Page 12 of Protecting Clove
He was amazed at Tex’s ability to keep track of people. The guy was a master at finding people and keeping tabs on them.
Instead of sending a note to Clove, he decided to stop by after work. He’d just stepped out of his truck when he saw something small move around his vehicle. For a second, he expected a dog or other animal, but it was Neo.
“Hey, Neo. Where is—” Before he could finish the sentence, Clove stepped around the side of the truck.
“Neo, what did I say about the street?” Clove’s lips were turned down.
“But he was right here.”
Bud shook his head. “Your mom’s right. You’re too short for drivers to see you. If you want to talk, stay on the sidewalk or in the yard, and I’ll come to you.”
Neo looked disappointed. “Fine, but you’re being way too reactive.”
Clove’s eyes narrowed enough for him to tell she was annoyed but she didn’t say anything. From what he’d seen, she rarely lost her cool with Neo. They seemed to have a good relationship. He remembered as a child all the yelling and screaming from both his parents. He liked Clove’s method better.
“What’s up?” Bud asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk.
“I get to take a test on Friday. They want me to show them what I know. It’s going to be so much fun.”
He smiled at Neo, wondering what kind of test it was. He hoped she did well with it. Of course, she would, unless it was a trick. If they were trying to play a dirty trick on her, he would have words. He might only be the neighbor, but he cared about her.
“Oh, that’s great. What test is it?”
“It’s for placement. The district wants to make sure they have her in the right school.”
“Nice.” He watched as Neo ran off to the porch, where she picked up a book and plopped down on one of the chairs. He turned to Clove. “How did that come about?” Why was he asking questions like he had any say in the process?
“The place she’s at is associated with the district. I guess they sent a note about her.”
“Are you okay with this test thing?”
Clove shrugged. “I guess. I just want her to have as normal of a life as possible. I know making friends will be a huge part of her happiness later in life. But then again, maybe this is the path she is supposed to take. She can play with the children where she’s at, but she flies so high above them when it comes to conversations they don’t know what she is talking about. She tried to explain electricity and where it came from to one of the kids, but his parents got quite upset when their kid came home telling them about fracking. She went into all the potential energy sources, but the kid couldn’t pronounce fracking correctly and came up with fucking. The parent was livid.”
Bud chuckled and shook his head. “I bet.”
“At least Neo didn’t get in trouble, but the teachers asked her not to explain difficult subjects to other children. Then she went off on the teachers, telling them energy production wasn’t a difficult subject. Some days are more exhausting than others.”
Another chuckle slipped out as he made his way to the front door. “So I do have news.”
Clove’s breath hitched as worry worked through her. “Yes?”
“He’s in Georgia.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Neo looked up from the book she was reading. “Did you know there is a frog in South America that makes a toxic substance on its skin called batrachotoxin that can kill predators? But you can have one as a pet, and it won’t harm you.”
The information dump from Neo was a little jarring. He knew enough to stay away from poison dart frogs when on missions. “Really? How is it not harmful if you own it as a pet?”
“You just don’t feed it the ants.”
“The ants are toxic?”
“If the frog consumes them, yes. The dart frog can hold the toxin and release it on their skin. Isn’t that cool? They look neat, too. I want to touch one.”
Bud nodded as he stood on the patio holding his stuff. “Okay, so frogs shouldn’t eat ants.
Clove held back that laughter that wanted to escape. The poor man probably didn’t know what he was getting himself into by becoming friends with Neo. The girl had facts and didn’t hesitate to tell others about them.
