🐍 Sonic Youth
A little ray of sunshine peeked through the windows in Snake's room and gave everything a golden hue – rock band posters scattered everywhere, a mountain of blankets on the bed and a sixteen-year-old still snoring soundly.
He wasn't yet "Snake" to anyone but himself – just a lanky kid with a habit of waking up with one thought on his mind: had he lost any of his precious flexibility overnight?
Today was no different.
Before even opening his eyes, he stretched his arms above his head, yawned and then – almost without thinking – pushed his hips upward, arching his spine and rolling over into a deep backbend. His pajamas tensed up tight around his body as he folded himself backwards, his hands planted firmly on the mattress, his head rising high up until his tousled hair brushed his own crotch. The movement was fluid and smooth, like his entire body was made of wet noodles.
Snake grinned. All systems were go! It felt so cool being able to twist and bend his body in all sorts of crazy ways thanks to his daily workout that he never skipped, only tuning it up to be even crazier.
A creak from the hallway caught him off guard. His young cousin stood there, clutching her toy dinosaur, her wide eyes staring at him in awe.
"Whoa," she breathed. "Can you do that?"
Snake's grin widened. "Yeah. Wanna see something cooler?"
Before she could even say a word, he strained his muscles, pressing his pelvis downward as if trying to take his butt through his chest and sit squarely on the bed. His upper body flattened out and squished down flat almost like a beach towel.
He made it look as easy as folding a plush doll, and his little cousin almost forgot to get surprised before bursting into giggles and clapping her hands.
"That's so weird!" she declared, horrified and delighted in equal measure.
Snake chuckled, holding the pose for another moment before slowly inflating himself back to looking just a little more human with a theatrical flourish. "Weird is my superpower," he said, unfurling himself and putting his feet upon his head. "Someday I'm going to do this on stage. Like, while playing guitar."
The girl wrinkled her nose. "You'd look like a noodle."
"Exactly."
She tossed her dinosaur at him and he caught it with his feet. As she dissolved into laughter, Snake felt that familiar spark of excitement. Maybe he wasn't "Snake" to the world yet – but he would be. And when he was, they wouldn't call him "weird". They'd call him a legend!