Lovebug

My name is Mabel, the girl who "wouldn't hurt a fly."

Of course I wouldn't.

I'm an entomologist for goodness' sake.

I work in a nature center.

Bugs are my jam.

It's the humans in my life who are starting to get me down. I'm used to them calling me sweet and innocent. I can even handle them calling me naive. But when they lie and keep secrets from me? That's when my proverbial pincers want to come out.

Trouble is, I'm not a girl who fights back.

Not until a handsome groundskeeper with a dirty mouth and secrets of his own shows up and lights all sorts of fires in me.

In the bug world, the female is always the fiercest. The praying mantis doesn't worry about being a "good girl." Nope, she follows her instincts no matter how crass or crude they may seem to others.

Turns out I could learn a thing or two from her. I'm not looking to tear anyone's head off necessarily, but after decades of...