Young Writers Society

A man sitting across from them had noticed what was going on and asked Olive if she was okay.

Julie, in the aisle seat, had said it was Olive’s first time flying.

The man had explained that he was an engineer and that he worked on planes.

“He told me all about how planes worked, and reassuring me how safe we really were. He just, really put me at ease.” She says the man, ostensibly trying to get her mind off of her fear, asked what they were up to in Los Angeles.

Olive got shy and only said that their family was going on vacation. Julie cut in, explaining the reason for their trip.

The man’s eyes widened, said that was really cool, and wished them luck.

At that point, the plane was getting ready to take off.

“He gave me this reassuring look,” Olive remembers. “It was scary at first, but I held onto the seat, and we were in the air. Flying. And it was okay. I don’t even remember that man’s name. But that’s always going to stick with me.”

In fourth period History, she sat next to fellow senior Joan Rooney. Other than their age and natural charisma that made the both of them stars, the girls had little in common on the surface. Tall and with short, dark brown hair and freckles, Joan immediately stood out in whatever room that she was in. Born on September 7th, 1973, she’d been attending Brookland Academy since the start of junior high. She’d lived in Los Angeles her whole life, and her father, Michael Rooney, had been a line producer on a series of popular movies and shows. Her mother was the acclaimed British actress Sheila Taylor. She’d grown up spending summers on the East Coast, taking extravagant trips, and spending time on film sets. It was a charmed head start for their daughter, who had aspirations to be an actress herself.

It was a far cry from Olive’s working-class upbringing. Still, on that first day, there was something that drew the two of them together. “By the start of senior year, I’d known most of the girls I was at school with. It was kind of rare to have someone new transfer just for their last year. I thought she needed a friend,” Joan, now living in Connecticut, recalls. So, as the class was getting ready to start, she’d introduced herself and asked Olive if she was the new girl.

“That’s me,” Olive said nervously, “the new girl.”

“What brings you to Brookland?” Joan asked.

Olive hesitated. Talking about the album with strangers still made her nervous, but there
was something that made her realize no one would bat an eye if she talked about it here. “I just moved here from Cleveland. I have an album deal with Skylark Records, so.”

“Girl, that’s sick!” Joan explained. “When’s it coming out? I want to listen.”

“December,” Olive replied.

By then, the class was starting, and the girls resolved to continue the conversation at lunch.

“She was a curiosity to me,” Joan says. “A lot of girls at Brookland were daughters of other famous or important kids in Los Angeles. Olive just seemed like she’d been plucked out of obscurity. Whatever way you spin it, it was a good story.”