Under the Bed

"Nudge?"

Nudge jumped about six feet, hitting the top of her head on the bottom shelf of the closet. She looked up at me guiltily, rubbing her head. "Yes Max?" she asked innocently, her big brown eyes giving me that look.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She had been on her hands and knees with her head inside the closet, whistling softly.

"Nothing."

I didn't buy it for a second. I folded my arms across my chest and raised one eyebrow at her, a look that is 100 percent certain to get any one of the flock to confess…with the exception of Fang and Iggy, of course. Nudge swallowed and tried to stare me down, but eventually she caved, as I knew she would.

"Well…you see…I kinda…well…I got a pet!" she said brightly, smiling at me.

"A pet?" I repeated. "Who let you get a pet?"

"Well…Fang did."

Note to self: Kill Fang.

"When?"

"Three days ago."

"And I didn't know about this?"

"Well…" I was about sick of her saying that. "Fang said it would be a good idea if you didn't know."

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well…" This time she didn't go on.

My heart sank down into my stomach. "What kind of pet?" I asked slowly, dreading the answer.

"A snake."

I had no idea my eyeballs could pop that far out of my head. "A what?" I screeched.

"A snake," Nudge repeated patiently, watching me. Her eyes wandered to a point behind me, then snapped back to me quickly. Not quickly enough, though, to keep me from noticing. I whirled around and came face-to-face (well, face-to-chest, technically) with the man on death sentence himself.

"You let her get a snake?" I demanded. "What could possibly have possessed you to do a thing like that?"

Fang regarded me calmly, which only made my blood boil more. "She found it in the park. I told her no at first, knowing that you'd blow a gasket, but then she gave me the look."

"You are such a pushover," I snapped, turning back to Nudge.

"What's going on?" Iggy asked, appearing suddenly at Fang's shoulder.

"Max found out about Robert," Nudge said.

"Oh," Iggy said knowingly, and left it at that.

"Who names a snake Robert?" Gazzy asked as he stuck his head into the hallway.

"Nudge does," Angel responded.

"Wait…did everyone know about the snake?" I demanded. "How was I kept in the dark?"

"It wasn't that hard, trust me," Iggy assured me.

"Yeah, you don't notice anything," Angel piped up. "Plus, I kinda made you stay away from Nudge's room for the past few days."

"You what?" I shrieked. "Angel! You controlled my mind?"

"I told her it was a bad idea," Gazzy offered.

I knew that my face was turning red and that my eyes were about three times their normal size, but I didn't care. I was mad.

"Guys, I'd just like to take the time to point out that Max's head is about to explode," Fang cut in. "Can we hurry this up? I really don't feel like cleaning her brains off of the walls."

I glared at him and turned back to Nudge, who was now standing up and wringing her hands nervously. "Nudge, sweetie, I don't mind you having a pet, really I don't, but please, please, please, anything but a snake, okay? Do me a favor and get rid of it." I turned to go, having had enough of the conversation.

"I…I can't."

I froze in midstep, knowing this couldn't be good. "Why not?"

"Well…I kinda…lost him."

Let's just say that hiding under the bed is not the best thing for a leader's reputation.

Oh, and read the new book, it rocks.