Ch1: Better Than Home

Pale blue eyes scan over a desert, noticing the many young men digging holes. The bus Adrian rode on passed by them as he began to remind himself of how he came to be here. If it weren't for that stunt his ex had pulled, he wouldn't be in this mess now. Well of course there was also the matter of him shooting a cop. But, that was totally accidental.

He remembered that incident as clear as day; a house falling down in flames. Cops surrounding the premises of the crime she'd pulled. Her innocence fooled the police into thinking he was the one responsible. She laid on the ground; pretending to be beaten and wounded. She shielded her face from him, and screamed. Guns pointing at him he raised his hands in surrender, but felt afraid and pulled out one of his own. Why did he have a gun in the first place? Was he maybe planning to murder someone? No, of course not. It's just his paranoia.

His hands trembled from the fear running through his veins, and accidentally pulls the trigger. His life soon changed forever and he's now in Camp Green Lake. How Adrian could have ever loved that whore was way beyond him. He often wondered if leaving her alive was the better option. Then he thought, I'll just let her suffer. He hoped they caught her in the end, but she's like a ninja in many ways. A sly little fox that never gets in trouble; all because she knows how to trick others into doing what she wants. What a bitch.

Adrian didn't even begin to notice the bus stop at the camp site until the man upfront snapped at him to stand and exit. He blinked his eyes before doing what was expected of him. He stepped off of the bus and looked around the crowd of delinquent boys roaming around. They all seemed to be glaring at him, except for one kid that sat alone on a short bench. His hair was brown and curly; couldn't have been anymore than twelve years old.

Adrian wound up walking inside a cabin that ran on cool air. He could feel the change in temperature immediately after walking inside. The door closed behind him as he was ordered to sit down. He waited for a signal to speak; his eyes never leaving the man that sat in front of him. He chewed and spit out sunflower seeds into a small blue bowl. His cold stare didn't at all faze Adrian. He's practically used to it by now. "Do you know why you're here boy?" The man asks.

The serious expression Adrian wore stayed on; like a painting that's long been dried. He wanted to lie, but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. "Because I shot a cop?" He says in a matter of questioning. The man looked into his eyes with a stern gaze. He waited several seconds before replying to his answer. "Of course that's part of it...but what else?" Adrian took a deep breath. Dreading to respond with what he knew wasn't even his fault. "Because I burned my neighbor's house down."

The words he spoke dripped from his teeth like venom. That lie shouldn't even have existed. The man sat back in his chair and glared daggers at Adrian. His hands folded over his stomach. The stare down they had was more intense than a draw. With nothing more than the sound of the air conditioning running, and the chewing of the man's sunflower seeds within his closed mouth. He spit another one into the bowl from where he sat. It created a type of ding sound.

"And do you know why you have done so?" Adrian shook his head without speaking a word. The silent battle raged on before the conversation took hold of their vocals once again. "Well that's a shame." The man's eyes trailed upward to the wooden ceiling above him. Adrian still looked at him, even though his eyes strayed upon his Adam's apple. He could see it bob up and down from his swallowing.

The man finally looked back at him, and leaned in on his desk; his hands clasped together. "My name is Mr. Sir, and you will refer to me as such during these eighteen months. You hear?" Mr. Sir announces. Adrian nodded. The counselor rose from his desk and got a drink from his mini fridge. The bottle of Coca-Cola caught the teen's attention instantly. Mr. Sir noticed this reaction and threw a wicked grin toward him. "Oh. where are my manners. Here, you want some? Go on, take it." He handed the bottle to the young boy.

Adrian knew it was all a ploy just to get him to look stupid. So he sat there and shook his head. "No thank you, Mr. Sir." He says. But the man insisted and pestered him to take a sip. He wiggled the bottle in front of the youth and Adrian wanted to smack it out of his hand. Who could blame him really? It would be like taunting a hungry tiger with food at the zoo while leaning over the railing.

But he knew his place. "No, thank you." He says again. Mr. Sir frowned at the rejection. He was hoping to gain some type of reaction from him. One that would have ultimately humiliated him. spat on the floor near Adrian's boots, but that petty assault had little effect on the teen. He walked back to his desk and opened up the bottle; the soda making a hissing sound during the cap's removal. He sat down in his chair and sipped at the bottle, leisurely taking his time. When he was done, he sat the bottle down on his desk and released a sigh of enjoyment. His face turned from teasing to strict in one moment.

"Listen here, this ain't no girl scouts. You have to dig a hole five feet wide, five feet deep." He demonstrated this by using his hands as measurement. Adrian inwardly rolled his eyes. "Your shovel will be your measuring stick. You'll have two sets of clothing; ten in all. Five for work and five for relaxation." He tosses a pair of work clothes to Adrian who caught them before they had a chance to land in his lap. "Now get changed." He says before Adrian complied with his demand. He stood from his seat and proceeded to get dressed.

Mr. Sir groaned under his breath at the sight of his annoying partner: Mr. Pendanski, walking in the room. His goofy grin entering both men's line of vision. Mr. Pendanski is a pretty nice counselor at Camp Green Lake (on certain occasions), but he still manages to keep a strict reputation. Albeit Mr. Sir and the warden tend to mess with him any chance they get.

Mr. Pendanski greets the newcomer to the camp after Adrian was fully clothed. He shook his hand and gave the camper a warm smile. "Welcome to Camp Green Lake Adrian! I've heard about you, and I just wanted to say that you're still a good kid, even if you've done something bad." Adrian raised a black brow at the geek that stood before him. Was this man serious? He sounds like he'd be a pushover, Adrian thought.

"I'm your counselor, Dr. Pendanski. You'll be seeing a lot of me during these long and tiring months. Your tent will be tent B. Which stands for Bravery. Your tent mates will be Nicky, Ted, Ross, and Nico. They all have their little nicknames, but I call them by the names their parents had given them. And I'll surely do the same with you." Mr. Pendanski gave the kid another heartfelt smile before giving him a tour of the camp.

He escorted him through the mess hall, break area, and the tents. Adrian eventually tuned the annoying pinhead out and thought of his life back home. As he thinks about it...there really wasn't much t look forward to at home. His mother was rarely around and his father was only there to mooch off of his family. He didn't care about his mother nor did he care about him. So what would really be the point in going back to a hollow shell?

He had no good memories to live off of. No one to run to when things got bad...and he certainly didn't gain any support. So maybe he would stay at Camp Green Lake for awhile longer than eighteen months. Adrian felt a pat on his shoulder and snapped out of his trance. He noticed Mr. Pendanski leave as he started to look around the tent he found himself in. Now, which bed was his again? Adrian shrugged off the notion and just chose any one. He couldn't care less about whose bed was whose by this point. He laid down on a random bed and stared up at the tent's ceiling.

After a few minutes, he yawned and began to feel his eyes droop down. He attempted to keep them awake...but to no avail. The cage of sleep had dragged him in, and locked him away into a bittersweet, darkened abyss.