The Heart of a Snake
Disclaimer: All of the characters in this story belong to Louis Sachar besides Rattlesnake Bite, Jared, Emily, Paintbrush, and Leprechaun.
"Memory, all alone in the moonlight."
"Ricky? Where are you Ricky? Oh Ricky, what are you doing in that ugly orange outfit? It looks horrible against your sexy hair. Ricky? What? You're Zigzag? Zigzag?"
"Hey Zig. Get up man." Zigzag woke up quickly, startled. He had been having a dream about his old girlfriend who'd dumped him the day before he'd left for camp.
"Guys, let's guess what Zig was dreaming about," smirked Magnet before putting on a high falsetto voice, "Ricky, oh Ricky? Come have sex with me Ricky. Fuck me long and hard." Zigzag hit Magnet over the head.
"You shut the hell up Magnet. If you don't I swear I'll-" began Zigzag before stopping as Mr. Pendanski walked in.
"Are we arguing boys?" he asked, walking over to shake Squid and X- Ray awake. Zigzag kept his head down as he pulled his orange jumpsuit on.
"Nah Mom. We're not fighting," Armpit replied as Magnet puckered his lips at Zigzag.
"Good. Now D-Tent's gotta be out there in 5. We've got a new recruit," he sounded overly excited. He left the tent, followed by the D- Tent boys who were ready.
"C'mere you motherfucker," Zigzag trapped Magnet in a lock and the two began to wrestle, Zero stepping over them as he went to breakfast. When Zigzag let go of Magnet, both boys were grinning.
"You hungry?" Magnet asked as they headed out of the door.
"Nope. Early start?" Zigzag suggested. Both boys were planning on someday beating Zero. Instead of heading to breakfast, they went right to the shovel shed. They both chose their shovels, being careful not to take X- Ray's.
"Wonder what he'd say if we took it," Magnet's eyes shone maliciously.
"Probably just talk some shit up to us," Zigzag replied, "Let your mini-magnets work man." Magnet traded his shovel for X-Ray's and the two set off to work.
"Where the hell is my shovel?!?" X-Ray could be heard halfway across the camp. Zigzag and Magnet snickered to themselves and continued working. Everyone else was already out on the lake and they nervously checked their own shovels. Mr. Pendanski drove up in the water truck with a disgruntled X- Ray in the front seat, holding a shovel.
"No more lollygaging around. As soon as you're done, you need to come to the tent. We've got a special new recruit!" Mr. Pendanski smiled to himself. "My, won't the boys enjoy this little treat," he thought.
"Crack, Pop, Crack, Pop," went the gum. The gum was in the mouth of a girl of about 15, auburn hair, gold green eyes. She was sitting back comfortably on a seat of a rickety old school bus. She smirked at her guard, but he paid no attention. She had a suspicion that he was asleep until he spoke.
"Will you stop with the cracking and the popping?" he asked, annoyed. She scowled and sank further into the seat. She stopped just long enough for the guard to relax before starting again. This went on until the bus stopped.
"Ok, I'm supposed to take you right to Ms. Walker," the guard explained, unlocking the handcuffs. She grabbed her two bags and followed the guard off the bus. She paused on the last step to put on her sunglasses.
"Holy shit man. You think that that's who Mom was talking about?" Magnet asked Zigzag as they stopped on their way in to see who was getting off. Zigzag was speechless for once in his life. They, among many others, watched her getting off and the sway of her hips as she walked towards the cabin. She was wearing a white tank top that came to just above her belly button and very low white khakis. One could see her purple bra through her shirt and there was no way that she could pull off those pants without a thong. Her auburn hair was pulled in a low ponytail and she walked as if she owned the place.
"I hope so Mag. There's no other vacancies," Zigzag replied, still working on putting his eyes back in his head. As the girl reached the cabin, she turned around, squinted and then grinned at them.
"Damn, I want some of that," Magnet muttered under his breath.
"Anne Marie Hawkins," said the Warden, setting down a file on her desk, "Welcome back. I can see that you've decided to grace us with your presence again." Anne just sat there, popping her gum. "What're you in for now Anne?"
"Well, murder I guess. I supposedly murdered my boyfriend, even though I didn't do it. Jared did it," the girl explained. The Warden rolled her eyes.
"Look Ms. Hawkins. I don't want you here. The boys treat you too nice and you don't ever do any work. I was forced to accept you. Now I don't want you pulling any funny stuff otherwise you're out of here." The Warden was dangerously close to the girl's face.
"Look Ms. Walker. I don't wanna be here either. And two words: Tic- Tac." She scowled at the Warden. The Warden let out a groan as she shoved two pairs of orange jumpsuits into her arms.
"You know what to do. You're up earlier to get ready," she demanded. The girl shoved the clothes in her first bag and stormed out of the cabin.
"Well lookee here. If it ain't Bite Hawkins." She heard a familiar voice. She smiled and turned around to see X-Ray coming in with another boy, his shovel over his shoulder.
"You miss me X?" she asked, walking to meet him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then put his arms around her shoulder.
"You in D-Tent again? Cuz I'm the head of the tent now, besides Mom," X-Ray replied as they reached the tent.
"Please X. Would I be in anything other than D? And that makes sense that you're head. I guess all the old guys are gone?" She began to grin again as she saw the two guys that she had smiled at earlier. Magnet jabbed Zigzag in the ribs and he stood up quickly.
"Hey, I'm...umm Zig...Zigzag. And this is Magnet," Zigzag reached out a hand, which she ignored. She was sizing the boy up. He looked like he had a nice body and she guessed that his hair accounted for half of his body weight. He had soft gray eyes and his deep voice with the Texan accent was extremely sexy.
"Bite," she replied, "Rattlesnake Bite." She shook his hand. His eyes caught something on the front of her shoulder. He grabbed it to get a better view. It was an intricate broken heart with a snake wrapped around the pieces. He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't have much of a love-life," she explained.
"And I'm Magnet!" Magnet got up quickly to shake her hand. "Wait...he already said that. But you can call me Jose, sweet tits." Bite looked disgusted and pulled her hand away.
"Damn Magnet. Didn't your mother teach you no manners?" The large black boy accompanying X-Ray asked. "Hey Hon, I'm Armpit."
"Thank you. At least someone around here's a gentleman." She glared at Magnet who cowered as her eyes appeared red.
"What're you in for now Bite?" X-Ray asked, but Armpit cut him off.
"Hey, I wasn't finished yet X. Why's your name Rattlesnake Bite?" Armpit asked. Bite began to grin again, this time as if there was something up her sleeve.
"Cuz when I sleep with you, I'm famous for my bite," she replied. Zigzag raised his eyebrow again. She caught him looking at her. "My old boyfriend gave it to me. Red."
"Speaking of, what happened to old Red?" X-Ray asked, looking interested. Bite's eyes grew red again.
"He was murdered. That's why I'm here. I supposedly killed him," she explained. All of the guys looked shocked. True, she looked like she owned the place, but she looked only about 5'4" and not very tough-looking. Zigzag towered over her and X-Ray remembered Red being no shorter than him.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" he asked, cautiously.
"No. But I had to watch as he was," she replied, trying to hastily change the subject. "So, which bunk is mine?" Magnet pointed to an empty bunk.
"Get comfy Rattle. We'll see you in the mess." X-Ray pulled the other three boys out of the tent towards the mess hall, but Zigzag pulled away and stood in the doorway of the tent, watching her. She set down her bags next to her empty bed. She sighed and fell down on her bed.
"Pyromaniacism," she stated, loudly enough for him to hear.
"What?" he asked. She sat up to face him.
"Pyromaniacism. That's what I was in for the first time. But I told the guys I was a nympho. That's what you were going to ask. Right?"
"Yeah. So, how's life on the outside world?" he asked, walking back into the tent. He hadn't been in communication with anyone from home or Hollywood since 2 months ago.
"I wouldn't know. I've been in and out of jails since I left here. I finally chose to come here to get my tan back," she joked. It was true, she was as white as the snow that he hadn't seen for, what seemed like, forever. "You seem like a nice kid. Why're you here?"
"Acute paranoia. Apparently my dad thinks I freak out too much. But, wait a minute. Why send a girl to a camp full of guys?" he asked. She laughed, remembering.
"They didn't know I was a girl when I first came. I was going by Andy then. They thought I was a rapist. Then Red found out that I was a girl and we started "dating". Then Mr. Sir caught us kissing and they kicked me out. Nothing special," she explained.
"Wait, you said "Andy". What's your real name?" he asked, sitting down on her bed.
"Annie," she replied, scowling, "But if you call me that, your ass is mine." Zigzag backed off a little but.
"Like the orphan?"
"Yeah, but I'm not an orphan. My parents kicked me here when they found out about my.problem." Bite locked her jaw. Zigzag's stomach suddenly growled. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch.
"Let's go." He stood up and grabbed her hand. She looked at him, surprised. He quickly dropped her hand. "Sorry." He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked out of the tent. She grinned and followed him.
The room suddenly hushed entirely as Rattlesnake entered the room and got her food.
"Damn. Have they never seen a woman before?" she whispered to Zigzag. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Not for at least 3 months," he whispered back.
"Ow-ow! Hey sexy lady!" someone called. A boy with a white hat laughed and the chatter began once again.
"X! You wanna introduce me to everyone?" she asked as she and Zigzag sat down at the table where X-Ray was seated.
"Well, you already know me, Magnet, Armpit, and Zigzag. That's Squid." He pointed to the boy who had laughed. "And Zero." She glanced at the small boy who was eating with his head down. "And guys, this is Rattlesnake Bite. Call her what you want, but nothing offensive. She can kick your ass and she's in here for murder." Zigzag conveniently left out "supposed."
"Are we supposed to have girls here? I mean, aren't they gonna "break a nail" or something?" Squid asked, eating quickly, anxious to be the first one to shower. She looked at him oddly.
"Please. The only thing that I think that you guys need to worry about is my PMSing," she smirked. X-Ray snorted into his drink. He was the only one who had experienced that. The guys looked at him oddly. "I've been here before and I know what I'm doing. I don't need help from you guys and ," she looked at the "spoop" that she had been served. "I'm gonna go get some real food." She pushed her away from the table. She stood up and walked towards the door when a boy reached out and slapped her butt.
"Hey bitch. You ever get tired of those D-Tents, come on over to B. We can offer you better." The guy winked at her. She rolled her eyes, reached down, and kissed him, fully on the lips. Everyone fell silent again. She let go of him and he fell back, surprised.
"That's what you wanted. Right?" She continued on her way out the door, many eyes following her. She sensed the stares and flipped all of them off as she walked out the door.
"How long before someone does her?" Armpit asked, snapping out of the trance.
"I dunno. We should ask Ziggy. They were getting pretty close in the tent a little while ago. He was enjoying looking at that tattoo on her tit," Magnet persisted. All of the guys erupted with laughter.
"Shit guys, it's not on her tit. It's on her shoulder. And we were just talking. I know better than to put a move on a girl like her," Zigzag retaliated, hitting Magnet.
"Please, it's not like she'd protest. She used to be a nympho. Right Z?" Squid asked, always one of X-Ray's right hand men.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that she still is," he replied, appearing to be deep in thought, "I'll see you later guys." He stood up to dump his tray and hurried after Bite's retreating back.
"Bets on who she fucks first," Magnet suggested. All of the guys replied unanimously.
"Zigzag."
Disclaimer: All of the characters in this story belong to Louis Sachar besides Rattlesnake Bite, Jared, Emily, Paintbrush, and Leprechaun.
"Memory, all alone in the moonlight."
"Ricky? Where are you Ricky? Oh Ricky, what are you doing in that ugly orange outfit? It looks horrible against your sexy hair. Ricky? What? You're Zigzag? Zigzag?"
"Hey Zig. Get up man." Zigzag woke up quickly, startled. He had been having a dream about his old girlfriend who'd dumped him the day before he'd left for camp.
"Guys, let's guess what Zig was dreaming about," smirked Magnet before putting on a high falsetto voice, "Ricky, oh Ricky? Come have sex with me Ricky. Fuck me long and hard." Zigzag hit Magnet over the head.
"You shut the hell up Magnet. If you don't I swear I'll-" began Zigzag before stopping as Mr. Pendanski walked in.
"Are we arguing boys?" he asked, walking over to shake Squid and X- Ray awake. Zigzag kept his head down as he pulled his orange jumpsuit on.
"Nah Mom. We're not fighting," Armpit replied as Magnet puckered his lips at Zigzag.
"Good. Now D-Tent's gotta be out there in 5. We've got a new recruit," he sounded overly excited. He left the tent, followed by the D- Tent boys who were ready.
"C'mere you motherfucker," Zigzag trapped Magnet in a lock and the two began to wrestle, Zero stepping over them as he went to breakfast. When Zigzag let go of Magnet, both boys were grinning.
"You hungry?" Magnet asked as they headed out of the door.
"Nope. Early start?" Zigzag suggested. Both boys were planning on someday beating Zero. Instead of heading to breakfast, they went right to the shovel shed. They both chose their shovels, being careful not to take X- Ray's.
"Wonder what he'd say if we took it," Magnet's eyes shone maliciously.
"Probably just talk some shit up to us," Zigzag replied, "Let your mini-magnets work man." Magnet traded his shovel for X-Ray's and the two set off to work.
"Where the hell is my shovel?!?" X-Ray could be heard halfway across the camp. Zigzag and Magnet snickered to themselves and continued working. Everyone else was already out on the lake and they nervously checked their own shovels. Mr. Pendanski drove up in the water truck with a disgruntled X- Ray in the front seat, holding a shovel.
"No more lollygaging around. As soon as you're done, you need to come to the tent. We've got a special new recruit!" Mr. Pendanski smiled to himself. "My, won't the boys enjoy this little treat," he thought.
"Crack, Pop, Crack, Pop," went the gum. The gum was in the mouth of a girl of about 15, auburn hair, gold green eyes. She was sitting back comfortably on a seat of a rickety old school bus. She smirked at her guard, but he paid no attention. She had a suspicion that he was asleep until he spoke.
"Will you stop with the cracking and the popping?" he asked, annoyed. She scowled and sank further into the seat. She stopped just long enough for the guard to relax before starting again. This went on until the bus stopped.
"Ok, I'm supposed to take you right to Ms. Walker," the guard explained, unlocking the handcuffs. She grabbed her two bags and followed the guard off the bus. She paused on the last step to put on her sunglasses.
"Holy shit man. You think that that's who Mom was talking about?" Magnet asked Zigzag as they stopped on their way in to see who was getting off. Zigzag was speechless for once in his life. They, among many others, watched her getting off and the sway of her hips as she walked towards the cabin. She was wearing a white tank top that came to just above her belly button and very low white khakis. One could see her purple bra through her shirt and there was no way that she could pull off those pants without a thong. Her auburn hair was pulled in a low ponytail and she walked as if she owned the place.
"I hope so Mag. There's no other vacancies," Zigzag replied, still working on putting his eyes back in his head. As the girl reached the cabin, she turned around, squinted and then grinned at them.
"Damn, I want some of that," Magnet muttered under his breath.
"Anne Marie Hawkins," said the Warden, setting down a file on her desk, "Welcome back. I can see that you've decided to grace us with your presence again." Anne just sat there, popping her gum. "What're you in for now Anne?"
"Well, murder I guess. I supposedly murdered my boyfriend, even though I didn't do it. Jared did it," the girl explained. The Warden rolled her eyes.
"Look Ms. Hawkins. I don't want you here. The boys treat you too nice and you don't ever do any work. I was forced to accept you. Now I don't want you pulling any funny stuff otherwise you're out of here." The Warden was dangerously close to the girl's face.
"Look Ms. Walker. I don't wanna be here either. And two words: Tic- Tac." She scowled at the Warden. The Warden let out a groan as she shoved two pairs of orange jumpsuits into her arms.
"You know what to do. You're up earlier to get ready," she demanded. The girl shoved the clothes in her first bag and stormed out of the cabin.
"Well lookee here. If it ain't Bite Hawkins." She heard a familiar voice. She smiled and turned around to see X-Ray coming in with another boy, his shovel over his shoulder.
"You miss me X?" she asked, walking to meet him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then put his arms around her shoulder.
"You in D-Tent again? Cuz I'm the head of the tent now, besides Mom," X-Ray replied as they reached the tent.
"Please X. Would I be in anything other than D? And that makes sense that you're head. I guess all the old guys are gone?" She began to grin again as she saw the two guys that she had smiled at earlier. Magnet jabbed Zigzag in the ribs and he stood up quickly.
"Hey, I'm...umm Zig...Zigzag. And this is Magnet," Zigzag reached out a hand, which she ignored. She was sizing the boy up. He looked like he had a nice body and she guessed that his hair accounted for half of his body weight. He had soft gray eyes and his deep voice with the Texan accent was extremely sexy.
"Bite," she replied, "Rattlesnake Bite." She shook his hand. His eyes caught something on the front of her shoulder. He grabbed it to get a better view. It was an intricate broken heart with a snake wrapped around the pieces. He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't have much of a love-life," she explained.
"And I'm Magnet!" Magnet got up quickly to shake her hand. "Wait...he already said that. But you can call me Jose, sweet tits." Bite looked disgusted and pulled her hand away.
"Damn Magnet. Didn't your mother teach you no manners?" The large black boy accompanying X-Ray asked. "Hey Hon, I'm Armpit."
"Thank you. At least someone around here's a gentleman." She glared at Magnet who cowered as her eyes appeared red.
"What're you in for now Bite?" X-Ray asked, but Armpit cut him off.
"Hey, I wasn't finished yet X. Why's your name Rattlesnake Bite?" Armpit asked. Bite began to grin again, this time as if there was something up her sleeve.
"Cuz when I sleep with you, I'm famous for my bite," she replied. Zigzag raised his eyebrow again. She caught him looking at her. "My old boyfriend gave it to me. Red."
"Speaking of, what happened to old Red?" X-Ray asked, looking interested. Bite's eyes grew red again.
"He was murdered. That's why I'm here. I supposedly killed him," she explained. All of the guys looked shocked. True, she looked like she owned the place, but she looked only about 5'4" and not very tough-looking. Zigzag towered over her and X-Ray remembered Red being no shorter than him.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" he asked, cautiously.
"No. But I had to watch as he was," she replied, trying to hastily change the subject. "So, which bunk is mine?" Magnet pointed to an empty bunk.
"Get comfy Rattle. We'll see you in the mess." X-Ray pulled the other three boys out of the tent towards the mess hall, but Zigzag pulled away and stood in the doorway of the tent, watching her. She set down her bags next to her empty bed. She sighed and fell down on her bed.
"Pyromaniacism," she stated, loudly enough for him to hear.
"What?" he asked. She sat up to face him.
"Pyromaniacism. That's what I was in for the first time. But I told the guys I was a nympho. That's what you were going to ask. Right?"
"Yeah. So, how's life on the outside world?" he asked, walking back into the tent. He hadn't been in communication with anyone from home or Hollywood since 2 months ago.
"I wouldn't know. I've been in and out of jails since I left here. I finally chose to come here to get my tan back," she joked. It was true, she was as white as the snow that he hadn't seen for, what seemed like, forever. "You seem like a nice kid. Why're you here?"
"Acute paranoia. Apparently my dad thinks I freak out too much. But, wait a minute. Why send a girl to a camp full of guys?" he asked. She laughed, remembering.
"They didn't know I was a girl when I first came. I was going by Andy then. They thought I was a rapist. Then Red found out that I was a girl and we started "dating". Then Mr. Sir caught us kissing and they kicked me out. Nothing special," she explained.
"Wait, you said "Andy". What's your real name?" he asked, sitting down on her bed.
"Annie," she replied, scowling, "But if you call me that, your ass is mine." Zigzag backed off a little but.
"Like the orphan?"
"Yeah, but I'm not an orphan. My parents kicked me here when they found out about my.problem." Bite locked her jaw. Zigzag's stomach suddenly growled. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch.
"Let's go." He stood up and grabbed her hand. She looked at him, surprised. He quickly dropped her hand. "Sorry." He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked out of the tent. She grinned and followed him.
The room suddenly hushed entirely as Rattlesnake entered the room and got her food.
"Damn. Have they never seen a woman before?" she whispered to Zigzag. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Not for at least 3 months," he whispered back.
"Ow-ow! Hey sexy lady!" someone called. A boy with a white hat laughed and the chatter began once again.
"X! You wanna introduce me to everyone?" she asked as she and Zigzag sat down at the table where X-Ray was seated.
"Well, you already know me, Magnet, Armpit, and Zigzag. That's Squid." He pointed to the boy who had laughed. "And Zero." She glanced at the small boy who was eating with his head down. "And guys, this is Rattlesnake Bite. Call her what you want, but nothing offensive. She can kick your ass and she's in here for murder." Zigzag conveniently left out "supposed."
"Are we supposed to have girls here? I mean, aren't they gonna "break a nail" or something?" Squid asked, eating quickly, anxious to be the first one to shower. She looked at him oddly.
"Please. The only thing that I think that you guys need to worry about is my PMSing," she smirked. X-Ray snorted into his drink. He was the only one who had experienced that. The guys looked at him oddly. "I've been here before and I know what I'm doing. I don't need help from you guys and ," she looked at the "spoop" that she had been served. "I'm gonna go get some real food." She pushed her away from the table. She stood up and walked towards the door when a boy reached out and slapped her butt.
"Hey bitch. You ever get tired of those D-Tents, come on over to B. We can offer you better." The guy winked at her. She rolled her eyes, reached down, and kissed him, fully on the lips. Everyone fell silent again. She let go of him and he fell back, surprised.
"That's what you wanted. Right?" She continued on her way out the door, many eyes following her. She sensed the stares and flipped all of them off as she walked out the door.
"How long before someone does her?" Armpit asked, snapping out of the trance.
"I dunno. We should ask Ziggy. They were getting pretty close in the tent a little while ago. He was enjoying looking at that tattoo on her tit," Magnet persisted. All of the guys erupted with laughter.
"Shit guys, it's not on her tit. It's on her shoulder. And we were just talking. I know better than to put a move on a girl like her," Zigzag retaliated, hitting Magnet.
"Please, it's not like she'd protest. She used to be a nympho. Right Z?" Squid asked, always one of X-Ray's right hand men.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that she still is," he replied, appearing to be deep in thought, "I'll see you later guys." He stood up to dump his tray and hurried after Bite's retreating back.
"Bets on who she fucks first," Magnet suggested. All of the guys replied unanimously.
"Zigzag."
