5:30A.M, Saturday morning: Clare was awoken to the sound of her beeping alarm clock. “So much for my weekend lie-in” she thought as she leaned across and hit the off button. For the next few months Clare would be spending her weekends as “The Snake Woman”, the zoo’s newest “attraction” courtesy of her best friend Jack. Clare reluctantly kicked off her duvet and headed for the shower. By 7:00A.M her snake make-up was on and her yellow contact lenses and fangs were in place. She carefully slipped the specially made forked tongue over her own and clipped it tightly onto her back teeth, “almost ready girl, just the snakesuit to go” Clare thought to herself as she picked up her full body catsuit which was draped over a chair. Clare inserted her feet through the open face of the hood and slipped them into the footed parts. She slowly pulled the suit up her body and slid her arms into the sleeves until all her fingers were located into the gloved ends. With a little more pulling and adjusting the catsuit was up to her neck. After tucking in her hair at the back Clare finally pulled the tightly fitting hood over her head to complete her transformation. She walked over to her full length mirror and turned a full circle checking for any imperfections, there were none. Clare bent over backwards and lowered herself into a chest-stand; she looked at her reflection as she wrapped her arms around her ankles. She was still a bit sleepy but there was no sign of it in her eyes thanks to her reptilian contact lenses. Clare pushed her feet back and folded her body into a triple fold. She closed her tired eyes and pressed her inner thighs firmly against her ears to block out any noise. She tried to imagine a snake’s life without sound. Like a snake, she tried to pick up on any vibrations in her own silent world; at first there was nothing, just silence, but soon she began to pick up on small things, a light thud of a door being closed in the flat below, the gentle vibration of refrigerator in kitchen, she even began to feel her heart beating as it pumped blood around her contorted body; life was peaceful as a snake. Clare untangled herself and stood up; she always did a few front bends after her back bends, just to keep her spine in balance. Clare bent forward, pushed her arms in-between her legs and pulled herself through. Looking up at her buttocks, she inspected her catsuit to ensure it was holding up ok under the strain; “maybe the fit was a little too good in places”, she thought. At that moment the intercom buzzed, it was Jack. Within a few minutes Jack was at her 3rd floor door, “Come in, it’s open” beckoned Clare. As Jack walked in Clare jumped on him from behind, wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and bit him on his shoulder. “Ok I give up, I give up, let me go” laughed Jack. Clare released her grip whilst sliding down Jack’s body on to the floor. Jack rubbed his shoulder, Clare had actually bitten him a bit too hard but she knew he was ok, anyway he deserved it! “That’s for making me work on weekends” said Clare who was lying on her stomach by his feet. Clare adored Jack; he understood her fantasy completely and of course he also enjoyed having a Snake Woman as a pet, even though she did get a bit too aggressive at times. Clare stood up in a tight backbend and walked over to her basket in the bridge position, as she stepped in and began to lower herself into it she felt Jack pulling her back out. “I think we should save time and put you straight into your display tank, so get ready” said Jack. Clare hissed as Jack set her down onto a small table which was next to her tank, then, seemingly without any effort, she folded herself into a tight triplefold. Jack slid one hand under Clare’s contorted body and linked it with his other and picked her up. He cradled her close to his chest; her 160cm/48kg frame was just about manageable for him; as he lowered her into the tank. He adjusted her legs slightly, squeezing her even tighter into a quadfold until finally she was in place. Jack crouched down and looked into her eyes through the glass, “Before I put the lid on are you comfy?” he asked. Clare winked at him, this made him smile; he knew she wouldn’t be talking from now on. Jack stood up and placed the lid onto her stomach, as always he had to sit on top of it to fasten all of the 12 metal clips, but soon she was safely locked in. Jack lifted the tank onto its trolley, covered it with a black sheet, placed her basket on top and wheeled her out into the corridor. Jack scanned the flat making sure everything was turned off, Clare had left a rucksack containing a change of clothes, Jack thought about leaving it but picked it up just in case. It was around 8:15A.M by the time Jack pulled into the zoo’s staff car park. As he switched off the engine he looked over his shoulder at Clare who was placed on the rear seat. The black sheet must have slipped off on the way; that would explain the strange looks he got from the people on the bus at the traffic lights. Jack lifted the trolley out of the car boot, and placed it besides the open rear passenger door. Clare was totally motionless, not that she could move anyway but she was completely into her role as “The Snake Woman”, her eyes expressionless, rarely even blinking. Jack removed his sweater; it was already a hot day despite the early hour. After positioning the tank onto the trolley again, Jack covered it with the sheet and wheeled her towards the staff entrance of the zoo. Jane, (the head of the Reptile house and Clare’s boss) opened the door to let them in. “Good morning Jack, I’m so looking forward to seeing the “Snake Woman” again, is she in the car?” questioned Jane. “Actually she’s already here in the tank; I thought it would be a good idea to attract some attention by putting her on display by the main entrance until the zoo opens. I’ve made a sign that we can fix to her trolley with some info about the “Snake Woman” and when and where they can see her”. Jack said enthusiastically. “Sounds great, you really have thought of everything” replied Jane, “let’s do it!” Jack pulled off the sheet to reveal Clare’s contorted body, which was pressing tight against the inside of the glass on all sides. Jane walked around the tank before crouching down in front of Clare’s face. Clare’s unblinking eyes remained expressionless. Clare was enjoying the close inspection from her unsuspecting boss. “She’s just like one of my snakes, are you ok in there?” Jane questioned through the glass. Clare didn’t blink. “I’m afraid The Snake Woman is totally deaf,” Jack exaggerated. Jane stood up to address Jack, “I had no idea; perhaps she really IS more snake than woman after all”. At 8:30A.M Clare was positioned next to the box office window by the main entrance, Jack took a seat on a nearby bench to keep a discreet eye her whilst Jane returned to her duties preparing the reptile house for opening. Clare was enjoying every second of the attention, although she was beginning to get quite hot as the sun climbed higher in the sky. Between 8:30AM and 9:30A.M Jack had estimated that at least a hundred people had taken photos of her. His sign informing people that she will be resident at the reptile house every weekend for the next few months seemed to have some effect as the box office had a steady flow of people buying tickets. At around 9:35A.M Jane appeared out of a side door, Jack walked towards her. “We’d better get her into her enclosure before the doors open” said Jane squinting in the morning sun. That’s a good idea; it’s getting hot out here anyway” agreed Jack. They wheeled Clare into her enclosure, and lifted the tank onto the floor. Clare would not be alone in there; she would be sharing her space with a 5ft Brazilian Boa Constrictor who was coiled up nearby. Jane helped Jack undo the clips that were holding the lid tight against Clare’s stomach. After unfastening the last one, Jack removed the lid and squeezed his hands down either side of Clare’s torso, as he lifted her out Clare’s body was as limp as a rag doll, still in a tight back-fold, her arms and legs slowly untangled and hung down to the ground. As her feet cleared the side of the tank, Jack felt some movement, Clare’s body suddenly came into life, for a moment her back trapped his fingers as she tried to wiggle free from his grip. He carefully lowered her down onto her stomach and he and Clare exited the enclosure, locking the door behind them as they left. “Looks like she’s upset about being disturbed” Jack said feeling a little bit breathless. “Well at least she can stretch her legs now, and every thing else I suppose” replied Jane. They both watched through the glass as Clare writhed her body around on the floor in front of them. After a few minutes Clare began to calm down, she walked around in a tight bridge for a while, before coming to a stop next to the Boa Constrictor. Clare lowered herself down into a chest stand facing away from the glass, and then into a compact triple-fold. At that moment a few people appeared behind them, the zoo was now open. A young girl and her brother peered into the enclosure, “WOW! Is she real daddy?” questioned the girl. “Of course she is; the sign says that she’s a “Boa-Contorter” and that her friend there is a “Boa-Constrictor”, from Brazil”, humoured her father. The Constrictor began to uncoil next to Clare, everyone’s eyes focused on Clare and the Snake. Clare decided to stay in the triple fold and see what happens next. As it slithered along side Clare’s folded body; she could feel its scales rubbing along her leg as it passed. A few minutes later Clare began to unfold herself. By this time there wasn’t much free space at the glass window, around 20 curious people were staring in disbelief at her. “It was time have some fun”, she thought. At first she writhed around on the floor; backbend, front bend, backbend, front bend, each time getting more and more extreme, on the last backend Clare grasped her feet and pulled them over her shoulders until they were linked together below her chin. In this position Clare rolled up to the glass to within a few centimetres of the awestruck crowd on the other side. Lying on her side with one foot still locked under her chin Clare raised her other leg gracefully into the air sliding her foot up the glass until it came to a stop right in front of the faces of the crowd. She remained still for a few minutes, keeping them in suspense as to her next move. Slowly Clare lowered her leg behind and unhooked her other foot from under her chin until she was resting on her stomach in an inverted over-split. Clare wrapped her arms around her outstretched front leg and rolled away from the glass whilst still maintaining a perfect split. The Brazilian Boa seemed perfectly at home with his new room-mate; as Clare twisted around into front split with her face pressed against her knee. The snake slid its long body along her extended back leg. She could feel it’s every move as it worked its way along the side of her body and over her head. Her eyelashes flickered as the curious Boa rested its head on hers before slowly making its way along her front leg and back into the corner of the enclosure. This experience was like a dream for Clare, she closed her eyes and imagined that she too was just a snake, and soon everyone would forget that she was anything else. Still in a front split with her head resting on her knee, she fell asleep . Clare loved to sleep, in fact. she really could sleep anywhere, and in pretty much any position. Slightly disorientated she was awoken an hour later by Jack who was pulling her by her rear foot. Clare’s body remained limp as he pulled her out of sight behind a large rock. Jack dropped her leg and left the enclosure, again locking the door behind him. She looked around, Jack had left two bowls there, one of them was water and the other was full of chocolate raisins, her favourite. She lapped up a little water and a few chocolate treats before slithering back out on display. As Clare slowly slid her body from behind the rock she realized that the crowd had moved away, she worked her way towards the glass and assumed an extreme chest stand with her toes touching the glass. She flicked out her forked tongue and flashed her fangs at anyone who came near; of cause it didn’t stop them coming closer. Before long she was back in the spot-light. Just a few centimetres of glass was all that separated her from the ever increasing number of people on the other side. Clare enjoyed the attention from the awestruck crowd, but most of all she loved being “The Snake Woman”; “If only things could stay this way forever”, she thought. As the day passed by, Clare had contorted herself into just about every position possible. She had no concept of time and hadn’t realized that 8 hours had passed since the zoo had opened. As closing time approached Jack and Jane returned to put her into her basket. “Sorry folks, zoo’s closing in 10 mins, you can see her again tomorrow or next weekend if you want, please bring your friends too” Said Jane. She knew the day was a huge success for ticket sales, she had never seen so many visitors. Jack picked up Clare who was already coiled up in a back bend and squashed her into her basket and fastened the 4 leather straps to secure the lid. “She must be tired” said Jane who was secretly hoping that Jack would reveal more about the strange creature he had just locked into a basket. On first impressions, Jane was concerned about the Snake Woman being treated as a snake; at best it seemed odd and at worst a bit cruel. Now Jane almost forgets “The Snake Woman” is anything else “but” a snake. “Yeah, she’s probably asleep already, I’d better get her home” replied Jack. “See you tomorrow then, thanks again and don’t forget we open at 11:00AM on Sundays so you can have an extra hour in bed” said Jane. Jack could hear Clare hissing in the basket as he carried her back to the car “I’ll have her back here at 10:00AM Sharp” shouted Jack as he placed the hissing basket onto the back seat of his car. Back at Clare’s flat, Jack placed Clare, who was still in her basket, on top of the small table. He unfastened the straps and peered in at Clare’s contorted body, she was sound asleep. Jack decided to let her sleep for a while. He placed her mobile phone next to her basket and made a quiet exit. Back at his home Jack had second thoughts about leaving Clare asleep in such an uncomfortable position; she would need some quality sleep to prepare herself for tomorrow’s contortions. Jack picked up his phone and dialled her number.” Hello” answered a sleepy sounding Clare. “Hi it’s me, I just wanted to get you of that basket so you could go to bed” said Jack. Clare answered in a sleepy voice “Thanks for caring, but I really enjoy sleeping in there, although I prefer the tank”. Jack laughed, “Fine, tomorrow I’ll bring you home in your tank so you can get good nights sleep”. Clare felt comforted by Jacks kind thoughts and his good sense of humour, she remained silent. “I’ll pick you up around 9:30AM in the morning; please don’t bite me again, goodnight” Said Jack. “I can’t promise you, but I’ll try not to, oh did I tell you I have Mondays off work from now on? Goodnight Jack” Clare whispered before hanging up the phone. Jack smiled at Clare’s foresight; she sometimes is too clever for her own good he thought. The next day was also a huge success for the zoo. Ticket sales were up almost by 300% from any other Sunday and all the staff members at the zoo were happy to see the place so full. At closing time Jack and Jane entered Snake Woman’s enclosure carrying the rectangular tank. Clare was expecting them as she was already waiting in a triple fold position in the middle of the floor. Once they had squeezed her into the tank and placed her onto the trolley Jane helped Jack wheel the Snake Woman to his car before saying goodbye for the week. As Jack pulled out of the car park he looked in his rear view mirror at Clare’s tank on the back seat and spoke: “So, if you’re going to sleep in your tank tonight I’d better take you to my place as somebody has to let you out in the morning”. Clare was silent, blankly staring straight at the inside of the passenger door through the glass of her tank. At Jack’s house Clare was placed her on a coffee table in the middle of his living room. He gazed at the contorted green mass inside the tank; the way the light reflected off her costume was quite beautiful. “Would you mind if I left you here for a while, I think you make a vey good piece of modern art” said Jack. Clare didn’t even blink. Jack decided to lie on the sofa and admire his new ornament. Clare was facing away from him so all he could make out was her two feet tucked under her breasts and ribcage and two elbows, although even that was difficult. Jack turned the tank so he could view her side on; from a distance all he could see was a wall of sparkling green scales against press against the glass. Jack pulled the coffee table slightly closer to the sofa and rested one foot on the table next to the tank. “Was she too hot in there?” he wondered, he felt the glass with his foot, it felt cool, besides all she has to do is ask and he would let her out. Jack closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. The next morning Jack was awoken by the sound of the door-bell, still fully clothed he got up from the sofa and walked to the door. Standing in front of him was a middle aged lady from a charity organization canvassing for support. Jack thought the lady looked kind and also felt like she needed a positive start to her day so he invited her in to fill out the necessary paperwork. As he tuned around he suddenly remembered Clare was still in the tank on his coffee table, his heart began to beat like a drum but it was too late to do anything now, he just hoped that Clare had woken up so she would be still. “Please take a seat, would you like a tea?” asked Jack as the lady sat right next to the tank. “No thanks, but water would be nice” replied the lady with her eyes fixed on the “Snake Woman”. Jack poured her a glass of water and sat next to her trying not to look flustered. “This is unusual, what is it?” as she pointed to the tank. “Oh, I’m an artist, I call it “Snake Woman”, do you like it?” hastened Jack. I think it’s beautiful, her face is very realistic, and very pretty too, did you model her on anyone?” questioned the lady. “Actually I did, she is modelled on a good friend of mine, I was going to sell it but couldn’t bring myself to part with her” Jack desperately wanted to change the subject so he asked her about the charity. After 10Mins or so Jack escorted the lady out. She thanked him for his support and wished him good luck with his art works . Jack closed the door and walked back to Clare; he crouched down in front of her and kissed the glass close to her face. “That was fun, are you ok?” Clare remained emotionless with her blank expression which seemed to gaze straight through Jack. Slightly concerned he gently tapped on the glass waiting for a reaction. Clare was unmoved. Then just as he was about to panic, Clare winked at him. Jack was relieved, but decided to punish her by leaving her in there a little longer whilst he had a shower and made the breakfast. As they ate breakfast together Clare asked Jack if she could be his “Snake Woman” piece of art every Monday from now on. “I won’t be any trouble and you can just forget I’m there, besides I don’t take up much space” pleaded Clare in a cute voice that would surely win Jacks agreement. Jack didn’t take much persuasion, if he had his way she would be a permanent feature in his living room.” Of course you can “Miss Snake” but what if I have visitors like today?” questioned Jack. “Well, I’ll just be extra still so don’t worry besides who would believe I’m real anyway all bent out of shape like that. The Charity lady never suspected anything so why should anyone else?” Clare made her case. Jack replied, “Well, I am expecting a plumber at 14:00PM so….Clare was beaming with excitement, she climbed onto the breakfast table in front of the still seated Jack and bent over backwards into the tightest chest stand he had ever seen her do “I like being your pet “Snake Woman” Jack, said Clare. Jack leaned forward to kiss her but was greeted with a hiss and a flash of fangs. Jack and Clare have created a friendship which fulfils both their fantasies and desires; each one compliments the other to create a bond that will never break, and a future that will always be full of fun, happiness and chocolate raisins. The End