Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 20

At last, after those final days spent scrambling to finish projects, the day of the showcase finally arrived. Students and their companions poured into the cafeteria to set up their projects on their assigned tables as Mr. Woods and the other teachers scurried around offering setup assistance and last-minute words of encouragement.

The smells of dozens of homemade treats danced through the cafeteria. A deer with Christmas ornaments dangling from its antlers stamped its hooves anxiously as a kid ran past with a hot glue gun, screaming something about their owl pellet sculpture falling apart. The chaos roared almost as loudly as it had the day Anna had lashed out with her bees, and nobody's family members had even been let inside yet.

Taylor was grateful for her spot on the far side of the cafeteria by the library. The scent of cinnamon and applesauce wafted from Anna's cookies on her left. On her right, Mason put his project to good use as his fingers skittered across the miniature forest of termite chunks he had patterned after different trees. He handed a piece shaped like coral and painted with delicate blue waves to Taylor with a proud smile. "I hope it helps."

Taylor thanked him, but he was too busy running his eyes over the acacia in her painting to notice. "That belongs in a book," he said before returning to his spot with his termites crawling on his arms in soothing circles as he put on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

Eliza set her project across from Taylor's. Feathers drifted from the collage every time anyone so much as breathed in its general direction. The flowers it was meant to depict blurred together in a formless bouquet. "I should have used more glue," she muttered as her hummingbirds fluttered over to greet Jack.

"Don't worry about it." He gestured to his jars of mud with sloppily sharpied labels. "Your project's real pretty. Reminds me of wildflowers."

A sudden whoosh of humid air announced the arrival of everyone's families. A middle-aged woman staggered straight toward the cluster of tables by the library as her pig left muddy hoof prints on the linoleum. They snorted in unison as they eyed Jack's project. He grimaced as Harry firmly planted himself between him and the woman, fur bristling.

"So this is what you've been wasting so much time on," the woman said. "What is this anyway?"

"Moisturizing cream," he said through gritted teeth. Hummingbirds perched on his shoulders and chirped reassurance. "I made it from soil by the bayou, wildflowers Eliza helped me find, and some other stuff."

"So it's mud, and you couldn't even make it yourself. Typical."

Ugly, squealing laughter echoed through the cafeteria. Eliza bit her lip. "Ignore her," she whispered.

But it wasn't that easy. Jack's shoulders slumped. "I worked really hard on it," he said softly. Harry backed away from the pig with his head hung low but his hackles still up.

Taylor took a deep breath and marched straight to Jack's table. "Can I try some?" she asked. She thrust out her hand right in front of the woman. Her flies buzzed around the jars. Eliza's hummingbirds fluttered from Jack's shoulders to join them in a defiant dance.

"Leave it to the fly girl to be interested in filth," snarled the woman.

"Try this one," Jack said. "It's my favorite."

Taylor unscrewed the jar he offered her and sniffed the brown mush. A gentle, flowery scent caressed her nose. "Lavender, huh?" She scooped out a glob with her fingers and spread it on the back of her hand. The smooth mixture left her skin feeling soft and surprisingly clean. "It feels even better than it smells!"