Read Becoming A Butterfly (The Butterfly Chronicles) for Free Online Page B

7
    I sat in my dad’s Cadillac sedan and watched Henry pace in front of the entrance. I looked at my red wig, red lips and terrified brown contact-ed eyes in the rearview mirror. I twisted my scarf around in my finger. Henry looked at the digital clock on the movie board and surveyed the parking lot again. I couldn’t go through with it. With a sigh, I resigned myself to my fate. I dug into my dad’s glove compartment, found a napkin, and I wiped my lips clean. Then I removed the contacts, replaced them with my new black-rimmed glasses, and took off the wig. I laid it on the passenger seat so it wouldn’t get too messed up. Then I took off the shrug and scarf I wore and Lacey’ed up my outfit, putting my hoodie back on. I put on clear lip gloss and got out of the car. I walked across the parking lot toward Henry. About halfway, someone fell into step beside me. Chase.
     
    “ Hey, Lacey,” he said, as if he were bored to death.
     
    “ Hi, Chase,” I said, digging my hands into my hoodie pockets.
     
    “ Meeting your friends for a movie?” We stepped up onto the sidewalk together.
     
    “ Kind of.” He nodded and kept pace with me. We walked to Henry, and he smiled recognition.
     
    “ Hey,” he exclaimed as he and Chase did a fist bump. “What are you guys doing here?”
     
    “ Catching the latest Staten movie; it’s going to kick ass!” Chase answered, more animatedly than I’d ever seen him.
     
    “ Me too. I’m just waiting for my date.” Henry looked at the clock again.
     
    “ About that,” I interjected quietly. They both turned their attention to me as if only just noticing that I was still there. I continued, “Farrah wanted me to tell you she was sorry, but she couldn’t catch a ride up.” I avoided all eye contact.
     
    “ Oh. Why didn’t she just text me?” Henry asked. That was a good question.
     
    “ I’m not sure. Maybe she was embarrassed; she just asked me to come over here and tell you,” I answered—too fast.
     
    “ Well, since we’re all here, let’s just go in and enjoy the movie,” Chase said, opening the door.
     
    “ I wasn’t going to stay,” I said, looking for my escape to the parking lot. I had only planned to tell Henry and go back home. There was a tub of Ben and Jerry’s late night snack with my name on it. “But you guys enjoy yourselves; do some male bonding or whatever you guys do during action flicks.” I took a step backwards.
     
    “ No, it’s OK. I think company is just what ole’ Henry needs since his girl stood him up,” Chase said, patting him on the shoulder. Henry blushed and looked down at his shuffling feet. Then he looked up at me through his long bangs, which he brushed to the side, only to instantly fall back in his face.
     
    “ Sure.” How could I resist those eyes? He smiled a sad smile, and we followed Chase inside. He walked up to the ticket window and said, “Three tickets for Stolen Artifact , eight p.m. showing please.” Henry and I both objected immediately, but he held up his hand, his eyes on me, and said, “I think I’ll get my money’s worth.” We went to the concession stand. I bought a coke and small popcorn, which were huge, and I had a hard time balancing. Chase grabbed my popcorn and led us to the theater. It was a large theater with comfy seats. We followed him up the stairs, and he paused in the middle.
     
    “ This looks about right.” He nodded and walked down the aisle. Henry held his hand out to me, and I reluctantly followed Chase. When we sat down, I realized I was smack dab in the middle.
     
    I turned to Henry and asked, “Do you want to trade me spots?” He looked at me, confused, then simply shook his head. I eyed Chase, contemplating asking him, but there was no way I wasn’t going to sit by Henry, guilty conscious or not. Chase gave me a tight smile, winked at me, and settled in with my popcorn. I slouched back, put my Con’d feet up on the seat in front of me and leaned away from