The Bully Bug (10 page)

“Hey!” Pit yelled.

“Quiet,” Bud said. “Lud needs this.”

“That's crazy,” Sebastian said.

“Bad idea,” Norman said.

They all started arguing. I could tell Bud was getting ready to throw some punches.

“Wait!” I shouted. It didn't come out that way. It was just a buzz. I couldn't make words anymore, but at least I got their attention.

Everyone turned toward me. “Let him decide,” Norman said.

I looked at Norman. He was so smart. He knew more than I'd ever know. I looked at Bud. He'd never had a good idea his whole life. He got me into this whole mess in the first place. And he got me into the stupid talent show. And he'd gotten me into a thousand other types of trouble.

But it made sense.

I handed back the butterfly to Norman, then held out my hand to Bud. He gave me Captain Spazmodic. I folded my arms back together and nodded.

“Go loose around the nose and mouth,” Norman said as they finished wrapping me. “Bugs don't breathe like people, but Lud might still have lungs. We don't want to suffocate him.”

The last thing I saw was the four of them looking at me with worried eyes. My big brother, my little brother, and two kids I never thought I'd have anything to do with. Two kids who were helping me even though I'd never done a thing for them.

I closed my eyes. Right then, I heard Norman laughing. Man—was it all some kind of trick or joke? That was it. He was getting even with me. Getting even for the seventeen times I'd beaten him up.

His laugh rang in my ears. He'd outsmarted me.

 

Twenty-two

SHELLING OUT

 

“A bug in the program,” Norman said. “I just got it. That's a good joke.”

I felt someone pat my shoulder through the tape.

“He makes lots of good jokes,” Bud said.

“I just never expected it,” Norman said. “I guess that's why I didn't catch it right away.”

They kept talking, but their voices seemed to go farther and farther away as I settled into the darkness around me.

I drifted.

It was deeper than sleep. I don't know how long it lasted. I seemed to take forever to come out of it.

“Hey. He's moving.”

The voice. It was Bud. I remembered the cocoon. I pushed out against the tape.

Once I pushed my hand through the tape, it ripped easily. I stood up, feeling a bit dizzy. I couldn't see clearly. Everything was real blurry.

“Oh no,” Norman said. His voice sounded very far away.

“It didn't work,” Sebastian said. “I knew he shouldn't have taken the model. Now what are we going to do?”

“He's the same,” Bud said. “He didn't change at all. My brother's a bug.”

I didn't feel the same. I felt hot. Real hot. I couldn't seem to get any air. Everything was stuffy. Sweat rolled down my cheek.

Sweat?

I didn't think bugs sweated. Something had changed.

I tried to take a step. I heard a sharp cracking sound.

“Look,” Norman cried, “it's cracking open!”

Suddenly, there was air. And light. The bug body was splitting into two pieces, falling off me. I held up my hands and looked at them. Normal. I touched my face. Normal. I'd changed. But I'd done it inside the bug.

I stepped away from the shell.

“An intact exoskeleton,” Norman said, stooping down to look at what was left of the bug.

I went over to Bud. “Thanks. You were right.”

He grinned. “I'm not so stupid after all.”

“Nope,” I told him. “Not at all.”

Thwack!

“Hey!” I said after he smacked me in the head. “What was that for?”

“Just felt like it,” Bud told me.

I turned to Norman. “Thanks for helping me.”

He grinned. “I sort of enjoyed it. Can I assume I no longer need to carry two sets of lunch money?”

“Yeah. Or even one. From now on, I'm buying your lunch for you.” I turned to Sebastian. “Thank you, too.”

“My pleasure, big guy. I love monsters.”

I looked at the bug skin, then reached down and grabbed Captain Spazmodic from where he was clutched in the right claw. “Here,” I said, handing the figure back to Pit. “It wouldn't have happened without you.”

“Smart move,” Norman said. He patted Pit on the back. “You were right, Bud. I was wrong.”

Thwack!

Norman smacked me on the back of the head. “Just wanted to see what it was like,” he said.

“Any time,” I told him. “Well, I guess we should head out.” I felt funny standing in Sebastian's room, especially since until just a few hours ago, I'd hated him.

“Hey, you can hang out if you want.”

I looked at Bud. He shrugged.

“Sure,” I said. “We can hang out for a while.”

So we stayed and looked at comic books and stuff. A bit later, Sebastian's little brother, Rory, came in and he and Pit actually seemed to get along. As we were leaving, Norman pointed to the bug shell. “What about this?”

“You can have it,” I told him. “But I need to borrow it next week.”

I had plans for it.

 

Twenty-three

ONSTAGE

 

I watched the audience from behind the curtain. When they called my name and announced my act, the whole place got quiet. This was the moment I'd been afraid of. Walking out. Facing them. But I had done something to give me courage.

I stepped out. A couple kids screamed. I heard someone whisper, “Awesome costume.”

Someone else said, “That can't be Lud.”

I reached out and grabbed the microphone with one claw. It wasn't easy. The bug skeleton—Norman explained to me that it was really a skeleton, only on the outside—was stiff, but it fit me perfectly. Bud had drilled a couple air holes in the head, so I could breathe, and he'd made some slits so I could see through the eyes.

“Good evening,” I said. “I don't know about you. But school really bugs me.”

I paused and waited a second.

“As soon as the bell rings, I fly out the door.”

Still dead silence. It was getting hot inside the skeleton. I thought about walking off the stage. This had been a stupid idea. Nobody was getting my jokes. I gave it one more try.

“Everyone knows I'm not a bookworm.”

Someone laughed. It was Sebastian. I flinched, thinking he was laughing at me. But he slapped his knee and said, “Bookworm! That was good.”

Someone else laughed. Norman.

Then a third laugh. Higher. It was Dawn. I knew she'd never laugh at me. She must have liked the joke. I could see her in the third row. She smiled. That was the other reason I'd worn the bug skeleton—to let her know it was just a costume. I didn't want her going through life thinking there were giant bugs out there.

I heard Bud laughing, too.

“At least I don't have to study for my tests,” I said. “You know why?”

“Why?” a couple kids called out from the audience.

“Because I can always wing it.”

A few more kids laughed.

I kept going. Soon, they were all laughing. Not at me. At my jokes. When I was done, they clapped and cheered. I pulled open the bug shell and stepped out, taking a bow. As they clapped, I looked down at the insect I had been. I didn't think I'd need it again. Next time—and I knew there'd be a next time—I'd just go up as myself. Lud. Lud the Comedian. I'm a funny guy. That's a fact.

 

Starscape Books by David Lubar

NOVELS

Flip

Hidden Talents

True Talents

MONSTERRIFIC TALES

Hyde and Shriek

The Vanishing Vampire

The Unwilling Witch

The Wavering Werewolf

The Gloomy Ghost

The Bully Bug

NATHAN ABERCROMBIE, ACCIDENTAL ZOMBIE SERIES

My Rotten Life

Dead Guy Spy

Goop Soup

The Big Stink

Enter the Zombie

STORY COLLECTIONS

Attack of the Vampire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

Beware the Ninja Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

The Curse of the Campfire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

Invasion of the Road Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

Wipeout of the Wireless Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

 

About the Author

David Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey. His books include
Hidden Talents
, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults;
True Talents; Flip
, a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror selection; the Weenies short-story collections; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. He lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. You can visit him on the Web at
www.davidlubar.com
.

 

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE BULLY BUG

Copyright © 2014 by David Lubar

All rights reserved.

Cover art and illustrations by Marcos Calo

A Starscape Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-7653-3082-6 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4299-9313-5 (e-book)

e-ISBN 9781429993135

First Edition: September 2014