more of Emma's questions at the moment. Or talk to anyone, for that matter. She simply wanted some time alone.