Fly Frenzy (2 page)

“Come to help with the weeding, boys?” she asked when she saw them. Mom was in the best garden competition in their town. Last year she'd come in third. This year she was determined to win. Piddle, their terrier dog, had been banned from going anywhere near the front garden. He was shut in the backyard today, out of harm's way. “Can't see any weeds!” said Josh.

“There are some there,” said Mrs. Sharpe. She pointed at the rose bed. “And over by the marigolds. Quite a few really. Of course, my garden is completely weed free now. With only one day to go before judging, I couldn't possibly allow anything wild to start messing it up.” She smiled smugly at them all. “Have to make sure I keep the cup again this year, don't I, Tarquin?”

A thin, pale boy of about Josh and Danny's age slithered around from behind his mother. He gave their garden a look of great disdain. “I think your trophy is quite safe, Mother,” he said, in a high-pitched voice.

“Well,” said Mom. She twisted a dead rose bloom off its stalk with some force. “How nice to have a supportive son, Mrs. Sharpe.”

“He
is
a darling,” sighed Mrs. Sharpe. “And did I tell you that he scored top in his whole school for math this week? He's Mommy's little genius!” She patted Tarquin's neatly parted hair. “Of course, not every child can be a genius, can they?” She smiled pityingly at Josh and Danny. “But that doesn't matter,
does it
?”

Danny made being sick noises. Tarquin made ugly faces at them.

“Well, must keep working!” Mom knelt down and drove her trowel viciously into the soil. “We never know
who
might win this year, do we?”

“Don't we?” smirked Mrs. Sharpe. “Well, have fun trying. It really is quite a
nice
little garden . . . ” And she stalked off with her son. He was still sticking his tongue out at Josh and Danny.

“Come on, you two,” said Mom. “Pay no attention to the genius! Weeding, please!”

Josh and Danny worked their way along the wall. They pulled out very tiny weeds and threw them into Mom's wheelbarrow. “Wee-aargh!” shrieked Danny, wildly flapping his hand. A small spider dropped off it and scuttled away.

“You know, I'm surprised you haven't got over your fear of spiders,” said Josh, quietly. “Considering you've
been
a spider.”

“
DON'T
remind me!” Danny looked around warily for more eight-legged foes. “I'm trying to forget it ever happened.”

“What—that we got hit by Miss Potts's S.W.I.T.C.H. spray? And we got changed into spiders, fell down the drain, got rescued by rats. Then we were almost eaten by a toad and a blackbird, and then got made human again—all before dinner?” Josh grinned as Danny narrowed his eyes at him.

“I don't know
how
you can be so calm about it!” grunted Danny, brutally pulling up a dandelion.

“I'm not!” said Josh. “It gives me the shivers just to think about Petty Potts. She's hidden away in her secret lab behind the shed, turning all kinds of poor creatures into bugs just for fun. But it
was
kind of exciting too—wasn't it? And she
did
turn us back again.”

“Exciting? It was
terrifying
! I was a
spider
! A spider! I was scared of my
own legs
!”

Josh chucked another handful of weeds into the wheelbarrow. “Well, don't worry. It's all in the past now. We haven't even seen Petty Potts since. And we're never going next door again!”

“Ah!” said Mom to someone at the gate. “Good timing! I'm just about to go to the garden center now. Is it still OK for the boys to come over to your house?”

Danny and Josh looked up from their weeding. Their mouths fell open in horror.

Standing by the hedge was their next-door neighbor: Petty Potts.

“NOOOOOO!” shouted Josh and Danny. They stared aghast at the secret scientist who had transformed them into spiders.

“Josh! Danny!” Their mother looked at them crossly. “How can you be so rude?”

“We—we—we mean . . . ” gabbled Josh. “We mean we wanted to come along to the garden center with you. Th-that's all . . . ”

Danny just gibbered.

“Well, you can't come! I have a lot to do if I'm going to win the contest. I don't need you two running around and climbing up the trellises!” Mom put her hands on her hips. They knew it was no good arguing when she did that. But Danny tried anyway.

“We could help . . . ” he began.

“No! You couldn't! I would leave you here, but Jenny's going out. Miss Potts has very kindly offered to babysit you. Now, isn't that nice of her?”

Petty Potts smiled sweetly at them. To Danny she looked like a wolf in a tweed hat and glasses. “Come on in,” she said, heading back to her house. “I have cake . . . ”

“Right,” said their mom. “Off you go then.”

“But she's . . . weird!” hissed Danny.

“Nonsense,” said their mother. “She's very nice once you get to know her. I know she was always complaining about your noisy playing before. But just recently I think she's become rather fond of you both.”

“It's only because she wants to use us for experiments,” muttered Danny.

Mom laughed. “You and your crazy ideas, Danny! Now, on your best behavior, please, both of you. What are you waiting for? She said there's cake!”

“DON'T YOU TRY ANYTHING, MISS POTTS!” warned Josh, the moment Petty Potts's front door closed behind them. Her hallway was dark and old-fashioned. It smelled like damp wood.

“Oh, do call me Petty. And stop being such a ninny,” she said. “I have no intention of wasting good S.W.I.T.C.H. spray on you again. I've already tried it on you and it worked. No need to repeat the experiment.”

“Why are you being all nice to Mom, then?” asked Danny, with a suspicious glare.

“I'm just trying to be a good neighbor.” She beckoned them down the hall and into her warm kitchen. There was, indeed, an iced sponge cake on the table. And cups of orange pop next to it. Petty sat down at the table. She waved her guests toward two neighboring chairs. “But—all right—if you must know. I
have
been wondering whether your little spider adventure has had any aftereffects. How have you been?”

“Fine,” grunted Danny. He sat down as Josh took the seat beside him. He eyed the cake, tormented. It looked so good but . . . “Have you put something in that?” he asked. “Are you trying to turn us into spiders again?”

Petty stood up and looked at them squarely. “Now, listen. I know you both think I'm some kind of old witch. But I am merely trying to work on my experiments. I didn't ask you to come running into my lab and stand in front of the S.W.I.T.C.H. spray jet, did I?”

“No,” said Josh. “But you
were
trying to spray Piddle!”

“I beg your pardon?” Petty raised an eyebrow behind her spectacles.

“Our dog! Piddle! You were trying to spray
him
, weren't you?”

“All right, I'll admit it,” she said. She sat back down at the table and cut the cake. “But let's not bicker about it. It would only have been temporary. I promise I won't try to spray Piddle again. Or either of you.” She took a big wedge of cake and bit into it. “Sheee?” she said. “It'sh quite shafe to eat!”