By Shelby Benton

 

April O’Connor rolled over and stared at her alarm. A red 6:23 blinked in the dark. She sighed and pushed her messy brown hair away from her light gray eyes. She didn’t have to be up for another three hours, but it was going to take her another hour to fall back asleep anyway. Might as well grab a glass of water.

April headed towards the kitchen, which took no time at all. The house had been described as “quaint and cozy” which was code for “old and cramped,” but it was just for the next few months, and the rent was cheap. That was when she heard the noises.

“Oh, not again,” said April.

The mouse problem had started over the summer, but a few successful mousetraps later and they hadn’t seen or heard anything in over a month. April grabbed a broom, as was standard procedure, and headed in to investigate.

Flicking on the light illuminated the room but not the source of the noises. Now the sounds were a loud rustling and squeaking coming from under her desk. April held the broom in front of her like a spear and strafed around the desk.

She gasped. It wasn’t just a mouse. Then she screamed.

 

In the next room, Jan Smith woke up to her roommate screaming again. She was so dramatic about everything. “Not worth it,” she muttered, and she pulled her blankets up over her blonde head and went right back to sleep.

 

Michelle Kettner and Melissa Stephenson did not have the same calm attitude, and instead woke in a blur of activity in their shared room. Michelle pulled a large, fluffy robe over her tan shoulders, the last remnants of a summer spent at the beach.

“What do you think it is?” she said.

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” said Melissa as she shivered, looking even more pale than usual. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and tried to warm her hands on her freckled cheeks. They rushed into April’s room.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“Just look!”

Michelle and Melissa moved closer to April and stared under her desk.

“What the fu-!”

“Ohmygod!”

Under the desk a long, black snack peered back out at the three young women. It had just finished a tasty meal, swallowing a mouse whole, and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Its tongue slithered out and tasted the air.

“What…what do we do?” said Michelle.

“I don’t know. Do we call the police?” said Melissa.

“Oh yeah, that’ll work. Do you think they’ll arrest it? How do you suppose they’ll handcuff it?”

“Oh shut up. It was a suggestion. It’s not like you have anything better.”

“What about animal control?” said April.

“Are they even open this early? And how would we contact them? We don’t have a phone book or anything,” said Melissa.

The snake looked again at the three women. It was time to leave. The snake slithered out from under the desk.

“AAAHHH! It‘s moving! Shit shit shit, back up!” said April, pushing her friends out of her room and into the living room.

The snake calmly coiled up in the hallway, peering through each doorway.

“What if we just open the front door and see if it’ll just leave on its own?” said Michelle.

“But it’ll make the house even colder!” said Melissa.

“Is a SNAKE better?” said Michelle.

Melissa opened the front door, and then all of them stood on top of the sofa and waited. “I’ll sweep it out if it even gets close!” said April.

The snake turned and flicked its tongue. There was a new breeze, and with it came new smells. It slithered into the living room and surveyed the area. Then the snake finally left, taking its time, as if it was a welcome guest that didn’t want to leave.

April, who had been poised still as a statue, sprang to life, slamming the door shut and locking it.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” she said.

“I need a drink,” said Michelle.

“You know it’s 7 AM on a Tuesday, right?”

“I didn’t say I was going to have one, I just said I needed one.”

“How about hot chocolate?” said Melissa. “My grandmother showed me how to make it extra rich.

Michelle and April looked at each other. “Sounds good.”

 

A little later, Jan wandered out of her room. She hadn’t started her makeup or done her hair yet, but she felt positively radiant. It had been an excellent night of sleep. Turning the corner, she saw all of her roommates huddled around the kitchen table with mugs clutched between both hands.

“Did I miss something?”