Her belly cramped as she tried to stifle her giggles. She knew exactly where the large blue wasp had gotten its inspiration. She’d been reading her brother’s copy of Batman: Death by Design, which their uncle had sent him from the UK. There it was on the floor beside her schoolbooks.

“You are amazing, Della!” she said. “I love it!” She laughed again.

Della buzzed proudly and hovered beside it as Sunny snapped a picture with her cell phone. The wasp had grown to be about an inch and a half in length, its skills evolving beyond anything Sunny had ever imagined. Wasp artists that were happy were known to live as long as the human being they bonded to and develop skills that rivaled and even surpassed the greatest human workers of the arts. This Batman not only looked as if it would walk away at any time, but it resembled the dark, gritty Batman found in the recent films Ugonna had come to love so much.

Della buzzed happily and flew a gleeful loop the loop into the tiny mud nest it had built in the ceiling corner. Sunny sat on her bed. It was nearly dawn. She got dressed. Today was another day.

8

PEPPER BUGS

The next day was another day, too. A normal day. So was the next, and the next. For two months, things settled for Sunny. Well, it settled as much as it could for a free agent whose mentor was the Head Librarian of Leopard Knocks.

Sunny saw no more octopus-monster-propelled lakes, Mami Wata kept her distance, and reading Nsibidi was feeling more and more natural, though no less sublime. She didn’t speak a word to anyone about her hardening body, and that made things easier, too. Better to just roll with it than try to explain it to anyone.

On the midnight of every Wednesday, she went with Chichi, Sasha, and Orlu for classes with Anatov. Half of these times were spent in his hut reviewing readings, learning and practicing new jujus, and being lectured on Leopard etiquette and history. Chichi and Sasha had recently passed to the Mbawkwa level, and Anatov taught them and had them practice higher-level jujus. Orlu and Sunny could only sit and listen. They weren’t even allowed to ask questions during these portions of the lessons.

The other half of their Anatov nights were spent “learning by experience.” Leopard education did not have any vacations or breaks aside from certain religious ones like Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha, Christmas, and Easter. For Eid Al-Fitr, while Lamb school was on break, Anatov had all four of them volunteer at a local Muslim orphanage and then work later that night filling potholes along one of the smaller village roads. They’d used a dirt moving and packing juju that Anatov had taught them that very night. For days, Sunny was digging muck from beneath her nails and sweeping dirt from her bedroom.

For tonight’s “learning by experience,” Anatov was sending them into Night Runner Forest to capture four pepper bugs.