New Plan

“I have a plan, and it just involves a reptile. No worries.” Billy’s smile scared Mark. Butch just looked clueless.

“Reptiles? W-w-what kind?” stuttered Mark. “I hate them. All of them."

“What’s a reptile?” Butch questioned.

“Really? Butch, a reptile is something cold-blooded, like a snake. But they can also be tetrapod vetebrates like lizards and turtles and stuff. Don’t you ever listen in science class?”

“Snakes. Evil. Even the name is evil. SSSSnnnaaakkkess…” Mark shuddered.

“Stop being a baby. The plan is we get this big snake I saw at the pet store. And we let it loose in the school. Then they let us out of school for the day. What do you say?”

“Cool. A big snake.” Butch grinned.

“Okay, so are we in agreement?” Billy waited for an answer.

“Um, well, as long as I don’t have to touch it,” stated Mark. “Okay.”

“Cool. The girls are gonna scream, so loud,” laughed Butch.

“Just one problem. Who has some money?”

The three looked at each other.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t have any money to spend on a stupid snake. All I have is $3.00 for lunch tomorrow.”

“Hand it over, Mark. What about you, Butch? You got any money?”

“How much does a snake cost, Billy?”

“The one I want costs about $50. I can find $20 from my grandma. She sent me some for my birthday. So we have $23. We only need…” Billy tried to do the figures in his head.

“$17, we need $17,” Butch stated. He pulled out a $20 bill from his pocket. “I was saving this for something fun.”

The trio marched to the pet store for the snake.

“Sorry boys, it just sold.”

Butch looked at his friends. “Okay, no problem, here’s a new plan. Mice.”

W/C 299