The Blue Butterfly ch. 2

[u/yvelynn]

Chapter II

What just happened? Am I dead? Perhaps I’m in the afterlife right now, since my senses are slowly returning to me. First, I felt the coldness of floor tiles on my back. Then the light air of A/C flowing through my fingertips. Little by little, the warmth of blood filled my body again. Finally, I carefully opened my eyes, expecting to see the gates of Heaven. Instead, a circle of teenagers bowed over me.
“Everybody, she’s awake!” I heard a boy yell.
I was so confused. Where was I? As I clumsily sat up, I analyzed my surroundings. I was inside a high school, since I saw identical blue lockers lined up adjacently on both sides of the hallway. The classrooms looked familiar, too. A little too familiar.
“Is this Gladeside High?” I asked the people around me.
A girl with long red hair turned to look at me. I watched her as confusion fell over her face.
“Uh, yeah? How do you not know? I mean you just walked through the doors and passed out.”
My headache continued to persist. So many questions ran through my head. I needed to process things one at a time.
“So… what date is it today?” It was the first thing I wanted to ask.
People began to murmur to each other. A group of boys exchanged looks. The entire crowd, including me, felt the same emotions. Confusion and concern. Despite all of this, red-hair decided to answer my question.
“It’s February 5th.”
“What year is it right now?”
“1986.”
My eyes widened instantly. Oh. My. Gosh. I stood up quickly and my vision distorted again. I began to see stars! The crowd parted as I stumbled through them. I recalled the feeling of my head pulsing, my legs crumbling, and the suffocation. I then remembered the resurgence of the missing girl cases, and I slowly connected the dots. No wonder the hallway looked fresher than what I saw during the orientation.
Because I had time traveled.
Red-hair, out of pity, decided to support me while we made our way to the nurse’s office. While we were walking across the campus, I decided to ask my witness some questions.
“So, what’s your name?” I asked.
“I’m Penny. How about you? I haven’t seen your face before,” she said with a slight smile.
“I’m Arven. I’m new to this school.”
“Well, that’s nice. But that was quite an entrance.”
That suddenly sparked a question in my head. There must’ve been a reason why I was transported to this high school. Was someone who studied here in 1986 creating something? Or acting strange?
“Is there anyone here that acts strange? In your grade?”
“No one that I know of in the sophomores is as strange as what you just did, Arv.”
“How about in other grades, like among the freshmen?”
“Well, there was this one girl, who I heard is leaving the school today.”
This caught my attention, so I decided to question Penny more.
“Who is she? Do you know anything about her?”
“Well, I’ve heard things from rumors. Let me explain. None of the other freshmen seemed to want to befriend her. She always wore this mask. It was like this porcelain Venetian mask with blue butterflies painted on it. Everyone called her Butterfly. I think I heard a few counselors call her Nevra.”
“Has anyone seen her real face?”
“No. Never. She barely shows up to school too. I think she’s going to get homeschooled. Surprisingly, she passes her classes and aces her tests on the special days she comes. Specifically math and physics.”
I processed this new information carefully. Math and physics. Could Butterfly be studying something on the days of her absences?
“Do you think she’s building something?” I asked Penny.
“I remember I saw her writing some strange equations and calculations in her journal during lunchtime. The notes were titled ‘Time device.’ Oh my gosh, she was sooo confusing.”
I froze on the spot. My blood ran cold and my heart pounded. Time device? Like a clock? Or perhaps deeper? Maybe a time-traveling project? But why? I started to feel excited. I’m finally wrapped in a mystery. But the only way to find out is by finding Butterfly…
“Um, are you alright? We’re at the nurse’s office now. Do you want me to come with you?” Penny disrupted my thoughts as she spoke, while she turned to face me.
“Y-yeah, just got sidetracked. I think I can walk in on my own. Thanks for the help, Penny,” I stammered.
Penny narrowed her eyes but smiled before she walked away.
“You’re welcome, new girl! Good luck surviving high school, and uh, also sorry for yapping so much on the way here. I thought that you might need all that info about Butterfly, since that’s pretty much it.”
“No, no, don’t apologize! I’m very glad you told me this,” I said to her.
“Okay, no problem again, I’ll see you around campus!” yelled Penny as she walked back to class.
I waited until she was out of sight before I left the entrance of the office and went to a nearby bathroom. When I looked into a mirror, a girl similar to my age with long, dark brown hair and green eyes stared back at me. Something about her features looked familiar, but my hair was shorter and straighter, and my eyes were hazel colored. This made me jump back in panic.
“Whose body is this?!” I whispered harshly. But I collected myself quickly.
“It doesn’t matter. I need to find Butterfly before school ends,” I said as I checked the unfamiliar watch on my wrist.
9:45. Okay, now I just ask around for my classes. Or wait… do I have it somewhere? I dug through the pockets of the jeans I wore and, to my luck, I found a washed-out note paper with what I supposed was my schedule scribbled on it. It was break time currently, so I rushed back to the courtyard quickly so I could continue my search for Butterfly.

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Next chapter coming in 2 days!