A wasp.

Sunny saturday. My parents decided to make a garden party with a fireplace and baked potatoes.  They invited two of their friends – a man and a woman about their age. At first I didn’t even realize they are there – they entered the garden through back gate and I was staying in my room (front of the house), surfing the net as usual. I realized when my dad and his friend come to the kitchen to get the food. They were talking loudly and I was wondering when my dad is going to tell me I should go and say “Hello” to the quests.  He always do it and is angry with me that I won’t think about doing it myself. I can’t see a point – it’s not like I invited, like or find their friends funny/interesting.

Surprisingly this time he didn’t say anything to me so I was allowed to stay at my computer, pretending I’m not home. Sometime later my mom come home for some dishes and yelled:

- Kate!  Will you eat the potatoes?

- Maybe... – I bought some time for my mind to remind what she is talking about: potatoes, they are doing a garden party with a fireplace, so they do the baked potatoes, I like baked potatoes as long as they are from the bottom of the pot = a little burned. So I specified:  - I will. 

- They will be ready in 30 mins.

- Ok.

Then she left the house and I returned to surfing the net. No more than 7 mins passed mom entered the house again and yelled:

- Potatoes are ready! Come! 

- ... pff. You said they will be ready in 30 mins. It was only 7 mins since then! – I said, fighting with the feelings of the sudden change and the necessity of instantly finish what I was doing. I don’t like it. I was not ready to go.

- So I was wrong. Deal with it. Come before they get cold.  

Well, it couldn’t be helped. I checked the website I was reading – nothing too interesting, just some news. I was just killing time knowing I can’t start anything too absorbing since once I get focused on something I stay like it at least an hour. So I turned off the screen, get my jacket and shoes on and went to the garden.

- Oh, look. She is also cold! -  the woman friend said once seen me.

I looked at her, she was wearing a pullover. Not much - compared to my t-shirt, a warm sweater and the jacked I got on. But something if you compare it with only t-shirt of my mom or the light blouses of my dad and the other man.

- Good afternoon. – I said, looking for a chair.

There was 6 chairs but all were faced to the house, I wanted to see the fireplace. So I took a chair and moved it to the other side the of table and sat on it.

My dad brought the potatoes pot. My mon started to put them on the dishes. Suddenly she said:

- Damn. I put too much on Kate’s dish...  

I looked at the dish, surprised. She just started to put the potatoes so and the burned ones are usually at the bottom so why was it my dish already? It was only 2nd one! Plus - there was a good amount of potatoes but half of the dish was sausage and carrot slices which I hate.

- Why is it my?

- Because I put it for you.

- Give the dish to someone else.

- No, it is yours.

- This is too much.

- Nothing will happen if you eat it.

- At least take out the sausage and carrot slices.

- Why?! They are good.

- I dislike them!

- At least try, they are really good.

- No. Take them out. I hate sausage and cooked carrots taste!

- Stubborn as a mule... 

She removed most of the sausage and carrot and gave me the dish. I put it on the table waiting – not sure if I am supposed to eat it already.  The quest woman was next. She started to eat instantly so then I started to eat too. Then my mom said:

- There are some burned ones on the bottom. Who wants? 

I moved my dish to her.

- Oh, that’s right. Kate likes them. <puts burned potatoes on my dish> Someone else?

In the end everyone got some. I finished eating first - leaving all the sausage and carrot on the dish.

- Wow, she seriously ate a lot. – the woman said, looking at my dish.

- It wasn’t that much. – I answered (without the sausage and carrot it really wasn’t)

- Oh. That’s true. Kate and my husband can eat a lot. <me: looking at her, suprised> They are slender and you couldn’t say it but they eat a lot and they eat in the evenings and even at night!

- I don’t eat as much as dad! I eat often but I can’t eat too much at once or my stomach hurts.

- But you eat in the evening. – my mom repeated.

- Like after 6pm? – the woman asked.

- 6pm is not evening. – I said.

- Oh, I forgot. You like staying long at night. For you evenings starts at like 11pm?

- That could be right.

- Oho. –  the man said suddenly  – Wieslaw(dads name), you got a job to do!

- What’s going on?

- Look up. There is a wasp hive. It’s small but in a few days it is going to be thaaat big. <showing it with his hands>

Everyone looked up. That was true. High under the roof of our garden house, right above the table there was a ball like, gray thing about 4cm size with a small hole. I started to look at it and couldn’t look anywhere else. I was preparing to escape.

- Yeah, right. – my dad said, laughing.

I got surprised. Why did my dad laugh? It was a serious thing! It was dangerous. It was a damn wasp! They are aggressive. They sting!

- Wieslaw, no. It’s real. – my mom said.

- You are making fun of me. He definitelly bought it in a shop and put it there to see my reaction.

I started to wonder. Could it be they really make fun of my dad and I am a side victim of this joke? But how could it be? It wasn’t something to joke about...

- I am sure you are joking. <dad bringing a long stick> I’m going to throw it from there.

- Are you crazy!? – I said, jumping off my chair – It’s definitely real! The wasp is  gonna jump off and sting us when you do it!

- Yeah, Wieslaw. Why would I lie about it? How could I put it there anyway? – the man said.

- Well. If it is true I will just come here at night and take care of it. – dad finally said and sat down.

I sat back, fascinated by the hive. I was scared but I couldn’t force myself to get away. Then a wasp come out. It started to fly around the table. It came near my face. I escaped, stopped right outside the garden house and looked back. They laughed at me. But I didn’t care. For me I did the right thing and they were the ones crazy since they stayed there. I might be afraid of wasps but I also understand how to be save around one. It’s not a phobia in my case, it is being careful. A wasp usually wont attack you unless you piss her off for some reason or it considers you a danger. We were sitting way too close to the beehive. She could attack any moment, trying to protect the hive.

- Get out everyone. – I said, scared – It might sting, we are too close to the hive.

Then the wasp come close to my mom face. She jumped off the garden house. Others followed her, slowly. We were watching the hive from outside for a while. The male quest got near me and poked my back at a moment. I hit him without realising what I am doing. He scared me! Fortunatelly he didn't seem to care.
Soon the wasp entered the hive and stayed there.

- Kate, go to check on the Internet how to get rid of wasps. – my mom commended.

- You know? I think will really do it. – I answered, using wierd tone of voice.

For some reason the voice of my mom sounded like sarcasm to me so I decided to use my sarcasm answer mechanism (a change of voice that is supposed to say “I don’t care what you think about me”) but it made no sense since it was dangerous situation and checking the methods was a logical solution. Perhaps I mistook the fear in her voice for a joke voice.

I turned the computer screen on and checked how to get rid of a wasp hive. There were some methods. All of them were “to do at night, with a lot of clothes on”. Some included putting soap water to the hive so the wasps can’t fly, some advised to close the hive in a bag and drown it, some to throw the hive into a hot water pot and some to set the hive with fire (but some wasps might escape when feeling the smoke). I also learned that the hive we got there is a small hive of a young queen and it is probably the only wasp around since she didn’t rise the workers or protectors yet (but there is a chance a few others queens help her).  If we manage to kill the queen the hive won’t be builded again. If the queen survives we will have to try other methods – like hanging a brown bag so the wasp thinks there is other hive in this place.  It took me 10 mins to learn.

With the knowledge I come back to the garden. They were sitting around the table again. The hive was still there. I started explaining. I said about the night and clothes, about the water and fire... Then the male quest come to the fireplace, lighted a stick and put it in front of the hive enterace so the smoke gets there. I tried to say it is a bad idea but it was too late. The wasp got out and escaped. Then he burned the hive.

- You shouldn’t do that. Now she is going to return and build the hive again. – I said.

- Is there any way to prevent it? – my mom asked.

- The sure way is killing the queen, that  escaped. But we might try hanging a brown bag near so she thinks it is another hive.

- Like the ones bread sells in?

- I quess it will do.

My mom went to the house and brought a brown, paper bag and the male quest put it under the roof using a stick. Soon the wasp returned. It started to fly around the bag. They started to say:

- She isn’t giving a damn.

- She is wondering what it is.

- She is going to live inside it! You brought her a new home! 

- No. – I said, watching how the wasp behaves, it was pointing the bottom of her body towards the bag. - It is ready to attack whatever comes out of the bag.  

The male quest attacked the wasp using a flaming stick again, the wasp escaped but returned soon. Then it started to levitate in the air near my cats face white the cat watched it, ready to attack.

- Filip! No! – I said, scared and without much thinking started to clap my hands loudly closing them to my cat face. To scare the cat so it won’t attack and get sting. The cat got distracted.

Then I realized what I am doing. Damn it! I am clapping hands right next to the wasp!!!  I am stupid or what!?! It’s going to think I am attacking it and sting me! I escaped a few meters, looking around if the wasp isn’t following me. But no, it was nowhere to be seen again.

After a while the quests said “Goodbye” and me and my parents returned to the house. After a few minutes my mom said she is going back to go to the garden. I was pretty sure she is going to try to hunt for the wasp and she will definitely get sting. But I said nothing. I decided it is probably just my anxiety and she isn’t a child so she can watch for herself.

After a hour or so the garden door opened and my mom yelled:

- The damn wasp stinged me in neck! – and then she run into bathroom, to see the mirror – Where is the sting? We have to take it out! I can’t see the sting!

- Wasps don’t leave a sting. – I said calmly, getting inside the bathroom to see how bad it is. I was scared but stayed completely calm. It wasn’t time for emotions. It was time to act wisely. I looked at the sting area, a 10cms of skin was red and there were 2 white bubbles in the middle of it. Fortunately it didn’t look like an anaphylactic shock. – I have known it is going to end this way. 

- What do you do after a wasp stings you?! – mom asked.

- I’m going to check it. Just a moment. – I run to my room to check the internet fast.

I guess the adrenaline rush helped me keep my mind focused since I didn’t get distracted by my dad’s panic attack – he was yelling “Damn it, Damn it! Damn it!” and couldn’t stop. My mom yelled back to him “Calm down! In the worst case I will die! No need to panic.” I have no idea how was supposed to help, in my opinion it was getting it even worse but whatever. Within 30 secs I found that if there is no sign for anaphylactic shock you need to clean the area with water with vinegar and put a cube of ice surrounded with a clean tissue. So I said it to my mom and she did it.

And then both me and father gave her a lecture that she shouldn’t act so incautiously and “jump” so much since it might kill her one day (It’s my garden! No damn wasp is going to rule in it! I won’t let it! – she was answering).  A hour later everything got back to normal. Right now her skin around the sting area is only a little red.