The Butterfly Defect

Chapter One

Foreword:

This novel follows the story of two people; Alice and Destery. Their fates are intertwined and each action they do, has a reaction on the other.  Warning: some of the chapters may be triggering or upsetting. I do not promote, or recommend suicide or self harm in any way. You are all beautiful, please remember that even when your night is darkest. This is my first novel, so I’m quite nervous. Please tell me what you think, and I would like some constructive criticism if you have the time. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to post  this, as I originally wrote it without any intention on posting it.

Chapter One

Alice Cavanaugh was like a ray of sunshine. From her long, golden hair to her radiant smile, Alice was beautiful.  Her life was perfect; she went to a prestigious boarding school in the English countryside, her family was wealthy, and she had handfuls of boys chasing after her.  Alice got whatever her heart desired five minutes before she even wanted it.

Today was the first day of the new school year for Brighton Academy.  Every year, the academy accepted three commoners into the school, if they were smart enough to get a scholarship. These three students were always looked down upon as filth, unless they were good looking or talented. Alice was one of the wealthiest and popular students enrolled into the Academy. Her father was a major sponsor for all of the school events, which made Alice a favourite among the teachers.

Alice finished curling her hair, and looked at herself in the mirror. She was satisfied with her appearance. She was curvy, but that’s the way she liked it.  She took a deep breath and smiled her infamous smile. “Today will be a good day.” She told herself, as she walked out of her dorm room to find her best friend, Elizabeth.

Alice spotted Elizabeth in the Grand Hall. It wasn’t hard to spot her, as usual. Elizabeth, or Beth as she liked to be called, was a tom boy. Her hair was short and edgy and easy to spot among the crowd of sophisticated young ladies. Beth was talking to a boy Alice didn’t recognize. He had blonde hair that flipped over his face, and a black lip piercing.

‘Great,’ Alice thought, ‘Beth is befriending the freak of the school. I should tell her to stay away before it does damage to her reputation.’

The school bell interrupted her thoughts. Over the winter break she had forgotten how loud and irritating the sound of the school bell was. She sighed, and took her seat at the table.

She glanced over at the new boy. There was something about him she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He was clearly one of the scholarship students. His uniform was tatty, and clearly second-hand. He was the sort Alice would never even dream of associating with. But, there was something intriguing about him and she wanted to know more.

Beth noticed her looking at the new boy and winked.

‘Oh, god.   Beth thinks I like him.’ Alice thought as Beth wandered her way over to her.

“He’s a looker, ain’t he?” She whispered excitedly. Alice nodded absent-mindedly. If she knew anything about Beth, it was that it’s best not to disagree with her, let alone interrupt her fangirling.

“Oh come on. I saw how you were looking at him. Call me crazy, but you’ve already got a thing for him.” Beth accused her, staring right into her bright blue eyes.

“You’re crazy.” Alice laughed. But she couldn’t help but question herself.

                                                                                ~~~

The first period of the day was always torture. Especially on the first day back.  Mr Walters was anything but interesting. Almost everyone had zoned out within the first 10 minutes of his lecture using his infamous monotone voice. 

The heavy wooden door creaked open and the new kid slipped in, trying to not make a scene. His eyes scoped the room, as he looked for an available seat.

“Excuse me, but who might you be?” Mr Walters demanded. “Brighton Academy takes on only the brightest, the fastest and well, the wealthiest students in all of the United Kingdom. I highly doubt you would be enrolled.”  You could say that he was well known for his pride in the Academy.

The boy’s eyes went wide, as if he was shocked at the rudeness of the teacher. 

“My name is Destery Trevelyan. Check it.” He snapped back, and dropped his books onto a vacant desk near the back of the room. Everyone stared as if there were a zebra in the room. Everybody at the school was so obedient and respectful. Destery’s behaviour was a completely new concept for them. Of course, Brighton students did get detention. But for small things, like smuggling food from the dining hall into the dormitories. 

Mr Walters’ eyes scanned the roll, and nodded in disbelief when he saw Destery’s name at the bottom of the list.

“Ah, a scholarship child.” He muttered to himself, but loud enough for the whole class to hear. Nobody knew if that was his intention, as even the teachers knew that scholarship students weren’t treated as equals.  The students whispered to each other, and some pointed at Destery.

“Look what he’s wearing!” A girl with freckles and long brown hair exclaimed. “It looks like his cat ate it and  then projectile vomited it onto him!”

The class laughed loudly, as Destery stood in the limelight.

“Don’t just stand there, boy. Sit down.” Mr Walters hissed. Destery pulled out the chair that was tucked into the desk, and sat down carelessly.

“Not there.” The harsh teacher complained. There was nothing wrong with where he sat, but Mr Walters was determined to make the class a living hell for him.

“Sit at the front… next to…” He paused, deciding who would be made to sit next to the squalid boy. “…Alice.”

Alice was rather against the idea. “But sir, Beth is sitting next to me.” She objected.

“Oh, it’s alright. I’ll move.” Beth winked at Alice, reaching for her own books.

Destery grunted, but complied.

He sat down, and pulled out a book and buried himself in it  until the bell rang to announce that class was over. He stood up and reached for his pencil case. Alice watched, as Destery outstretched his arm. His sleeve pulled up; not much, but enough for Alice to see something that she had never seen before, that she didn’t believe existed in real life.