I sighed, trying for the fiftieth time to get the handcuffs off my wrists. It obviously wasn't happening. Why, you ask, am I handcuffed? Simple. I'm on my way to camp green lake- a BOYS detention camp- in the middle of nowhere Texas. Again, why? Well, to put it simply, I was out pretty late one night, trying to stay away from my mom as long as possible and three guys from a local gang tried to rape me. I didn't let it happen, and I put them all in the hospital, one in critical condition. Apparently, the judge thought I took it a little too far, so I have a year and a half in an all guys' camp. Oh joy, oh bliss. The only guy that I've ever been close to was my brother, Ricky. I look just like him, only I'm about seven inches shorter. He's in a detention camp too, but I forgot where. I keep my blonde hair in a constant ponytail or braid and try to make sure guys don't notice me by wearing baggy clothes and sports bras, but it doesn't seem to work. Once, when mom was feeling nice, she said it was because I had a beautiful face.
But anyway, on the bus to camp let's-all-die-of-heatstroke, the guard stared at me. I glared back, fire burning in my blue eyes. I shifted my foot so the switchblade stuck in my sock wasn't giving me a blister. I didn't trust any of those guys for a second. I knew better. I looked at the purity ring Ricky had given me for my 15th birthday, the day before he left. It was just a plain silver band, but it meant a lot to me. He knew that I'd wanted one for a long time. We were extremely close. I was the only one he'd never been paranoid about.
A bump in the road jolted me back to reality, and we stopped in front of what looked to be an extremely old town. Boys in orange prison-like suits glanced me up and down, like I was a piece of meat. I glared. The guard led me to an air-conditioned office where a man was eating sunflower seeds.
"This the girl?" he asked, looking hard at me. 'Duh,' I thought to myself.
The guard nodded. "Astrid Brown?" I nodded. "My name is Mr. Sir, that is how you will address me at all times." I tuned him out while he gave me the ugly orange suits, but was jolted when he told me to change. I gave him the evil eye but turned around and put on the jumpsuit and kept my boots on so he wouldn't see the knife. I know what I look like in a black sports bra and underwear. I'm toned and stronger than I look. I put my black tank top back on and tied the sleeves around my waist.
Just then, an overly perky freaky-looking guy came in, happy as can be. I raised my eyebrows. "Astrid Brown, I'm Dr. Pendanski. You will be in D-tent. 'D' stands for diligence." That's where I began to tune him out and wonder what kind of freak show this could turn out to be. "...And here's the tent." We entered a tent to find seven boys either on cots or on the floor playing some kind of game with rocks. I was glad I'd brought my cards. "Boys, this is Astrid. I suggest you treat her with respect, she might kill you otherwise. I have to go to the staff meeting, so I'll let you introduce yourselves." He ran out of the room.
A black boy with glasses who was just an inch shorter than me stood up. "I'm X-Ray. That's Squid-"white boy chewing on a toothpick "-Armpit-"overweight black boy with a friendly grin on his face "-Magnet-"Hispanic boy holding the rocks "-Caveman-"tall white guy with an orange baseball cap over his curly hair "-Zero-" short black boy laying on his cot away from the rest of them. "Wait. Where the heck is Ziggy?" he asked, looking around. Everyone shrugged.
"I'm right here- Astrid?" he asked. I turned and saw my brother staring at me wide-eyed.
"No freakin' way!" I yelled, hugging him. We hadn't seen each other in almost a year, so I was pretty excited to see him.
"Brother and sister?" Squid asked cautiously.
"Yep. I showed you guys a picture of her once, remember?"
"This is that chica you were throwing the cake at?" Magnet asked.
"The one and only!" I laughed. He came closer, looking like he wanted to touch me. "Touch me and die, chico. Se matarle con mis manos peladas." (I know how to kill you with my bare hands) I warned him. He backed off.
"What'd you say?" X-Ray asked.
"I know how to kill you with my bare hands. In other words don't touch me. It won't be pretty." He took a step back.
"What are you here for anyhow?" Armpit asked me while I put my stuff down on my cot.
"I almost killed a guy for trying to rape me. The other two got out of the hospital last week. The one's in critical condition," I said, very matter of fact.
"That's my sister! So you're still a virgin?" Ricky (Ziggy?) asked. I nodded.
"You just asked her that? Dude, my sister woulda killed me!" Squid laughed.
I rolled my eyes. "Uh, hello? When your stepdad's crazy and locks you in the bedroom from the time he gets there, you get to know each other. Extremely well." I pulled the knife from my boot and slipped it into my pocket.