Digging Your Own Grave
Chapter 1
Taylor Carpenter was in big trouble. It seemed pretty obvious, as she was handcuffed to a bus seat, taking a long drive in the desert to Camp Green Lake. Of all the things she had thought would happen in her life, she never expected one to be on her way to a correctional facility to dig holes for eighteen months. And yet here she was, sweating uncomfortably in her t-shirt, which stuck to her back when she leaned against the seat.
She wasn't a bad kid. In fact, it was because she was such a good kid that she was in this mess. She lived in a part of her town where you were lucky if the street lights could light your way home safely. Her parents, her three siblings, and she lived in a cramped attic apartment where the ceilings were so sloped that you could only stand up straight in the center of the room. It was always hot and stuffy in the summer and very chilly in the winter, as sometimes they couldn't pay the utility bills. During the summertime, Taylor liked to hang out at the corner store a block from the apartment, looking at all the treats she couldn't afford and enjoying the air conditioning. A friend of hers tried to convince her that if she wanted a candy bar, that stealing just one wouldn't hurt anyone, but Taylor felt that even though her family went some nights without dinner, she couldn't bring herself to steal unless absolutely necessary. She didn't want to risk it for something as trivial as a candy bar. But one day, her father got laid off and the family had to spend all of their food money on rent. They were starving. It was then that Taylor decided that it was time to put her pride aside in order to help her family. When she was about to exit the store, her baggy clothes stuffed with as much food as she could manage, a few masked men entered and declared that they were robbing the store. They blocked the doors so that no one could leave. The police were called, and in the confusion, Taylor was taken into custody along with the masked men, thinking she was an accomplice to the robbery. The judge quickly gave her the option of jail or Camp Green Lake, at which there was a vacancy. She chose the latter, not knowing what choosing that meant. She didn't want to go to jail and cause her family such disgrace. Any camp must be better than jail, she had thought.
The reader may be wondering why Taylor was sent to Camp Green Lake, as the reader should be well aware that it is a boys' camp. The answer is very simple. The trial was very hasty and routine, and they seemed to overlook the little detail of her gender.
Taylor didn't look much like a typical thirteen-year-old girl anyway: she was thin and lanky, and had no womanly curves, all due to malnutrition. She had two older brothers, and she wore their hand-me-downs, which tended to fit a little baggy. She also wore her hair short and often wore a hat, for she felt long hair was too much of a hassle, and she saved soap by not having so much anyway. Thinking she was a young teenage boy was an easy mistake to make. Taylor didn't realize that she was on her way to an all-boys camp until the bus driver turned and said, and hour into the ride, "you think all you boys would learn. But you'll be joining the rest of them, young man," and by then, it was far too late to correct him.
She concluded right then and there that she would keep her gender a secret. After all, she certainly didn't want to end up in prison and shame her family further. How hard can it be, she thought, unsticking her t-shirt from her flat chest.
Many hours later, the bus came to a halt, jolting Taylor awake. She didn't remember falling asleep, or even being tired. The guard came over to unlock her handcuff, and Taylor rubbed her wrist absentmindedly. She grabbed her backpack and followed the guard off of the bus, taking her first steps onto the dry, hard earth. The air was heavy and dusty, like walking into a thick smoke cloud.
"This way," the guard said to her, and she followed him to what looked like the only stable building in the area. He opened the door for her, and she stepped into the air conditioning. She actually got a few cold chills, for her t-shirt was wet with sweat. She realized it would be a rare occurrence and took care to enjoy it.
Inside the office was a desk littered with papers, and many surfaces had overflowing ashtrays, some spilling their contents to the floor. In there, the air really was smoky. The man sitting behind the desk had just lit a new cigarette and was puffing on it, which made his face look very stern. He also had his eyes squinted, like someone who had just eaten a lemon wedge, and it made Taylor wonder whether he always had that facial expression. Then, the man spoke.
"Taylor Carpenter, is it?" the man asked, glancing quickly at her file on his desk. She nodded, afraid of what could happen should she speak.
"My name is Mr. Sir," the man continued, "you will always address me as such. Do you understand?"
Again, Taylor nodded instead of speaking.
"This ain't a Girl Scout camp, sonny boy."