第7部分(第5/7 页)

e　could　hear　the　eggs　crunch

inside　him。　“Oh；　gross！”　the　girls　wailed。　“Whoa；　dude！”

the　guys　all　said。　Mike　and　Matt　smiled　at　each　other　real　big　and　said；　“Dinner　is　served！”

I　tried　to　act　cool　about　the　snake；　but　the　truth　is　I　started　having　bad　dreams　about　the　thing

swallowing　eggs。　And　rats。　And　cats。

And　me。

Then　the　real…life　nightmare　began。

One　morning　about　two　weeks　after　the　boa　show　in　Skyler's　garage；　Juli　appears　on　our

doorstep；　and　what's　she　got　in　her　hands？　A　halfcarton

of　eggs。　She　bounces　around　like　it's　Christmas；　saying；　“Hiya；　Bryce！　Remember　Abby　and

Bonnie　and　Clyde　and　Dexter？　Eunice　and

Florence？”

I　just　stared　at　her。　Somehow　I　remembered　Santa's　reindeer　a　little　different　than　that。

“You　know　…　my　chickens？　The　ones　I　hatched　for　the　science　fair　last　year？”

“Oh；　right。　How　could　I　forget。”

“They're　laying　eggs！”　She　pushed　the　carton　into　my　hands。　“Here；　take　these！　They're　for

you　and　your　family。”

“Oh。　Uh；　thanks；”　I　said；　and　closed　the　door。

I　used　to　really　like　eggs。　Especially　scrambled；　with　bacon　or　sausage。　But　even　without　the

little　snake　incident；　I　knew　that　no　matter　what　you

did　to　these　eggs；　they　would　taste　nothing　but　foul　to　me。　These　eggs　came　from　the

chickens　that　had　been　the　chicks　that　had　hatched　from　the

eggs　that　had　been　incubated　by　Juli　Baker　for　our　fifth…grade　science　fair。

It　was　classic　Juli。　She　totally　dominated　the　fair；　and　get　this　—　her　project　was　all　about

watching　eggs。　My　friend；　there　is　not　a　lot　of　action　to

report　on　when　you're　incubating　eggs。　You've　got　your　light；　you've　got　your　container；

you've