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IT WAS ANOTHER typical morning in Chatsworth — meaning, as always, the world somehow revolved around the Gallaghers, and Kodi Ball was stuck right in the middle of it.
All she wanted was to sleep. Just one morning to herself. But no.
“Kodi! Get up, you’re gonna be late for school!” Veronica’s voice carried down the hall like a war cry.
“I’m sick!” Kodi groaned, pulling the pillow over her head. “I can’t go!”
Veronica rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath as she walked out of the room. “Five minutes — and put that fuckin’ snake back in his cage. Creepy little bastard gives me the shivers.”
From its corner, Ringo — Kodi’s beloved ball python — flicked his tongue lazily in response.
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In the kitchen…
Kevin and Veronica were already up, sipping their coffee while bickering about the snake.
“Why’d you let her have that thing anyway?” Veronica asked.
Kevin smirked into his mug. “It was that or a tarantula. At least this one doesn’t shed hair or crawl into your knickers.”
“She couldn’t have just picked a cat? Or a dog? Like a normal girl?” Veronica shook her head.
Kodi shuffled into the kitchen still in her Powerpuff Girls pajamas, hair a mess, head dropping onto the table. “I’m sick,” she coughed dramatically. “Can’t go to school.”
