Holes
Hello there! I have arrived from the planet A.W.E.S.O.M.E to bring you this story. What does A.W.E.S.O.M.E mean? I don't know. But I have brought you some of my favorite characters to say the disclaimer!
Travis and Connor Stoll: *poof into the room*
Me: Travis? Connor? Wrong story, dudes!
Travis: Oh, sorry, sis.
Connor: We'll be going back to our fic then!
Stolls: *poof to my PJO story*
Me: Well, that was pointless. I don't own Holes or anything associated with it! Louis Sachar does!
This is going to be some hard work ahead of us… I thought as the bus came to a stop in front of the office with a new recruit. I'm Fuse, the only girl here at Camp Green Lake. My actual name is Danielle Castellan, but if you call me that, you die. Being the only girl at CGL, I get hit on a lot. But I'm sorta dating Ricky, or Zigzag, Carson. I was the first one done digging my hole. I'm faster than Zero, I know. It's amazing. I was the red-brown color of dirt and I didn't bother taking a shower yet. I just kinda hung out by the Wreck Room, chucking a tennis ball at the wall. I did that for another 5 minutes.
"Hey, Fuse." Alan, or Squid, Martinez said as he passed me with Rex "X-Ray" Wellston and Theodore "Armpit" Orion. I followed them to Mom, or Mr. Pendanski, our counselor.
"Hey Mom," X-Ray said as we approached them. "Who's the Neanderthal?"
"This is Stanley." Mom said.
"So what's happenin' with Barf Bag?" Armpit asked.
"Oh, Louis won't be returning. He's still in the hospital." Mom answered. "Stanley, meet Rex, Alan, Theodore, and Danielle."
"Hi." Stanley said quietly.
"Yo, my name is X-Ray. And that's Squid, that's Armpit, that's Fuse." X-Ray corrected with annoyance.
"He's Mom." Squid said, talking about Mr. Pendanski.
"They all have their little nicknames. But I prefer the names their parents gave them. The names society will recognize them by." Mom said loudly. X-Ray faked silently laughed, then got the annoyed look. "Theodore, why don't you show Stanley his cot?"
"Go ahead, Pit." X-Ray said. Armpit, Mom, and Stanley walked into D tent, also my tent. I saw Jose "Magnet" Garcia and Zigzag walking from the dry lake bed. They soon came close to the tent.
"Hey, guys." I said, joining them.
"Hey Fuse." Zigzag said.
"We got a new recruit." I announced.
"Really, what's his name?" Zigzag said.
"Stanley." I said with disgust and joke. The 3 of us walked into the tent.
"Hey, I'm Magnet. That's Zigzag." Magnet said. Zigzag looked at Stanley like he looked at every newbie. Like he was an alien.
"Hi." Stanley said, quiet again. Zigzag stared at Stanley for another second then walked off. I followed him. Mom introduced Stanley to Zero like he introduced him to everyone else.
"Will you leave him alone?" I asked, getting a towel from my crate.
"Did you tell him about the lizards?" Zigzag said as I stepped up beside him.
"Ricky, let's not scare Stanley." Mom said.
"Hey, his name's not Ricky. It's Zigzag, a'ight?" X-Ray spat.
"Stanley, if you have any questions just ask Theodore. Theodore will be your mentor." Mom said, taking off Armpit's hat. "Got that, Theodore?"
"Yeah, whatever, dude." Armpit replied. I rolled my eyes and walked out of my tent. I unzipped my orange jumpsuit to my waist and tied it around my waist. Hey, I was wearing a white tank top underneath it. Armpit, Squid, X-Ray, Magnet, and Zigzag followed me. I leaned against a light post and started chucking rocks at random things. The guys copied me.
"Hey Theodore, is there a place where I can fill up my canteen?" Stanley asked, running up to us. The last word he said was muffled by Armpit putting him in a headlock.
"I know, he smells bad," Squid said randomly.
"Yo, my name is not Theodore." Armpit said, then throwing Stanley to the ground. We all gathered around Stanley. "It's Armpit. There's a water spigot over there."
Stanley got up and started walking to the showers where the water spigots were.
"Man, Pit, why you gotta be so mean for?" Squid laughed.
"Man, I ain't mean, I'm his mentor." Armpit replied. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
"Thanks Armpit!" Stanley yelled from where he was. We all shook our heads.
"Man, whatever." Armpit said.
"What a dork." I said under my breath. We walked into the Mess Hall and got our dinner. We sat at the D tent table. Soon, the rest of D tent except Stanley joined us. Someone said something about Stanley and we all laughed. Stanley then came towards us.
"Hey, Stanley, come here, boy." Zigzag said, sliding him and his dinner closer to me. "You sit here. Sit down."
Stanley sat in the space Zigzag made.
"Hey new kid. Hey, yo," X-Ray said to Stanley. "You didn't dig today. So, uh, you wouldn't mind giving your bread to someone who did, now would you?"
Stanley said something quietly.
"So what they get you for?" Squid asked.
"Stealing a pair of shoes." Stanley replied quietly. Everyone at the table laughed.
"From the store or off someone's feet?" Squid questioned.
"No, he just killed the dude first." Zigzag said. "You just left out that little detail, right?"
I hit Zigzag upside the head. He looked at me and smiled, though.
"They were Clyde Livingston's shoes." Stanley said. Zero looked up at him weirdly.
"Sweet Feet?" Armpit asked.
"No, you did not steal no Clyde Livingston's "Sweet Feet" shoes." X-Ray said.
"How'd you get 'em? He's like the fastest guy in the Majors, right? I only know that because he can outrun Jose Bautista. He's the best player on the Toronto Blue Jays." I said. The guys gave me a weird look.
"You like baseball?" Magnet asked.
"Always have, always will." I replied.
"Sweet Feet hit 4 triples in one game!" Squid said.
"Clyde Livingston donated his shoes to this homeless shelter." Stanley said.
"Did they have red X's on 'em?" Zero asked. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Zero.
"You got Zero to talk!" Squid said, astonished.
"Hey, what else can you do, Zero?" Armpit asked. Zero said nothing.
"Yeah. Yeah, they did." Stanley said to Zero. Zero looked back down at his foot.
"Well that was weird." I said.
Next Morning
I awoke to Zigzag shaking my shoulders.
"Get up, Fuse." He said. I noticed the "trumpet" was playing. I pulled the covers off me. I didn't have to ask what time it was. I knew. I got up.
"Daaamn," I said, getting up. We all got up and put on our jumpsuits. The boys slept in t-shirts and boxers. I slept in tank-tops and spandex. We walked outside with me rubbing my eyes. We all lined up to get our shovels. Mr. Pendanski came by with Mr. Sir and blew his whistle.
"Smiling faces, smiling faces. The early mole digs the deepest hole. Shovels on the left, tortillas on the right." He yelled. I rolled my eyes. I stumbled backwards but Zigzag kept me upright. Mr. Sir unlocked the "library".
"Alright, come get it." He said. Magnet stepped forward and took a shovel. "Come on Magnet, open them peepers!"
Stanley got a shovel after Magnet, then X-Ray got one, then me, then Zigzag, then Squid, then Armpit, then finally Zero. As X-Ray passed Stanley, he took Stanley's shovel and threw his on the ground. Stanley looked surprised then picked up X-Ray's shovel. Magnet approached him.
"Hey man, you picked up X-Ray's shovel," he said. "It's shorter than the rest of them."
"Smaller shovel, smaller hole," Squid added. I started walking to the dry lake bed. Zigzag ran up beside me.
"No breakfast?" he asked.
"No, I'm not hungry. Just tired." I replied. Somehow, we avoided the coldest part of the day. The sun came up as we were walking to the lake bed. The whole camp was led by Zero, followed by me, Zigzag, and Squid. I immediately found a spot where I could dig a hole and began to dig. I was already ankle deep in my hole when everyone else started.
2 Hours Later
All of us were waist-deep in our holes now, all except Stanley. Zigzag took a drink from his canteen. I leaned in my hole. I unscrewed the lid of my canteen and gulped down a quarter of it. I put the lid back on and put my canteen by the dirt pile.
"Excuse me, do you mind putting you dirt somewhere else?" Stanley asked.
"Shut up!"
"Yeah, shut up!"
We all started yelling things like that at him.
"Yeah, watch where you're throwing your dirt. Stanley." Squid said. Everyone laughed briefly. I knew it wasn't right, but we were all cold-hearted criminals. At least…that's what I thought. A few minutes later, the water truck arrived. We all jumped out of our holes, one at a time. Magnet walked over to Stanley and looked at his hands. I'm guessing Stanley had horrible blisters. We got in line in our order (X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, me, Zigzag, Magnet, Zero, Stanley). Magnet tried to budge Squid in line.
"Hey, get your place in line, Magnet!" Squid yelled, grabbing Magnet's sleeve and pulling him back behind Zigzag.
"How'd it go your first day, Yelnats?" Mr. Sir yelled to Stanley. "Got some blisters on ya?"
"Yeah," Stanley replied. The water line went fairly quickly. I walked then jumped back into my hole to continue digging.
6 Hours Later
Dinner was done and we were all showered. Well, all except Stanley. I was pretty sure he was still digging his hole. We were relaxing in our tent with me in my pajamas.
"Wow, he's such a slow digger." I said.
"He is a newbie." Zigzag reminded me. I was sitting next to him. Actually, I was lying next to him. My elbow was on his knee. He didn't have a shirt on but his jumpsuit was tied around his waist.
"So? When I was a newbie, I dug even faster than Zero." I said.
"True, true, but we're not all physically developed like you are." Zigzag said, smiling down at me.
"I know. You guys wish." I said, flipping my hair. The guys snickered. Somewhere outside, I heard a gun shoot then running. We all turned our heads towards the door. Then we heard another shot. I jumped off Zigzag's bed and ran to the door. Actually, it was more of a flap. Mr. Sir and Stanley were by the showers. Stanley looked scared out of his mind and there was a dismembered yellow-spotted lizard.
"Mr. Sir shot a yellow-spotted lizard." I said like it was nothing.
"Again?" Squid asked.
"Again." I answered. I leaned against the wall of the tent. Zigzag and Magnet got up as Stanley entered the tent. They walked over to them and joined them on scaring Stanley.
"What color was its blood?" Zigzag asked.
"I-I-I don't know, I couldn't tell." Stanley answered.
"I wish I would've seen it." Zigzag said. "BAM!"
Zigzag yelling in his face caused Stanley to flinch. Armpit laughed.
"If Mr. Sir didn't shoot it, Stanley, you'd be in the hole." Magnet said.
"Did you know each of them has exactly 11 spots?" Zigzag asked, shooting Stanley his "crazy" glare.
"Yeah, man. If you're ever close enough to count 'em," Squid said, then making the "dead" sign with his finger across his neck AND making the sound effect. "You're dead."
"Look, it's the lizards we're working for, man. We build their houses for 'em. I mean, yesterday I saw 10 of 'em in one hole." Armpit said.
"We ain't diggin' for no lizards!" X-Ray replied. Armpit looked at X.
"What we diggin' for then, man?" Armpit asked.
"Like Mr. Sir said. We diggin' to build some character." X-Ray answered. That's some bad grammar I thought Eh, what do I care? I use the same grammar
Everybody laughed then we heard another gunshot. We all turned towards the tent flap.
The next 5 days went pretty normal for us. For Stanley, it must've been a living hell. Once, he tried to use soap when he went to shower. He complained of the food. I told him to get over it. Zigzag told him he's going to hell for sure, and then he slapped him. Lightly, of course. Stanley found a fossil and tried to get the day off. Then X-Ray and I approached him.
"That was some lame crap you pulled." X-Ray said. We were standing in front of Stanley's hole, blocking the sun. He looked up at us.
"What?" he asked. X-Ray and I knelt down in front of him.
"Man, if you ever find anything, give it to me." X said.
"What about me, huh? I've been here 8 months and you've only been here 6." I said, facing X-Ray.
"Fine, if you ever find anything, give it to US." X-Ray corrected. I nodded then got up and walked back to my hole. That's all I really wanted.
2 Hours Later
We were in the Wreck Room and the Lump was walking around gathering shower tokens. Zigzag was in front of the sad excuse for a TV and I was sitting beside him, reading a book I brought to Camp Green Lake: The Mortal Instruments Book One: City of Bones. Armpit started to mess with the TV antennae.
"What are you doing, I'm watching that!" Zigzag said.
"Not today, you ain't." Armpit replied. The TV went out of focus and a button broke off the TV.
"Look, you broke it!" Zigzag yelled.
"Way to go, Pit." I said, not even looking up from my book. From behind us, we heard somebody fall. I looked up from my book and Zigzag and I looked behind us. It was Stanley, no doubt. The Lump pushed him. Stanley tried to get up but fell into the Lump. Lump got up and was about to pummel Stanley but me, Squid, and Zigzag stopped him. Everyone else gathered around us and X-Ray separated the Lump and Stanley.
"We start fighting now; the Warden will come down hard on all of us." X-Ray said.
"Keep that punk away from me!" the Lump replied.
"Stop being a fricking drama queen and get over it." I said to the Lump. The Lump pushed me back into Squid, who caught me. Zigzag got right up in the Lump's face and stared at him.
"Don't ever push a girl." He said in a dangerously low voice. Then he punched the Lump in the stomach, which sent the Lump into his chair. I stood up and went up to Zigzag.
"Thanks for defending me." I said. He just shrugged, but he was smiling. I hugged him and he hugged me back. I could tell he liked being with the only girl at Camp Green Lake. We went to the pool table where the other D-tenters were.
"Nobody messes with the Caveman." Squid was saying.
"I don't wanna mess with anybody!" Stanley said. A whistle blew and everyone got up to go to dinner.
"Come on, Caveman." Everybody said at different times to Stanley, including me. I knew Stanley was Caveman because he was the only one at CGL without a nickname.
Next Night
"What about you, Jose? What do you like?" Mr. Pendanski asked Magnet. We were in the Mess Hall talking about what we want to be when we grew up and what we wanted to do with our lives when we got out of CGL. I was sitting between Squid and Zigzag, using Squid as a footrest and Zigzag as a pillow.
"I like animals." Magnet answered.
"That's what got him sent here in the first place." X-Ray said. Everyone except Zero and Mr. Pendanski laughed.
"Man, its criminal how they keep them locked up in cages." Magnet replied.
"No, Jose, what you did with criminal." Mr. Pendanski said.
"No, no, tell 'em, Magnet. They wanted a thousand buck for just one puppy." Squid said.
"What?" X-Ray asked in disbelief.
"I got mine for free at a fricking garage sale." I said.
"I would'a made it out…if my pocket didn't start barking." Magnet said. Everyone started laughing.
"You boys-" Mr. Pendanski started.
"People!" I yelled.
"Sorry, Danielle. You people get one life. And so far, you've done a pretty good job on screwing it up." Mom finished. He looked at Stan- Caveman.
"So, you're Caveman now. Big shot, got a nickname." He said. "Well let me tell you something, Caveman. You are here on account of one person. You know who that person is?"
"Yeah," Caveman said. "My no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather, that's who it is,"
Everyone started to laugh. Even Zero smiled.
"No. You screwed your life up, Stanley Yelnats. And it's up to you to fix it." Mom said. "It's not going to be easy, but you'd be surprised what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. Even Zero here isn't completely worthless."
Will you leave that kid alone? I thought.
"What about you, Zero?" Mom asked. "What do you like to do?
Zero said nothing. I rolled my eyes. I ruled myself out and got my book that I left on the table behind me.
"Danielle, will you pay attention?" Mom asked.
"Bite me." I said as I continued to read
Next Day – After Digging our Holes
Me, Zigzag, Squid, Armpit, Magnet, and X-Ray walked out of the Wreck Room. Zigzag and I were holding hands. For some reason, Armpit started dancing as we walked down the steps. Caveman came around the corner and started clapping. We were all in front of Armpit soon. He spun around then threw his arms in the air.
"OH!" all of us yelled as we ducked for cover from the stench Armpit's armpits gave off.
"Put it down, man!" Caveman yelled. We all backed up, but me, X-Ray, and Zigzag were the brave ones to go up to him and pull his arms down. Zigzag helped Squid up.
"And keep it down!" I laughed. We all walked away laughing. I hugged Zigzag's arm as we walked away.
"Am I too clingy?" I asked. Zigzag smiled.
"No. Not at all." He answered.
"If you're lying, you're getting a shovel to the back of your head." I said.
"I'm not lying. I promise." Zigzag assured.
Next Day – Out on the Lake
We were all digging our holes when Squid suddenly stopped.
"Look, a cloud!" he said. We all stopped and looked around the sky. Squid pointed at it. "Right there!"
"Maybe it'll move in front of the sun." Zigzag said. Don't get your hopes up
"Come on, little cloud, you can do it." Magnet said.
"You're just like my mother. She talks to inanimate objects." I said as I continued to dig.
"Please. All I'm asking for is just a little shade." Armpit said.
"The Warden owns the shade." Caveman said as he put a gigantic rock on the side of his hole.
"Maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe we'll get some clouds." Squid said. "And it'll rain 40 days and 40 nights."
"We'll have to build an arc and get 2 of each animal." Armpit said. Some of us, including me, laughed.
"Yeah, 2 scorpions, 2 rattlesnakes, 2 yellow-spotted lizards," X-Ray said.
"You forgot 2 tarantulas." I said.
"Hey," Magnet said as he stopped digging. "What you got there, Caveman?"
He jogged over to Caveman's hole. We all watched him. Magnet knelt beside Caveman's hole. Caveman had something in his hands.
"Hey X, Fuse, I think I found something. We jumped out of our holes and walked over to Caveman's hole. Armpit tried to get out, but fell back into his hole. X-Ray jumped into Caveman's hole and I stayed outside and knelt beside Magnet. Zigzag soon knelt beside me. X-Ray took the thing Caveman had and held it up in the sun.
"It looks like an old shotgun shell or something." X-Ray said.
"No man, it's too skinny to be a shotgun shell. Yeah, it's not a shotgun shell." Squid said. X-Ray handed it to me. I looked over it. It seemed to separate in 2 pieces. I took it slowly apart.
"Perfect." I said as I put it back together. Caveman took it from me.
"Look at this, see this little heart?" he asked. "The little letters in it? KB."
"Let me see it." Zigzag said. Stanley handed Zigzag the golden tube thing. Zigzag looked at the engraved initials.
"Yeah, that's Keith Barenger." He said.
"Man, who's that?" Armpit asked.
"He was in my math class." Zigzag said. I smiled and playfully pushed Zigzag.
"Zigzag, it must belong to him, huh?" Magnet asked.
"I'll go show it to Mom. Maybe we'll get the rest of the day off." X-Ray said.
"You can take it. It's not worth it." I said. I got up and went back to my hole.
That Night – The Wreck Room
"Danielle Castellan!" Mr. Pendanski said, holding up a letter. I walked to him, snatched the letter from his hand, and walked back to the couch and sat down beside Zigzag. I opened the letter and took it out.
Danielle Castellan,
We are very sorry to announce that your brother, Luke Castellan, has passed away in the line of duty. He was shot in the chest multiple times trying to stop a store robbery. The funeral will be this Thursday at St. Michael's church
Constable Shaun Mohle, NYPD
Tears formed in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.
"Fuse, what's wrong?" Zigzag asked.
"My brother died during his job." I choked out.
"Oh my god. Fuse, come here." Zigzag said and holding open his arms. I fell into his arms and started sobbing into his shoulder. He rubbed my back.
"Everything will be alright." He whispered.
"I can't even go to his funeral." I sobbed.
"Hey, what's wrong with Fuse?" I heard Armpit say.
"Her brother died." Zigzag replied. I started to sob harder.
"Hey, it'll be okay." Zigzag said, pulling me in front of him. I wiped tears from my face and looked at Zigzag. He looked at me and I, not him, kissed him. I find this surprising. He kissed me back. I put my arms around his neck and he put his arms around my waist. I heard whistling. We broke apart and I put my head on Zigzag's chest. He hugged me close to him.
Next Day
The Warden felt bad for me. She doesn't have feelings! I thought when I left the Warden's cabin. She let me have a day off to mourn. Everyone was outside already to get their shovels and breakfast.
"Hey, what did the Warden want?" Zigzag asked me.
"She gave me the day off to mourn." I said.
"You going back to bed?" he asked.
"No, how could I? I doubt I'd go back to sleep after I'm used to physical activity. Lying still with my eyes closed is not an option." I said.
"Alright, I'll see you after I'm done." Zigzag said. He kissed me quickly and I ran to the tent to get my book. I ran to the Wreck Room as D tent went to the lake to dig. I sat on the under stuffed couch and read my book until 10 A.M when X-Ray came in.
"Hey." I said.
"Hey." He replied as he sat beside me.
"Showed the weird tube thing to Mom?" I asked, not looking up from my book.
"Yup." X-Ray answered.
"Warden's going crazy?"
"Yup."
"Dude, go take a shower. That's what double shower tokens are for."
The Warden came running in.
"Fuse, we need your assistance. Come with me." She said. I rolled my eyes and tossed my book in X-Ray's lap. The Warden ran out and I followed.
"Do you want a ride?" Warden asked.
"Nah, I'll walk." I said. Warden handed me a shovel and I started walking out to the lake. Everyone and I mean all the other tents, too, were digging near X-Ray's hole. D tent was in its own little section.
"Hey look, its Fuse!" Squid said.
"Surprise." I said. I jumped down into the hole everybody was working on. Caveman, Armpit, and Magnet were on "wheelbarrow duty". The rest of us were digging because we were fast diggers.
"Welcome back." Zigzag said.
"Thanks. 6 hours of relaxing is all I need to want to dig." I said. "I'd never thought I'd say that."
Zigzag chuckled.
"Zigzag! Fuse! No lovey-dovey crap!" Warden yelled. I rolled my eyes.
5 Hours Later
We were walking back to the camp compound at the end of the day. Surprisingly, Zigzag and I weren't holding hands or anything.
"Hey, how'd she know my name, man?" Caveman asked Zigzag.
"She's got the whole place wired." Zigzag answered. "Oh yeah, she's got these little tiny microphones and cameras all over the place. She's got them in the Wreck Room, she's got them in the tents…she's got them in the showers."
I hit my boyfriend upside the head.
"Okay, ow." He said.
"Hey, you're lucky I threw my shovel." I said. Zigzag backed up a bit. I laughed.
"They're not in the showers!" Stanley said.
"Don't listen to him, I read his file." Squid said. "He suffers from, um, acute paranoia."
"Hey, so that means she watches me every day, huh?" Magnet asked.
"Oh, get real, Magnet." I said.
"Man, she's got cameras and microphones." Armpit said. "Not microscopes."
Next Day
We were digging again and the holes were past 6 feet deep and joined together, making tunnels.
"Glad to have you back X-Ray." The Warden said from behind us. "We could use your sharp eyes."
Armpit approached Warden and pushed X-Ray away.
"I think I found something." He said, handing Warden a piece off a locker. The lock part. All of us were gathered around them.
"Are you trying to be funny or do you think I'm stupid?" Warden asked.
Armpit thought for a while. "N-no, ma'am, I wasn't trying to be funny."
"Excuse me?" Warden demanded.
"Well, Armpit, your little joke just cost you weekly shower privileges." Mr. Sir said.
"Aw!" all of us groaned.
"Everyone back to work." Warden ordered.
"Man, you're sleeping outside!" Squid said.
3 Days Later
"4 days. 4 long days and this is all you jackasses got to show?" Warden demanded. I rolled my eyes and continued to dig. Zigzag dropped his shovel and walked up the ramp. Soon, he was walking to a hole a few meters away. He didn't get far. I heard snippets of Warden bickering at Zigzag. Then I heard something sticking into skin and a fall beside me. I looked there and saw Zigzag on the ground, holding his chest. I let my shovel fall to the ground and ran to my boyfriend.
"Fuse, what are you doing? Get back to work!" Warden yelled. I ignored her and knelt beside Zigzag.
"Let me see." I said, lifting up Zigzag's dirty white tank top up so his wounds were revealed. His jumpsuit was already tied around his waist. Three spots of blood were on his chest. I took off my hat and ripped the felt off the back of it. I held it against his wounds.
"You going to be okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Zigzag said, starting to get up. I held him down.
"You're injured. Stay down." I said. "What happened?"
"Warden stuck me in the chest with a pitchfork." Zigzag said, and then wincing. My anger soared and I stood up and started charging towards Warden. Squid and Armpit held me back.
"She hurt him now I'm gonna hurt her!" I screamed.
"Fuse, Fuse, Fuse! Calm down!" Squid yelled. I stopped trying to get free of their grasps.
"He's okay." Armpit said.
"But she hurt him!" I yelled. I saw the Warden smirk. "Oh, now she's getting it!"
Before I even charged her, Armpit and Squid held me back. I gave up and went back to Zigzag. He was still on the ground, holding the felt to his wounds.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Zigzag answered. I held out my hand and helped Zigzag up. The bleeding stopped and he threw the piece of felt on the ground. He pulled his tank top down.
"You sure?" I asked. "I'm just worried."
"Yeah," he answered. He leaned over and kissed me. The kiss lasted about 5 seconds. "Thanks for caring."
A Few Days Later
Stanley was getting water and me, Zigzag, and Squid were just standing around. I heard thunder behind me and we all turned towards the mountains.
"Don't get your hopes up." Mr. Sir said. "Them storms never make it past the mountains."
"Maybe this time they will." Caveman said.
"I got a story for you Girl Scouts. Once upon a time," Mr. Sir began. "There was a magical place that never rained. The end."
Mr. Sir laughed and Squid turned towards us and said, "I don't get it."
I rolled my eyes.
"Have a nice day." Mr. Sir said as he opened the water truck's door and got in.
"I never get anything he says." Squid said as we went back to our holes. Magnet watched the truck drive away.
"Hey guys," he said as he picked up a burlap sack out of his hole. "Anybody want some sunflower seeds?"
The bag went from Magnet, to Armpit, to Squid, to me, and then to Zigzag. Magnet looked beside him.
"He's coming back!" he yelled. I looked where he was looking. Sure enough, the water truck was coming back. Zigzag threw the bag to Caveman, who instantly dropped it.
"Oh, Stanley, butterfingers!" Zigzag yelled.
"Act natural!" I hissed and I continued to dig. I shoved the sunflower seeds I took in the pockets of my orange jumpsuit. Caveman started covering the sunflower seeds and the burlap sack with the dirt. Everyone else just stood there, frozen like deer in headlights.
"Don't just stand there, you pansies, do something?" I yelled. They finally started digging just after Mr. Sir stopped the truck and got out.
He walked over to Caveman's hole. "Well, well. How'd this get here?"
"Oh shit." I muttered under my breath to Zigzag. I ruled everything out and continued to dig. The next thing I knew when I looked up is that Stanley was gone.
"Where'd he go?" I asked.
"Mr. Sir took him to the Warden." X-Ray answered.
A Few Minutes Later
Stanley came walking back.
"Hey, look who showed up." Zigzag yelled.
"We thought you were dead for sure!" Squid added.
"Hey Caveman, what you say?" Magnet asked.
"Nothing," Caveman answered.
"What she do to you?" X-Ray asked.
"Nothing," Caveman repeated.
"Nothing?" someone asked.
"Nothing." Caveman agreed.
At Dinner
I was in line, just after Squid and before Caveman. Mr. Sir was arguing with a cook about…onions. Stupid, right?
"Whoa. What happened to your face?" Squid asked Mr. Sir. Mr. Sir had 3 jagged, red lines down the side of his face. Mr. Sir grabbed Squid's collar.
"Something the matter with my face?" Mr. Sir demanded. "Huh?"
"No. No, Mr. Sir." Squid answered, obviously scared. Mr. Sir said something then threw Squid to the ground. He landed just in front of a table. I ditched my place in line and knelt beside Squid.
"You okay?" I asked. Squid looked petrified. I'm known as the one who helps my tent, usually when they get hurt. "Squid?"
"What?"
"You okay?" I repeated.
"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine."
Next Day
"Let's go, boys!" Mr. Pendanski yelled. "Lunch!"
"People, Mom! People!" I replied. We all lined up with a few remarks on Zero's slavery. Of course, I didn't say anything. I got in line before Zigzag and after Squid. I got a graham cracker, a sandwich, and an apple. Squid snuck, like, 10 graham crackers behind his back. I walked back to my hole as Zigzag and Squid went another way, to Caveman's hole. I shrugged it off and sat on the edge of my hole and took a few bites of my apple. Not 2 seconds later, I heard a thump. I looked behind me. Zigzag pushed Caveman into his hole and was punching him. I shot up and ran to the scene, ditching my lunch.
"Ziggy, stop!" I screamed. He continued punching him. "No!"
They scrambled out of the hole and Zigzag punched Caveman in the face. Zero jumped into action, jumped on Zigzag's back, and threw his arm around Zigzag's neck. Zero was strangling Zigzag. I totally forgot about Caveman and focused on my boyfriend. Zigzag was gasping for air.
"Zero!" I screeched. Armpit and I ran forward and pried Zero off of Zigzag. Mom shot his rifle. Everyone scrambled away. Zigzag stood up and immediately collapsed. I knelt beside him and cradled his head in my lap.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, just a little lightheaded." He said.
"I was scared. If Mom hadn't shot his rifle…or if Armpit and I hadn't pried Zero off of you…" my voice trailed off.
"Baby, it's okay. I'm alright." Zigzag assured me. Tears couldn't help but run down my face. Zigzag sat up and brushed the tears away from my face. "I'm alright."
"I can't have both of the people I love the most die in the same week." I whispered. Zigzag hugged my shoulders and held me close. I was hiccupping and tears kept running down my face. I'm not one for crying, but when it comes to the people I love…
"Do you really care about me that much?" Zigzag asked. I sniffled and nodded. Zigzag put his hand on my cheek and leaned in. Our lips touched and I was in Heaven again.
The Warden's car pulled up beside the water truck and she got out. We were forced to stand up. Zigzag got up first and he helped me up. We joined the rest of D tent, who stood in front of Mom and Warden. I leaned against Zigzag and he put his arm around my waist.
"Basically, Zero almost killed Ricky." Mom was saying.
"Basically?" Warden asked.
"Ziggy was beating up the Caveman, right, and then Zero started choking Zigzag. Me and Fuse had to pull him off of him." Armpit explained. The Warden walked over to him. The thought of Zigzag almost dying caused more tears to fall down my cheeks. Zigzag hugged me tighter.
"Yeah, you know, Zig just got a little hot. Being in the sun all day, the blood starts to boil." X-Ray said. Warden turned to Zigzag and me.
"Is that what happened, Zigzag?" she asked.
"Yup. What X-Ray said. Working all day in the hot sun while Caveman sits around and does nothing." Zigzag answered.
"Excuse me?" Warden demanded. "Caveman digs his hole just like everyone else."
"Sometimes." Zigzag said.
"Excuse me?" Warden repeated.
"Ma'am, Zero has been digging a part of Caveman's hole every day." Squid said.
"You're not digging holes no more?" Mr. Sir asked Caveman. "Huh?"
"I-I'm teaching him how to read." Caveman answered.
"What?" Mr. Sir questioned.
"He's a smart kid." Caveman stated.
"Smart? Oh yeah, hey Zero," Mom yelled to Zero. "What does C-A-T spell?"
Zero said nothing.
"Leave him alone, Mom." I said.
"Yeah, a real genius. He's so stupid, he don't know he's stupid." Mom continued.
"Okay, from now on, I don't want anyone digging anyone else's hole!" Warden yelled. "Is that clear? And no more reading lessons."
"Why, if the hole gets dug, who cares who's digging it right?" Caveman asked.
"You know why you're digging holes? 'Cuz it's good for you, teaches you a lesson!" Mr. Sir yelled in Caveman's face.
"If Zero digs your hole for you, you're not learning your lesson, are you?" Warden asked.
"This is going to end so badly. Either that, or someone's going to get hurt." I whispered. Mom came forward and took the shovel that Zigzag had in the circle of his other arm.
"I mean, you might as well teach this shovel to read. Go ahead Zero, take it." Mom said. "D-I-G. What does that spell?"
Zero seemed to hesitate the hit Mom across the face with the shovel. Mom fell onto his back, unconscious, right in front of us.
"OH!" all of us yelled. Zero started running and Mr. Sir ran after him with is gun drawn.
"Don't shoot!" Warden yelled. "He can't go anywhere!"
"You think I was gonna shoot him?" Mr. Sir asked.
"The last thing we need is an investigation!" Warden said.
"Let him go then! Let him go!" Mr. Sir yelled.
"I want 'round the clock guards on water sources!" Warden yelled as she dumped Zero's canteen contents on Mom. Then she turned to Stanley. "I still expect 8 holes."
Mom tried to get up but instantly fell down again. We all laughed.
"That was funny!" I laughed.
That Night
We were all sitting in our tent. We were all sitting on our cots. Actually, I was sitting on Zigzag's cot and he had his arm around me.
"Man, if he's not back by morning, he's dead." Armpit was saying.
"He's dead out the way." X-Ray corrected. "If he stays out there or if he comes back."
"Hey, when do you think they'll find his body?" Zigzag asked. I gave him a quizzical look that read, Man, what body? We all know Zero's buzzard food!
"What body?" Squid asked, as if he was reading my mind. "Man, Zero's buzzard food. Know what? They pick out the eyeballs first."
Then he made a sound effect.
"Dude! Ew!" I said.
"I can't believe you just said that." X-Ray said. We all started laughing. I got up and went to my bed 'cuz I was tired.
Next Day
It was near sundown. I was taking a shower in my specially built shower stall. It had a roof and walls. And a door, of course. Someone started knocking on the door.
"Hey Fuse, fresh meat!" Zigzag's voice yelled.
"Awesome! I'll be right out!" I yelled. I washed the shampoo out of my hair and turned off the water. I quickly dried off and put on my clean jumpsuit. I pulled my wet hair into a ponytail and jumped out of the shower. "Fresh meat" meant a new camper. We all knew that he was going to be assigned to our tent. I put on the white baseball cap I had and pulled my ponytail through the loop at the back of the hat. I wouldn't be surprised if the new guy called me a "girly guy". Most newbies did because they thought I was a guy. I ran into the Wreck Room where everyone was.
"What he look like?" I asked.
"Kinda like a pansy that wouldn't survive 3 days." X-Ray said. "And he twitches a lot."
"He got his nickname already, huh?" I asked. X-Ray nodded. The whistle for dinner blew and we all got up and walked to the Mess Hall. Twitch was already in line for dinner. We got in line, too. We got our slightly gross dinner and sat down at our table in our spots.
"So, what you in here for, Twitch?" X-Ray asked.
"Oh, uh, joyridin'. I guess I really never planned to steal one or nothing but when I walk past a really nice car-" Twitch said, and then he started twitching.
He looked at me. "You're a really girly guy, you know that?"
I slammed my hands on the table.
"Because I am a girl, you moron!" I yelled. Twitch looked down.
"No wonder I was attracted to you." He said. I started to get up to charge him but Zigzag and X-Ray held me back.
"I'm dating Zigzag. Now, do you want me to hit you with a shovel? I'm known well for that." I said as I sat down.
"Oh," Twitch said.
"Yeah." I said, nodding. Zigzag winced.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." He said, rubbing his chest. I remembered what happened. Warden stuck him in the chest, horizontally, with a pitchfork when we were digging the underground tunnel to find whatever the Warden went crazy looking for. I put my hand on his chest and he winced again.
"Sorry." I said.
"Eh, it's okay," Zigzag said, shrugging. I smiled and kissed him. The kiss lasted five seconds.
Next Day
We lined up for water. Somebody started a fight in the back, surprisingly not with Caveman. Caveman wasn't there. Neither was Twitch. I looked around. Twitch was standing by the door of the water truck. Just Twitch. Suddenly, the truck started. All of us looked there in surprise.
"Put it in gear!" Twitch yelled to the person behind the wheel. It was Caveman who was behind the wheel! The truck started driving away and Mr. Sir chased after it. We started cheering. Mr. Sir hung onto the side of the truck and was being dragged. Then Mr. Sir fell in a hole and we LAUGHED! Everyone in camp was cheering Caveman on. Soon enough, Caveman drove the truck into a hole.
"Caveman!" X-Ray yelled and we all started running to the hole the truck landed in. So did everyone else in camp. Caveman scrambled out of the truck and fell over. He immediately got up and ran. He ran like Zero had 2 days earlier. We all gathered around the truck. Mr. Sir ran over and pushed me, X-Ray, and Magnet away. We all turned to where Caveman was running to and started cheering. Magnet started jumping up and down.
"Alright, do we have to get the truck out of the hole?" I asked. As if on cue, Mr. Sir yelled to us to get his truck out of the hole. The Warden and Mom came up in the Warden's car. All 35 of us campers climbed all over Mr. Sir's truck to try to figure out how to get it out of the hole. The whole D tent was on the back of the truck. Zigzag was beside me.
"How are we going to get this out?" I asked.
"We? You're a girl; we don't want you to break a nail." Lump said. I went up to him and punched him right in the face. Lump fell down onto his face.
"Alright, now that's he's out of the way, let's get this thing out." I said. I jumped off the truck. "B tent, get the front, we'll the back! A, E, and C, you get the sides. We'll get this thing outta here in 2 minutes."
Surprisingly, they listening and followed my instructions.
"One, two, three!" I yelled and we all pulled the truck. It pitched forward and we got the front wheels halfway out of the hole. "B tent, PUSH!"
They did and we got the truck out of the hole.
"What I tell ya?" I asked. Some people patted me on the back, all of my tent included.
"We should get back to our holes." Jace "Bone" Windham, a kid from A tent, said.
"I'm done." I said.
"Really? Same." Zigzag said. I smiled at him and we walked back to the camp compound, hand in hand. I walked into the tent to get a towel, my 2 shower tokens, and my shampoo. I walked out, slinging my towel over my shoulder. Zigzag was on the porch of the Wreck Room.
"You really done digging?" I yelled to him as I walked to the shower.
"Yeah, I dug quicker so I could hang out with you." He yelled back.
"Aw, you're so sweet. See you in 8 minutes." I yelled, walking into my shower stall and locking the door. I took off my clothes and inserted the tokens. The cold water washed away all the dirt. I washed my hair and rinsed out the suds. I stood there in the cold spray to savor it for another 2 minutes. The water shut off and I put on my underwear, bra, clean-ish white tank top, jumpsuit, socks, and combat boots. I tied the top half of my jumpsuit around my waist and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I put my white hat on and pulled my ponytail through the loop in the back of it. I walked out of the shower stall. Zigzag and I were still the only ones done digging our holes. The rest of the night went normally, minus Caveman being there.
Next Day
We were walking to start digging our holes. D tent was at the back of the group.
"Maybe he found Zero," Magnet said. "Maybe they're both still alive."
"Maybe the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy are still alive, too." X-Ray said.
"Yeah. Maybe my mom will stop drinking and my dad'll come home." Squid added.
"Man, when Caveman stole that truck…" Twitch said.
"That was awesome." Zigzag agreed.
"Awesome? That was amazing!" I corrected. Zigzag pushed my head to the side playfully.
"Yeah, man, Caveman did our style." Armpit said. He was being his slow self and tagging at the VERY back of the group.
That Night
Mr. Sir and Mom were arguing over the water truck.
"You left the keys in the truck that was surrounded by juvenile delinquents!" Mom was yelling. Everyone in D tent was by the tent flap listening.
"Get me a wrench, read my lips: get me a wrench!" Mr. Sir yelled back.
"I'm gettin' it, you side-burned Neanderthal!" Mom yelled as he walked away. Mr. Sir threw something at him. "Don't you throw nothing at me!"
Next Morning
We were just waking up when Mom ran into the tent.
"You don't have to dig anymore holes." He said.
"What?" we all asked at different times.
"Don't say anything. If you do, you will be severely punished." Mom said, then running out almost as soon as he came in. I looked around the room at each of my best friends in shock. They had looks of shock on their faces, too. I put on my jumpsuit over my pajamas then slipped on my socks and my boots. I pulled my hair into a ponytail then put my hat on.
"Where you going?" Zigzag asked.
"Wreck Room." I answered. I walked out of the tent and to the Wreck Room. Everyone else in camp was there. My tent soon joined me. On a table on the other side of the room were bowls, milk, and cereal. Frosted Flakes, to be exact. There was 7 bowls left, for us. I walked over to that table and poured myself a bowl of cereal, got a spoon, and sat down on the pool table.
4 Hours Later
We heard shouting and arguing outside.
"What the..?" I wondered. Squid and I got up and walked out onto the porch of the Wreck Room. There, right in front of us, was Caveman and Zero.
"They're alive!" we yelled as we ran back inside. "They're alive!"
I ran out and to Caveman and Zero. I gathered Caveman in a hug, and then hugged Zero. Everyone else hugged them, too.
"I can't believe you guys made it!" Squid said.
"Man, we thought you were buzzard food!" Zigzag added. I tussled Zero's dirty afro.
"We're going home." Caveman said.
"Going home?" Squid asked.
"Man, you stink. You smell like onions!" Armpit said. Mom and Mr. Sir came out of the office.
"Well, there seems to be no file of Hector Zeroni." Mom said.
"What?" X-Ray asked.
"Is that so?" a random attorney asked.
"What kind of camp are you running here?" an officer asked.
"A nice one. If the state could give us some money we'd have some decent filing." The Warden asked.
"Oh my god, this is a great day! We're finally going to get out of this hellhole!" I said.
"Marion Seville!" the officer said. "Long time since El Paso, Marion."
The officer pushed Mr. Sir against the wall. "You're in violation of parole carrying this weapon!"
"I had no knowledge of that!" Warden stated.
"Oh yeah, like you never knew Pendanski was no doctor, either." Mr. Sir said.
"What? What?" X-Ray asked in disbelief while the rest of us laughed.
"Marion? Gee, I didn't know that was a man's name!" Zigzag said.
"It ain't!" Mr. Sir said.
"Okay, this facility is now under our jurisdiction." Another officer said. Everyone started cheering. Lightning flashed and clouds moved in. The whole camp moved to the edge of the porch of the Wreck Room. And by some miracle…it started to rain! The whole camp started to mess around in the dirt road that was kinda like the main street for CGL. Our whole tent was in one big group. I jumped on Zigzag's back and he started spinning. Everyone in camp was cheering. I jumped off of Zigzag and he turned and faced me. We did the cheesiest movie scene ever: we kissed in the rain. It broke when Squid scooped me up, bridal-style, and carried me around. I started laughing hysterically. Zero and Caveman got into a car that the attorney probably owned. D tent gathered up on one side of it, the side Caveman was sitting.
"D tent!" he yelled.
"We'll see you again! We'll see you again!" X-Ray yelled. The car started driving away and Twitch started chasing it, twitching. Squid had to hold him back. Every camper from D tent was where the car had driven off. I was standing beside Squid when Zigzag came up and picked me up. He twirled me around for a while When the bus came 8 hours later, it was still pouring rain. Everyone was dressed in the clothes they came to camp in. Me in black skinny jeans, a white tank top, and a grey shirt with a purple flower design that goes down to my waist line. I also had on grey leather boots. I know, it was dressy to go to a juvenile camp in, but I hadn't really planned on it. Zigzag had on a simply blue t-shirt with a gold dragon design that he got from Stitches (I've seen it there), black jeans, and black sneakers. When I stepped out of D tent from changing and getting my stuff from my crate, Zigzag whistled.
"I know, I'm hot." I said in a joking voice.
"Got that right." Zigzag said. The school bus that was to take us back to the bus station in Houston, Texas came and we ran to D tent, which were at the front of the line. We got in the back 4 rows. Magnet got a seat to himself. I sat beside Zigzag at the very back.
"Guys…" I said.
"Yeah?" they all asked.
"When will we see each other again? I mean, we all live in different cities." I finished.
"Yeah. On the four hour ride to Houston, we better make up the time." Zigzag said. On the whole way to Houston, we talked about all our good times at Camp Green Lake. The bus pulled up into the bus station and we all got off. My mom and sister were waiting for me.
"There's my family." Zigzag said. I looked to where he was looking and saw a guy and a girl who looked almost exactly like him. My mom was crying. I looked at Zigzag and he looked at me.
"Your crying again." He said. He brushed away the tears that were falling down my cheeks and leaned in to kiss me. His lips were soft against mine. I kissed him back and put my arms around his neck. We pulled apart and hugged each other tight. We pulled apart from that.
"I don't want to leave you." I said.
"I don't want to either, but we'll see each other again. I promise." Zigzag said. I nodded then hugged each of the D tent campers. I ran back to my mom and sister and hugged them tightly.
"Who were those boys?" my mom asked.
"My tent and my best friends." I answered.
"Who was that boy you were kissing?" Brianna, my sister, asked.
"Zigzag. He's my boyfriend." I said, looking back at him. He looked at me. I waved to him and he waved back. But that wasn't enough. He broke free of his sister's grasp and ran to me. I ran to him and we met halfway. We hugged each other tightly and he put his hand on the back of my head, holding me closer.
"I'm going to miss you." I whispered. We pulled apart and we kissed for the last time in a long time. I saw a flash but I ignored it. We broke apart and started to walk away, our hands still touching. As we walked away, our hands slipped away. I walked back to my mom and sister, tears spilling from my eyes.
2 Months Later
I was on my computer, typing a lengthy story about my favorite movie when my mom called my name.
"Mom, I told you!" I yelled, getting up. "My name is not Danielle! It's Fuse!"
"Whatever, the phone's for you!" my mom yelled. I walked up the stairs from my basement and to the living room. You see, I live in a ritzy neighborhood. The basements look really nice and so does the rest of the house. I took the phone from my mom's hand and put it up to my ear.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hey Fuse, it's me." Caveman's voice said.
"Oh hey, Caveman, what's up?"
"Listen, can you come over to my house? The entire D tent is going to be there."
"Really? Where do you live?"
"452 Sycamore. Wear a bathing suit."
"Alright, I'll be right there!"
I hung up the phone, tossed it onto the couch, and ran into my room. I put my hair into a perfect, curly ponytail and put on my bikini. It had the colors of a sunset on it. I put on a simply light blue tank top over it and put on white Roxy flip-flops. I grabbed a towel, slung it over my shoulder, and ran out of my room, then out of my house. The thing is I live on Sycamore. I ran 2 blocks to the 400 block of Sycamore. I live on the 600 block. I ran to 452. In front of the house was a statue, a satyr, holding a shovel.
"Yup, this is it." I said and I walked to the front door. I rang the doorbell and Mrs. Yelnats answered the door. "Hi, Mrs. Yelnats!"
"Welcome, you must be Fuse. The boys are in the backyard, swimming in the pool." Mrs. Yelnats said.
"Thank you!" I said, and I ran through the house to the back sliding door. Yup, every D tent boy was playing in the pool. There, in red swim trunks, was my boyfriend that I missed with all my heart. I took a deep breath, took off my flip-flops, and walked outside.
"Hey guys." I said. Everyone turned my way.
Zigzag's jaw dropped. "Fuse?"
"Hi."
He jumped out of the pool, sopping wet. I ran to him and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back.
"I missed you." He said.
"Ditto." I replied.
We pulled apart and, after 2 very long months, kissed again. We broke apart only because Squid splashed us.
"I missed you too, Squidly." I said. I backed up a bit, ran, and yelled, "CANNONBALL!"
I did a cannonball into the pool, making a big splash. When I came up onto the surface, Squid picked me up and threw me into the water. Zero ran, jumped off a rock, and did a front flip into the water. Caveman slid down the slide. When he came up, he splashed me and Zigzag while we were kissing in the corner. We chased after him. Squid popped up out of the water and splashed us. I turned around and tackled him. Mr. Yelnats was flipping hamburgers on the grill. I got up, ran, and did 2 front flips, and landed in the water. Mrs. Yelnats ran out of the house.
"Alright, everybody out of the pool, its show time!" she yelled, then running back into the house.
"Come on, boys, it's on! It's on!" Mr. Yelnats said, taking a tray of burgers with him as he ran into the house. We all jumped out of the pool. Zero and Stanley ran inside the house while me, X-Ray, Armpit, Magnet, Zigzag, and Squid stood just outside the door. I stood in the circle of Zigzag's arm. A commercial came on TV. It was Sweet Feet.
"Oh this must be…oh." I said. The commercial went on. We laughed at some parts. At the end of the commercial, we all cheered and clapped. I looked up at Zigzag and we kissed again. Hey, we have2 months to make up.
Camp Green Lake was turned into a Girl Scout camp. The girls won't have to worry about lizards, just the random holes. Be sure not to fall in any. I guess you have to fill in the rest of the holes yourself.
Danielle "Fuse" Castellan