Manny explained the nightmare to his mother, and she was worried while Aunty Rose was laughing.
"Don't tell me you went to disturb a nest of wasps and some frogs today?" His aunty asked in suspicion.
He wanted to lie, but she had caught him red-handed.
His mother was not happy at all.
"What were you doing at the pond and why were you not at school?" His mother asked. "Otis used the bus, and he came back alone. And you know how I feel about your brother coming back from school alone," his mother worried.
Manny held his fingers in his hands and looked nervously from side to side.
He wanted to tell a lie but his mother and his aunty would always catch him in the middle of his lie.
"Sigh… you're grounded for a week Manny. You cannot go to school or play with your friends. No phones, no computers and no games or fun. You'll be inside reading and thinking about your life."
"Your punishment starts tomorrow morning. I have to get to sleep. I have work tomorrow. Aunty Rose will inspect you," Manny's mother said with sadness in her voice:
Manny's mother and sister left the room and Manny was afraid. He could not sleep again. He decided to phone his friends.
He picked up the telephone and filled out Ethan's number. He knew Ethan would be awake. Ethan slept late and if he slept early, he would wake up at night to read.
The phone rang at the other end and Ethan picked up the phone. "Ethan, it's me, Manny. I had a nightmare about frogs. I'm scared and can not sleep again."
"Guy! Me too! Oh my gosh! I dreamed that the frogs launched a rebellion and the pond was overrun with frogs. And then the frogs came forward to attack us. They walked with a frog queen that wore a shiny crown, and they held pitchforks!" Ethan explained with fear.
"The frogs moved out of the pond, and they came towards the town, their eyes were filled with revenge!" Manny continued.
The two friends became silent after a while. It was a coincidence that they dreamt the same dreams.
"This is the reason why I woke up early," Manny complained.
"Boy, it's nothing. It is just our minds playing tricks on us. Let's go to bed."
Both friends continued their conversation by talking about figurines after comforting themselves and after an hour, they were back to sleep.
The morning came with its frustrating activities. Manny's mother kept to her side of the deal and grounded Manny. She went ahead to seize all his figurines, video games and televisions.
"Mom! The figurines too?" Manny asked in frustration.
"Yes, the figurines too. I've left some books. Read that," his mother continued.
"You're slacking in school. I want to see your grades go up by the end of the term. Aunty Rose will serve you breakfast."
She closed the door to his room and left for work.
Manny wriggled in frustration and looked for what to do to excite him.
"I think I saw some baby roaches running along the walls. I think it's time to have fun with them," Manny said, and walked to the corner of his room where a little hole that houses Roaches was.
The roaches saw him coming and ran around for safety. He had been a known terror to them. He had been tormenting them for as long as they could remember and their lives had become a constant game of hide and seek.
They desperately struggle for survival.
"He's a sadist," whispered a particular nervous roach named Rocky. "I saw him once put a whole colony in ajar and watched them panic."
"He's got a thing for shoes," another roach named Betty said. "He's always squishing us under his sneakers."
The roaches were wise. They had learned to adapt to Manny's cruelty. They developed a network of tunnels, and they also had secret passages that allowed them to avoid his traps.
They sensed his traps. They learned to sense his approach and to scatter in all directions before he struck.
Still, Manny was relentless, he was determined to exterminate every roach in the house. He went into his bathroom to take a small hose and put it through the hole.
His aim was to wash all the roaches away.
Mrs Jane watched from the monitor and could not hold it in anymore. She knew that if she let him be, he would continue to torment the roaches.
The monitor they had put on him made him fall asleep, and they waited till night to strike.
"This is too much!" Mrs Jane squealed, and she called on Perrie and Dickson to escort her to Manny's room.
Mrs Jane flew to Manny's room at night when he was asleep, alongside Perrie and Dickson the drone.
They landed on his head and pointed a bright bee torchlight at the lice's faces. The lice were fast asleep.
"Who dares come to our abode to disturb us," The king of the lice said.
"We've already marked this territory. Look for another boy to feast on. This one is ours."
"Forget the banteers Mister Lice, we are here for business," Mrs Jane the bee sternly said.
"Wake up Mister Lice. The animal headquarters sent us. We are here to unleash the animal system.
As Mr Lice heard of the animal headquarters, he shook in fear. No one dared disrespect Mister Sid the Snake.
"Um.. yes, the chip, hand it over," Mr Lice said and asked for the chip.
Mrs Jane the bee brought out the chip and handed it over to the lice that was in Manny's hair.
The lice got the chip and put it in Manny's hair. They tied it around a sting of his hair. The other lice woke up from their sleep and gathered around Mister Lice.
They flew away from his head and stood on the window still, waiting for him to turn.
After two minutes, when Manny's blood touched the chip, Manny turned into a bee. He was not exactly unrecognizable, he still had his face, but with a golden thorax, beautiful rainbow wings and light blue antennas.
Mrs Jane squealed in delight. Manny was finally going to get a taste of his own medicine and Dickson the drone looked in terror.
Manny was still fast asleep.
"Carry him, we are going back to the hive," Mrs Jane ordered.
Dickson the drone a
nd Perrie carried a very sleepy Manny. They held him on either side of his arms. Mrs Jane wore a very satisfied look, and off to the bee hive they went.