Free Class Act by Debbie Thomas Page B

were few, the pickings low. And the hungrier we got, the more I was bossed. It became unbearable. I started to wonder why I’d bothered being born. I mean, what was the point ?’
    Brian stared in the mirror. ‘You too?’ It may have been twenty million years ago, and it may have been only a bee, but boy was it comforting to know that another living thing in the history of the universe had wondered the same thing.
    â€˜I couldn’t wait to fly,’ said Dulcie. ‘To whizz off and escape their bullying. I tried every day but my wings were too weak. Until one morning … aaahh.’ A ripple ran through her antennae. ‘My whole body rose and my legs left the ground. I’ll never forget that first flight.’
    Brian closed his eyes. Lifting his arms, he flew with Dulcie. A paper-dry breeze blew through his mind. He danced on a cushion of air.
    â€˜I’d never felt so free,’ she said. ‘I decided I wouldn’t go back. I’d buzz off and join a new colony, a crowd that would treat me well, never mind that we weren’t related.’
    â€˜Good for you.’ Brian thought of Dad. Family could be overrated.
    â€˜So I chose a route to avoid my sisters. Whenever I saw one I veered off. They’d only fault my flying, say my wings were too slow or my bottom too low. I worked with the breeze, letting it lead me far away. Until suddenly I caught a smell. A whiff of sweetness on the air.’
    Brian sniffed. But the only whiff he caught was of dirty socks scattered over the floor.
    â€˜I followed the scent to a glorious sight. Candles of white on a carpet of green. Don’t ask how but I knew, I just knew, it was clover. I dived in and gorged. I stuffed my mouth with nectar and my sacs with pollen.’
    Brian tasted the sweetness on his tongue, felt the weight on his legs.
    â€˜And when I’d finished,’ Dulcie peeped, ‘I knew what I had to do. Fly home and dance, lead my sisters to food.’
    Brian’s eyes sprang open. ‘What? I thought you wanted to find a new family.’
    She sighed. ‘Family. That was just it. I suddenly knew that I couldn’t let them starve. Mean as they were, they were all I had.’ She shook her head. ‘Oh, I can’t explain. It was a buzzing in my blood, a stirring in my heart that I had to help my own kin. And something else too.’ She fixed him in the mirror with her gleaming eye. ‘This was my moment, my chance to shine. To strut my butt and prove my worth.’ Her voice was getting softer. ‘To be the bee I was born to be. That I never,’ she gasped, ‘got … to be.’
    Brian looked in the mirror. She’d gone silent and still. What a moment to run out. He grabbed a corner of the duvet and rubbed the earring.
    â€˜I flew back as fast as I could,’ she squeaked on seamlessly. ‘As the nest came into view, I stopped on a tree trunk to catch my breath. Disaster. That’s when the goo trickled onto my leg.’
    Brian frowned. ‘Couldn’t you just pull it out?’
    â€˜You think I didn’t try?’ snapped Dulcie. ‘Look at it, puffy and packed with pollen. That’s when Cleo flew past. I shouted for help. But she just laughed and carried on.’
    Brian imagined Dulcie wriggling and shrieking after her sister.
    â€˜Then the twins came by. I was up to my chest now, but together they could’ve pulled me out. I begged and promised to show them a feast. But did they believe me? Did they Sweet William!’ She snorted. ‘Laura and Nora just sneered and jeered, rolled their eyes and slapped their thighs.’
    â€˜Bees have thighs?’
    â€˜This isn’t easy.’ Dulcie gave a little sob. ‘Allow a girl some poetry. I begged and wailed but on they sailed. Another blob fell, and another, covering my mouth, my eyes, my feelers. I thrashed with all my strength and managed to clear a small airspace round my