Chap. 1
Surprises Around Every Corner
The desert, a barren waste land. Some people say there was once a lake in that part of Texas. Now, it's nothing but sand and holes, as far as the eye can see. The dust kicked up behind the bus as it coasted its way down the vacant, empty dirt road, only to settle back down as if undisturbed. A single passenger handcuffed to the seat in front of them looked out the dirty bus window, a rather scornful expression for one so young. The driver glanced towards them with an uncertain face.
"Hey driver! Can ya turn up the A/C? It's a friggin' oven in here!"
"Shaddap you!" yelled the guard sitting next to the driver. He gripped his shotgun tighter; "We'll be there soon." A few minutes later Camp Green Lake loomed into view.
The guard removed the handcuffs, and escorted the passenger to the main office. Mr. Sir was waiting there to give his little intro. As the guard and prisoner walked through the camp everyone dropped what they were doing to watch the fresh meat. The boys at Camp Green Lake are used to seeing a new face every couple of months. But this was a face they weren't expecting. Some were so dumbfounded; they started to babble amongst themselves.
"Can they do that?" "Is this a trick?" "What the HELL?!" "Yes! I have a reason to live!" The prisoner looked around and chuckled. The guard gave them a shove into Mr. Sir's office. Mr. Sir glanced up, looked down again, then did a quick double take.
"A girl?! What in Sam hill you tryin' to pull?" He yelled banging his fist on the desk. The sunflower seed shells rattled in their jar.
"Nothin'. She's the one. Nothin' I can do 'bout it." The guard replies with a sarcastic tone.
"Look, I ain't runnin' no Girl Scout camp! She," pointing to her, "can't stay." The warden nonchalantly walked into the room.
"Excuse me," she glared at Mr. Sir. She turned to the guard. "You can leave now."
"Yes ma'am," the guard turned and left the camp. The warden checked the girl over.
"You musta done somethin' real bad to end up diggin' holes in my camp." She said looking the girl up and down. The girl put a hand on her hip.
"Read my file; see how bad I can be. In the mean time, when do I get one of those adorable orange jumpsuits?" she said with a wicked grin.
The warden sneered at the girl. "Put her in Pendanski's tent. Tell her what she's gotta do," she said flicking through her file. "That's why we didn't know. No photo I.D," she mumbled under her breath. Mr. Sir gave the girl a once over and shook his head.
"God, what is this camp comin' to?" He indicated for her to follow him to the change room. He gave her the jumpsuits, the boots, and showed her everything in the camp. Pendanski popped up to greet his new camper. He started to give his "I respect you" speech, but he saw her first.
"Uh . . ." he looked at Mr. Sir. Mr. Sir gave him a threatening stare. "The tent is this way . . . We are in D tent. D is for diligence!" He started to get his groove back again. "Here are your bunkmates: Rex, Alan, Theodore, Ricky, Jose, Stanley, and Zero."
"Hey, the names are X-ray, Squid, Armpit, Zigzag, Magnet, and Caveman." X-ray looked over at Pendanski. "Whoa . . . Hey Mom, what's this chick doing in our tent?" The rest of D tent just stared at her.
"Well Rex, she's doing what the rest of you all are doing. Digging holes." Pendanski scanned his notepad, "Her name is Charlene-"
"Charlie," Pendanski was surprised at this interruption. He paused for a brief second.
"Wha-"
"I said, my name is Charlie. Never, I repeat never call me Charlene!" She glared at Pendanski. He was so taken aback by the look of pure hatred in her eyes, he almost ran out of the tent. She turned and looked at the guys.
"So," she smiled sweetly, "which cot is mine?"