Quit Bugging Me

Chapter 21

At school the next day, eyes with bags sagging under them brightened as students gushed over each other's projects.

No longer did people mock Taylor and her flies. Instead, they treated her like a celebrity, asking for painting tips or begging her to autograph their projects.

When lunch arrived, Taylor collapsed into her usual spot by the library with a sigh. "How is it that I'm more exhausted now than when I barely slept for over a week?" she asked.

"Being as amazing as you are can't be easy," Anna said. "You totally earned that prize."

"I'd honestly forgotten that was even a thing," Taylor said sheepishly.

Mr. Woods had arranged to have everyone's grades distributed in their first period classes so they wouldn't go crazy with anticipation. He'd even delivered Taylor's to her personally, although not before wrestling the paper away from Ichabod and Mable as the chittering ferrets squabbled over it. "I knew you could do it," Mr. Woods had said as tears of joy blurred Taylor's view of the bright red 100 scrawled across the rubric and the ring of smiley face stickers surrounding the note inviting her to a special laboratory tour. Taylor could have sworn she'd seen him wiping away a tear of his own as he'd beamed down at her.

"Thank goodness that tour isn't until January. Otherwise, I'd sleepwalk through the whole thing!"

"At least you aren't falling asleep here again," Mason said. "By the way, what you said yesterday was super nice. How long did you have that planned?"

"I didn't. I just said what I felt. If it weren't for that chunk you gave me, I don't think I could have gotten the words out."

"Glad my termites helped you too." He showed them his hands. His fingers didn't have a single sore spot. "I finally got the texture right."

"So you really meant all that?" Anna said. She twirled her braids as her bees hummed around Taylor as if she were a flower.

"Of course! You're the best friend I could ever ask for." Taylor barely managed to keep her flies from pressing close to her as she worked up her nerve and said, "In fact, I think you're better than that. Do you think maybe we could have a picnic or something sometime? Just the two of us?"

"Like a date?"

"You don't have to if you don't—"

"Of course I want to!" Anna nearly shot out of her seat. "Oh gosh, this is perfect! I've gotta tell Grandpa. Then we can make brownies and cookies and—"

"Speaking of cookies," Taylor said as a vibrant blush bloomed across her cheeks, "I don't think I ever got to try your final recipe. Got any left?"

"I saved you guys a few, thankfully. Otherwise, I don't think I would have had a single crumb left over. Grandpa says my recipe is so good I'd better start writing a cookbook!"

It wasn't hard to see why. The sweetness of the applesauce and honey mingled perfectly with the diced walnuts and cinnamon. The cookies had the perfect amount of crunch, not too hard or too gooey. And if they were this good on the second day, who knew how delicious they were when freshly baked?

"What do you think?"

"I think I'd better try a second one to be sure," Taylor said.

Anna laughed. "Nice try. I invented that trick!"

The trio shared the remainder of the cookies. They chatted and licked crumbs from their lips until Eliza cleared her throat nearby. Jack stood next to her with his hand in hers.

The group fell completely silent. Even the insects didn't make a sound.

Eliza's hummingbirds fluttered around her as she shifted from one foot to the other. "That painting was really something," she said. "You sure put a lot of thought into it."

"Thanks," Taylor said. "Your collage was nice too."

"Nah, it's a mess. Like me I suppose."

Jack gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Listen, there's something I've been meaning to say to you."

"Yeah?"

"I've been a- a-" She threw her hands into the air. "A terrible meerkat! I mean friend! You were right that day, Tay. I never should have treated you like that." Tears flooded her cheeks as she sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Thanks." Her flies wrapped the hummingbirds in a hug. This time, the birds didn't flinch away. Taylor offered her a hesitant smile. "Would you like to sit with us?"

Mason patted the seat next to him. "There's plenty of room."

Eliza looked from the seat to Taylor and massaged the faintest hint of a bee sting on her wrist. Jack gave her an encouraging nod, but she said, "After how awful I was, I'm not sure I deserve that."

"Of course you do." Everyone looked at Anna in surprise. Even her bees seemed taken aback, with a couple of them nearly dropping onto the table. "Everyone makes mistakes, right? Speaking of mistakes, how are the stings? Hope the bees didn't get you too badly."

"Almost gone, thankfully." Eliza settled into a seat, and Jack sat across from her with a relieved sigh. "Hey Tay, do you think you could teach me how to guide my hummingbirds? I've been trying to help Jack find more flowers for his moisturizer, but I can never get these little guys to focus on a specific type."

"I'd really appreciate the help," Jack said as Harry rested his head in his lap. Eliza's hummingbirds perched on the boar as it perked its ears to listen to their tweeting. "And maybe we could get Eliza some flowers for another collage."

"Of course!"

As the group discussed their plans for tracking down the nicest smelling flowers by the creek, Taylor's mind buzzed with happy thoughts of how lucky she was to have such great companions.