in my life. Totally cute. He was Beiber -cute.
I think I blushed but I felt pretty sure my black skin cloaked it from showing. “Oh. Hi.”
“ You’re b-b-b-blushing.”
Dag. “Nuh-uh.”
“ What-t-t-tever.” He turned to the corner but before he went back, he said. “So, do you?”
“ Do I what?”
“ Want s-s-s-some?”
“ Some what?”
“ Jeez. G-g-g-girls.” I think he rolled his eyes. “Want s-s-s-some of my f-f-f-fly. D-d-d-do you?”
“ Oh. Ick.”
“ What-t-t-tever.” He ambled slowly and accurately making his silk bounce with each movement of his legs, back into the dark where he disappeared, but I knew he was watching me.
He looked about my age, explaining his voice making switchbacks from tenor to bass at random. God. He was so cute.
“ Don’t like f-f-f-flies?” He said from the dark.
“ No.”
“ M-m-m-more for me, th-th-th-then.”
“ What-t-t-tever.” Got him.
“ Yeah. Whatever.”
Dag. Perfect delivery.
I inched away to one side then to the other testing out my eight wicked legs. The wood of Morlson’s headboard felt wide under my feet like walking on the highway and I took my time getting to the precise point above her pillow.
“ She s-s-s-snores.” The boy said, making me look up.
“ What’s your name?”
“ R-r-r-rider.”
“ Nuh-uh.”
“ Yuh-huh.”
God. Rider the Spider.
“ She’s not snoring now.”
“ She w-w-w-will.”
And, as if he’d been watching her all his life, he had the timing down to a tee. He must’ve known about when, each night, it would happen, because Morlson’s mouth twisted open and she began to mouth-breathe!
“ Amazing.”
“ T-t-t-told you.”
“ She’s totally disgusting.”
“ T-t-t-tell me about it.”
“ How long have you been living there?”
“ Hmm. Let’s s-s-s-see... I was here yesterd-d-d-day, and yesterd-d-d-day before that and a d-d-d-day before that and, hmm, at least t-t-t-two or th-th-th-three d-d-d-days before that...”
“ Okay. Lord. Stop. Sorry I asked.”
“ Why are you h-h-h-here?”
“ A vendetta.”
“ What?”
Perfect again.
“ Why do you stutter?”
“ Why do you care?”
“ It’s irritating.”
“ S-s-s-sorry.” He poked his head out and winked at me.
I blushed again.
“ B-b-b-blushing?”
I put my claws up to my face to check. “Shut-UP!”
Morlson’s mouth-breathing took on a heated momentum and distracted both of us.
“ Lord.” I looked on in horror.
He just looked at me and raised his first set of legs, like, your guess is as good as mine?
“ Nasty.” I couldn’t stop about Morlson’s gross sleeping habits.
“ I’m used to h-h-h-her.”
The snoring sounded like a cross between walking on crushed rocks and puking up a loogie.
“ Holy.” There was no quitting. I was appalled. “Time to get busy, I suppose.”
No need to jump, the sticky claws on each of my feet held me safely to the vertical side of the headboard making it easy going down onto Morlson’s straggly hair—hair she kept out of her face by a sweat-crusted black elastic cotton headband. I made my way through a jungle of grey that smelled a lot like AquaNet hairspray. Like walking through an automat carwash with those long strips of fabric that wipe over you as you move forward on the conveyor belt but like with one hundred million times more strands all smelling like AquaNet hairspray. Pee-Uke. Not only could I barely see but I didn't want to breathe. Talk about stanky-poo. Woo hoo! If I had a spider nose protrubance, I would have pinched it closed by then.
Rider continued to talk and crackle out his boy-to-man words, stuttering all the while. Wh-wh-wh-what are you going to d-d-d-do?”
“ It’s payback time for Morlson.”
“ Wh-wh-wh-who?”
“ Gas bag.”
“ Ah.” But he wouldn’t let the question go. “So. Wh-wh-wh-what will you d-d-d-do?”
“ Give her a big fat bite.” I looked up and gave Rider my most sexy spider smile. “That’s what we spiders
I think I blushed but I felt pretty sure my black skin cloaked it from showing. “Oh. Hi.”
“ You’re b-b-b-blushing.”
Dag. “Nuh-uh.”
“ What-t-t-tever.” He turned to the corner but before he went back, he said. “So, do you?”
“ Do I what?”
“ Want s-s-s-some?”
“ Some what?”
“ Jeez. G-g-g-girls.” I think he rolled his eyes. “Want s-s-s-some of my f-f-f-fly. D-d-d-do you?”
“ Oh. Ick.”
“ What-t-t-tever.” He ambled slowly and accurately making his silk bounce with each movement of his legs, back into the dark where he disappeared, but I knew he was watching me.
He looked about my age, explaining his voice making switchbacks from tenor to bass at random. God. He was so cute.
“ Don’t like f-f-f-flies?” He said from the dark.
“ No.”
“ M-m-m-more for me, th-th-th-then.”
“ What-t-t-tever.” Got him.
“ Yeah. Whatever.”
Dag. Perfect delivery.
I inched away to one side then to the other testing out my eight wicked legs. The wood of Morlson’s headboard felt wide under my feet like walking on the highway and I took my time getting to the precise point above her pillow.
“ She s-s-s-snores.” The boy said, making me look up.
“ What’s your name?”
“ R-r-r-rider.”
“ Nuh-uh.”
“ Yuh-huh.”
God. Rider the Spider.
“ She’s not snoring now.”
“ She w-w-w-will.”
And, as if he’d been watching her all his life, he had the timing down to a tee. He must’ve known about when, each night, it would happen, because Morlson’s mouth twisted open and she began to mouth-breathe!
“ Amazing.”
“ T-t-t-told you.”
“ She’s totally disgusting.”
“ T-t-t-tell me about it.”
“ How long have you been living there?”
“ Hmm. Let’s s-s-s-see... I was here yesterd-d-d-day, and yesterd-d-d-day before that and a d-d-d-day before that and, hmm, at least t-t-t-two or th-th-th-three d-d-d-days before that...”
“ Okay. Lord. Stop. Sorry I asked.”
“ Why are you h-h-h-here?”
“ A vendetta.”
“ What?”
Perfect again.
“ Why do you stutter?”
“ Why do you care?”
“ It’s irritating.”
“ S-s-s-sorry.” He poked his head out and winked at me.
I blushed again.
“ B-b-b-blushing?”
I put my claws up to my face to check. “Shut-UP!”
Morlson’s mouth-breathing took on a heated momentum and distracted both of us.
“ Lord.” I looked on in horror.
He just looked at me and raised his first set of legs, like, your guess is as good as mine?
“ Nasty.” I couldn’t stop about Morlson’s gross sleeping habits.
“ I’m used to h-h-h-her.”
The snoring sounded like a cross between walking on crushed rocks and puking up a loogie.
“ Holy.” There was no quitting. I was appalled. “Time to get busy, I suppose.”
No need to jump, the sticky claws on each of my feet held me safely to the vertical side of the headboard making it easy going down onto Morlson’s straggly hair—hair she kept out of her face by a sweat-crusted black elastic cotton headband. I made my way through a jungle of grey that smelled a lot like AquaNet hairspray. Like walking through an automat carwash with those long strips of fabric that wipe over you as you move forward on the conveyor belt but like with one hundred million times more strands all smelling like AquaNet hairspray. Pee-Uke. Not only could I barely see but I didn't want to breathe. Talk about stanky-poo. Woo hoo! If I had a spider nose protrubance, I would have pinched it closed by then.
Rider continued to talk and crackle out his boy-to-man words, stuttering all the while. Wh-wh-wh-what are you going to d-d-d-do?”
“ It’s payback time for Morlson.”
“ Wh-wh-wh-who?”
“ Gas bag.”
“ Ah.” But he wouldn’t let the question go. “So. Wh-wh-wh-what will you d-d-d-do?”
“ Give her a big fat bite.” I looked up and gave Rider my most sexy spider smile. “That’s what we spiders
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