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“I thought it was a spider.”
“It has wings, Dee.” Alvin cocked an eyebrow at me.
“It was dark.”
“You caught a beetle.”
I shrugged. “It had the general shape.”
“It was shiny.”
“I was under pressure, okay?” I raked an irritated hand through my hair.
Alvin wiped at the corner of his eye. “You hate bugs so much.”
“I don’t hate all bugs.” That was a lie. We both knew I hated anything that had more legs and eyes than I could count at first glance.
“You once refused to sleep in our room because there was a ladybug on the windowsill.”
“It was invading my personal space.”
“You put a towel under the door.”
“It was a security measure.”
“You slept in the hallway.”
“The hallway was bug-free!”
He laughed again before turning back towards the terrarium. Alvin crouched in front of it, and the spider shifted beneath the plastic skull.
“I didn’t do it, ya know…” I watched his face for a moment, waiting for the meaning to sink in. His smile disappeared completely. “I didn’t kill Sprigey.”
His focus stayed on the terrarium. “I know.”
“No, you didn’t.”
His gaze flicked upwards as one of his shoulders bounced with it. “I do now.” Alvin paused before asking, “Who did it?”
“Kevin Davies.”
His eyebrows pulled together in the middle. “Kevin?”
“Yeah, heard him bragging about it in the locker room after swim practice. Said something about his girlfriend not liking how you stole her spotlight during the spring show.”
“Heather?”
I nodded.
“Oh.” Alvin sighed. “That bitch sang off-key for three straight songs in a row. Wasn’t that hard to outshine mediocrity dressed up in a high ponytail and enough makeup to make a clown question his life choices.”
Alvin poked the side of the terrarium with one finger, and I tucked my hands into my shorts pockets to keep myself from reaching out to him.
“What are you going to name it?” I asked. He gave me a strange look and I added, “I assumed you’d want to name it.”
Alvin’s expression turned serious as he appeared to consider his options before landing on, “Darius Junior.”
“Absolutely not.”
