The Bee, The Farmer, and The Scandal
After Mr. Miller and the farm owner, Mr. Jeffrey Holland, rushed off with the bee carcasses to conduct an investigation, the remaining students sat blankly in front of the beehives before trudging back toward the bus.
I had been inwardly jubilant from the moment Mr. Jeffrey mentioned Silveroak Hills Vineyards, but I was too busy maintaining my composure to let it show. I didn't have a spare moment to open my mouth. My friends, however, were not so restrained.
“Neoni... what? Brian!”
I snapped out of my thoughts at Chloe’s voice and turned my head.
“Yeah?”
“What was that earlier? Neoni...”
“Neonicotinoid?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I saw white powder on the bodies of the bees.”
“I didn't see anything like that at all.”
“That’s because you weren't looking carefully. I was looking for it because I suspected it might be there, so I saw it. That’s why I swept the entrance of the hive earlier, too.”
“You could see that?”
Perhaps ordinary people wouldn't have noticed. It wasn't that it was truly invisible; it was that even if they saw it, they wouldn't know it was a neonicotinoid. But as someone who had conducted countless experiments with all sorts of pesticides, I could make a rough guess just by looking.
“Well... I just made a prediction.”
“Out of all the pesticides, why did you think it was specifically neoni... whatever that is?”
“If honeybees are having problems because of pesticides, the first thing you consider is neonicotinoids.”
“Re...ally? We haven't learned that in school yet, have we?”
For a moment, I wondered if this hadn't been taught in 2003, but since I couldn't verify it immediately, I played it cool.
“I studied it separately. Maybe the Agriscience Club hasn't covered it yet.”
At this point, Jacob chimed in.
“But it might not be that. Are you sure about it?”
This time, he wasn't being confrontational; his eyes were sparkling with genuine curiosity.
“Did you see the ones next to the dead bees that couldn't fly and were twitching? Neonicotinoids act on the nervous system of insects, causing death or abnormal behavior even at relatively low concentrations, and flight impairment is exactly that. Even if the bees don't die instantly, it causes irreversible nerve damage. Other classes of insecticides have relatively lower toxicity, making it difficult for bees to suffer fatal damage, and they rarely lead to mass die-offs.”
Jacob was scribbling down my explanation in a notebook he had pulled out from somewhere. I chuckled at the sight.
“Is what a ‘yellow monkey’ says worth writing down?”
The hulking Jacob looked embarrassed, let his arms hang limp, and said,
“I’m sorry...”
I stopped walking and turned around sharply. Jacob, startled, stood straight, as did the other kids.
“Do you know what a farmer does when they have something to be sorry for?”
“Huh? What do they do?”
“They come and help out. They lend farm equipment and come to help when there’s a shortage of hands. Are you really sorry?”
“Uh? Uh...”
“Then do you want to come work at our vineyard for a week?”
I expected him to refuse, but Jacob nodded.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
Chloe and Jaden were even more surprised than I was. They stared with wide eyes, looking at Jacob as if wondering if he were sick.
“Good. I’ll call you when I need you.”
I held out my hand, and Jacob grabbed it with a hand twice the size of mine. Having finished the reconciliation, I started walking again, and Jacob followed behind me and asked,
“Then how are honeybees exposed to neonicotinoids?”
“It’s because neonicotinoids are rapidly absorbed into the plant, distributing evenly throughout the leaves, flowers, and sap. Since the drug is transferred directly when bees collect pollen or nectar, the possibility of exposure to honeybees is much higher than with externally sprayed pesticides. Other pesticides mainly remain on the leaf surface and are quickly washed away or decomposed, but neonicotinoids remain inside the plant and persist for a long time. Neonicotinoids are truly fatal pesticides for honeybees.”
“Silveroak Hills grows grapes. So what exactly is the reason they spray neonicotinoids? And is this pesticide illegal?”
“No, it’s not illegal at all to use neonicotinoids. It’s used as a soil treatment immediately after planting young grapevines to prevent root or stem pests like phylloxera or aphids, but I suspect they were careless when using it. If there was an almond farm nearby, they should have used it with extreme caution.”
Jacob nodded, diligently taking notes in his pocketbook. Chloe watched him blankly and said,
“You really learned all this by studying alone at home?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Then didn't you not even need to join the Agriscience Club?”
“For college admissions... I need the credentials so the wine I make will sell well, right? And I’m going to be a bigger vineyard owner later. To do that, I need to know a lot and have a wide network.”
By the time we arrived, the news had spread, and the students who had come for volunteer work were already gathered around the bus.
“Everyone, get on!”
As I boarded the bus and took a seat, Jaden, with his dreadlocks, took the seat right next to me and asked,
“Do you happen to know a lot about corn, too?”
“Huh? Do you guys have a corn farm?”
In the U.S., corn farms are in a different league. Some farms are as big as an entire province.
“No, I wanted to be a farm owner later, too. A corn farm, specifically.”
“Oh—”
“I wanted to learn a bit about it.”
Throughout the ride, Jaden asked me earnestly about how to become a farm owner, and though it was a bit of a hassle, I answered him well without getting annoyed.
‘This is all part of networking, too.’
Feeling Chloe’s subtle gaze from behind and Jacob’s fiery gaze from the side simultaneously, I headed toward school.
A few days later, the bee carcass incident spread faster than expected. As local broadcasting stations and newspapers began to take interest in the case one by one, the news of the hive damage spread throughout Napa Valley, and soon, eyes were fixed on Silveroak Hills.
Because bees are a vital asset and living organism in the ecosystem, the local community took a great interest.
“What was that student’s name? Brian?”
“They say it’s an Asian student named Brian Choi. He found strange powder near the hives...”
The news began to report on the pesticide misuse that had caused damage to the almond farm. The screen was filled with the image of Elowen Pike, the owner of Silveroak Hills, looking troubled in front of a local news camera as he tried to explain.
“Our Silveroak Hills farm adheres to organic farming methods. Pesticides? That’s absolutely impossible.”
However, investigators dispatched by the local Department of Agriculture and environmental protection groups had already swarmed the site and begun investigating every corner of Silveroak Hills.
Eventually...
It was an article in the local newspaper, but the ripple effect was unexpectedly massive. Because it was harvest season, the price of grapes from Silveroak Hills plummeted.
They could argue that table grapes would be certified organic again starting next year and sold properly, but the drop in price for wine advertised as organic was a huge blow. Immediately, a large quantity of wine from Silveroak Hills displayed in department stores was returned.
The only way to sell it now was to offload it to cheap wine wholesalers. And it wasn't just Elowen, the owner, who had to endure this entire situation.
“See, I was right? I was right! I saw it exactly at the farm, didn't I? But... couldn't they still be used as table grapes? They should still taste good, right?”
The oblivious Armando was running wild, regardless of whether Elena was watching or not, and I stayed away from him, pretending not to know him.
Just then, Elena suddenly jumped to her feet.
All eyes were fixed on her...
“You!”
The person who stomped over wasn't the wild Armando, but me.
“Huh?”
“You did that on purpose, didn't you?”
“I didn't?”
“Don't lie. What do you know to go around pointing at our farm just because some bees died?”
She was trembling with such resentment that it looked like she was about to slap me, just as she had slapped Armando. I’d rather take a punch from the hulking Caden Harper than get hit by a girl, so I slowly scooted my chair back.
“I didn't point at your farm? Mr. Jeffrey, the farm owner, was the one who mentioned your farm. I don't know anything about it.”
“Liar.”
“It’s the truth. Ah, ask Chloe. She would have heard it right away, right?”
At this moment, Chloe’s voice appeared, though I didn't know when she had arrived.
“That’s right. There were other kids besides me, but Brian was only interested in the death of the bees; he didn't even bring up Silveroak Hills.”
“Grrr...”
Realizing there was nothing she could do, Elena stomped her feet in frustration and returned to her seat, unable to vent all her anger. Flabbergasted, I couldn't help but say one thing to her.
“Instead of being angry that you got caught, blame your father for farming dishonestly. Isn't that right?”
“What? What do you know... Go back to your own country!”
I was about to say one more thing to the screaming Elena, when—
“I think Brian is right.”
Elena looked visibly flustered as she saw Chloe intervene again. This wasn't just helping out; it was blatant criticism.
“Uh, uh?”
“Your farm deceived people. You’ve created a bad image not just for Napa Valley, but for the good-hearted farmers of California. You’re not going to take responsibility if California fruit prices drop, are you?”
“That’s...”
“I hope you don't do such low-class things in the future, Elena.”
Having said that, Chloe walked out of the lecture hall with a few girls who stuck to her like handmaidens, and Elena sat at her desk and began to sob sorrowfully.
I caught Armando’s eye and quietly kept my mouth shut. But then,
“Tell me honestly. What’s your relationship with Chloe?”
I pushed away Armando, who was whispering in my ear, and warned him in a hushed voice,
“It’s absolutely nothing, so don't go around saying weird things!”
“I’ll keep your secret, friend. I don't want to see you become a tomato smashed by Evan Creed.”
“...... I feel the same way.”
“As expected, nothing happened.”
“What about you and Christina?”
“Me too...”
Armando and I exchanged a silent handshake.
Having caused a storm in the local community, time passed in a flash, and before I knew it, spring had arrived after the winter.