The Exception
Chapter II
The Boys of D-tent
The six boys in D-tent were inside. Most of them sat on beds, but two were on the floor. One on the floor looked Spanish, the other pretty tall for only sitting down.
I noticed every boy's features—since they didn't seem to hear or see Mr. Pendanski and I walk in. A small boy was laying down on his bed, dark hair spread out above him. A dark boy with big, thick glasses was arguing pretty heatedly with another guy that was kind of large and dark skinned. The last boy was watching the two on the floor arm wrestle. He had a tan hat on and had dark hair. A toothpick peered through his mouth.
Mr. Pendanski leaned in, closer to me. "No worries." With that he cleared his throat. "Boys!" All the guys' heads shot up as soon as Mr. Pendanski spoke.
And, of course, their eyes widened at seeing me. A girl. In their tent. "This is Kaden Small. She'll be replacing Louis," Mr. Pendanski said.
"She?" one of the guys piped up finally. Mr. Pendanski moaned as he took the cap off my head.
"Well, it ain't a man!" Mr. Pendanski barked. "Now, Kaden, the two on the floor are Jose and Ricky," Mr. Pendanski started. I heard protests in the background. "Those two on the bed," Mr. Pendanski began, pointing at the two dark-skinned boys, "are Rex and Theodore. And these two," he pointed to the small one first, "are Zero and Alan."
Rex, the guy with thick glasses, stood up. "Man, you got it all wrong. It's like this: on the floor is Magnet and Zigzag. This one here's Armpit," Rex poi9nted to the large guy, "and that's Squid." Rex pointed to Ala, the boy with the hat. "And I'm X-ray," he finished.
I went through the guys, making sure to memorize their nicknames, before smiling. "Got it," I declared.
"Don't forget—Mr. Pendanski is Mom," Armpit added. I snickered, turning to Mom as he was leaving.
After Mom left, I smiled and turned back to the boys. "Mom," I half-laughed, dropping my bag next to the bunk assigned to me. As I grabbed my bottle of cola, I grinned. "Anyone up for some soda?" I asked tantalizingly. In two seconds flat D-tent was at my side.
"Whoa, chica…you've got soda?" Magnet asked. I held up the bottle rather proudly.
"This is my only one—you'll have to share," I said.
"Sure, sure," Armpit mumbled, eyeing the cola like it was sent from heaven. I gave X-ray the bottle and picked up my duffle bag back up, setting it on the bed this time.
Zero, the smallest boy in the tent, was still in the same spot. I grabbed a stick of gum and silently crept over to the sulking boy. "Yo, Zero," I whispered. Slowly, his body turned to face me. "Here," I handed him the gum, "just keep it under cover." I winked as Zero gave me a small smile.
"Thanks," he whispered, then hiding the gum under his flat pillow.
A bell ran, and the boys started heading out of the door. Clueless, I grabbed the arm of Squid, who was the last one to exit the tent. "What're we doing?" I asked, befuddled. Squid nodded towards the other buildings.
"Dinner," he stated. I made an 'oh' sound. "C'mon," Squid beckoned, grabbing my arm. As we made our way to the Mess hall, Squid explained some things. "Okay, we wake up 'round four-thirty. We grab breakfast, grab a shovel, and dig. Ya dig and dig and dig, then grab lunch and fill our canteens, then dig and dig s'more. When you're done digging, ya get free time. Take a shower, go to the Wreck room. Ya know. Then there's dinner, then sleep," he finally finished explaining.
"C'mon, Squid! Kaden!" Zigzag's voice resounded across the sands.
"Coming!" we answered. Squid bit down on the toothpick in his mouth. We power walked to catch up to the rest of D-tent.
D-tent got in line for dinner. I grabbed a tray and held it up. A teenaged guy took a spoon and poured some green liquid-but-solid stuff on my tray. I mumbled a thanks and kept walking.
I thought it looked like watered-down spinach, just...greener...
I got some bread and more solid-liquid stuff (this time red) and set off to find a seat.
"Yo, chica!" Magnet called from one of the middle tables. "You're stuck eating with us!" I came over and sat between Zigzag and Magnet. Squid, Z-ray, Zero, and Armpit were across me.
"So, Kaden--what got ya stuck in an all-boys camp?" Zigzag asked. I sighed.
"Well..." I began, "I kinda...beat the crap outta some guy, and was sentenced-"
"Who, whoa, whoa--back up--you beat up a guy?" X-ray questioned.
"Yea," I answered, "He-uh-made fun of me. So I...kinda blew up. I threw a couple punches, ya know..." I said, "Gave him a concussion..." I added under my breathe.
Magnet, being the only one who heard me, choked on his food. "You gave him a concussion?!?" Magnet repeated. I bit my lip and nodded.
"How?" Armpit asked.
"I kinda...hit him over the head with a...board..." I answered, holding in laughter. Everyone smiled.
"Nice," X-ray agreed. I laughed.
"Well, now I'm stuck here for eighteen months!" I retorted. Before the guys could say anything, I continued telling them the story. "I was sentenced to a month in juvenile jail. But, my file was switched or mutilated or something with another guys. So, here I am," I finished quickly.
"...Did you get hurt beatin' up that guy?" Squid asked. I shrugged.
Yea...bruises, cuts--they're gone...'cept this." I turned my arm to show the horizontal scar that went around my arm.
"Crazy chica..." Magnet mumbled.
I stuck my fork in the green...stuff...and raised it to my mouth. I stuck some in my mouth and swallowed. "Wow. That's as bad as my grandma's cooking." I commented, changing the subject.
After dinner, I skipped off to the Wreck room. "Kaden, what's got you so…skippy?" asked Zigzag.
I was a couple steps ahead of the guys, and looked back to answer when I collided with someone in front of me. I did a double-take, fell over, and shook the stars out of my eyes. D-tent, namely Zigzag, Squid, and X-ray, helped me up from where I had fallen. "So it's true," a deep voice grumbled, "D-tent got the chick."
With that, I looked up and glared. A guy, as tall as Zigzag, but older, stood there, arms crossed. I grabbed my visor from Zigzag's hands and popped it back onto my head. "Yea...gotta problem with that?" I asked sweetly. The teen shrugged casually.
"Nah. But B-tent would've had so much fun wit' you," the guy answered. With a cocky wink he turned around on his heels, heading for his tent.
"Why he-" I went after him. Well, attempted to, anyway...the guys still had a hold of me.
"It ain't worth it, aight?" Armpit asked from beside me.
"Yeah," I answered grudgingly. I stopped struggling, and the guys in answer let me go. "But if I ever see him again, he's dead!" I hissed.
"Not if we get to him first. C'mon guys," Squid beckoned. Everyone froze, sliding questioning glances to their fellow D-tenter. "Wreck room? Go?" He asked, pointing to the Wreck room in question.
"OH!" Magnet exclaimed. "I thought we were going to beat that guy up!" he added. D-tent rolled their eyes, even though I had the feeling they were thinking the same thing.
"Man, Magnet," X-ray mumbled.
"I have a feeling this tent is the tent for me!" I said to Squid, who walked beside me. The other boys trailed behind us.
--end--
