Bugs

• Harriet Elvery, Grade 2, West End State School
• Short Story
• 2021

Excellence Award in the 'Play On Words 2021' competition

WORMS! BUGS! COCKROACHES! Our house was full of them! My sister and I didn’t know what to do. Our mother, Gabrielle, was standing on top of the piano screaming her head off, while our father the “hero” was still in bed. I decided that I wanted to go to bed as well, seeing that out here was total chaos, but something felt missing, I pondered it for a moment and realised, that it was my younger brother Will! I was frantic.
Under the bugs and worms I couldn’t find him but he had to be there. I turned all the rooms upside down and the last room I entered was Will’s bedroom, and I found him sitting on top of his wardrobe looking at the bugs with horror in his eyes. I shook my head. He just couldn’t get over it. “Ruby” he squeaked. “You and Rose help me?” “Yes.” I lifted him down from the wardrobe and on to my shoulders. We went into the living room and called the pest control.
The next day was very awkward for my family - we kept finding bugs in nooks and crannies and Will, was yet again up a wardrobe, so he couldn’t go to daycare and of course, me and Rose had school.
When I got to school I told all my friends about it and one of them even fell over from the suspense of the story. At lunch I had a million comments about yesterday morning and all I could hear was, “Ruby! Ruby!!” I barely ate any lunch. When I got home my mother said, “Goodness me, Ruby Elizabeth James! You look starved! Do you want some food?” “Yes please, mum” I said. “You always eat my lunches.” I heard her mutter. I told her about my day and she understood. “I’m glad you didn’t waste your lunch on purpose.”
The next day was a bright and sunny day, everyone had seemed to get over the bugs and I was in a good mood. But as I opened the door to my classroom, screams were erupting and continuing from everywhere I looked, kids were on every table or chair I laid my eyes on. My eyes darted around the room for a clue and as soon as they hit the floor I knew why, and I felt as spooked as everyone else in this room. There were bugs everywhere. I screamed along with everyone else and ran to join my best friend on top of the stand-up desks. She looked at me, pleading “Ruby please make it stop. Everyone knows this happened to you as well.” “But... I don’t know what...” my voice trailed off. Everybody including the teacher was looking at me so I whispered, “Call the pest control.”
After the experts left, we got free period because of the crazy morning. I said to myself “I don’t know what will happen next, but it will be really, really, FUN.”