Fly Butterfly, Fly.

When Aria got on the bus that morning she thought she might throw up. She had never been on the bus before. It was a new day.

She lifted her sparkly pink shoe onto the first step. Then the next. She kept going until she was right in front of the bus driver. The man held up his hand and waved at her.

“Hello Miss Aria,” he said with a smile “You are my newest passenger, and I am so glad to meet you. Is everything ok? You look a little nervous.”

“I am just a little bit scared. My mom always drove me to school before,” she said.

“Sometimes new things can be scary. Let’s see if we can make the drive to school a little fun. Do you like music?” Mr. Tom asked. Aria nodded her head. She loved music! Singing and dancing were two of her favorite things. “Great!” Mr. Tom said happily. “Take a seat and buckle up kiddo. You’re the last pickup, so we’re going to head to the school now.”

Aria turned to look down the path between the seats. It went on forever and there were lots of other kids. She took a few small steps forward. Then she shook her head, stomped her foot, and whispered to herself, “I’m brave. I can do this!”

She walked between the rows of seats and chose to sit next to a girl with blue hair and braids. The girl looked at Aria and smiled.

“Hi! I’m Ava,” she said. “What’s your name?” The girl was so friendly that Aria liked her already.

“Hi! I’m Aria,” she said.

Ava stuck out her hand. Aria took it and they shook hands. “Aria and Ava. I like that! I think we’re gonna be really great friends!” Ava said.

“I like it too,” Aria said. “Thanks for being so nice!”

“You’re welcome! It’s easy to be nice to other nice people,” Ava said.

“That’s true,” Aria said. “Um, I really love your hair.”

“Thanks!” Ava said back. “I really love your hair too.”

“Thanks!” The two girls were becoming fast friends.

The bus drove forward and one of Aria’s favorite country songs came on. She hummed the song. Then she quietly sang. Before she knew it everyone around her was singing. Even Mr. Tom.

They all sang and sang as the bus made its way to the school. Before long, pretty rainbows floated in the air, and music notes covered in glitter danced inside them. Aria was surprised, but no one else seemed to notice.

“Do you see that?” Aria said to Ava. Ava nodded.

“I see it! Welcome to the music man’s school bus,” Ava said while she danced in her seat. Suddenly the seat belts disappeared and everyone on the bus stood up. Aria was worried about safety, but Ava reached out and took her hand. “It’s ok!” she shouted over the music. “We get to do this every morning! I’m usually the last stop before school, but now it’s you. Isn’t this fun?”

A disco ball lowered from the ceiling. The whole bus was having a dance party! Aria knew how to bust a move and joined right in. “So fun!” she shouted.

They danced until the next song came on, which was a beat that Aria recognized. She didn’t know all the words, though. A big microphone came out of the middle of the floor and a tall boy in the front of the bus walked over to it. He sang right into the mic. He was so good at singing. Aria was super impressed.

“He’s so good!” Aria said to Ava.

“That’s R.J.,” she said. “He’s in a band.”

“Wow!”

R.J. handed the microphone to a girl who was much smaller than him. She wasn’t as good, but everyone on the bus cheered her on anyway. It was a good feeling to see so many other kids being nice. It made her heart happy.

A loud noise came from outside. Aria ran to the windows and saw colorful wings growing out of the sides of the bus. Butterfly wings.

“Ava look!” she pointed out the window.

“Get ready to fly,” Ava sang to her.

“Attention kiddos,” Mr. Tom said over the loudspeaker. “It’s time for the song. You know how it goes. Let’s show our newest passenger how it’s done.”

Bright blue letters magically appeared in the air and Aria sang, “Fly butterfly and spread your wings. Help us think of happy things. Fly butterfly and spread your wings. Bring us joy with the words we sing!”

Aria touched her arm with her hand. Her skin started to tickle. She looked out the window and saw they were flying. She expected to tumble around, but her feet had no problem staying where they belonged. Her mom would never believe this one.

“Come on Aria!” Ava said and waved her to the front of the bus. “Pick your color!”

Aria watched as a bunch of brightly colored buttons popped up on the dash of the bus. R.J. was at the front of the line. He walked up, pushed a silver button, and then went to the back of the bus. When he turned back around something had changed. He had turned silver!

“What the…” Aria said. “Hey, Ava did you see…” her mouth fell open in an “o” shape. Ava had turned blue. “You look like a blueberry!”

“Isn’t it so cool? I match my hair! You pick next,” Ava said.

Aria picked bright pink, which was her mom’s favorite color. She couldn’t believe that she was pink all over. Even her fingernails were pink!

They continued to dance and sing together. Every kid was a different color of the rainbow, and it was beautiful. Aria never thought riding the bus would be this fun.

“We’re getting close to the school now,” Mr. Tom said. “Back to your seats, please.”

Aria was disappointed, but Ava seemed even more excited. When they got to their seats there were still no seatbelts. Instead, there was a metal bar hanging above their heads. Ava sat down and patted the seat next to her. Aria sat too. Ava reached up and pulled the bar down. It reminded Aria of the rides she sometimes went on at the fair.

“Hello, my colorful caterpillars,” Mr. Tom said. “We are above the school. Who’s going to pull the lever today?”

“Aria is!” Ava shouted. Everyone cheered except for Aria. She felt nervous again. “It’s ok. I promise it will be just as fun. Get your booty up there, girl!” Ava started chanting Aria’s name and everyone else on the bus joined in. They were rooting for her.

Aria walked to the front of the bus. Mr. Tom pushed a button and a red lever rose from the floor. It stopped when it reached her height.

“Go ahead and pull the lever, Miss Aria,” Mr. Tom said. She did.

As soon as Aria let go, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Everyone laughed. She covered her mouth with her hands but her eyes were still surprised. The outside of the bus had disappeared! They were floating around the clouds in just their seats.

The butterfly wings were still doing their job, thank goodness. Aria watched them move up and down. They had to be strong to hold a bus with a bunch of kids in it.

“Come on Aria we’re gonna be late,” Ava said from the back of the bus.

Aria hurried back to her seat and Ava pulled the metal bar back over them. Aria giggled. Her heart was beating so fast. They were almost as high up as an airplane.

“Hang on tight kiddos!” shouted Mr. Tom, and down they went.

The bus tipped forward and Aria felt the wind blow through her bright pink hair. They flew through clouds and passed big birds. They went so fast that she screamed in her excitement. It was almost like the ground was flying and the bus was standing still!

When they landed the walls and ceiling of the bus looked normal again. The seatbelts were back, too. Mr. Tom drove into the school parking lot and lined up with the other buses. Aria noticed she was still pink, though, which was weird.

The kids stood, and when they did Aria realized they everyone had their own set of butterfly wings. She reached over her shoulder and felt for her own. Her fingers felt something soft. She had grown wings, too! Amazed, Aria walked to the front of the bus the same way the others had.

When she reached the front Mr. Tom said, “Congratulations, Aria. Today you got your wings. When you leave this bus, you won’t see them, but remember them. Remember that when you first got on this bus you were nervous and scared, but you were brave and did the scary thing anyway. These wings are proof that you can do amazing things. Even if sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Ok?” Aria nodded. “I hope you have a magical day, Miss Aria,” Mr. Tom said.

“Thanks, Mr. Tom! You have a magical day too!” Aria high-fived her new favorite bus driver and bounced down the stairs.

When her sparkly pink shoes touched the ground everything went back to normal. She felt for her wings but just like Mr. Tom had said, they were gone. Her hand felt for them over her shoulder, and for a moment, she thought she felt something soft. Maybe it was a trick in her mind. Maybe it wasn't. Either way, Aria knew that she would always remember her wings.

Because they were special. Just like her.

Did you enjoy this tale? Send your comments to the author at: tales@authorkatejohnston.com

Copyright © 2024 by Kate Johnston

All rights reserved.

"Fly Butterfly, Fly." is a Campfire Tales installment, which is a branch of Tales at Twilight specially dedicated to kids. The author always recommends that parents/guardians read these tales before sharing them with their children. Thank you for reading a bit of Friday fun! See you next week.