easy, and it gave Jen new courage.
A quick drop to the ground and she snatched the spear in her right hand. With a loud “GAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” she hopped onto the snake’s back and jabbed the sharp end into the creature’s head. It thrashed wildly and Jennifer was thrown clear. Now it was truly pissed. But it wasn’t from Jen’s assault. From inside the snake, the swallowed girl had managed to crawl up. She positioned what looked like a smallish white tub between the snake’s back teeth. It allowed just enough room for her to slide out on a tide of heavy saliva. Without thinking, Jennifer pulled the girl to safety behind a fat, broken tree.
The snake bit down on the large jar between its teeth and exploded. The girls were coated in snake insides.
“Yes!” Jennifer screamed. She pumped her fist. “How ya like me now, Snake Parts?”
Beside her, the rescued girl coughed and hacked. Her eyes widened as she hacked up a mouthful of slime on Jennifer’s shoulder.
“Ew.”
“Sorry,” the girl said in a voice that sounded slightly broken and a little loud. “I was choking. I’m Sosie Simmons. Miss Illinois.”
“Jennifer Huberman, Miss Michigan. Oh my God. I thought that you were a total goner, man. But you were all, ‘Feel my fists of fury, Amphibian Bitch,’ and I was all, ‘Let’s settle this, X-Men-style,’ and you were all, ‘Aaaaaaahhhhhh jar action!’ and I was all, ‘Kayaaaaaaaa spear time!’ and, oh my God, that was flippin’ amazing. Wasn’t that amazing? I haven’t felt so good since I punched Dennis Anastasias during sixth grade recess when he called me thunder thighs ’cause, I’m sorry, that little punk had it coming.” Laughing maniacally, Jennifer combed her hands through her snake-slimed, muddy hair and looked up at the doily of sky far above, and even though she had just nearly met her demise with a gigantic snake on a deserted island far from home, somehow this moment was glorious.
Sosie stared at Jennifer’s mouth, trying hard to make out thewords that rushed over her lips in a formless torrent. “Um, sorry. I didn’t get that. I lost my hearing aid inside that thing. I’m hearing impaired.”
Jennifer was forced to really look at Sosie. What she saw was a face with large, green eyes and a light dusting of freckles across a small nose. And for a moment, she was more undone by this girl’s beauty than by the carnivorous snake.
“Oh. Sorry,” she said slowly.
Sosie smiled. “That’s okay. Even though I have a disability, it doesn’t stop me from realizing my aspiration of representing my country as Miss Teen Dream.”
“No. Of course —”
Sosie placed a hand over the left side of her chest. “They said that because I could not hear the music, I would not be able to dance, but I refused to be limited. I chose to listen to the music of my soul. With the help of my teachers, I organized a dance troupe of non-hearing kids called Helen Keller-bration! And we travel America, showing that nothing can stop you if
you
don’t stop believing.”
Jennifer looked around. “Who are you talking to?”
Sosie squinted at Jen’s mouth. “Oh! My handler said you should act like the cameras are on you at all times and always be at your best.”
“There are no cameras. The crew, the handlers, they’re all dead.”
“What?”
Jennifer mimed a finger across her throat.
“Oh.
oh!
”
Slowly, with great care, Jennifer explained about the storm, how she lost the others, that she didn’t know if they had survived.
Sosie took it all in, nodding. “After the crash, I was so scared. I found this place. It was really weird. There were all these jars of Lady ’Stache Off.”
“Maybe they fell when the plane crashed?”
“That’s what I thought at first. But one of the jars — the one the snake just had for breakfast — had this weird, almost-battery-lookingthing in it. The jars were all in a box. And that’s not all. Come on, I’ll show you.”
She offered her
A quick drop to the ground and she snatched the spear in her right hand. With a loud “GAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” she hopped onto the snake’s back and jabbed the sharp end into the creature’s head. It thrashed wildly and Jennifer was thrown clear. Now it was truly pissed. But it wasn’t from Jen’s assault. From inside the snake, the swallowed girl had managed to crawl up. She positioned what looked like a smallish white tub between the snake’s back teeth. It allowed just enough room for her to slide out on a tide of heavy saliva. Without thinking, Jennifer pulled the girl to safety behind a fat, broken tree.
The snake bit down on the large jar between its teeth and exploded. The girls were coated in snake insides.
“Yes!” Jennifer screamed. She pumped her fist. “How ya like me now, Snake Parts?”
Beside her, the rescued girl coughed and hacked. Her eyes widened as she hacked up a mouthful of slime on Jennifer’s shoulder.
“Ew.”
“Sorry,” the girl said in a voice that sounded slightly broken and a little loud. “I was choking. I’m Sosie Simmons. Miss Illinois.”
“Jennifer Huberman, Miss Michigan. Oh my God. I thought that you were a total goner, man. But you were all, ‘Feel my fists of fury, Amphibian Bitch,’ and I was all, ‘Let’s settle this, X-Men-style,’ and you were all, ‘Aaaaaaahhhhhh jar action!’ and I was all, ‘Kayaaaaaaaa spear time!’ and, oh my God, that was flippin’ amazing. Wasn’t that amazing? I haven’t felt so good since I punched Dennis Anastasias during sixth grade recess when he called me thunder thighs ’cause, I’m sorry, that little punk had it coming.” Laughing maniacally, Jennifer combed her hands through her snake-slimed, muddy hair and looked up at the doily of sky far above, and even though she had just nearly met her demise with a gigantic snake on a deserted island far from home, somehow this moment was glorious.
Sosie stared at Jennifer’s mouth, trying hard to make out thewords that rushed over her lips in a formless torrent. “Um, sorry. I didn’t get that. I lost my hearing aid inside that thing. I’m hearing impaired.”
Jennifer was forced to really look at Sosie. What she saw was a face with large, green eyes and a light dusting of freckles across a small nose. And for a moment, she was more undone by this girl’s beauty than by the carnivorous snake.
“Oh. Sorry,” she said slowly.
Sosie smiled. “That’s okay. Even though I have a disability, it doesn’t stop me from realizing my aspiration of representing my country as Miss Teen Dream.”
“No. Of course —”
Sosie placed a hand over the left side of her chest. “They said that because I could not hear the music, I would not be able to dance, but I refused to be limited. I chose to listen to the music of my soul. With the help of my teachers, I organized a dance troupe of non-hearing kids called Helen Keller-bration! And we travel America, showing that nothing can stop you if
you
don’t stop believing.”
Jennifer looked around. “Who are you talking to?”
Sosie squinted at Jen’s mouth. “Oh! My handler said you should act like the cameras are on you at all times and always be at your best.”
“There are no cameras. The crew, the handlers, they’re all dead.”
“What?”
Jennifer mimed a finger across her throat.
“Oh.
oh!
”
Slowly, with great care, Jennifer explained about the storm, how she lost the others, that she didn’t know if they had survived.
Sosie took it all in, nodding. “After the crash, I was so scared. I found this place. It was really weird. There were all these jars of Lady ’Stache Off.”
“Maybe they fell when the plane crashed?”
“That’s what I thought at first. But one of the jars — the one the snake just had for breakfast — had this weird, almost-battery-lookingthing in it. The jars were all in a box. And that’s not all. Come on, I’ll show you.”
She offered her
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