Chapter Text
Jimmy turned around in his seat, looking at Shrub. “So, how was your date?” he asked, a smile on his face.
Shrub grinned. “Eeeee, it was so good. She told me I was good at art, you guys. And she said she would try and change the label on the fungi section at the library so it didn’t say that fungi were a type of plants. And she’s really pretty too. And she likes flowers. And... I don’t know but she’s amazing.”
Scott laughed, keeping his eyes on the road. “I’m glad you had a good time, Shrub. You can tell us everything after the movie, sound good?”
She smiled. “Yeah, yeah that sounds good! We can go to my house if you want, I have those snacks you like.”
---
“Guys, you don’t get it, she’s just so cool.”
Lizzie laughed. “We know, Katherine. You’ve told us. Many times. Many, many times.”
Katherine just brushed her off. “And I will continue to do so. Because she is so cool. Have you seen her art? I’m pretty sure she painted the set pieces for the play last year. They were so pretty, right?”
The pink-haired girl just laughed again. “Yes, they were.” She turned to the boy sitting next to her. “Joel, can you maybe let Katherine know that we are aware of how cool Shrub is?”
“I think we’ve both told her enough. At this point its pretty much hopeless.”
“Okay, okay. We get it, I think she’s cool. Sue me.” Katherine glared at them. “It’s not like you two are any better,” she muttered under her breath.
“What?”
She grinned. “Nothing.”
—
Shrub took a deep breath, and walked into the classroom. The art classroom at Empires Academy was one of her favorite places in the entire world. There were tall tables and stools spattered with paint scattered around, with shelves lining the wall, stacks upon stacks of paper piled on the shelves, and canvases resting against the wall.
The art teacher let Shrub stay after school most days and do homework for other classes, or just use the supplies they had available. So yeah, it was one of Shrub’s favorite places, and where she spent most of her time.
Art class itself was pretty easy, and as long as you did the work you passed. Shrub usually just stared out the window and thought about, well, whatever. Or she stared at the people around her. And she's not gonna lie, Katherine was someone who...wasn’t unpleasant to look at.
But today, Shrub could actually talk to her. Which was a little weird to think about, but she wasn’t complaining. As soon as she walked in the door, Katherine waved her over to her table.
“Shrub, hey!”
The shorter girl smiled, walked over and sat down next to Katherine.
“Hi! How was the rest of your weekend?”
“It was good! And guess what?” Katherine looked excited.
“What?” Shrub replied.
Her smile grew wider. “I talked to Lily, and they said they would let me change the fungi section’s label at the library! And I have work today, which means I can do it right away!”
“Oh that's absolutely fantastic news. This disinformation will no longer be spread!”
Katherine giggled. “You have done this world a great service, you should feel proud.”
“I do, I do. I would like to thank you, and my dogs, and not Jimmy and Scott because they never listen when I go on rants about how fungi aren’t plants.”
“How dare they?” Katherine gasped.
Shrub nodded solemnly. “Exactly my point. So now they don’t get thanked in my acceptance speech.”
Before their conversation could continue, however, the final bell rang and the teacher called for quiet. Today they were working on their independent projects. Shrub had decided to do a painting of a fantasy-esque landscape, with castles and all sorts of mythical creatures. Katherine, on the other hand, had opted for a sculpture of a hand holding a lilac. Her plan was to glaze it a pale purple afterward, but she wasn't quite there yet.
The two girls worked side by side for the entire class period, talking and laughing. The time passed quickly, and before they knew it the bell was ringing.
“Ah, this is gonna take forever to wash off.” Katherine looked at her hands, which were still covered in clay.
Shrub looked over and laughed. “How about you go wash your hands, and I’ll clean up the table. Sounds good?"
Katherine smiled gratefully. “Yes, thank you.”
They quickly washed up and put their projects away, and then headed out the door.
“So, where do you usually eat lunch?” Katherine asked.
“Oh, I usually just eat with Jimmy and Scott out front, but they have to go to a meeting for the drama club I think, though I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Well, would you maybe wanna eat with me, Joel, and Lizzie?”
“Yeah, sure, that sounds fun!”
Katherine grinned. “Okay, well, we usually eat in the cafeteria, or sometimes we’ll head down to The Crystal Cafe.” She glanced out the window at the rain outside. “Probably just stay here today, though.”
“Okay, cool! I’m gonna go drop my stuff in my locker, and then I’ll meet you guys there!” Shrub turned and turned down the hallway towards the junior’s lockers. “See you in a minute!” she called over her shoulder.
Katherine waved after her until she vanished into the crowd. Then she turned and almost sprinted down the hall towards the cafeteria. As soon as she entered the room, she scanned it for Lizzie and Joel. Seeing them at their usual table, she rushed over. Breathing heavily, she threw her backpack down on the chair.
“Guys! ShrubisgonnaeatlunchwithustodayandImpanickinghelp!”
Joel looked at her in confusion. “What did you just say?” He turned to Lizzie. “What did she just say?”
“Shrub is gonna eat lunch with us today and she’s panicking, help,” Lizzie said, not looking up from her phone.
“Oh. Cool.” Joel looked back at Katherine. “Do you want to sit down?”
Katherine sat down next to Lizzie. “Guys I don’t think you understand. Did you not hear? Shrub is gonna eat lunch with us.”
Lizzie looked up. “Yes, we heard. But unlike you, we know that everything's gonna be fine.”
“I-”
“Lemme guess, she’s so cool and you’re worrying that you’ll mess up and say something weird. Or that she’ll decide she doesn’t actually like you.” Lizzie put down her phone and placed her hands on Katherine’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You are a great person. She’s not gonna hate you for one dumb thing you say, I promise. Shrub clearly likes you. And you like her. So... just take a few deep breaths, okay? It’ll be fine."
Katherine took a deep breath. “Okay.” She smiled at Lizzie. “Thanks.”
Lizzie smiled back. “Hey, no problem.”
“Now, if you could only take your own advice-” Lizzie glared at her. “Okay, okay. I’m just saying.”
Before Lizzie could reply, Shrub sat down next to Katherine. The other two girls had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn’t noticed her walk into the room.
“Hi! How are you guys?”
“I’m good, thanks for asking. What about you Joel?”
Joel looked up. “Huh?”
Lizzie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Shrub asked how we were.” she said fondly.
“Oh, sorry. I’m doing pretty good, how about you?”
“I’m doing really well, actually! My painting in art class is going really well, I can probably finish it by the end of the week! And Katherine’s sculpture is coming along really well too!”
Katherine blushed. “Oh, well I wouldn’t say that. The anatomy of a hand is, like, the worst thing ever. And I am not very good at art, so I am struggling to say the least.”
“C’mon, yours looks great! Stop selling yourself short, okay? It’s just not finished yet, it’ll turn out amazing, I promise you.”
Her face turned even redder, and she smiled at Shrub. “O-oh. Thank you.”
Lizzie caught her eye and shot her a look that said, “ see, I told you so! ”
Katherine ignored her. Instead she turned her attention to her sandwich. Everyone at the table followed her example, starting to eat their lunches. Their conversation evolved from there, and they kept talking until the bell rang.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly, with both Katherine and Shrub just going through the motions. They didn’t have any other classes together besides art, so the rest of their days remained virtually unchanged.
After the last class of the day, which was math for Katherine, she headed to her locker. To her surprise, Shrub was already there.
“Hi! I thought that maybe I could walk you to the library, since you said you had work today?”
“Yeah, I’d really like that! Lemme just grab the rest of my stuff, then we can head out!”
As they left the school building Katherine noticed that the rain had stopped. It wasn’t exactly sunny, but not cloudy either. Good weather to walk in, she decided.
Suddenly, Shrub spotted a lilac in a flowerbed outside the school. Rushing over, she quickly plucked one from the bush it was on. It was a small flower, not yet done growing but still beautiful.
“Here,” Shrub said as she handed it to Katherine. “It’s just like your sculpture, see?”
“Oh, it's so pretty. That’s my favorite color, you know.” Katherine tucked it into her hair. “I’ll press it when I get home, it's too pretty to just let die.”
Shrub smiled, and the two girls walked to the library, laughing and smiling the whole way.