Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 14

The trio kept working together on their projects by the termite mounds and in Mr. Woods's room while Anna served detention. Mr. Woods gave them ample space to work and carefully avoided saying anything about how he thought they would fare at the showcase.

His ferrets were less careful. Their excited chittering gave away their owner's feelings, although he claimed they only wanted to sneak a taste of the cookies or play in the paint.

After a few days, someone else joined them in Mr. Woods's room. Jack stomped into detention with bright red bee stings still dotting his arms and hands.

"Good afternoon," Mr. Woods said. He placed himself firmly between Jack and Anna as her bees buzzed loudly and his boar bared its tusks. "Feel free to spend your time here however you like. As long as you aren't disruptive, we won't have any problems."

Jack grunted and plopped into a chair. His pen slashed angry red lines through his copy of Lord of the Flies as he read.

Anna glared at him so hard Taylor worried her eyes might pop out of her head. Meanwhile, Taylor only took her eyes off of her to guide the flies on the canvas.

Mason's fingers wandered over his project. "I think I've got the texture down," he muttered. "Would you mind checking?"

The tension left Anna's shoulders, and her bees quieted to a dull hum as she rubbed the chunk. "It's rough, but not unpleasant. Kind of like a cat's tongue." Her gaze met Taylor's before Taylor's eyes darted back to her painting. "What's up, Tay? You keep looking at me funny."

"Nothing." Her voice came out as little more than a squeak as her flies rushed to cover her eyes, speckling her skin with yellow paint.

"Uh huh. Sure." Anna blew one of her braids away from her face. "You've been acting real weird lately."

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief as Mason interrupted. "Would it be okay for me to use some of your paint?"

"Of course." Taylor nudged the tubes of paint over to him and took the opportunity to consult the library book she was using as a reference. She hunched over one of the pictures to give herself an excuse to avoid Anna's questioning gaze.

Once she got a good feel for its colors, a tall, thorny tree with bright yellow flowers sprouted on the canvas. A beehive took shape on one of the branches hanging over the water.

The sudden whoosh of the boar's hot breath against her leg made Taylor jump. Mr. Woods cleared his throat meaningfully, but Jack did not move as he examined the painting from over her shoulder. "The mud's the wrong color," he said.

"Don't you have anything better to do than criticize people?" Anna snarled.

"I know a thing or two about mud. Harry likes it." His companion squealed in agreement.

Taylor squinted at the light brown she had chosen. Now that he mentioned it, it didn't seem right to her either. "Got any ideas for how to make it better?"

"It needs to be darker. Not like topsoil, but still something you could definitely imagine things growing in."

"Like this?" Taylor blended different colors until she got a rich, earthy shade of brown.

"That's definitely an improvement."

"Thanks! You have a really good eye for detail."

Jack narrowed his eyes as if he was searching for some hidden meaning behind her praise before shrugging. "Thanks," he muttered before returning to his desk and burying his head in his book again. He snuck glances at her painting between grumbled rants aimed at the novel.

When detention ended, Jack left the trio behind as they waited for the paint to dry. "What was that about?" Anna said. "He must have something planned, nasty as he is."

"He seemed nice enough to me," Mason said. "Then again, I'm not great at reading people."

Taylor wasn't quite sure what to think, but she was sure of one thing. The new soil color really did suit her painting.