The Awkward Stage

EIGHT - Lampropeltis Getula

I had a new-found respect for one Mr Black Gosset, no matter how sick it made me to say so. Trying to plan an attack was hard work.

Scarlet had left early from school to get an early start on Phoenix, so I decided not to stay for the rest of the day.

While I was just casually running across the road, enjoying the sunlight hitting all the right places, I heard a car behind me. The familiar engine told be exactly who it was. I got off the road and around a house as fast as I could, do that Black couldn't run me over.

I tried endlessly to think of something that Black hadn't already done to me. Dye my hair: check. Cover my entire bedroom in pink post-it notes: check. Put me in a boat in the middle of a lake without a paddle: check.

Geez, he was good. How the hell did he come up with this stuff?

I decided that maybe it would be easy to write a list of the things that Black loves and hates.

STUFF BLACK LOVES

1) Himself

2) His car

3) His art

4) Not me

5) Spending money

STUFF BLACK HATES

1) Doing things

2) Me

3) Snakes

4) The colour orange

5) Small dogs

Yes, I could work with this.

Now, where on earth was I going to find someone willing to sell reptiles to a minor at this time of night?

******************************

Tonight proved to work in my favour and perfectly against me.

I'd called Scarlet who had called her cousin in New York, who had pulled some strings and gotten me a rental snake for twenty-four hours, from a place around my area.

This wasn't the hardest part of my night, actually. Hiding my hair from my mother was. I knew she would have to find out sooner or later, but I'd prefer later rather than sooner, thank you very much.

Picking up the snake tested to be harder than I'd thought. Since I couldn't drive, and Scarlet was out of town, I had to be creative.

My options were either take a bus to s shady neighbourhood by myself, or convince one of my siblings to give me a ride.

Evangeline was ruled out immediately, because she has a strict 'No Sibling' policy. Steel had his license revoked two months ago. Ransom was a penis.

There was only one option.

I knocked on Clarissa's door hesitantly. She took a moment to answer, and when she did, she was only wearing her dressing gown. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel on top of her head, and her face was clean of makeup. It was a rare sight to see Clarissa so bare.

"Wow." I said. Sometimes I forgot how naturally beautiful my sister was.

"I haven't even got makeup on, Delphine!" She screeched and tried to close the door in my face, but I put my foot in the bottom of the door.

I pushed the door open and followed her into the room.

Where my room was all turquoise and orange and bright colours, mixed with a sort of modern-industrial style, Clarissa's was chic, pink, and incredibly girly. Everything was either fluffy, furry, or frilly. There was a mess of silk everywhere, and chandeliers hanging from the roof.