Butterfly Butterfly 3/6/68

Chapter 1: The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo

Chapter 1.

The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo

"Aponicho, are you even listening?" Lexi asked me.

"I geuss not, sorry," I said rubbing the back of my head in embaressment.

"Seriously, you're so absent minded sometimes." She said with a pout.

"Sorry," I said again, "Forgive me?"

This always worked, "Okay," she said after a fake moment of consideration.

I smiled as if it were the best thing in the world to be forgiven, "So what are were you talking about?"

"I was talking about the school legend, duh!" She said rolling her eyes.

"Okay, this is about a girl that went here fourty years ago with a purple butterfly tattoo on her left shoulder right?" I said.

"Hm hm," she said, "Except the tattoo was blue."

"Seriously?"

"Joking! It was purple and blue with green tips." She said sticking her tounge out.

"So what happened to her?" I asked kind of intriuged.

"Her mother was murdered while she was at school one day and she vansihed into thin air the next day right in the class room. No one remembers her name though and the teachers won't fess up when the students ask. Apparently the whole thing is kind of shush shush." She said putting her finger to her lips.

"Woah, this school is pretty cool." I said writing the details of this school legend down. I'd been researching school legends and so far this was the coolest.

There's quite a few odd rumors surounding Monarch Junior High. Like kids disapearing on there way home and showing up to school days later not even knowing they'd been gone. The class butterfly cycle project turning up blue and green monarchs. Then after all those weird things was the Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo. She's a big mystery around this school. The teachers won't deny she existed but won't tell us what happened to her either. Apparently it is all very hush hush indeed.

The school day was over so we walked outside along the flower lined pathway. As usual butterflies of all types are drawn to me and some land on my shoulder or in my hair.

"You're so lucky! Butterflies love you. You should so tell me your secret sometime." Lexi said.

"No secret," I said shooing one out of my face, "It's not as great as it seems. Hey! Think I'll be school legends as the butterfly magnet?" I joked.

Lexi laughed, "Maybe," she said.

"Bye!" We called to each other as we split up. I get so caught up in my thoughts of the school paper I don't notice I'm at the wrong house until I try the door knob. I look up to see a large house not unlike the one I was living alone in except the downstairs tenants that fed me and took care of me. This one was painted a faded dusty blue while mine was white just like everyone elses. The shutters are falling off and the house gives off an air of abandonment. It makes my skin crawl just looking at it. No one has lived here in a long time obviously.

I look but there's no 'For Sale' sign in the front yard. There was no condemed paper on the front door. The house is simply empty in a living neighborhood that's quite busy. I'd never noticed it before.

Something in the grass caught my eye. I jumped off the porch to get a closer look and saw a old barbie doll abandoned there. The grass had kept it in reletivly good condition. It had green hair and a pair of brittle plastic butterfly wings on it's back. The dress was rotted beyond regonition but I somehow knew it has once been purple and blue with a pink flower on the pocket and there'd been sparkles. My knowlege of the barbie creeped me out but I put it in my bag and went home.