Gail O’Donelly dropped onto the living-room sofa with the deeply satisfied sigh of someone who had officially survived leg day.
Her black sport sandals had been kicked off beside the exercise mat, leaving her bare feet free to enjoy the cool floor. Still dressed in her black workout top and shorts, she stretched out her legs and took a long drink of water.
“Perfect,” she murmured. “Workout finished. Shower later. Absolutely nothing frightening scheduled for the rest of the afternoon.”
Her phone chimed.
Three percent battery.
Gail groaned, leaned over the side of the sofa, and plugged it into the charging cable beside the end table. The long black cord slipped from her fingers, landed in a loose curve on the floor, and settled partly beneath the edge of the sofa.
She barely noticed.
Phone charging. Mission accomplished.
Gail placed it on the table, leaned back, and closed her eyes.
A few moments later, one of her friends appeared in the living-room doorway.
He looked at Gail.
Then he looked at the black cable curled near the sofa.
Then came the grin.
“Hey, Gail…”
She opened one eye.
“What?”
He pointed toward the floor.
“Is that a snake?”
Gail’s eyes snapped wide open.
She looked down.
Something long.
Something black.
Something curled up right beside her foot.
“AAAH! SNAKE!”
In one spectacular movement, Gail launched herself backward onto the sofa, scrambled onto the cushions, and pulled both feet safely off the floor.
Her water bottle tipped over and rolled away.
“Get it out!” she yelled, pointing at the terrifying creature. “Get it out right now!”
Her friend stared at the floor.
Then at Gail.
Then back at the floor.
His shoulders started shaking.
Gail narrowed her eyes.
“What?”
He tried to hold it in.
He failed.
The laughter started.
Gail looked down again, this time a little more carefully.
The terrifying black “snake” had not moved.
One end disappeared beneath the sofa.
The other end led directly to her phone.
Silence.
Gail slowly looked at the phone.
Then at the cable.
Then back at her friend.
Her expression changed from terror… to confusion… to complete embarrassment.
“It’s my charger.”
That only made him laugh harder.
Gail climbed down from the sofa with as much dignity as someone could possibly have after losing a battle with a phone cord.
She picked up the cable and held the connector directly in front of her face.
“You,” she told it sternly, “need to stop lying on the floor like that.”
Her friend was still laughing.
Gail’s cheeks turned pink.
She grabbed a cushion and tossed it toward the doorway.
“Keep laughing,” she warned.
He ducked.
Gail pointed at him.
“Tomorrow, you’re joining my workout.”
That made him laugh even harder.
With an embarrassed huff, Gail placed the charging cord neatly beside her phone, climbed back onto the sofa, and tucked both feet safely onto the cushions.
For the rest of the afternoon, she kept one suspicious amber eye on the charger.
Just in case it tried anything.
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