Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 12

Taylor met Mason at his locker after school the next day. With most of the students either heading home or holding club meetings in classrooms, the only sound in the deserted hallway was the dull buzzing of the lights overhead. Even their companions were quiet, sticking to their skin and only occasionally twitching their wings.

"What did you bring?" Mason asked as he unloaded bags of chips from his locker.

"It's a surprise," Taylor said. She smiled at the bag she held close to her side. "I really hope she likes it."

The pair hauled their treat stashes over to Mr. Woods's room and knocked on the door. "Come on in," he said. Ichabod stretched out of his shirt pocket toward the treats, only to be pushed back down by a gentle finger. "That's not for you, you greedy booger."

Anna looked up from washing a test tube. "What are you guys doing here? Don't tell me you got detention too!"

"We wanted to keep you company," Taylor said as she and Mason started scrubbing glassware alongside her. "It's the least we could do after you stood up for us."

The trio finished cleaning the lab equipment in no time flat, leaving behind a sink full of soapy water. Mr. Woods's ferrets took one look at the sink and immediately launched themselves inside. They chirped happily as they splashed everybody.

Taylor tossed a handful of foam right back at them, only to smack Anna right in the arm.

"Foam fight!" Anna yelled as she launched a counterattack.

Not to be left out, Mason sent up a spray of soapy water that soaked all three of them as they giggled wildly.

"No splashing in the lab," Mr. Woods said. The trio froze, only for the smirking teacher to extend the sink's shower-like head and turn it on them as they shrieked with laughter. "No splashing without me!"

By the time they finished playing and dried themselves off, everyone was exhausted. The ferrets lay curled in a panting heap as their owner set out four plates.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked. "Setting up an experiment?"

"He's getting ready for the party," Mason said as he revealed the bags of chips he'd stashed in his backpack.

"What party?"

"The one where we celebrate what an awesome friend you are," Taylor said as she laid out her contributions: an apple pie and a jumbo bag of Skittles. "I'm not sure how good the pie is since I don't bake much, but it shouldn't be too bad since my parents helped. I brought Skittles just in case though."

"Oh Tay, that's so sweet! You guys are the most awesome friends I'll ever have."

Mr. Woods helped them cut the pie and, after asking Taylor if he could, served himself a small slice. He closed his eyes in ecstasy as he took a bite. "Mm! Looks like somebody's been taking plenty of notes on our experiment. Are those Granny Smiths I taste?"

"With cinnamon and some cheddar. I thought it would be weird with cheese, but mom said it's the secret to an awesome apple pie."

"That's what Grandpa always says too," Anna said. "I swear, you've got to meet him sometime. He'd get an absolute kick out of you."

"I'll say," Mason said. He licked the last of the crumbs off his lips before helping himself to a handful of Skittles and sorting them by color. "You got the texture perfect. Not too mushy but not too hard."

"Thanks! I've had a lot of practice cooking apples. We had to keep the sauce's texture consistent so we didn't mess up the experiment."

"Can we see this famous experiment you've been working on? I've been dying to have a look!"

"You're in luck," Taylor said. "We're almost done."

As the kids cleaned up their feast, Mr. Woods brought out the pots of applesauce he'd prepared in advance. "Which one do you think will be our most popular variety?" he asked. "Will it be classic Cortland or amazing Ambrosia?"

"I have no idea," Mason said. "I may know a lot about trees, but I'm no expert when it comes to fruit."

"Probably whichever one is sweeter," Anna said. "At least, that's what I'd go for."

"I bet it's Ambrosia then," said Taylor. "Especially since it's been doing so well already. It's managed to attract at least twice as many of my flies as almost any other variety we've tried."

As they watched the flies and wrote down how many of them went for each kind of applesauce at regular intervals, Mr. Woods patted Taylor on the back. "You've done an amazing job with this experiment. I couldn't ask for a better assistant."

"Aw, shucks," she said, "This was all your idea. I just brought my flies and wrote down some numbers."

"And helped with the prep work, created graphs to compare data, and a minute ago you made an astute hypothesis based on the knowledge you've gained. I'd say you deserve more than a little credit."

Taylor beamed at his praise. The flies that weren't inside the taped test tubes twirled around her in a delighted spiral.

"It's cool that you're so good at directing your flies," Mason said. "If I tried to get individual termites to do what I wanted, I'm pretty sure I'd end up sending the entire colony flying."

"This has all sorts of practical implications too," Anna said. "You could help farmers learn what varieties attract the most pests, teach other people how to find out what foods their companions like best, or use the flies' favorite sauce to control them better." Mr. Woods's eyes widened as he transcribed her ideas. "Man," Anna continued, "with everything your flies can do, I bet you'll have the coolest project at the showcase."

"I still don't know—" An idea struck Taylor like rain breaking a long drought. "Wait a minute. Anna, you're a genius!"

"I am?"

"If I can use their favorite applesauce to guide them really well, I might be able to get them to help me paint something."

"Now that's a cool idea," Mr. Woods said. He jotted down the last of their data. "You'll want to use Ambrosia apples then. They're the clear winner." He glanced at the clock. "Now that detention is over for today, you can all head on home and work on your projects. I can hardly wait to see what you make."

"You and me both," Anna said. "And could I ask you a few things about your experiment when you have time? I'd love to learn more about the different kinds of applesauce you used."

"By all means, ask away. One of the best parts of experimenting is getting to talk about the stuff you learned."

"Hey, why don't we meet at the creek this weekend?" Mason asked. "That way we can all work on our projects together."

"That would be awesome," Taylor said. The thought of getting to work on her project with her friends left her mind abuzz with excitement.