Chapter Three

It was 3:45 a.m., and I was sitting on my cot waiting for the 4 a.m. wake up call. Lewis had told me to start waking up really early. It had only been five minutes and I was getting impatient for the guys to wake up. I was desperate for someone to talk to, so I decided to walk around the tent, until I "accidentally" woke someone up, guess what? No one did. The bell finally rang.

"Get up! Greet the day sleepyheads!" I squealed.

"Go away, Mom," Squid said into his pillow.

"I'm very offended. I sound nothing like Mr. Pendanski," I said mocking shocked.

"Oh, great, you're a morning person," Armpit grumbled.

"So, I've only been up for fifteen minutes?"

"You are way too perky. You're sure that you're normal?" X-Ray asked.

"Hey, I was about to bug one of you until you got up. Be grateful I didn't." I told them while we walked to the 'Library'.

"Who would you have woken up?" Magnet asked me with a complimentary yawn.

"Zero, he seems the least violent out of all of you," I said getting a shovel.

"Aw Emma. We wouldn't have hurt you," X-Ray handing me "breakfast."

"Why?" I said suspiciously, "Because I'm a girl?"

"Umm…," X-Ray said getting nervous.

"It's okay. It's one of the many advantages of being a girl," I said with a smirk. "Besides, I'm tough, I wouldn't have cared."

"Yeah, but we're stronger," ZigZag said to me.

"OH really? I can get you on your knees in thirty seconds," I challenged.

"Ok, try," he said with a cocky grin.

I grabbed his hand, pulled him close, and grabbed his ear. He was on the ground.

"That's what I thought. Come on Mr. Sir is waiting for us," I said letting go of ZigZag and started walking (actually skipping) to Mr. Sir. When I got to him, he looked at me funny.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you telling me that you're not tired?" he asked.

"Yea, I actually got up a long time ago."

"Do you know that isn't normal?"

"Do you know answerin' questions with questions isn't normal Mr. Sir?" I challenged.

"Oh, shut up, ya Girl Scout."

"That is sexiest. How do you know I'm not an actual girl scout?"

"Sorry."

"S'okay. I hate girl scouts," I answered while skipping a head.

We finally got to our digging spot, where Mr. Sir ditched us.

"Okay, Emma. To start your hole…" ZigZag started to say.

"I want to do it by myself, but thanks," I said apologetically.

I walked around the spot where I was supposed to dig my hole. I finally found a crack to put the tip of my shovel in. I broke the surface and started to dig. It had been about five hours and the sun had come up, and I kept wishing it would go back down. Mr. Sir finally came around with the water truck, now the problem was getting to it. I had already dug three feet, and it was just below my waist.

"Help me!" I yelled, "Yeah you, Magnet."

"Wow, Emma. You can dig."

"Lewis said to prepare, so I've been lifting weights."

"How much you bench?"

"Bout 50 pounds, not a lot."

"That's more than most girls."

I took my spot at the back of the line waiting for my turn. When I finally got to Mr. Sir he asked to see my hands, I obliged.

"Ye don't have any blisters," he said as if it wasn't the most oblivious thing in the world.

"Am I supposed to?"

"How?"

"Well, maybe I have tougher hands. I've been in gymnastics since the age of five."

"That's nice. Here's your water."

I turned around and jumped into my hole, and started digging again. A few more hours passed, the sun got hotter. I slowed down.

"Yo, Emma. Mom's here with lunch," someone called down to me.

"I'm not hungry, but can you fill up my canteen? Thanks, "I said without looking up.

A few minutes later my canteen was thrown at my feet, I looked up and saw Squid.

"Thanks, Squid," I said smiling at him.

"Yeah," he said walking off.

After another hour I finished my hole, but I couldn't get out. I started screaming for help, but someone interrupted me.

"Emma, be quiet. Take my hand," someone said.

I took whoever's hand, and let them pull me up. When I got out, I found myself looking into Squid's eyes.

"Thanks," I said.

"You know, Zero's 5'2" tall, and he can get out of the hole."

"Well, he's had more practice."

"What did you get sent here for?"

I was thrown off by his question, "I don't wanna talk about it. What'd you do?"

"Oh, just stealing," he said casually.

"What'd ya steal?"

"PlayStation's, CD's, VCR's, just stuff like that."

"Oh."

We were so engrossed in our conversation we didn't notice we'd already gotten to the tent.

"Well, thanks for getting me out of the hole," I said walking toward my shower. When I got there, I suddenly groaned. Someone had broken the lock. I stomped back to the tent.

"Squid, um, this is gonna sound weird, but someone broke the lock to my shower. Could you guard the door?"

All the guys looked at me, and then at Squid.

"Ummm…sure," he said awkwardly.

"Thanks, again."

We got back to my shower, and I turned to Squid.

"Just make sure no one comes near this stall."