Thanks to Tziporah, About to Faint, and Psychonerd 5
Chapter 3
Trapdoors
"And remember, no funny business!" Victor screamed in Raoul's face as he pushed him into the backseat of the car. Without a moments hesitation, he buckled up as his uncle got into the front seat. Sitting in front of him was Danny, and next to him was his best friend, Pierre. Patricia was next to Victor in the front.
As Victor began driving toward the petting zoo, Danny began talking to his friend. "We're getting a SUV next year. It's a lot better than this old car."
"I had a dream about an SUV," Raoul murmured. "It was flying, and there was a giant in it."
"A SUV CANNOT FLY!" Victor boomed.
"I know, I know," he sighed.
Not much later, they arrived at the zoo. It was extremely crowded, but he was able to stay near his family, not that he wanted to. Victor and Patricia wanted him to be in view, though. They were planning to visit the gift shop last, but Danny began complaining loudly about this decision. Instead, they visited it first. He got his video game, then ran to the reptile room.
"Daddy, I want to pet the cobra!" he began crying when he noticed the sign in front of the cobra read, "DO NOT PET OR ATTEMPT TO PET."
"Why would you pet a cobra? It's poisonous!" Raoul pointed out, chuckling.
"Keep your mouth shut!" Victor whispered in a harsh voice to him, then turned toward Danny. "You can't. It's off limits."
"But I want to! It's a petting zoo!"
"Me too!" Pierre whined as well.
"No!" Patricia told them.
"I want to!" they yelled simultaneously.
"Well, if you really want to, then I'll ask the zoo keeper," Victor told them, walking over to a short, stout man not far away. At the same time, Raoul walked over to the glass and looked in at the cobra.
"Hello," he greeted it. The cobra slowly began lifting its head. It looked him in the eyes.
"Can you understand me?" It nodded. "I've never talked to a snake before, nor did I know I could. So, what's it like being a snake in captivity?"
"Terrible," it responded. This made Raoul perk up. It wasn't everyday a snake talked to you, he decided.
"Do you miss your family?"
"Yes. They are in a completely different cage than myself."
"Sort of like me. I never knew my parents. They fell out of the top floor of a hotel. I did too, but it only left a scar," he told him, pushing his bangs up with his hands to make his sixty-fourth note scar visible.
"Interesting," the cobra replied.
"So, what's your name, anyway?"
"Chris."
"Chris the Cobra," Raoul repeated to himself. "Mine is Raoul."
Just at that moment, Raoul was pushed aside by Danny. "I want to pet the cobra!" he whined, and just as he did, he fell through the floor. Inside the cage, Raoul could see that Chris had fallen through the floor as well. Although it felt good to have Danny fall through a trapdoor and set the cobra free - or at least he thought he set it free - he knew he would be in trouble later. And he was.
