13

Pearl grabbed the flyer from Victoria’s hand.

Ben ran to her side, his cheeks red from pushing his way through the crowd. “What is it?”

“It’s just like the flyer we found at the hospital,” Pearl said, waving it frantically in his face. “They’re on the way!”

“Here?” Ben asked.

“Someone has to clean up the mess Pearl has made.” Mrs. Mulberry smiled proudly. “The exterminators will exterminate those vicious little beasts, and Buttonville will once again be a killer bee–free town.”

“But they’re not killer bees,” Pearl insisted. She wanted to grab that megaphone and talk some sense into everyone. “I know I told Victoria that I’d caught a killer bee, but that wasn’t the whole truth. They’re just… regular bees. And they’re not going to hurt anyone. Well, they might bite, but it’s only a problem if you’re allergic and…” She looked pleadingly at Ben, hoping he’d step in. Ben opened his mouth, ready to come up with some sort of brilliant story, but Mrs. Mulberry wasn’t going to let him put a damper on her moment of importance. She loved being the center of attention.

With the megaphone pressed to her mouth, Mrs. Mulberry said, “Never mind your excuses, Pearl. Those bugs are out of control, and we aren’t safe until they’re caught and destroyed.” The crowd murmured in agreement.

While Officer Milly began wrestling Mrs. Mulberry for possession of the megaphone, Victoria sneered at Pearl. “You’re lucky I’m not allergic to killer bees, or my mom would sue you, for sure.”

Pearl sneered back. Then, through clenched teeth, she said, “I wish you’d turn into a kiwi jelly bean. And then you’d be sorry.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Victoria asked. But there was no time for an explanation, or for Pearl to imagine Victoria as a big, fat piece of edible candy, because once again, screaming filled the air. The swarm had flown from the Food 4 Less Market and was now circling the Town Hall’s clock tower. Then it dove down the Town Hall chimney.

“Keep calm, keep calm,” Officer Milly said as she yanked the megaphone from Mrs. Mulberry’s grabby hands. “Until the exterminator arrives, I’m ordering everyone to seek shelter at home. Close your windows and doors, and stay put until you hear the Town Hall bell. That will be the signal that it’s safe to come out.” The crowd began to disperse.

“We can’t go home,” Ben told Pearl. “We have to catch the fairies before the exterminator gets them!”

“If we could just find Twanabeth—” But Pearl wasn’t able to finish her thought, because her father had wrapped an arm around her shoulder and was leading her up the street.

“Come along, sweetie,” he told her, tightening his grip. “We need to get inside, where it’s safe.”

Grandpa Abe was standing next to Mrs. Petal. He waved his cane. “Ben! Hurry!”

“But, Dad, Ben and I have to do something,” Pearl protested, trying to halt his progress by locking her knees.

“You and Ben can do something later,” Mr. Petal said, steering her into the Dollar Store. “This is a very serious situation, and we all need to get off the street before the killer bees attack again.” Then he turned to Grandpa Abe. “Come in. You’ll be safe with us.”

Pearl stomped her foot. “But we can’t be locked in the store. We have to—”

Mrs. Petal shook a finger at her daughter. “Don’t argue with your father. These aren’t honeybees. They are killers.”

Pearl groaned with frustration. If she hadn’t signed that contract of secrecy, she could tell them the truth. Then everyone would stop freaking out and allow her and Ben to do their jobs!

Mrs. Petal turned the Dollar Store sign to CLOSED and was about to shut the door when Mrs. Mulberry and Victoria barged in. “Well, why are you just standing there?” Mrs. Mulberry complained. “Lock that door before those beasts bite my daughter again!”

Mrs. Petal, who was always very polite, hesitated for a moment. She’d had enough run-ins with the Mulberrys to know that being locked in the store with them would most likely be an unpleasant experience. “Uh, wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your home?” she said, managing a sweet smile.

“It’s too dangerous to walk all the way home,” Mrs. Mulberry said. “Besides, it’s my duty to keep watch, in case anything needs to be reported to the authorities.” She grabbed a pair of plastic binoculars from a bin and stepped into the display window. She didn’t seem to care that it had taken the Petals half a day to create the lovely display. After pushing aside the picnic baskets, plastic dishes, and barbecue tongs, she plopped onto a picnic bench and proceeded to watch Main Street. “And it’s your duty to control your troublemaking daughter.”

“I’m so sick of being called a troublemaker,” Pearl whispered to Ben.

With a sigh, Mrs. Petal closed the front door. Pearl clenched her fists with frustration. It was bad enough that the fairies were in danger of extermination, but now she and Ben were locked in a store with Victoria. If only that Vacuumator would work on a person!

“I’ll make some tea,” Mrs. Petal said, and she went upstairs to set the kettle on the stove.

“I take mine with three lumps of sugar!” Mrs. Mulberry called. Then she shrieked. “There they are! They’ve left Town Hall and are flying down Main Street!”

While Victoria, Grandpa Abe, and Mr. Petal rushed to the window to watch the fairies, Pearl pulled Ben down aisle two. They huddled in front of a stack of canned cheese spread. “I don’t care if I get grounded for a million years,” she whispered. “We have to get out of here and find Twanabeth. We have to warn her.”

“How?” Ben asked. “Mrs. Mulberry is watching everything. And your dad is guarding the front door.”

“I saw that dragon again.” Victoria had followed them down the aisle. She took off her glasses, wiped the thick lenses on her shirt, then stuck them back onto her nose. “And don’t try to tell me that I didn’t, because I did. It flew right over my yard.”

“Go away, Victoria. Ben and I are having a private conversation.”

“About what?”

“That’s none of your beeswax.” Pearl felt a bit prickly. Maybe she was allergic to Victoria. That girl got under Pearl’s skin like stinging nettles! “And for the last time, dragons aren’t real.”

“I saw it. And I saw both of you on its back.” She smirked.

Ben pointed at Victoria’s glasses. “Have you had your prescription checked? Because you’re obviously seeing things. Or maybe you’re going mental.”

Victoria stuck out her lower lip. “I’m not mental. That’s a mean thing to say.”

“Why can’t you figure it out?” Pearl said, clenching her teeth again. “We don’t want to talk to you. We never want to talk to you. Go. Away.”

Victoria winced as if those words had stung. For a millisecond, Pearl felt bad. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But then she reminded herself that there were hundreds of tiny lives at stake and, thus, no time to feel bad. Besides, Victoria constantly said mean things to Pearl. It was part of her daily routine.

“Victoria!” Mrs. Mulberry called from the display window. “I’ve had a brilliant idea. I’m going to write about our situation for the upcoming issue of Welcome Wagon Monthly. Get some paper and a pen.”

“Better do what your mom says,” Pearl told her. “Paper and pens are in aisle one.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Mulberry,” Ben whispered as Victoria went to get the supplies. And while he and Pearl continued to huddle next to the cheese spread, trying to hatch a plan, Mrs. Mulberry dictated to her daughter, who’d joined her in the front window.

“It was a dark and stormy day when we found ourselves trapped,” Mrs. Mulberry began, her voice filled with drama. “The Dollar Store, a wasteland of useless objects, had become our only shelter from an invading army of vicious insects that were determined to prey on our flesh. With no food or water to sustain us, Victoria and I grew weak. But I was determined to keep us alive!”

“Impressive,” Ben said. “Sounds like one of my stories.”

Pearl rolled her eyes. “We need to get out of here. What are we going to do?”

“Tea is ready!” Mrs. Petal called from the upstairs apartment.

“You got a little something to nosh?” Grandpa Abe asked. “All this excitement’s made me hungry.”

“Sure,” Mr. Petal told him. Then he led Grandpa Abe up the stairs.

“I can’t leave my post,” Mrs. Mulberry announced. “Victoria, dear, bring Mummy a cup of tea.” Victoria set the paper and pen aside and followed Grandpa Abe and Mr. Petal. Pearl took a deep, focused breath. With everyone upstairs and Mrs. Mulberry staring out the window, it was now or never.

“Come on,” she whispered. She hurried to the back of the store, opened the basement door, and, with Ben at her heels, quickly descended into Great-Aunt Gladys’s apartment.