Strange Hobby, Strange Happenings

Stella listens to the faint sound of her mother's aerobics tape playing through the crack of the door. The voice of the teacher is overly enthusiastic, almost tinny, she could hear the consistent creaking of her mothers' feet pounding the old wood of their house. It is a familiar almost comforting sound now, it means she has time uninterrupted. 

She moves from her desk to a stretch of wall in between the door and the closet where a small table sits. On top of the table is a glass enclosure, where beetles crawl around on twigs. A light warmed the space she searched for her newest; it was a rhino beetle. But its black iridescence and knack for escaping made it special.

“Just making sure everyone’s here,” she said to no one in particular. There were four others, two red ones, a blue one and an iridescent green one. She counted them and who was missing but the rhino. She double-checked the hiding spaces, some foliage, and a pile of leaves. He wasn’t there, she paused to think where he’d gone and once she did she saw movement on the wall. It was the Rhino, out again. She moved to the insect and grabbed it, careful not to crush it. 

“I don’t know how you keep doin this?” she said putting him back into the enclosure. She checked for breaks in the mesh on top. None. 

"Stell," her mother's voice rips through her train of thought. 

"Uh, yes ma'am," she says automatically. 

"Go get my exercise bands," her mother says in between pants "They're under the bed." 

She quickly moves from the terrarium and heads down the hallway to her mom's room. The navy blue room is decorated to fit her mom's personality: neat, orderly, and afro-centric. She gets on the floor and begins thrusting into the darkness under the bed. Partly feeling for the different objects under the bed; a box, shoes, another box probably a puzzle, and some clothes. She feels something solid but it isn't the band's, it's hard and small. She quickly pulls her hand back and looks under the bed. 

Nothing, but she finds the exercise bands. As she reaches for them something quickly passes in the corner of her eye. She sits up looking in the direction of the door. It scurries into the hallway, Stella scrabbles to her feet. It couldn't be...it was...the beetle, the rhino beetle. She groaned inwardly and runs into the hallway, trying to figure out how it got out. And bumps into her mother. 

"What are you doing?" her mom holds her hands out to catch Stella. 

"Mom! Mom, did you see it?" Stella continued, looking up and down the hallway. 

"See what?" She looks around quickly. 

"The beetle," Stella moves her hands in the direction the creature went. 

"Stella, I told you to keep those bugs out of my room,” she groans. “Letting you collect bugs is a privilege, not a right,”

“Mom, I didn’t bring him to your room,” Stella said earnestly. 

“Either way don’t do it again,” She gave Stella a look and headed to her room.

After looking around the house she retreats to her room, lightly closing the door. She goes back to her desk. Her heel taps the floor. How did it get out? She asks herself.

Her mom is right partly, collecting beetles might be an odd hobby but it was one of the few things she enjoyed. She should take better care of her bugs maybe they won't want to run away. She sighed and looked at the aquarium they had turned into the beetle habitat. She was just going to bite the bullet on her newest beetle. She hadn't even picked a name for it yet but for some reason thinking of letting it go hurt. So instead she hopes she finds it again.

She takes a breath and looks at the pile of homework she has on her desk, most of it's done. She grabs a book she needs to read for English and flips to where her bookmark sits. She puts a hand on her neck and begins reading. 

***

She hears the voice of the tv end and her mom getting ready to go upstairs. She checks her watch, it's around 10, she involuntarily yawns. She moves her homework back to her backpack and begins getting ready for bed; putting her tightly coiled hair into braids, putting on her pj’s, and washing her face. 

She goes to check the enclosure as a part of her routine, to count the insects and make sure they have everything. 

She peers into the enclosure, her heart skips a beat, and her eyebrows furrow.

“What?” she whispers, the rhino beetle has found its way back into the enclosure. It’s as if the little bug has a mind of its own. She picks it up by the shell, moves it to see every side. It looked like a perfectly normal bug.  

As she went to put it back something happened, the bug seemed to flicker appearing in and out of her hand, its little legs moved more wildly and it created a flash that blinded her. Out of fear she drops it. It didn't like that, it moved more erratically and started to glow, the glow built until she couldn’t see anymore. She put out her hand involuntarily, she felt something slick and hard connect with her palm.

As quickly as the glow built it faded, she blinked the spots away the beetle was still in her hand but she was in the backyard.  

She looked at the Rhino beetle now sitting patiently in her hand, her hand was shaking whether from the cold or being transported she didn’t know.

“You can do that?” It didn’t answer but it seemed to look at her, a wave of guilt suddenly fell over her, as realized maybe there was a reason it kept escaping. 

“I’m sorry,” she said slowly kneeling down and placing the insect on the grass. She watched it walk across the ground and it flashed and was gone. 

“Goodbye,” she shivered, the wind was picking up, she stood hoping it took care of itself and headed back inside. She quietly made her way to her room. She finished her routine and decided to check the enclosure one last time. She counted the two reds, the green, and...wait.

It was the Rhino, for some reason as she watched it munch on leaves she wasn't afraid.  

“So you decided to stay,” she felt the corners of her mouth lift up

“I won’t tell anyone,” she felt she needed to say, after all, she had found a teleporting beetle, there was no telling if it was sentient or not.

“Alright guys goodnight,” she finished her count and put the mesh back on.

She laid in bed watching the terrarium, her eyelids felt heavy. Sleep wasn’t far.