Tragedy ✔️

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty: The Start Of A Friendship
Sophia Crawford

“Wow.” River mutters under his breath. “You really went all out for something as little as a damn butterfly.” River crosses his arms over his chest, leaning down so he can take a better look at the habitat I built for the caterpillar.

The tomato cage was basic; it was just a small and simple netting cage with a zip opening to feed the caterpillar.  The entire cage was completely see-through so you can keep track of the caterpillar—when he eats, when he moves and if he’s still alive.

Inside the tomato cage, there were beautiful milkweed plants—and according to research it states that it’s the only plant wherein a monarch butterfly would lay its eggs—and it also happens to be the only plant they really enjoy to eat.

I added some daisies—stolen from my grandmother’s little garden up front that wasn’t completely covered with snow and manages to survive the cold conditions by some miracle—and used it to decorate the caterpillar’s cage just a little bit so he can enjoy the view while he changes.

Yes, it has been snowing. Since the party’s downpour, the season slowly started to change, and a week later, we have found ourselves in a thin layer of snow.

“It’s a caterpillar.” I correct him, feeling a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. It surprised be that River loved the habitat I made for the caterpillar, so it was a start into a great friendship because River rarely liked anything, if ever.

He rolls his eyes at me and looks at the daisies I placed inside the cage for decoration. “You really want to pass this class, don’t you?” He asks, still looking at the cage’s contents.

“No,” I tell him, “I was bored so I actually made an effort, unlike you. You did, after all, leave me to do this entire thing myself before you decided to step in.”

He nods in approval, standing up straight again. “It’s nice. Better than what I could have done, actually. Mr Ryan chose my partner really well.” He smiles.

I was staring at him wide eyed. River can actually be nice when he wanted to?

But then again, he did save my life just the other day, so I think he was counting his words carefully. Not that he really needed to. What happened at the party was something I would really want to forget.

He was right the other day when he said that moments of weakness can happen to everybody. It happened to me, and it just had to happen while he was running after me.

“Stop looking at me like I’ve grown another set of eyes.” He says, catching me off guard.

I feel my cheeks redden, but shrug it off like it was nothing. “I am just not used to you saying anything nice.” I tell him honestly. “It’s starting to become a habit.” I walk around the cage, admiring my work. “I hope this sudden niceness has nothing to do with the fact that you think I’m a walking time bomb.”