Dancing with the Devil ✔️

10

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D A N C I N G
WITH THE
D E V I L
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The girls were all cowering in a corner of the living room but the reaction from the boys was completely the opposite.

"Oh, wow!" Jack was exclaiming in an excited tone. "This is awesome!"

Hovering as close as they dared to get, they stood transfixed with fascination as they stared agape at the writhing creature that had appeared on the living room floor.

"No, it is not awesome! It is totally freaky!!" Sara's squeal was the loudest of all and was probably the scream that Millie and I had heard when we were out by the pool.

Jackie's parents were nowhere to be seen and then I remembered watching them carry buckets of horse feed over to the back paddock after tending to the bump on Sara's head. So I guessed they were still over there, feeding the horses.

"Have you got a broom?' I asked Jackie as I stood in the doorway, watching the scene in front of me unfold.

It was clear that if something wasn't done quickly, one of the boys was sure to be bitten. The snake that had appeared on the rug in front of us seemed to be getting more agitated by the minute.

Jackie raced to grab a broom which I abruptly grabbed from her hands and held out towards the snake hoping to keep it at bay. We caught a glimpse of the bright red of its underbelly, which contrasted vividly with the shining black scales that covered its back.

Motioning for the girls to move out of the doorway, I tried to coax the snake towards the exit and freedom. Meanwhile, Jackie's cat sat ready to pounce, bristles raised in defense.

The screaming of the girls suddenly reached an all-time high as the snake slithered towards freedom, obviously wanting to escape the chaos that it had been faced with. Sara turned into a blubbering mess, squealing uncontrollably at the sight of the scary looking creature in front of her.

"Sara, stop screaming!" Jack exclaimed. "The snake will freak out and strike at you!"

Those were the words that she needed to hear and they actually managed to stop all the girls from carrying on in such an over the top frightened manner.

"Our cat often brings snakes into the house!" Jackie explained, trying to calm everyone down. "The other week he even dropped one on the lounge chair right next to my brother!"

Sara cried. "How on earth can you live in a place like this?"

"You've got to be kidding?" Alex replied in an amazed tone. "This is the best place ever! I'd love to live here!"

The expression on Sara's face quickly changed from horror to humiliation. Rather than giving her sympathy and attention, she was being made to seem pretty silly for reacting so foolishly. And then when she saw Blake high-five me and congratulate my quick thinking, her face glowed redder than ever.

"Oh, whatever!" she replied. "So, I'm scared of snakes. Isn't that pretty normal?"

Once again, Millie rolled her eyes towards me and then thankfully, Jackie broke the tension by inviting everyone into the dining room for something to eat. Her mom had prepared an amazing array of food, which was waiting for us on the table and as we were all starving, we eagerly sat down to enjoy the feast.

"That was really cool!" Blake exclaimed once more, glancing admiringly in my direction. "The only place I've ever seen a snake before is behind a thick pane of glass at the zoo. I never thought I'd see one up that close and especially on a living room floor. Do you think it was poisonous?"