Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 10

As weeks passed, Taylor kept helping Mr. Woods with his experiment, and the other students' excitement for the companion showcase spread like dandelions through a weedkiller-free yard. Yet, she still didn't have a clue what she'd do with her flies. Nor did she know how to deal with the mob of kids crowded around her usual lunch table with countless books scattered in front of them.

Taylor's stomach churned, and that wasn't just because she'd only had half a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Her flies couldn't shield her eyes fast enough to stop her from seeing Eliza offering Jack a handful of Skittles. "Maybe we should sit somewhere else today," she said.

"The noise will be tough for me to handle if we sit anywhere else," Mason said softly. He covered his ears and winced as an eagle screeched nearby. "Sorry, Tay. All this excitement is just too much."

"Why don't we sit outside?" Anna said. A handful of students sat sweating at the few supervised tables outside, mostly kids with large companions. A deer lay panting in the shadow of a horse whose hooves danced on the scorching asphalt. "It should at least be quiet out there."

Taylor knew she couldn't make her friends uncomfortable just for the sake of avoiding Eliza. "Let's sit where we usually do," she said, "It beats sweating our brains out."

Mason shuddered. "I'll say. That would be disgusting, not to mention painful."

The trio settled down at the edge of their usual table. The kids' chatter about the books they'd brought faded as all eyes settled on them.

Determined not to fidget under their stares, Taylor broke the silence. "So, you guys are working on your showcase projects?"

"Yeah," said a boy dressed in all black with scowling owls perched on his shoulders. "I'm going to make something out of the bones in the pellets these two cough up."

"My dad's going to help me make gumbo," said a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail. Her raccoons chittered and rubbed their hands together. "They're real good at digging for crawfish, so I figure I oughta put them to good use."

"Nice," Anna said with an approving nod. "I'm going to bake something. Not sure what yet, but I'm really looking forward to trying some new recipes out."

"Save me some?"

"Sure thing. It's no fun baking if you don't have anyone to share it with. That's what my grandpa always says anyway. He always saves a couple cookies to share with his bridge group." Anna chuckled. "Grandma says he'd better be careful, or else Ms. Jenkins will think he's flirtin'!"

A chorus of aws and gagging broke out, with nobody entirely sure how they felt about old people's love lives.

"You and your grandpa sure love baking," Taylor said. She scooted a little closer to Anna.

"He got me in the kitchen with him as soon as I was old enough to hold a spoon."

"You know, Mr. Woods has me experimenting with all sorts of apples. Maybe we could make something together sometime." Taylor blushed. "If you want to anyway. It's totally okay if you don't."

"Of course I do, Tay!" Anna beamed. "We could make apple fritters or a pie or turnovers or—"

"Do you think I could help too?" Mason asked. His hand was shoved firmly in his pocket as he struggled to avoid eye contact with the group. "That sounds fun."

Before Anna could respond, Jack jabbed a finger forward. "Say, what're you doing anyway?" Dark circles rimmed his eyes. If Taylor squinted, she could see what looked like the ghosts of tear stains on his cheeks, but that couldn't be right. Jack never cried.

Mason flinched and curled in on himself.

"Give him space," Anna snarled as her bees buzzed threateningly.

His boar snorted. "Or what, his termites'll eat the table? I was just asking him a question for crying out loud!" Jack leaned in closer. "So, what've you got planned?"

Mason's fingers crawled in his pocket, rubbing what was inside. "I'm going to make something out of pieces of the termites' mounds. I'm still trying to figure out the type of wood helps them make the best ones." The tension in his body eased as he thought out loud. "I hope it ends up being pine. Did you know you can use pine needles to make tea? It smells a lot better than it tastes, but it has loads of vitamin C."

"I'm sure your project will be great," Taylor said. She kept her voice low so it wouldn't add too much to the commotion and directed her flies to drown out some of the background chatter. The bees and termites joined the buzzing cloud until Mason's hand stilled. He gave her a grateful smile.

"Figures you'd think that's cool," Jack said. "What are you gonna do, show us how to dumpster dive?"

"Maybe you and your pig can roll around in whatever she brings," deadpanned the boy with the owls. "It might help you smell better."

Jack's face reddened as the other kids laughed. "For the last time, he's a boar!" He slammed his fist on the table for emphasis.

Mason's hands flew to his ears. "Too loud."

"Calm down," Eliza said. She slid a red Skittle over to Jack. "You don't smell that bad."

"Thanks! Wait a minute—"

"Chill." Eliza looked at Taylor for the first time in what felt like years. "What are you really doing for your project?"

"I don't know yet. The experiment I'm doing with Mr. Woods is really cool though. Turns out flies like sweet stuff, just like us."

"Just like you, you mean." Jack shoved a handful of chips into his mouth, spraying crumbs everywhere as he spoke. "Don't go lumping any of us with those disgusting bugs."

Eliza shifted in her seat. Her hummingbirds chirped sharply, but she didn't say a peep.

Anna's hands clenched into fists. "I'd rather be a dung beetle than anything half as nasty as you, Jack."

Taylor rested a hand on her arm. "I'm alright. Really." Her voice shook a little, but her smile was genuine. "You don't have to say anything."

"No, but we should." Mason's hand was back in his pocket. The fabric shifted so fast Taylor was worried he'd chafe his fingers. "It's not okay for him to talk to you like that."

"What're you going to do about it, huh? Go eat driftwood." The boar's high-pitched squeals punctuated Jack's laughter.

Mason doubled over. His sides heaved as his hands grabbed his ears so hard they turned bright red. "Please stop," he whispered.

But he wouldn't. Jack and a handful of the other kids made such a ruckus their laughter echoed through the whole cafeteria.

"He said stop!" Laughter turned to screams of pain as bees swarmed over the table.

With a panicked yell, Mason bolted out of the cafeteria with his termites scrambling all over him in a frenzy.

Taylor shielded her face with her arms, but not a single bee touched her. She squinted through the black and yellow storm just in time to see Ms. Watson rushing over with her dogs baying at her heels. "Control your companions at once, young lady!"

But it was far too late to contain the chaos. Jack crouched over his squealing boar, wincing as bees bombarded his back. Owls screeched as they swooped out of the insects' way. Tables capsized as companions stampeded, sending half-eaten mini pizzas and cartons of milk flying onto the panicking students.

Taylor jumped halfway out of her skin when Eliza grabbed her arm. "I didn't want—"

"Didn't want them to be mean to you too. I know." Taylor yanked her arm out of her ex-friend's bump covered hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure my friend is okay."

With that, Taylor raced off to find Mason as Eliza called out behind her.