THE MOMENT
"I'm glad I did not get one," Tama giggled as she stood up from the floor. She searched under Vivi's bed but saw no sign of the missing pet. Though, she was mildly annoyed that she was the only one looking. Vivi sat on the bed unconcerned and laughed along with Tama. "I could not imagine putting up with this every morning."
"Eehhh," Vivi shrugged. "I am cheating a little bit." She held her hand out and Tama watched a small, spindly purple spider crawl out of Vivi's palm then behind her hand. When Vivi lowered her hand the spide was gone.
"Oh yeah...," Tama nodded. She tried not to shudder as she realized how man spiders were crawling out of sight around her. Luckily, Tama had not seen a single spider the night before, and she was grateful for it. Logically, she knew Vivi had perfect control over them. Emotionally, the thought of hundreds of spiders swarming unseen gave her the heebie-jeebies.
"Octo's not usually this hard to find either," Vivi added with a shrug. "My spiders usually find him while I'm in the shower. I think the sleepover made him nervous. And Riot doesn't know how loud her laugh is," Vivi giggled. "My mom kept Whispering me asking me to quiet her down."
"OOOh!" Tama grinned. "That's why you kept shushing her."
"Yeah," Vivi nodded and burst into a new fit of giggles. She doubled over and rolled onto her side on the bed. "My parents literally had to go to another universe to get away from Riot's laughs and get some sleep!" Tama joined in the laughter and fell on the bed next to Vivi. After the giggles died down, Vivi spoke up again.
"But, that's a good thing right now. It's easier to search the house when my parents aren't here; they don't like seeing my spiders."
"Oh," Tama didn't want Vivi to think she couldn't handle it, despite the reality. Luckily, she had a stray thought that let her change the subject. "You mentioned, 'not here' could Octo have gotten out? Maybe in Riot or Petunia's things?"
"Nah. I'm searching the house just in case; but, he hasn't been outside this room since I got him. It took him almost two weeks to leave the box since I brought him home a month ago. The poor little guy might have a panic attack if he sees he's leaving the house."
"Hey, I wanted to ask you when it came up; but, then someone...," Vivi glared at Tama; but added a smile. "...mentioned Turbo and that turned into a drama-filled hour," she said.
"Sorry..," Tama shrugged. "How was I supposed to know Riot had a crush on him too? I thought Riot and Petunia were together."
"Yeah...so did Petunia...," Vivi shook her head. "Anyway; back to what I wanted to ask. Interning with Doc Mundo doesn't leave me a lot of time for clubs. But, the movies you brought were great. So.. can I borrow the movies that you see in the club so I can watch them at my own pace?"
"Of course!" Tama replied. Vivi sat up suddenly.
"Found him. Come on, you'll want to see this," she said dashed out of the bedroom. Tama followed her down the stairs, through the kitchen, and into the garage. Vivi turned the light on and a glimmer immediately caught Tama's eye.
A golden spiderweb twinkled in the dimmest corner of the garage with a small black wooden chest resting in the center of it. A red spider decorated the front of the locked chest.
"Octo...," Vivi sighed with equal parts amusement, affection, and frustration. She approached the web and reached for the black chest.
"He can make webs too...?" Tama asked. "Out of gold?"
"I guess?" Vivi shrugged. She reached for the chest and the lid immediately opened to reveal jagged white teeth. The chest sprouted eight wooden legs. The red spider logo became eight red eyes. It skittered forward on the golden web to bite Vivi's hand with a playful growl. She giggled as she pulled it off her finger.
"When I got him, the Magi-knights told me that mimics sometimes make gold and spit it out for their owners," Vivi said. The black chest crawled up her arm and onto her shoulder. Then, it jumped off and fell upside-down hanging by a golden strand attached to her shoulder. She giggled, "And, he thinks he's a spider."