Page 58 of Rigid

“It better not be a snake,” I said. “I mean it.”

There was one thing in earth I feared, and a snake was it. It didn’t matter if they were six inches long or six feet long, in my mind they were equally threatening. I’d rather be tortured to death than have a snake within ten feet of me.

The mere thought of coming in contact with one gave me hives.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of them,” Eddie said. “Snakes are cool. Mr. Freeman has one in class. I get to feed it goldfish.”

A shiver ran the length of my spine. The thought of her getting close to a snake made me feel ill.

“Snakes are…” I shook my head. “They’re the most vile creatures on earth. If there’s one thing that shouldn’t exist, a snake is it. I fucking hate ‘em.”

She looked right at me and raised her eyebrows. “If it’s a gift, I have to keep it.”

I tilted my head toward the door. “Outside, maybe.” I lifted my weight from the seat and nodded toward the box. “Open it.”

With me prepared to take off running, she cautiously unwrapped it, revealing a box that had been taped shut with an insane amount of clear packing tape. Several round holes were poked through every side of the box that I could see.

I looked at Nut. His tattoo-covered arms didn’t mesh well with his pink birthday hat. I shook my head. “I meant what I said. If that’s a snake, you freaking weirdo--”

“I hope it is,” Eddie chimed. “Face your fears, isn’t that what you tell me?” She held out her hand. “Give me your knife, please.”

She was right. I did tell her that, and did so often. I handed her my knife. Before I had a chance to speak, she beat me to it.

“Be careful,” she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. “It’s sharp.”

She carefully cut around the top of the box, set the knife aside, and then tilted the top back and peered inside.

“What is it?” I asked.

Her eyes slowly widened.

I pushed myself away from the table. “What is it?”

With reluctance, she reached inside with her index finger and thumb. After what appeared to be a slight struggle, she pulled a snake from the box and flipped it across the table.

I jumped from my seat and screamed. “God damn it!” With a racing heart, I took several quick steps toward the living room and shot P-Nut a glare. “You crazy prick.”

While they shared a hearty laugh, I took a glance at the table. The snake was sedentary. Sickeningly so.

I studied it.

Rubber.

“It’s fake?” I asked hopefully. “Rubber?”

P-Nut struggled to catch his breath. “Yeah.” He glanced at Ed, chuckled, and then looked at me. “You don’t think I’d bring a real snake in this house, do you?”

My heart was still in my throat. I inhaled a long breath, exhaled, and took another look at the rubber snake. “Hard to say, Nut.”

He pointed to the box. “Something else in there. In the bottom.”

Eddie peered into the box. She reached in, pulled out a photo, and studied it. “What’s this?”

“What the fu--” He cocked an eyebrow and nodded toward what she held. “What’s it look like?”

“Volkswagen.”

“Beetle,” P-Nut said. “Or Bug. They call ‘em both.”