The Magnolia and the Moth
by
Owlcroft
Beetlejuice had begun taking Lydia to school during her last semester. He always arranged for them to appear around the corner from the entrance to Miss Shannon's so no one could see them; then he escorted his fiancée to the school door, where they exchanged a good-bye kiss. On a day late in March, Beetlejuice had his arm around Lydia to shield her from the biting wind as they walked up the steps of the entrance and it was too late to do anything about that when they both realized there were people watching them through the glass front door.
Miss Edwards, the Phys. Ed. teacher lifted an eyebrow at the twosome, but said nothing. Claire Brewster sniffed haughtily and stalked off, the very portrait of affront. Beetlejuice shrugged at Lydia and held out a hand for her to shake, which made her laugh and kiss him good-bye despite the audience.
Once he'd departed, Lydia turned to Miss Edwards and waved her left hand adorned with the ruby engagement ring. "Less than three months to the wedding, you know."
Her teacher smiled just a bit. "Yes, but discretion is something we try to teach here as well as the usual classes." She waved Lydia off as the warning bell rang and craned her neck to watch the odd person who had escorted her as he rounded the corner. Then she shrugged. Chacun à son goût was her motto.
ooooo
That lunchtime, things got a little tense. Claire spent the entire forty-five minutes talking as loudly as she could, mostly about people who were so desperate to be liked that they associated with various misfits, freaks, and the ugliest people ever seen.
Lydia, sitting with Bertha and Prudence, mostly managed to ignore it. As she left the dining hall, she paused only briefly beside the table that Claire was presiding over to say, "Poor Claire. Nobody loves you, maybe because you don't love anybody else. That's really very sad and I'm sorry for you."
Claire and her coterie were stunned into silence and could only gape after Lydia as she left.
When Beetlejuice met her that afternoon and took her books from her, he asked (as he always did), "So how was your day, Lyds?"
She sighed. "Claire had something to say after seeing you this morning. Nothing important, though. Just the usual Nose-in-the-Air Claire."
"You want me to make sure she has her daily juice?" He grinned at her, shifting the books to his other side so he could put an arm around Lydia's shoulders.
"No. It's tempting but," Lydia patted the hand holding her, "I think I was mean enough for both of us. I told I was sorry for her because nobody loves her."
"Ooh, that had to sting." Beetlejuice gave her a quick squeeze. "Let's go get your homework done so we can have some fun, babes."
ooooo
The next day, Claire arrived at school flaunting a glamorous diamond bracelet 'given to me by my parents who adore me, just for being, like, the very best daughter in the whole wide world'. She gleefully obliged anyone who wanted a closer look at it and preened herself throughout the day, basking in the admiration of just about the entire school but particularly her own clique.
Unfortunately for her, her mother showed up early that afternoon to retrieve her missing bracelet and shriek at Claire for having taken it. Claire was called to Miss Shannon's office, but apparently 'Mumsy' couldn't wait to confront her daughter, so a screaming match, audible to the entire school, took place in the hallway outside Miss Shannon's door. It ended with both participants storming outside, still screeching venomously at each other. Miss Shannon appeared in the hall, holding her hand to her forehead, and immediately declared classes were over for the day.
Lydia left the building slowly, looking thoughtful. She trudged to the only tree in front of the school and leaned against it, eyes closed, waiting until Beetlejuice came to get her.
"Babes, why didn't you Call me if you got out early? I thought I'd surprise you by being here first for once." He frowned when he saw her expression.
She greeted him with a kiss and handed over her books when he reached for them. "I just . . . I guess I wanted to try to, I don't know, cheer up a little before you got here. There was quite a scene today and it was partly my fault."
Beetlejuice looked at her again, checked to be sure they were completely unobserved, and took Lydia to her bedroom. Once there, he put her books on her desk, sat her down on the edge of her bed and (in his very best Lydia impersonation) said, "Okay. Explain."
Lydia smiled ruefully. "It was Claire again. Of course." She sighed. "I guess what I said yesterday really got under her skin because she felt she had to prove to everyone that she is loved. So she took one of her mother's diamond bracelets and wore it to school and told everyone that it was a gift from her adoring parents." She reached for Beetlejuice's hand and pulled him down to sit next to her. "Then her mother showed up saying Claire had taken it without permission and they yelled at each other for a long time and we could all hear exactly what they were saying. What they were screaming. It was embarrassing, but it was also really sad. Really . . . pathetic." Lydia sighed again.
Beetlejuice scrunched his face up sideways. "She's always been really pathetic, babes. But that's not your fault."
"But this must've happened because of what I said to her yesterday. I should have just let it go; it's just Claire being Claire." Lydia shook her head sadly.
"Babes, no. You're blaming yourself for something you didn't cause. You didn't make her the kind of person she is." He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "She's the one who did something wrong, not you. And if all you did was say what you did to her and that made her steal something, then that's her fault."
"The thing is I was actually being honest when I said it. I do feel sorry for her. With no one who loves her, how could she ever be happy?" She shook the hand she was still holding back and forth a little. "Look what you did for me. You changed me into someone who has friends, is happy, has a future."
"Nah, c'mon. You did all that yourself. You were like a . . . a bud, a magnolia bud that already had everything you'd be inside it. When you blossomed, you were all creamy white and pink with a golden center like the sun." Beetlejuice winced and shuddered. "I can't believe I just said that." He half-closed his eyes and glared at her. "You're a bad influence on me."
She gave him the laugh he was after and settled herself closer to him. "If we're allowed to be sappy, then you were the earth and the wind and the sun that caused me to blossom. You gave me the confidence and support I needed –"
"To be what you should be, what you were always meant to be. I was just standing next to you when it all happened."
Lydia gave him an affectionate frown. "All right then, if you won't take any of the credit I'll think of a nature metaphor for you." She lowered her brows and thought for a few seconds, then said, "You were like a big colorful caterpillar that turned –"
"I am not a butterfly!" His look was extremely offended.
"No," she agreed. "You're a moth. A luna moth, really unusual and . . . and striking. People are always aware of you, admiring you. You're rare and special. And you're beautiful."
Beetlejuice whined slightly, shaking his head. "I will never get used to that. Babes, you're beautiful; I'm . . . studly, with masculine good looks and an amazing physique." He ran his free hand through his mane of hair and struck a pose.
"Hmm," said Lydia with a bland look. "Well, I think you're studly, but I remember you dancing with a warlock who thought you were beautiful, Beatrice."
"What?" He thought for a few seconds, then remembered the Witches Ball from a few years before and squinched his eyes shut in chagrin. "Oh, that. Babes, I told you it wasn't what you thought! I mean, we were just trying to rescue Percy, right? Do whatever it took?"
Lydia chuckled at his discomfort. "Well, you made a perfectly fine witch, but you'll always be a beautiful luna moth to me."
"You know, I'm only going to let you get away with calling me that," he nudged her with his shoulder, "because you're my best bud."