The Serpent Queen

King Cobra | Part Two

Phoebe tried not to laugh and keep a straight face when Johnny held Miguel up with a strong rope supporting all his weight. They were helping Miguel with his rehabilitation, since he moved his foot at the Dee Snider concert. Today's goal was to help Miguel stand. She couldn't do much to help him like Johnny could, so she was there for encouragement and moral support.

The Sensei himself seemed impatient, "You ready or what?"

"I hate this. It's ridiculous." Miguel complained about the large harness he was wearing. It was attached to a makeshift pulley system made by Johnny in his own apartment.

"What's ridiculous about it?"

"I look like a giant baby."

"The way you're whining and not walking, you might as well be a baby."

Phoebe giggled a little. He kinda did.

Miguel rolled his eyes and gave her a slight glare as he asked their Sensei, "Isn't there some...more badass way to do this?"

"You think tapping your foot at a concert makes you ready for badass training? Your legs are still pussies. Now are you ready to stand?"

Miguel sighed and nodded, ready to begin.

"Okay. One, two, three. Go!" Johnny slacked the rope and Miguel couldn't hold himself so he collapsed to the ground. "Alright, better fall that time. Take five."

Johnny went over to the fridge, leaving him there.

Miguel threw his hands up in frustration.

"You okay? That's the third time now." Phoebe helped him out of the harness.

"Hey, my mom keeps talking about you. She said thank you again for taking me to the concert." He army crawled over to the coffee table.

Johnny perked up and stuck his head out from the fridge, "Oh yeah? Did she, uh... say anything else?"

Miguel propped himself against the couch with a little yanking from Phoebe, he spotted Johnny's open laptop. He nudged her to look as well.

"Are you writing a novel?" She asked.

Johnny returned to the sofa and sat down beside his other neighbour. He brought drinks with him and set them down on the coffee table, "Huh? No, it's a Facebook message."

"That?" Miguel stared at the insanely long typed message. "Who's it for?"

"A uh... babe from high school. Ali."

"Ali? The Ali?!" Phoebe turned to Miguel.

"Wait, this is huge! This is HUGE! This is so..." Miguel said. "You can't send her that. You cannot send her that message."

"Why not?" Johnny wondered cluelessly, despite already sending that message.

The two best friends glanced to each other, seemingly on the same mental wavelength.

"It's like eighty pages! And it's in all caps!" Phoebe told him.

Johnny snatched the laptop away in slight embarrassment, but he defended his choice, "I have thirty-five years worth of stuff to say, alright?"

"Okay, but... short messages are way cooler."

Phoebe's eyes scanned the message quickly, "This looks desperate and maybe...creepy? Sending that would be like liking all her photos. That is a big no go." Suddenly, Johnny looked concerned. She saw it. "Oh no. Oh no. Why?"

"Well what the hell? I enjoyed the photos, there's a button for exactly that. Why would I not click on it?"

"She can see that!" Miguel exclaimed.