Why I'm Afraid of Bees

Our protagonist Gary Lutz is enjoying a summer afternoon by himself, reading comics. He has no friends and is so clumsy that everyone at school refers to him as Lutz the Klutz. Gary spends the July afternoon like spying on his next door neighbor. The neighbor is a middle aged bee farmer and his bee hives. Gary gets worried when he sees the bees overwhelm the bee farmer, Mr. Andretti. Mr. Andretti does run and then Mr. Andretti mocks him for falling for his joke.

Gary is picked last for his softball game. They make a special rule for him that he can get four strikes before he's out he justifies the need for special rules. He then runs home crying, only to run into a trio of bullies who beat him up. Upon arriving home, his younger sister Krissy also makes fun of him, with his mother chiming in to laugh at her daughter's scoring points off her son.

Gary is doing no better in love either. He has a crush on Judy, so to impress her he starts hot-dogging on his bike.

Back at home, Gary seeks solace on the internet. Reading an online bulletin board, he spies a message from a local business advertising a bizarre vacation. Gary goes unescorted to the address in the ad. The shabby building houses an office that reminds Gary of a dentist's. Inside a woman speaks to him via a microphone from behind one of those protective glass shields found in banks and gas stations. The director of the space-age vacation business, Ms. Karmen, explains that kids who sign up switch places, literally.

A few days later, Ms. Karmen calls Gary at home and asks if he can come over. Gary thinks this is a great idea because his parents and sister are out of the house. Ms. Karmen arrives and Gary tells her he'll be right down, he just has to finish drying his hair. Ms. Karmen enjoys a cookie in the kitchen when Ms. Karmen tells Gary that she's found a muscular skateboarder named Dirk Davis who wants to get inside Gary to get good at math. A bee flies into the living room as Ms. Karmen sets up her equipment. Ms. Karmen activates the switching process and Gary has switched places all right: he's switched places with a bee that flew into the room.

Gary flies into the vacation offices and, utilizing the microphone, pleads for the receptionist to make Dirk give him back his body. The receptionist tells him to go back to the hive and wait.

Gary spies Dirk's address and goes to see the Human-Dirk, who has of course been occupied by the bee Gary is occupying. Gary spots Bee-In-Dirk in Dirk's backyard, trying to lick the pollen from flowers. Bee-In-Dirk tries to kill Gary the bee.

Gary takes matters into his own hands, first by typing a message onto his computer. When that doesn't work, he flies into Dirk-In-Gary's ear and pleads for Dirk to give him back his body. It turns out Dirk-In-Gary can hear Gary just fine as some of the bee cells combined with DNA during the switch. Dirk-In-Gary tells him to buzz off. Dirk-In-Gary reveals that he has even been giving skateboarding lessons to Judy and her friends down at the park. Gary is so frustrated that he flies back to the hive, rounds up all the bees, and leads a swarm into Dirk-In-Gary's bedroom. Dirk-In-Gary doesn't freak out like Gary wants him to so Gary makes the ultimate sacrifice by stinging Dirk-In-Gary on the nose. As soon as he does it, he remembers that bees die after using their stinger. Gary the bee falls to the floor and fades to black.

When Gary awakes he looks down at his body and sees his human form. It's not explained, though Gary does look up Dirk and he apologizes for hogging Gary's body. Gary is adjusting to all the positive changes Dirk imprinted in his life, but he still takes time to stop and smell and taste the flowers with his tongue.