Even in her dreams, Taylor couldn't escape the idea of having unpleasant companions. Trails of snail slime ran down her back, skunk spray burned her nose, and a bear's rancid breath warmed the back of her neck. Each new nightmare brought more anxious thoughts until her mind was constantly buzzing with them.
When she woke up, her mind wasn't the only thing buzzing.
A handful of flies were circling her bed. They buzzed frantically as Taylor swatted at them again and again. For each fly she struck down, a pair of pests took its place.
The bugs followed her throughout her morning routine. She couldn't even go to the bathroom without her tiny audience watching. When it was finally time for breakfast, Taylor collapsed into her chair with a huff. "Mom, did you leave the window open again?"
"No, honey." Her mom moved through the kitchen as gracefully as her butterflies as she prepared stacks of pancakes. "There are still too many mosquitos out for that."
"Then what are all these flies doing here?" A handful of flies joined the others as concern crept into her voice and her heart hammered against her ribcage. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't mean what she thought it meant.
"Guess some animals finally learned how to recognize an amazing young lady when they see one," her dad said. He rustled his newspaper to startle his cat, Pitch, who made leap after leap at his new prey. The black bundle of sass meowed indignantly as he crashed to the floor. "Hush, Pitch. Mind your manners. Those flies are family now."
Taylor's mom smiled as she put a heaping pile of chocolate chip pancakes in front of her. "I thought you'd need a pick me up with all the hoopla about companions going on at school, but it looks like these are celebratory pancakes!"
"But I don't want flies!" Taylor exclaimed. She sprinted to the living room so fast she nearly knocked her chair over, but the flies zoomed after her. More and more insects joined the swarm until her new companions formed a dark cloud that followed her so closely the flies' wings sent tiny gusts through her hair.
Taylor tried to outrun the bugs again and again, but they raced after her no matter where she went. Finally, she collapsed back into her chair and sobbed. "Why did it have to be flies?"
"Nobody gets to pick what their companions are," her mom said. Her butterflies fluttered over to Taylor and brushed away her tears with their wings. "But I bet you'll warm up to them if you give them a chance."
"Yeah, and at least your flies won't shed all over the couch. Isn't that right, Pitch?"
Taylor giggled as the cat shot her dad an irritated glance, but still couldn't quite manage to smile. "But what if I don't warm up to them? It's easy to like cats or butterflies, but flies?" She shuddered as one of them crawled across her scalp. "It's hard to imagine getting anything worse."
Her mom put a hand to her chin. "You know, you didn't always like my companions either."
"No way!"
"You didn't mind the butterflies when you were little," her mom said with a chuckle, "but the caterpillars used to scare the bejesus out of you!"
Her dad stifled a laugh. "Yup. 'Get those haiwy worms away from me!'" he said in his best impression of how Taylor sounded when she was three, complete with a lisp that made Taylor flush with embarrassment.
"Okay, maybe I didn't always like them." Her eyebrows crinkled together as she thought. "But they're yours. Why wouldn't I love your companions? You're awesome."
"Aw, you're just saying that so you'll get chocolate chip pancakes again tomorrow," her mom teased. "You're awesome too, honey. How many kids do you know that won first place in the Lafayette Young Artists' Competition last year?"
"Just me."
"Now how could someone so artistic, smart, and hard-working attract bad companions?" her dad said. "I bet you wouldn't even trade them for all the Skittles in the world once you give yourself time to get to know them."
Taylor finally smiled. "I guess maybe they'll be okay."
"That's the spirit," he said. "Now hurry up and finish those pancakes before your companions and I do it for you."
###
Taylor walked into first period with her head held high and her flies hovering around her in a long, flowing cloak. Whispers and snickers broke out behind her as she took her seat. Snorts broke through the gossiping, and they weren't just from the boar hogging the sunny spot by the window. The flies drew themselves closer to Taylor until their buzzing echoed in her ears.
"So you got your companions, huh?" Eliza said. Her hummingbirds fluttered nearby but kept their distance from the flies. "They seem... energetic."
"Yeah, they showed up this morning." She smiled weakly. "At least I don't have to worry about figuring out what animal I'll use for my project now."
"It's pretty neat that you've got so many of them. You're as popular as any of us will ever get!"
Despite her kind words, Taylor couldn't help but notice how her friend fidgeted in her seat next to her or how her hummingbirds chirped in alarm whenever her flies ventured too close. By the time Ms. Watson and her dogs arrived, Taylor wished her swarm would swallow her.
"Good morning everyone. Today we're going to start discussing the historical context of our next novel." As the teacher's eyes met Taylor's, her dogs whined in pity. "Lord of the Flies."
Judging eyes turned to stare at Taylor and the boy with the boar. Everyone had heard the legend of the boy who had killed his companion, driven mad by a girl's deafening swarm of flies. Everyone knew how companions reflected their owners' true selves. Nobody would let Taylor forget it.
By the time first period let out, the other students made no effort to hide their disgust. More than a few muttered to the boy with the boar that he'd better avoid Taylor like the plague, or else he'd be eating pork chops for dinner. His freckled face reddened as he ran a hand through his companion's bristly fur.
"Shoo, flies!" he snarled at Taylor as he stomped out of the classroom. "You must be a pretty garbage person to attract those."
The only thing louder than the high-pitched whine of the flies camouflaging themselves against Taylor's dark brown skin was her hammering heart. "I-I'm not- I mean, I don't think I'm—"
"You aren't," Eliza said firmly. One of her hummingbirds jabbed forward alongside her finger. "As for you, Jack, I'd say you and that pig are perfect for each other. In fact, I think it could teach you some manners."
"He's a boar!" His companion snorted in agreement and bared its tusks. "And what would you know? You're worse than the flies. They can't help wanting to be around garbage, but you should know better. Her stink might rub off on you."
Eliza's hands trembled by her sides. Other students lingered nearby like vultures circling a dying animal as they waited to see if a fight would break out.
After a long silence, Eliza let out a sigh. "Come on, Tay. We'd better get to math."
A chorus of snorts and laughter sounded behind them as they left. Mutters of "Buzz off," and "Fly away," followed them all the way to their next class.
"Sorry, Liz," Taylor said. "It's my fault he was so mean to you."
"No, he's been a turd ever since he got that boar. Besides, who cares what he thinks?" She took a packet of candy out of her pocket. "Emergency Skittles?"
"Yes, please!"
The girls smiled as they shared the handful of candy.
But that happiness didn't last long. For once, the quadratic formula was the least of Taylor's problems. The whispered insults and pitying glances kept coming, and this time they weren't just directed at her.
"How desperate can you be?"
"Maybe she just hangs around her so her hummingbirds can have an all you can eat buffet. Or maybe she has no sense of smell..."
Taylor squirmed in her seat. Why couldn't people at least leave Eliza alone? Her hummingbirds shouldn't have to drown out their comments with wings beating so fast they whipped her hair into a nest of knots.
When class ended, Eliza wished her good luck before scurrying off to her next class. Taylor couldn't blame her for leaving so quickly.
The bullying was harder to endure alone.
With nobody to distract her from it, Taylor sank into a haze of buzzing and unshed tears. Not even art class helped much. The easel hid her from the other kids' staring, but it didn't block out the whispering. She got so lost in the day's rottenness that she didn't notice the blotchy banana peel someone slipped into her backpack.
At least, she didn't until she went to pull out her social studies notebook.
"Ew!" she screamed as her fingers brushed against the mushy surprise.
The class roared with laughter as she extracted the peel. She hurled it toward the room's herbivore feeding trough, only for it to land on the floor with a splat. Her flies zoomed over to investigate the not-so-fresh meal, leaving Taylor to hide her tears with her stained notebook.
By the time science class finally arrived, Taylor's red-rimmed eyes burned.
"Are you alright?" Mr. Woods asked. His ferrets sniffed her hesitantly as he offered her a tissue.
"I guess." Taylor's voice cracked as a buzzing storm cloud gathered above her. She forced herself to smile. "It's been a long day."
"I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to. And congratulations on getting your companions!"
"Thanks." Taylor took her seat and wiped her eyes. Thank goodness the day was almost over.
"They're still being jerks?" Eliza asked. Her eyes followed her hummingbirds as they visited the flower-filled planters hanging from the ceiling.
"Yeah. I can't blame them though." She tried to wave her flies away, but they came right back as soon as her hand was out of swatting distance. "These flies suck."
"It's so weird you got such gross companions. It doesn't seem right."
"Well, I'm stuck with them now."
"Are you though? What if there's a way we can force them to leave? Then maybe something cooler will take their place."
A smile stretched across Taylor's face as she watched Mr. Woods struggle to project his PowerPoint on food chains. "I think I have an idea."