Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 7

On Monday, insults flew Taylor's way yet again, but that wasn't anything she couldn't deal with. Whenever Jack and his friends joked about bringing bug spray, her flies drowned out his nasty words with their buzzing.

Eliza's behavior was much harder to ignore. Sure she asked how her weekend was and said she'd missed her fishing buddy, but Taylor couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. From smiles that didn't meet her eyes to brief, curt responses to almost anything she said, dozens of things kept piling up.

When lunchtime finally arrived, Taylor steeled herself to figure out what was bugging her friend, or at least cheer her up. "Why don't we eat by the library today? I met some pretty cool people over the weekend who'd be glad to meet you."

For the first time that day, a genuine smile brightened Eliza's face. "Sounds good. By the way, how's Lydia doing?"

"She's got snakes now, but she seems happy. Still taking care of Gus." Taylor grinned when her eyes met Anna's, and the two waved so enthusiastically their arms looked like windswept branches in the middle of a hurricane. Mason's smile was less energetic but still welcoming all the same. "There they are. Eliza, meet Anna and Mason."

Eliza's hummingbirds chirped in alarm as bees and termites hovered over to greet them. "Oh, uh, nice to meet you." She took a step back. "You didn't mention they have bugs too."

"Pretty cool, huh? Mason's termites built huge mounds by the creek, and Anna's going to use her bees' honey to bake."

"Sure. Listen, maybe I should go." Eliza backed away from the table.

"Wait a minute," Taylor said. Her voice fluttered like her flies' wings as she asked, "Is something wrong? You've been acting weird all day."

Anna patted the seat next to her. "I've got some extra pudding if you'd like. That always cheers me up when I've been having a bad day."

Mason stared at his lunch, a sandwich with chunky peanut butter and crushed potato chips bursting out the sides. "It's okay if you don't want to eat with us," he said. "I get spooked around new people too."

"Yeah, I'm definitely not up for sitting with you guys. I do hope you have a nice lunch though. Really."

Taylor put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "That's okay. We can tell you all about the stuff we did at the creek some other time."

As Taylor tried to steer her to another table, Eliza shrank away. "Actually, I'd rather not sit with you either."

"Why?" Her voice cracked. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Eliza sighed. "Ever since you got your flies, people have been treating me like garbage too. I figured everything would be okay if we could get rid of them or at least pretend they aren't there, but hanging around with more people with bugs is only going to make things worse." She sniffed as she fought back tears. "I'd better go. See you around, Taylor."

Without another word, she ran off to sit on the other side of the cafeteria.

Taylor collapsed into the seat across from Anna and sobbed.

"Did we do something wrong?" Mason asked. He rocked his feet back and forth slowly and rubbed his fingers against the wood in his pocket.

"No, it's the stupid flies again."

"Are you sure? She was acting weird. I thought your friends called you Tay."

"They do. I guess Eliza doesn't want to be friends anymore." She sighed. "Not that I blame her."

Anna nudged a pudding cup toward her. "Hey, nobody deserves to be treated like that."

"Then why is everybody treating me like I'm the worst thing since spinach?" Tears slowly stopped dripping down her face as she spooned down the delicious, creamy pudding. "I must be a special kind of terrible."

"What's so bad about spinach?" Mason asked. "If people were treating you like you were worse than cotton candy, then I'd be worried." He shuddered. "Nothing should be that sweet."

"You're missing the point," Taylor said with a giggle. "Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on spinach though. At least it's good for you."

"You know what I think?" Anna asked. "I think you shouldn't listen to jerks. In fact, we've talked about them enough already. What did you think of that race yesterday? I had no idea deer could run so fast!"

Taylor let herself get distracted by her memories of the fun she'd had by the creek, but she still couldn't forget what Eliza had said to her. She wasn't just some random jerk. She was her friend.

At least, she had been.