After the party last week, we accumulated twice as much rubbish and recycling as normal. Tomorrow is bin day so Alex, Di and I pitched in to move all the bins and boxes to the front of the house for tomorrow’s early morning pick-up. It was a bit of an operation and we congratulated ourselves once it was done.

Ten minutes later, I heard Di cry, ‘There are bugs in my room!’

Alex and I popped our heads into Di’s room.

‘Bugs?’ I said. ‘You mean ants? Spiders?’

‘Look!’ she said, pointing to her window. Zipping around in front of her sheer white curtains were dozens of tiny black flies.

‘They came from the bin,’ Alex identified. ‘I saw them come out when we opened the lid… What are you doing?’

Di was leaning over her desk to open her window. ‘I don’t know how they got in, since the window was shut. I’m opening the window. Maybe the flies will go outside.’

‘Maybe more will come in,’ I said, worried.

‘No, they came from the black bin and that’s on the footpath now,’ said Alex.

We watched a short while. The flies made no visible move towards the open window.

‘I’ll leave it open for a while,’ Di decided.

I had an idea. ‘I know! Why don’t we put a cake or something on the window sill outside so that they will be attracted to it and leave?’

Di and Alex stared at me. I thought about what I had said.

‘Oh…’ I realised. ‘I guess a cake might attract more flies inside.’

As they shook their heads sadly at me, I protested, ‘I am smart! Really I am!’