Bugs, Camp & Camcorders

I rolled over and looked at the buzzing clock beside my bed in surprise that it had been the alarm that woke me this morning and not-

"Der-ek!" A scream interrupted my thoughts. He had moved up the time to throw her off today.

Still nestled under the covers in my tiny room I listened to her stomp over to the room beside hers throwing open the door, and then slamming it shut behind her. Not that it mattered; the closed door barely muffled the screaming.

Rolling my eyes I pulled the pillow up around my ears, attempting to drown them out.

This was day five in the bug prank.

The first day was sort of humorous, and almost worth the hour of sleep we all missed when Casey woke up screaming at 5am- almost. But now I just feel bad for my sister, I really do. Waking up with a bug in your mouth is disgusting. Trust me on this one, after a summer at camp Wompawamak I would know.

So naturally when my big sis came to me for help I was willing to do whatever she needed… like I'm ever not.

The plan was simple. Derek was avoiding punishment due to a lack of evidence against him. There was no real way to prove he, or anyone else was deliberately putting dead moths, spiders or whatever else they could find in her mouth.

(Derek was insistent the bugs were living inside her and crawling out at night when she fell asleep. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but that didn't stop Casey from keeping me up two nights in a row to watch when she fell asleep. Even though I had Googled it and proved it completely impossible, but what do I know?)

So that night I told Casey I had an idea on how to catch him red handed and end the bug buffet. I would handle it; all she would have to do was go to sleep just like every other night. I never got how even when it was her problem I was the only one who lost sleep over things… and I really needed sleep at this point.

At quarter to 5 I snuck into Casey's room and slipped into her closet flicking the family camcorder to night mode. Uncomfortably seated in the tight space between clothing I waited.

Ten minutes later Casey was snoring away when her door creaked open revealing the prime suspect himself sneaking in armed with a small plastic bag.

I poised the camera and held my breath, waiting to catch him in action.

Instead he sat down in the chair beside her bed and just stared at her. At first I was sure he was plotting something, and then as the sun rose I could more clearly make out his face. There was a serious expression so out of place as he watched my sister sleeping.

It was then that it hit me. This wasn't about the sick thrill of putting bugs in Casey's mouth. It was about finding a reason to be here, around her, everything he did was about that. I nearly let out a gasp with the realization of what my crazy older sister really meant to my obnoxious step-brother.

I don't know how long he stayed there like that, other than it was long enough for my legs to completely fall asleep. Just when I thought I was going to fall out of the closet he stood and walked over to the bed, extracting what looked like a big black beetle. With a smirk he dropped it gently onto the side of her mouth and left.

When I was sure he was back in his room I left as fast as I could before she woke up. The moment my door closed I heard her scream and I hurriedly deleted the file from the camcorder.

That morning I found Casey in the kitchen sourly stirring brown sugar into a bowl of raisin oatmeal. She perked up when she saw me enter the room. I smiled weakly at her expectant look.

"So what happened, did you catch him in the act?" She asked excitedly.

"You're not going to like this." I said as I caught sight of Derek standing by the door behind Casey, his eyes made contact with mine and I knew he knew what I had seen. He looked as though he was going to be sick, but he made no motion to move or say anything.

"Derek never came into your room." I lied as best as I could.

"What?" She looked horrified.

"I didn't see him, but I did see a beetle crawl into your mouth. Sorry Case." I looked away from her suspicious glare.

"Told you it wasn't me, they're coming out of your ears." Derek laughed, grabbing the uneaten oatmeal away from Casey and spitting on it before she could grab it back.

"Hey I was about to eat that!"

With a mouthful of oatmeal Derek answered her sending bits of it flying. "Don't be selfish Casey you already had your daily bug breakfast."

When she walked over to the fridge Derek looked up at me. He didn't say it, but in his eyes I knew he was thankful, and he knew by mine that his secret was safe with me.

"Actually Derek, the only one enjoying the bug breakfast special this morning is you." Casey said slyly as she poured a bowl of cereal next to me.

Derek looked up with a mouthful of food and a concerned look on his face.

"We don't have any raisin oatmeal in the house." She said laughing, and I joined her as I caught on. Across the island Derek was turning green.

In perfect timing, and oblivious to the situation Edwin stormed in. "What have you done with my ant farm Derek!"