Chapter 6: A Green Snake
Continuation of Sunny and Ahmed
Previous Episodes Recap:
Chapter 1: The Just-Say-So Comedy Club
Sunny Day, a preacher’s daughter with a mild intellectual disability, from the tightly wound town of Citrus Grove, finds herself onstage at a San Diego comedy club—thanks to her frenemy Brit. She’s not supposed to be there. She’s not even supposed to want to be there. But once that mic’s in her hand, everything starts to shift.
Chapter 2: The Monologue
Sunny’s first time on stage is a chaotic miracle. What starts as a trap becomes a revelation—her accidental comedy lands big, and for once, people are laughing with her, not at her. Especially one person: Ahmed.
Chapter 3: Consequences
Back home, the fallout begins. Gossip spreads. Sunny’s job, her family, and her standing in town are on the line. Brit plays innocent, and Sunny’s stuck between telling the truth and trying not to lose everything.
Chapter 4: Lies Beget Lies
Sunny discovers that telling the truth has its own risks—and maybe its own rewards. Brit’s not done causing trouble, but Sunny starts hatching a plan to return to the club and see Ahmed again. Oh, and she switches the church from Pine-Sol to Murphy’s Oil Soap. Small wins.
Chapter 5: The Other Women
Sunny sneaks back to the comedy club and meets Ahmed’s circle—including Zara, who seems suspiciously close to him. But when Ahmed calls Sunny out as his “twin” onstage, something real starts to form. Comedy isn’t just fun—it’s connection.
Next mornin’ I come outta my room and go to the kitchen. Mommy’s sittin’ at the coffee table lookin’ kinda sad.
“Mornin’,” I say.
She looks up, face changin’ to look like she’s happy. Maybe she is happy to see me, but the way she forces her smile says it’s fake happiness.
“Good morning, Sweet Pea,” she says. “Sorry I wasn’t here last night when you got home.” I pour myself some coffee and grab the Rice Krispies.
“S’okay,” I say. “I was pooped out from all the fun with Rachael,” I lie. We had fun—that part was true—but I wasn’t tired out.
I sit across from her. “How was ladies’ Bible study?” I say. Will she mention Mrs. Larson’s absence?
“Good,” she says, but her voice and wrinkled brow tell a different story.
I heard her come in after eleven. I was still up textin’ with Rachael, but pretended to be asleep when she opened my door to check on me.
“You musta been havin’ a good conversation, ‘cause you got home after I was asleep.”
“Got caught up chattin’ with Darla Winberry about this and that.”
Mommy and Darla are real good friends. Mommy always says they’re bosom buddies. Says she can tell Darla anything and it won’t end up in the gossip pile.
I’m still reelin’ from the scene in Daddy’s office last night. No idea what I’m s’posed to do. Poor Mommy. Does she have a clue what’s goin’ on? Maybe she knows Daddy’s a cheater, but doesn’t know who he’s cheatin’ with. Maybe that’s why she quit bein’ his assistant. Maybe it weren’t the first time.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out to check—a text from Ahmed.
He says, “Can I call you?”
I text back, “I’ll call you in five.”
Mommy asks, “Who’s that?”
“Just Rache. She’s home for the weekend, wants to get together.”
“That’s nice,” she says. “Rachael’s a nice girl.”
“Yeah,” I say, “she’s real nice. If Mommy knew the truths that I know about Rachael, she might think different.
My chest gets all tight—it isn’t right to lie like I am, and everyone’s lyin’ to Mommy—me, Brit’s mom, and Daddy. What’s worse is she’s prob’ly lyin’ to herself.
“Well,” I say, “I better go. Mr. Elm’s gonna tell Daddy on me if I’m even a minute late to work this mornin’.” I don’t have to be there too soon, but wanna talk to Ahmed beforehand.
I get up and go over and give Mommy a big squeeze and a kiss on top of her head.
“Not sure what’s got into you, but I like it,” she says. “I needed a hug and a kiss.”
Nail through my heart.
Soon as I get outta the house I call Ahmed.
“Hiya,” I say.
“Hey, Sunny. What’s shaking?”
I tell him about last night and this mornin’.
“Got any ideas about what I should do?”
“That’s rough,” he says. Long pause. “Maybe do some research? Try to figure out what’s really goin’ on. That’s what I’d do.”
“I knew somethin’ wasn’t right with them, but—”
“Yeah, my parents haven’t said two words to each other in years, and my dad is real strict with me and my mom. He’s plain mean. My mom won’t even talk in front of him for fear of gettin’ smacked.”
“That’s awful.”
“It’s what it is. I’m used to it.”
I can almost see Ahmed shrugging through the phone.
“But that isn’t why I wanted to talk.”
“Okay,” I say.
“I saw a flyer up at Just-Say-So—there’s gonna be a contest next month for comedy acts. I was thinkin’ you and I could work up a little act. We’d be good together—opposites but the same. There’s a big money prize, and it says some Hollywood talent scouts’ll be there.”
My heart and head are goin’ every which way.
“Oh boy, dunno if I’m ready for that. I only performed one time, and it’s real hard for me to get away.”
“I know, so was thinkin’ we could go back and forth with ideas on the phone, to build our sketch, and then you could visit your cousin for a weekend, so we could practice.”
“I’m gonna have to think ’bout it. Makes me a little sick all over.”
Ahmed laughs. “No need to get worked up. I’ll send you the link to the info.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you tonight… in case you wanna find a different partner.”
“I want you to be my partner, Sunny.”
My face gets all hot. “I’ll let you know later. I’m just gettin’ to work now. Talk later?”
At work I can’t stop thinkin’. Ahmed wants me to be his partner. I’m not sure what he’s sayin’. Just for this comedy thing? Or is he tryin’ to tell me he likes me for real? But he knows I have a boyfriend—well, a fake boyfriend. And isn’t Zara his girlfriend? Or is she just someone he hangs out with? They seem close. Maybe too close. I keep picturin’ her laughing and touchin’ my hand like we were sisters or somethin’. Confusing. I’m gonna break up with Charlie, at least it’ll free me up just in case. I’ll try to let him down easy—can’t hurt someone who doesn’t exist, right?
I catch myself smiling even though I’m all alone in the stock room.
When I’m stockin’ the fruit stand out front of the store, I’m planning what to do about Daddy. Ahmed said do research. Shoulda asked what exactly he meant by that. Gonna dig around in Daddy’s office tonight when I go to do my church cleanin’. Maybe ask Mommy why she’s not workin’ as Daddy’s assistant anymore. I guess I’ll just let the Lord lead me to the truth.
At the end of my work shift, I walk over to the church. On the way, I pull out my phone and call Ahmed back like I said I would.
When he picks up, I say, “I do.”
Ahmed laughs. “I asked you to be my comedy partner, not my wife! Besides, you already have a boyfriend.”
Now I laugh too. “I know, I just thought you’d think it was funny.”
“I did,” he says. “Pretty much everything you say amuses me.”
“When should we start?”
“How ’bout tonight?”
“Perfect!” he says.
I can hear his smile through the phone—it’s stretchin’ all the way to Citrus Grove.
“About that boyfriend… Charlie broke it off with me,” I say.
“That’s too bad,” Ahmed says, his voice goin’ all gentle.
“It’s okay, it wasn’t great for me either—we were never there for each other. Not meant to be.”
“Too bad my parents already have a wife picked out for me, but that’s a story for later—tell you about it tonight.”
His parents picked a wife out for him? That’s super weird, but he said it as if it is the most normal thing in the world. Who could it be? Does he love her? Does he know her?
A green snake squeezes my heart.