Chapter One

Going Home

Man, it's high time they got a new bus, I thought to myself as we were riding along.

It had already been two hours since I left the airport. I had put all the windows down on my way to the back seat so I could get some sort of breeze, even if the air was as hot as fire.

"Bernie!" I whined. "Can't you go any faster?" I yelled up to the bus driver. I was bored out of my mind even though I had Fall Out Boy blasting in my ears, a notebook to sketch in, and a bottle of warm Jack Daniel's I had been surreptitiously taking swigs of every now and then.

"I'm going the speed limit, Miss Walker," he called back sweetly.

I sat up, resting my arms on top of the back of the seat in front of me, "Bernie, we're in the middle of the desert! There is no speed limit!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Walker, but this bus is way past its prime. It just doesn't run like it used to!" He replied.

"Tell me about it," I mumbled under my breath as I took another swig of Jack, sitting back in my seat and examining the sketch I had completed.

Mmmm, I thought happily.

I was going to miss the Jack while I was here. Surely, Mother would freak if she caught me with it.

*

I had been digging all morning. I could feel the hot sun beating down on my back and the sweat running down my forehead and neck as I relaxed in the dirt around my hole next to Squid, Magnet, and Barfbag.

"Hey, X-Ray! What's up with you, man? You've been acting weird for the last couple days now," Magnet called over to where X-Ray and Armpit sat together around Armpit's hole.

We had all noticed how X-Ray had been quieter recently; keeping to himself in the tent instead of joining us in the Wreck Room and only really talking to Armpit and Squid occasionally while ignoring the rest of us, but none of us had called him out on it…

I waited to see how he would respond; worried he might flip out on Magnet right here and now.

"Hey, why don't you mind your own business? You don't know me!" X-Ray yelled back before returning to his conversation with Armpit.

That quickly shut Magnet up.

I saw Armpit roll his eyes and then mutter, "Hey, man, be cool," to his friend.

"Hey guys, leave him alone," Squid said to us as he took a bite of his sandwich and left us to join Armpit and X-Ray.

"There's something going on with those three," Magnet stated, looking over at them suspiciously as soon as Squid was out of earshot.

"Like what?" Barfbag asked, looking confused.

He shook his head, "I don't know, but they obviously don't wanna tell us what it is."

"You're being paranoid," I said, not believing there could be anything serious going on between our three tent mates.

"No, that's your job, Zig. When I get suspicious there's actually a logical reason behind it," he said as he finished his lunch and quickly went back to his hole.

*

I bit my lip as I took my charcoal crayon and added a little bit of shading underneath the eyes of the girl I had been drawing.

Some people may find me weird, but I was actually nervous about coming home. I always was. If I were to tell this to anyone who didn't know the truth about my home (which was almost everyone), they would probably think my father beat me or I was in one of those families that were constantly yelling and screaming at each other. But no, that wasn't why I was nervous.

I was nervous because my mother was the Warden of Camp Green Lake, the most isolated detention facility for juvenile delinquents boys.

Yes, I said boys, as in ALL boys. As in NO girls (besides me and my mom, of course).

I had every right to be nervous. The boys were constantly coming in and going out of the camp. There were many new faces every summer, but there were usually some familiar ones, too.

Of course, sometimes I wondered why I even bothered to be worried. Once you've met my mother you know not to mess with her, and the biggest offense you could ever make at Camp Green Lake would be to mess with me. I'd hate to see her explode on that poor kid.

Thankfully, no one has ever actually tried to mess with me, or else they'd probably be back on the bus in a heartbeat and sent straight to jail to finish their sentence (and an extended one if my mother has anything to say about it).

I was a little excited, too, about returning. I have made friends every now and then around here. Well, ever since I was about thirteen. Before that, Mother really didn't want me walking around the camp alone. She had always been afraid that someone would grab me and hold me hostage in order to get to her. So, I would always have to be chaperoned when I exited the cabin or else I'd stay cooped up inside all summer.

The bus finally stopped.

I hadn't been paying attention. I hadn't even noticed the hundreds of holes as we passed by them. I was surprised it hadn't even crossed my mind to look out the window to see if any of the boys were still digging.

"We're here, Miss Walker," the bus driver announced.

I quickly stuck my bottle of Jack, notebook, and purple iPod nano in my purple backpack. Bernie had already moved my suitcase outside; I had left it up between the front seat and the driver's seat when I first got on the bus.

I walked up the aisle and as I exited the bus, I waved goodbye to the bus driver. "Thanks so much, Bernie! I'll see what I can do about getting you a better bus!"

He chuckled, "See you at the end of summer, Miss Walker."

There wasn't a single person around as I looked over the shabby wooden buildings and then the tents farther down.

The boys must still be out digging, I figured.

I didn't move as Bernie backed up the bus, turned it around, and headed back in the direction he had come from back to wherever he lived. I watched him leave for a minute, and then turned back to face the several buildings in front of me.

"Home sweet home," I said to myself.

It was good to be back under the hot sun I had become so used to after all these years. Funnily enough, I actually missed the heat during the nine months I spent in Boston. Boston was a completely different world compared to this one.

*

"Hey guys! Look!" I heard Magnet yell out as I used my shovel to measure my hole to see how much I had left to dig.

I looked up to find him pointing in the opposite direction of the camp, where I saw the big yellow school bus headed our way in a cloud of dust.

"Must be a new kid," Barfbag spoke up.

I looked around to see that all of the boys had stopped digging and were now shielding their eyes from the sun to look at the bus.

"No, man, there aren't any vacancies," Squid added after a moment, but what I found odd was that he didn't sound bothered by it.

Why were we getting a new kid if there weren't any vacancies?

The last vacancy I could remember was when that kid from F-Tent broke his leg in two places after getting in a fight with one of his tent mates and falling into a hole, landing on his leg the wrong way. It wasn't pretty.

Everyone else seemed to look as confused as I felt as we watched the bus go past us. Everyone except X-Ray, that is. For some unknown reason, he was grinning, like he knew something we didn't, and he went back to digging.

*

"Mr. Sir!" I called out as I dragged my suitcase into the first building.

I saw him sitting in his chair behind his desk, snacking on sunflower seeds. He looked the same as always with his sideburns, his pink cowboy shirt, and his huge belly. He stood up the moment he heard me speak. "Chloe! You're home!"

He jumped out of his chair and rushed over to hug me and the smell of aftershave immediately invaded my nostrils.

"Yep!" I responded as he let go of me and took a step back."For the whole summer, as always."

"I thought you wouldn't be back for another week," he said, smiling at me.

I shook my head in response, grinning at him. Strangely enough, he was like an uncle to me.

"My my," he said, looking me over, "you grow more and more every year."

"I'll be seventeen before I go back," I replied.

"Wow, soon enough you won't even come back anymore," he pondered.

I laughed, "I'm sure I'll visit every now and then."

"You better," he said just as someone else rushed into the office.

"I saw the bus go by! Is she here?" It was Mr. Pendanski, of course.

"What up, Mr. P?" I asked, nodding to him as he caught sight of me.

"Chloe! It's so good to have you back. Camp Green Lake just isn't the same without you." He hugged me as well.

I couldn't help but laugh again, "I know, I know."

"Come on, I'll grab your suitcase. I'm sure Lou is just dying to see you," Mr. P said as he took my suitcase by the handle and headed towards the exit.

"See you later, Mr. Sir," I waved goodbye as I followed Mr. P out of the office.

"The boys are still out digging their holes, so you'll have plenty of time to unpack before you can go say hi to your friends." Mr. P said, keeping the conversation going.

"How is D-Tent?" I asked. "Any newcomers?"

"Tyler, Brian, Peter, and Troy have all completed their time here since you left,"

"Really?" I asked, happily. "Thank God, I couldn't stand the thought of having to deal with them for one more summer."

"Yes, they definitely never stopped trying to make trouble with you or with anyone for that matter," he consented. "I'm sure you'll meet the new boys later tonight, if you decide to visit."

"Of course I'm going to visit them. X-Ray, Armpit, and Squid are still here, right?"

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes as he was the only one who did not succumb to calling the boys' by their nicknames. "Rex, Theodore, and Alan are still here for another year, I believe."

We stopped, having reached the cabin.

"Well, Chloe, I better get back to work. I still have another round of water to distribute," he handed me my suitcase. "See you later."

He quickly left me in front of my home and I knocked on the door, knowing fully well that my mother kept it locked at all times, whether she was in it or not.

A moment later, I saw her take a quick peek through the curtains to see that it was me standing on her doorstep before she immediately opened the door and pulled me into a tight hug, "Chloe! Oh, I was just wondering when you were going to get back!"

"Hi, mom," I said brightly.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," she spoke excitedly and then ushered me inside. "Come in, come in. You're letting the cold out."

In no time at all we were both in my room so that we could catch up as I unpacked my suitcase.

"So, how was school?"

"School was great," I replied, refusing to go into detail.

"Did you meet any nice boys?"

I laughed, "Plenty."

"Are you dating one?"

I knew we were going to get to this, "No, Mom."

"Why not?" She asked, sounding both surprised and disappointed.

"I don't know," I replied. "Sure the boys are nice, but I'm just not interested in any of them."

"Honey, you're almost seventeen! Are you even attracted to boys?" She asked, sounding a little desperate.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, surprised. "I'm not a lesbian if that's what you're asking. Jeez, I never said the boys weren't attractive, I just haven't met the right one yet."

I heard her sigh in relief behind me as I hung my clothes up in my closet. "Well, I'm sure you'll meet the right one eventually, but, honestly honey, there's nothing wrong with some casual dating until then!" she finally spoke.

I just rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'll let you finish unpacking. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." She then left the room, shutting the door behind her.

I quickly turned on my stereo, connecting my iPod to it and putting it on Fall Out Boy again and turning up the volume as loud as I felt necessary.

Within two hours I had unpacked everything in my backpack and suitcase.