The Snake Queen

Chapter 4

   After lunch, I kissed Ryan goodbye, and went to the mall with my friends. Nobody said anything about me and Ryan at the bistro. None of the questions started coming out until we got to the park.

"So, what's up with you and Ryan?" Jaylin asked.

"We're back together."

"Oh, my god! No way!" Chelsea gasped. "You are in love with him!"

"Okay. Fine. Yes, I am."

"I knew it!" Hazel cheered.

"Shut up."

   When we got to the mall, it wasn't so bad. Some of it was pretty packed. Sky found a pair of purple shorts in one of the windows. She pulled Jaylin into the store because she saw a blue denim jacket for her. Chelsea and Hazel didn't wanna go in, so they kept walking, Hazel spotted a pair of black working boots, and thought they were perfect for me.

"Come on, Mag," she pleaded,

"You always wear your cutest clothes when you're working on your farm," Chelsea pointed out.

"I mostly own skinny jeans and plain T-shirts. How can they be the cutest clothes that I own?"

"Point made, but you still need working clothes."

"And most of your clothes are oil stained."

   When I wasn't helping my parents on their snake farm, I was working on my Chevelle. It was my mom's when she was my age, but she stopped driving it when I was ten. She said if I can fix it, and get it running again, I can have it. When Ryan and I first got together, he would help me with it if he didn't already have a date planned out. He liked helping me with it because he could see what I can really do.

"Well, pardon me if I live on a snake farm, and work with cars all the time."

   I help my parents with their cars if they need it, or if they need to be fixed, and don't have the time. Sometimes the other people in the town ask me to help them with their cars if they need it, and don't have the time or money to take it to the shop in the next town. They pay me fifteen bucks an hour, and they pay for the parts.

"Gee, Mag, you're so into cars, you should've been named after one," Hazel joked.

"Nah. Though I do look like a Chevelle or a Nova. But I'll probably name my kid after one."

"You would," Chelsea stated. "But you should still get the boots. No. I'll buy them. From me to you. They'll be your birthday present."

"Chelsea, I already have work boots. They're at home."

"Mag, they're cowboy boots, and they're really cute," Hazel told me.

"We live in Arizona, Hazel. Lots of people wear cowboy for work. It's common sense if you actually do physically work on a snake farm and cars."

"Sorry if the only job I could get was at the department store," she said sarcastically.. Now you're getting the boots. End of discussion."

"Okay."

"Do you see anything else you like?" Chelsea asked.

"Um," I looked around the store. "That snakeskin jacket."

"Snakeskin?"

"We never knew you liked snakeskin."

"I try not to wear it because the snakes confuse me."

   I never really liked snakeskin because I live on a snake farm, and I wouldn't want to see it every time I looked in a mirror. I tried it when I was ten, and I couldn't do it. Everybody called me the Snake Queen that whole year, and it got really annoying, so I stopped wearing it all together.

"Or so you don't get called the Snake Queen again," Hazel teased.

"I don't care no more. The snakes are starting to obey me. If I tell them to retract their fangs, if they're flaring them, they'll do it."

"That's weird."

"And creepy."

   I looked around the store again before making my final decision if I wanted anything else. On top of one of the shelves was the light brown King Cobra I see every year. It was in a coil on top of a pair of brown and orange work boots. It stared straight at me. It's a little weird when there's a snake in the store, and no one else notices.

"Hey," I tapped Hazel on the shoulder. "Do you see that snake?"

"What snake?"

"Over there. It's coiled up on the shelf."

"Mag, there's no snake."

"Yes, there is, Chelsea. I just saw it."

"You've been spending way too much time on your farm. You should come stay with us for a little while."

"Yeah. I'm sure that's it. Too much time on the farm. I'll text my mom, and tell her I'm staying at y'all's house for a week."

"Leave your car at your house," Hazel told me.

"Don't forget that I have work this week."

"Grease monkey," Chelsea muttered.

   Spending some time away from the farm will be good for me, but I don't know if I can handle not working on my car for a week. I usually work on it everyday if I have time. I have work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after school and all day Saturday and Sunday. My shift doesn't end until eight at night, so I have to do all my chores and homework when I get home.