I awoke to the most annoying sound ever. It was the sound of a trumpet, like the one they play at horse races, over loudspeakers on the Rec Room. "What's that?" I asked. "It's the wake-up horn." said X-Ray. All of us went outside. It was still dark, and boys were pouring out of all the tents. We went to the "Library". Dr. Pendanski and Mrs. Ma'am were standing near it. Dr. Pendanski blew a whistle. "Smiling faces!" She called. "Smiling faces, you're a mole who digs the deepest hole, shovels on the left, milkshakes on the right." The door to the "Library" was opened, and there were several rows of shovels. I took the first shovel I saw, and X-Ray grabbed it out of my hand and gave me a much heavier one. "You see that red tape right there?" X-Ray asked me, pointing to the first shovel I got. "Yea," I said. "That means it's the smallest shovel," he said. "It's my shovel." To the right of the door, there were lots Cookies-and-Cream milkshakes on a shelf. I saw kids drinking them. I drank one. "You're kidding me, milkshakes for breakfast?" I asked. "Yes," said Mrs. Ma'am. I then got a shovel. We went into the desert and started digging. "If you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Pendanski. If the Warden likes what you find, you'll get the day off," Mrs. Ma'am said.
We had been digging on the for about 2 hours, the Sun was starting to come up, and our holes were about 3 feet tall. A blue pickup truck with a huge tank and other supplies in the back, pulled up. Loud music played inside it. Mrs. Ma'am stepped out of the cab. "Get your water, boys!" she yelled. We lined up behind the tank. X-Ray was first in line, and Zero was last. She filled each of our canteens. Zero finished his hole before all of the other boys. I was last, since I was new. I got in the shower when I was done. The water was freezing. It actually felt good, after being out in the hot Sun all day. After 4 minutes, the water automatically shut off. I got out of the stall. Just then, I heard the sound of a gun being loaded.
Mrs. Ma'am stepped out in front of me. Her revolver was drawn, but she wasn't aiming at me. "Don't move!" she said "Yellow-spotted lizard!" I turned. Sure enough, there was a lizard on the shower wall. It was light-green with yellow spots. Mrs. Ma'm fired at the lizard, but the bullet missed it. The lizard jumped off the shower wall, and started springing towards Mrs. Ma'am. I ran away, terrified. Her eyes widened in horror. She fired again, and this time killed the lizard. "Get yourself a good sleep, son," she said to me. "Yes, ma'am," I said. I ran back to the tent, and told the other boys about the lizard. They were telling me how close Mrs. Ma'am had come to being killed. "What color was its blood?" Zig-Zag asked. "I don't know, I couldn't tell," I said. "If Mrs. Ma'am didn't shoot it, you'll be in a hole," said Armpit. "Did you know that each one's got exactly 11 yellow spots?" Zig-Zag asked. "Yea, if you're ever close enough to count them, you're dead," said Squid. Just then, we heard another gunshot. Mrs. Ma'am must have still been on "lizard patrol."
I went to sleep. The next morning the recorded trumpet woke me up, just like the day before. Before digging, I wrote a letter to my mom.
Dear Mom,
I'm having a wonderful time at camp. We're gonna be out on the lake today.
Once I pass the swim test, I'm gonna learn how to water ski. The other
boys aren't bad kids. To me they were just in the wrong place at the wrong
time. You'd like my counselor. She's a doctor. Say hi to dad and grandpa for me.
Love,
Your son, Sean
That day I found a fossil next to my hole. This time, the water truck was driven by Dr. Pendanski. She was much nicer than Mrs. Ma'am, while giving us our water. I showed her the fossil I found. "I found something," I said, handing it to her. "That's interesting," she said. "So, do I get the day off?" I asked her. "Sean, the Warden isn't interested in fossils," she said. "OK," I said. "I guess the lake was bigger once," I said. "It used to be the largest lake in Texas," she said. "There was also a town out here. Camp is what's left of the town. The Warden's grandfather owned the lake and half the town."
Later that day, we went out to the shore of the lake. Three cigarette boats and one rowboat, were anchored to the shore. Waves crashed on the shore. "See that green buoy out there," Dr Pendanski asked me. "Yeah," I said. "Swim there and back," she said. The buoy was about 50 yards away, and the swim there was difficult. The water was actually warm, due to the Sun. Once I reached the buoy, I swam back. The rowboat was for the counselors, when they rescued stranded water-skiers in the cigarette boats. I got on two skis on the back of one cigarette boat. Dr. Pendanski drove. X-Ray sat next to her, since it was his turn to water-ski next. I held onto a rope. Dr. Pendanski started the boat. She pressed another button, and the engine roared. The boat went so fast, that I literally flew on the skis. After about a half-mile, we turned back.
The water-skiing continued for about another hour. Then we went to the Wreck Room. A sign on the door said REC ROOM. The building was divided into two sections. One had a pool table, foosball table, several computers, an old TV, a boombox, and lots of chairs and couches. Zig-Zag was "watching" the TV, which only had static on the screen. Armpit ripped the dial off it, making Zig-Zag mad. The other section had a a treadmill, an exercise bike, and other exercise machines. The building must have once been a bar or saloon, because an old piano sat parallel against the wall one one side. Someone playing foosball pushed me onto Lump, who was sitting in a chair. "Watch it!" Lump yelled. "You watch it, man," I said. "What'd you say to me?" Lump demanded. He kicked me, and I fell onto the stool were the boombox was, knocking it over. Lump was standing up, and I pushed him back into his chair. "You're dead!" Lump yelled. He started hitting me. The rest of the boys from Group D came over and got Lump away from me. "Don't mess with Caveman," X-Ray said to Lump. "The Caveman's cool." "Did you see the Caveman?" said Squid. "Take it easy, man," Armpit said to Lump. "Keep that punk away from me!" Lump growled.
