#sci oliver

The Predatory Wasp

“It’ll be alright, Hedgehog! I’ve got a broken arm, I’m not dead!” Said Oscar, slowly sitting on the bed of his cabin. His arm was bandaged, he walked with a cane, and his eye was bandaged. Oscar looked...worse for wear. And yet, he still smiled at Hedgehog’s worried demeanor.

Hedgehog shook her head, “I know, Oscar. But I haven’t seen you like this since you got pneumonia in 5th grade…” Hedgehog clasped her hands together. “I just want to be sure you’re safe, that’s all…”

Oscar smiled wide, “Hedgehog, I appreciate you caring for me. But I just need time to rest!” He adjusted his position in bed and looked over to Hedgehog. “...but seriously, I do appreciate it.” He looked at himself in a mirror near the corner.

Hedgehog smiled and sat down, “We can hang out! This heat wave is still going on, I don’t mind the shade!”

Oscar looked at himself in the mirror…”um...actually? I kind of need some time to myself.”

“What?” Hedgehog looked over, “Didn’t we have a problem with alone time earlier this summer?” She asked, looking a bit annoyed as she crossed her arms.

“Y-yeah, I know, but...I’m still kind of shaken up about the fall.” He responded, looking a bit shy about something. “I just want to...think on it for a bit.”

“...okay.” Hedgehog rose from her seat and patted his head, careful to avoid his bandages. “But if you need me, come find me, alright? I’ll be in my cabin.”

Oscar smiled as she left him be...and then when she left, he laid his head back, sighing gently. He looked straight at his ceiling, sighing softly and closing his good eye, thinking on something…

Oscar had lied to Hedgehog. He didn’t need to reflect onto the fall. He needed to reflect on something else. Something a bit...stranger. A wasp. This...this wasp he’d been seeing on him. He didn’t know what it was, but it was always there. Crawling up his arm or his leg or his foot. He always saw it whenever he thought about…

There it was. A big, bright yellow wasp. Right on his arm, as he thought about it. He looked down, his eye wide. It was MASSIVE, almost the size of his trunk. He began to breathe heavily, afraid of what it would do. He knew he couldn’t kill it, even if he did, who’s to say there wasn’t another? Just waiting for him?

Oscar teared up...he felt it was about to sting him, but he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t even tell others about it. As SOON as he did, it would be gone, and no one would believe him. Not even Betsy knew how to help him. He just had to sit there and wait for it to go away…

A knock on the door. The wasp flew out to the glass of Oscar’s sliding door and disappeared. Oscar heaved a sigh of relief, wiping a tear away from his face. He looked over at the door and nodded softly to himself.

“Come in!”

In stepped, of all people, Oliver. Oliver and Oscar had been getting closer as of late. Ever since the events of the talent show, Oliver and Oscar had been friends. Though, each day they hung out, they got a bit closer.

Oliver had ditched his typical hat and jacket, due to the terrible heat of the day. Oliver looked really sweaty anyhow. He had with him an electric keyboard.

“Oscar! Hedgehog told me you fell...yikes, looks worse than I thought it would.” He said, setting down his keyboard.

“Hey, Oliver! Heh...yeah, fell while I was biking back to the cabin after I saw some weird lights...you should’ve seen my eye, it was gross.”

“Sounds like it, from what I heard hedgehog say...are you gonna be staying at camp?” he asked.

“Yep! Buuuut my arms gonna be out of commission for a while.” Oscar said, adjusting himself. He heard it again...the wasp’s wings fluttering...he tried to push it out of his mind. But it was difficult. He noticed Oliver’s ear twitching, but noticed Oliver pushing his ear back down.

“So, you just coming to check up on me?” Asked Oscar, “Thanks, but I was kind of hoping for some alone time…”

Oliver blushed a bit, “Oh...well, I was gonna play you a song that I learned, if you wanted to hear it?” Asked Oliver. He smiled shyly, not liking to perform for people, especially not in intimate places like this.

“I thought you hated performance. It opens you up to criticism!” Oscar said, adjusting himself once more.

“Well, yeah...but I know if you have any criticism it’ll be constructive.” Oliver said, setting up his electric piano right near Oscar’s bed. He plugged it in and turned it to a regular piano setting.

Oscar thought this wouldn’t be but SO bad...I mean, a bit of music might drown out the large wasp flying ever so closer.

“What song are you gonna play?” Asked Oscar, “Is it one of yours? I like your songs.”

“No, it’s a song from someone else,” said Oliver, messing with the settings on the piano, “you ever heard of a guy named Sufjan Stevens?”

Oscar thought for a second. “No, not really...what does he write, usually?” Oscar asked, the wasp getting closer. He noticed Oliver’s ears twitching more, as if the dog was hearing something louder. Oscar couldn’t help but notice the ear’s twitches correlating with the wasp’s wings…

“Mostly sad stuff…” Oliver began to play. The melody was almost haunting in a way, but somehow happy at the same time. The noise did drown out the sound of the wasp a bit. Oliver didn’t sing this time, which left Oscar a little bummed out, but he didn’t mind...watching Oliver play like this was nice.

He felt the wasp crawling up his neck now, and though Oscar slightly flinched...he couldn’t help but move his head slightly closer to Oliver’s, looking at him play intently as he went. He reached a hand out to steady himself, but it ended up on Oliver’s shoulder somehow.

Oliver kept playing, simply giggling as he looked up at Oscar...then looking to his neck. He kept playing, but quieted his playing down softly, until eventually coming to a complete stop. “...Oscar? Has that wasp been following you around, too?”

Oscar’s eye shot open as he pulled away and gasped, “I...wo...YOU see it, too!? I thought it was just me!” Oscar looked...the wasp flew up and onto the ceiling. “...why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think anyone else could see it, either...maybe it’s just us?” Asked Oliver, “But what could that mean?” He asked...then he looked back to the sheet music. He played a part of it…

“Oliver, I love your musicianship skills, but how is this gonna figure out-”

Oliver began to sing, cutting off Oscar as he looked at the lyrics and sang them aloud…

“North of Sylvanna, we swim in the palisades

I come out wearing my brother’s red hat

There on his shoulder my best friend is bit, seven times

He runs washing his face in his hands

Oh, how I meant to tease him,

Oh, how I meant no harm…”

Oliver paused, as if he came to a revelation about something important...He looked wide eyed at the sheet in front of him.

“...touching his back with my hand, I kiss him

I see the wasp on the length of my arm…”

Oliver ceased playing and looked at Oscar. “...the wasp. It represents something...something like fear.”

Oscar looked down as he saw the wasp now, landed straight on his belly as he sighed. “But I’m not afraid of you...it’s like, the opposite! I’m LESS afraid with you around! You always catch mistakes, and things like that...and...I don’t know, other than hedgehog and Max, you’re like...my best friend!”

Oliver and Oscar looked long and hard at each other...the wasp seemed to be getting bigger on Oscar’s belly, but he had to ignore it. They stared headlong into each other’s eyes. Oscar inched closer, then Oliver…

“Oliver...you mean a lot to me…”

The two kissed. It was a whirlwind of emotion...longing, fear, love. But they kissed, holding it just long enough that when they did pull away from each other, there was an audible ‘smeck’.

They looked at Oscar’s belly.

The wasp was gone.

___

Hedgehog eventually did come over to find Oscar laying in bed, smiling wide.

“Oscar!” She hugged him gently, “I brought you some stuff from the mess hall!” Hedgehog laid out some food for Oscar, though there wasn’t much of it. “There wasn’t much I could snag...how are you feeling.”

Oscar just sighed contentedly, not even looking at the food.