Ben and the BUG

Ben stared in horror at the thick white grub lounging on his keyboard. The grub was squinting with his tiny black eyes at the V key, reaching out with his tiny arms as hard. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Ben.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked in delight.

"No, I'm talking to the other disgusting blob on my keyboard," Ben snapped. "Who do you think I'm talking to?"

"You think I'm disgusting?" the BUG beamed, clutching his tiny hands.

"You're a big, white slimy blob. You look like a maggot. Of course I think you're disgusting!"

The BUG slid slowly towards him. "Oh that's marvelous! I'm not used to having people notice me! This must be how maggots feel all the time!"

Ben looked around carefully before lowering his voice. "People notice maggots?"

"Of course they do!" the BUG said, sliding off the keyboard. "They're the models of the bug world." Ben shuddered and sat down at his desk. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. "If I count to ten, there won't be a disgusting white talking blob when I open my eyes," he thought. "It's just a hallucination. I've been working too hard. It's a spot of icing from a donut some slob dropped on my desk."

Slowly, Ben opened his eyes. The BUG was beaming up at him. He closed them again.

"Go away," he muttered. "I'm at work. If people hear me talking to you, I'll get fired."

"No you won't," the BUG sighed sadly. "No one notices me anyway. And why should they?"

"What are you talking about?" Ben whispered. "How can someone not notice you?"

"I don't quite remember," the BUG said, crinkling his brow. "I'm the Befuddled Undistinguished Grub."

"Great," Ben muttered to himself. "I have an obnoxious jabbering GLUG on my windshield and a insecure grub on my desk. My wife is going to have a field day with all these new critters."

A fly flew by, and Ben slapped at him irritatingly. The BUG stretched himself and waved his tiny arms frantically in an effort to get the fly's attention. Amazingly, Ben watched as the fly buzzed around his plants, computer and books. He flew within a centimeter of the grub, right between his waving arms.

"He didn't notice you," Ben whispered in amazement.

"Didn't notice who?" asked BUG, who was distracted by a crumb on the desk. "Oh, right. I know. Isn't it depressing?" he sighed heavily. "No body notices me. I even threw myself in hot pink paint once, and even the Gay Gadflys didn't pay attention to me." The BUG sighed listlessly as he stretched out in front of Ben's keyboard. Ben was tired of insecure and dramatic bugs, and wanted to pretend his life was somewhat normal.

"What did you have to tell me?" Ben whispered impatiently. "About what?" the BUG looked at him in confusion. "I don't know, you're supposed to tell me something because I've been chosen!"

"I don't remember," the BUG said in confusion. "I didn't know I was supposed to say anything." Ben rolled his eyes and gently rolled the BUG over to the corner, where he sighed to himself regularly. Ben had forgotten he was there when he bellowed a few hours later, "I remember!"

"What?" Ben muttered, rubbing his right ear.

"Things are not always what they seem," the BUG said proudly. "Like me. I'm really quite a charming fellow, rather like the GLUG. Wouldn't you say?" He blinked his tiny black eyes at Ben.

"Uhhh," Ben said. The BUG sighed. "Anyway, it's the SMUG's turn," the BUG said as he slunk off into a vat of paper. "You'll meet him next."

"What's a SMUG?" Ben asked. He was met with silence.

To be continued................