I am still honorable, I told Mama K even though she wasn’t listening or if she was listening she couldn’t hear me right. I just needed some time, I said. I practiced. I prepared. Now I’m ready to show them what I’ve got.

My wound was tight and itchy with an ache on the inside and I wasn’t supposed to touch it but it felt good really good. It felt good when I stepped up onto the bus and the kids were like, Whoooaaa holy shit what’s wrong with your face? and I was like, I got attacked by a snake. That’s what I said. Attacked. And that word made them forget the word faggot and the word bastard and instead their brains became full of the word snake and the word attacked.

You should have seen the snake, I said, it was like a mile long. It was bigger than Madcoil even. Bexley didn’t say anything just looked at me but I could tell he was toxically jealous and when we got to school there was a crowd around me on the playground and I couldn’t even see the outside of it and Bexley couldn’t take it anymore. I don’t believe him, he said really loud. The faggot bastard is a liar.

But this other kid was like, No seriously I seen snakebites and that’s definitely a snakebite but it’s the biggest one I ever seen, and then this other kid was like, Dude, did you die? So why not, I was like, Yeah, I died. I died and then I came back. I have a special power. A special power? the kids asked. Yes, I said. I am Friend of Snake. Evidenced by that they live in my house and they sleep in my bed. Bexley tried to be like, Yeah, one time I got a snakebite, too, but this other kid who was his cousin was like, Yeah, and you cried like a friggin baby. Everyone laughed and I laughed, too, it was friggin awesome. I laughed and then I got real serious and I said, I didn’t cry. Which wasn’t exactly a total lie. I didn’t cry it’s more like I couldn’t make my arms let go of my mamas for an entire day, but I didn’t need to tell anyone that. I felt steadfast. I felt resolute. I looked at each and every one of them in the eye. I didn’t cry, I said. I. Did. Battle.