Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 15

As the companion showcase drew near, Taylor and her friends spent more and more time on their projects. As if the project counting as a test grade wasn't enough, the fact they'd have to explain their work to all their friends, family, and teachers added an extra tart cherry on top of the stress sundae.

Taylor squinted at her painting. The richness of the new shade of brown she was using for the soil contrasted beautifully with the brightness of the acacia's flowers, but something still wasn't quite right. Something was missing, something to fill the lonely, empty space at the base of the tree. Her heart hammered as she imagined countless eyes staring at the emptiness and, worse, staring at her.

Anna was equally frustrated. She lay surrounded by crumpled up wads of paper and cookie crumbs. "Okay, guys. Ready for the next cookies?"

"I dunno. If I keep this up, I'm not going to have any room for dinner." Mason patted his stomach. "Mom's making spinach mini quiches tonight, and you know how much I love those."

"Are you sure you can't make room for one more?"

The pair reluctantly reached for the thick, chunky cookies. Whether they were good or not, Taylor dreaded the first bite. Her aching stomach threatened to turn into a giant blob of cookie dough if she ate another crumb.

Thankfully, this cookie was quite an improvement over the previous ones. The addition of walnuts contrasted as nicely with the applesauce and honey as the bright yellow flowers in her painting did with the darkness of her flies.

The recipe still wasn't quite perfect though. Taylor's jaw ached as she struggled to chew a particularly thick, crunchy chunk with a massive piece of a walnut in the middle.

Mason licked his lips. "You're definitely on the right track, but these are too crunchy even for me. Maybe chopping up the walnuts would help."

"Dice walnuts," Anna mumbled as she jotted down a note. "What do you think, Tay?"

"They're amazing," she said around a mouthful.

Anna put her hands on her hips. "What do you really think?" she asked. Her eyes softened as Taylor shrank like a wilting flower. "I won't get mad if you don't like 'em."

Taylor brought a hand to her cheek as a rough piece of cookie scraped the inside of her mouth. "I love how they taste, but they hurt to eat."

"So the texture's the big problem." Anna took a nibble of the last remaining cookie. "Yikes, you'd almost need a chisel to eat these! Why on earth do you keep trying these for me?"

"Because I think we could all use a little help," Mason said. He gestured to the half a dozen termite chunks he'd cast aside, all with green patterns painted on them. "I've been having a tough time getting everything right too."

"I know what you mean," Taylor said. "I have this big spot on my painting that feels way too empty."

"Mind if I have a look?" Anna asked. "I've been dying to see it."

"I'd rather keep it a secret for now," she said as she threw her arms over her painting to prevent anyone from peeking. At Anna's disappointed look, she said, "But you can help me brainstorm. I think maybe some kind of medium-sized animal would work. The bayou feels naked without critters running around."

"How about a fox?" Anna said.

That bright red fur would take too much attention away from the beehive. "That doesn't feel right."

"A bobcat?" Mason suggested as he dabbed algae green spots onto one of his chunks.

"Too small." Taylor threw up her hands. "I swear, sometimes painting is harder than math!"

Anna stretched and wiped dead leaves off her pants. "Why don't we walk to the bayou and see if we can get some ideas there?"

"Sounds good to me," Mason said. "My fingers are itching to rub something, so I'd better get out of here before I end up painting myself."

"Good thing I brought mosquito spray today. Sorry, flies," Taylor said as she sprayed herself.

"I don't think that stuff will bother them," Mason said. "It's called mosquito spray, not fly spray."

"It's not bugging my bees at any rate. Glad to see you're warming up to those flies by the way. Not too long ago, you would have showered in that stuff if you thought it would get rid of them."

"They don't seem so bad anymore," Taylor said. She smiled as her flies danced around a stray speck of applesauce that had landed on her shirt.

The ever-present swarms of mosquitos gave them a wide berth as they ventured to the bayou. Lizards eyed the flies and termites hungrily, but they thought better of trying to sneak a snack once the bees flashed their stingers at them.

Although occasional chirps and squeaks indicated there was more wildlife to be found nearby, the bayou seemed quieter than usual, and Taylor didn't spot a single animal big enough to fill the empty space in her painting. The humid air pressed down on them as they strolled to the water's edge.

Amber eyes peered at them from the surface as a thick, scaly tail whipped the water. Gus gave a low, rumbling growl that made the hair on the back of Taylor's neck stand on end.

"Is it normal for him to get that agitated?" Mason asked.

"Only when he's hungry." Taylor looked around, but her cousin was nowhere to be seen. "Weird, Lydia's usually here to throw him some chicken by now."

"I don't suppose he'd be willing to try a cookie," Anna said jokingly.

"He's going to need a lot more than a cookie," Mason said. "We should give him some space in case he gets sick of waiting for dinner."

The trio trudged away from the bayou after promising to meet up again the next day. Cold, hungry eyes watched them leave.