Reflections of Light

Bug Science

Sebastian was greeted in the morning by the plate of honey he hadn't seen on the floor adhering itself to his foot.

Swearing loudly, he stumbled into the kitchen, ripping off his gooey sock in the process, and slamming both it and the plate down on the worktop.

Luci looked up over her breakfast at her seething house guest.
"Well, you're all sunshine and rainbows today, aren't you?"

"Your son..." He snarled irritably, not finishing the sentence.

Luci evaluated the scene and pieced together what had happened.

"William, why was there a plate of honey on the floor?"

"Wot, did you move it?" Came the reply from upstairs.

"William, come down here right now!" Luci yelled.

The small boy hopped down the stairs,  nonchalantly humming a tune and not at all worried about what awaited him in the kitchen.

"Wot?"

Luci held up the plate, raising an eyebrow.

"Itsa bug trap."

"A bug trap?" Luci sounded sceptical.

"Yes. You put da honey on da plate, an' den go away for a bit, and den da bugs come creepin' and crawlin', and dey smell da yummy honey, and climb in, but den 'cause dere's so much honey, dey get stuck an' take long time to eat their way out. An' den you come back an' get da bugs!"

" And why do you need to catch bugs?"

" Uh... For science. "

Luci nodded, turning back to Sebastian, smirking. "It's a bug trap. For science."

Sebastian gave her a harsh glare.

Luci chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, you should have looked where you were going!"

"Oh, forgive me, I should have expected there to be half a jar of honey spread in front of the doorway."

"Well, you obviously don't know much about four year olds."

Billy punctuated that point by choosing that moment to hoist himself up onto the worktop with a grunt, laying across it on his stomach, in an attempt to reach the cereal box on the other side, his grasping fingers promptly knocking it of the edge.

Luci caught it mid-fall. "My point exactly!
Sweetie, if you want cereal, just ask for it, don't go clambering all over the top."

As she turned away to pour him a bowl, Sebastian scowled at the kid sitting on the breakfast bar stool and smiling smugly.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" He hissed.

"Mummy, can I have some choc'wat milk pwease?" Billy called out after Luci.

Luci crinkled her nose. "Are you sure? That stuff's foul."

"No, is scrummy and de'wicious!" Billy insisted.

Sebastian scowled again, stomping out of the room in frustration.

Luci held her hand out for a high-five, which Billy eagerly gave her.

"So, bug science, huh?"

Billy broke into a wide smile. "Did you know, ants can survive in a microwave?"

"No, I didn't. That's interesting."

"Yeah, because da waves... Dey are big, and da ants, dey are teeny small, right? So da waves go over the ants. At least, that's wot I fink."

He mimed the action with his hands.

Luci nodded. "I think that one might require a Google, but yeah, sounds interesting. Ants can survive in a microwave. Didn't know that. So how did you find out..."

"Yeah, but Woodlice can't." Billy said, hopping down from his stool and running off.

Luci furrowed her brow. "William, come back and finish your breakfast... Oh my God! You didn't...!"

She wrenched open the microwave door, looking inside.

"WILLIAM!"

"It's science!"

"It's not science, it's... microwaving insects! Come here right now!"