Chapter 5: Pretty Little Paperbacks

I like to read. Plain and simple. Ever since I was able to talk, it's rare that you won't see me without a book. (And, yes, thank you for noticing that pile of library books sitting next to my chair, Lillian. Very observant.)

Camp Green Lake was no exception. I had made sure to stock up on enough material so that I wouldn't get bored, because I was going to make sure I spent as little time as possible with any of the campers.

Peyton thought I was crazy. "We're in a camp surrounded by boys. Very attractive boys. Why not take advantage of it?"

"As I recall, I thought a certain young man named Lewis was at the forefront of your mind..."

Peyton harrumphed and crossed her arms. "I wasn't talking about myself," she protested. "I was talking about you. It's about time you got yourself a boyfriend, Trix."

I held up my copy of Pride & Prejudice. "Mr. Darcy is all the man I'll ever need."

"Ew, he's old!" Peyton squealed, taking the book out of my hands. "Plus, he's not even real. I swear, Trix, by the time we leave this hellhole, you're going to have yourself a man."


Peyton's promise made me all the more unwilling to be within fifty feet of the campers.

After about a week, Aunt Louise got sick of us, just as I knew she would. She hated seeing me in her cabin all day, reliving Mia Thermopolis's mishaps as a teenager-turned-princess, or following Katniss as she fought fiercely in the Hunger Games. She suggested I be more like Peyton and socialize, which is how I found myself in the rec room every afternoon.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Aunt Louise could have cared less about my social skills. She didn't want Peyton and I figuring out her deep, dark secret.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

(Don't look at me like that! It's true! I'm not at that part yet!)

Trying to read in the rec room is like trying to sleep in a construction zone: try as you might, you just can't accomplish your goal. After a while, I just stared at the pages, hoping that by feigning that I was busy, the boys wouldn't bother me.

Unfortunately, that's not how they operate.

"Hey, Bumblebee!" X-Ray plopped down on the arm of the dirty chair I sat in. "Whatcha readin'?"

I pretended I hadn't heard him speak.

"Yo! Bee!" He spoke louder. "I asked you, 'Whatcha readin''?"

Again, I kept my focus on the book. But that focus was quickly terminated. Quicker than a jackrabbit, the book was out of my hands.

"Pretty...Little...Liars..." Zigzag ran his grimy fingers over the cover. "Dude, this is a kid's book! There's a Barbie on the front!"

"But she's kinda smokin'," Magnet piped up from beside him. "Look at those plastic legs!"

"Man, that's disgustin'!" Armpit punched him in the arm. "It's a doll! She ain't real!"

I held out my hand, trying not to lose my temper. "Can I please have the book back?"

Zigzag raised the book over his head, well out of my reach. "What's the rush, Bee? We don't have a lot of books in here to entertain us. You wouldn't want to take away our fun, would you?" He winked at me.

I didn't falter. "Give me the book, Zigzag. Please."

A chorus of "Ooooohhhhhhhh"s aroused from the D-Tent boys. I felt my blood pressure increase.

"Did you hear that? She said 'please'," Magnet said. "She must mean business!"

"Zig, I'd give it back to her," X-Ray instructed snidely. "You wouldn't want Bumblebee kicking your butt!"

"I'll give it to her when I'm done with it," Zigzag said, keeping the book aloft.

"Come on," I pleaded.

The gathered boys just snickered. I sighed, walking briskly away.

"Hey, Bee! Come back!"

I didn't turn around. I reached for the door.

"Take the stupid thing, then!"

I felt a dull pain at the back of my head, then heard the flop of the book hitting the floor. I stood for a moment, frozen.

Then I tore out of there.


The cabin's porch steps were my safe haven. It was within the off-limits perimeter of the campers, but it wasn't where Aunt Louise could yell at me. That's where I found myself a few minutes later, glaring at the dirt at my feet.

I wanted more than anything to go home. I wanted to get away from the sand, from my aunt, from those inconsiderate boys. They thought they could do whatever they wanted, just because they were bigger than me. Just because I didn't really fit in with them.

Just because I was different.

A pair of dirty boots came into my line of vision. I looked up to see the short boy from D-Tent. The new kid. Zero.

I blinked, confused. From what I had seen, he was a wallflower, even worse than I was. He never said anything, and was always frowning. It made me want to make friends with him - almost.

"Hi," I said, trying not to let my anger leak into my voice. "You need something?"

He slowly held out his hand, and my eyes widened. It was a yellow paperback, a bit beaten-up, with a perky blond doll on the cover and swirly pink writing.

It was my book.

I took it from him. "Thank you," I said quietly.

He just looked at me for a moment longer before turning and walking away.

I sat for what seemed like hours, staring off into space. What had caused him to return my book? I had never said or done anything to him, good or bad. All I knew about him was that he was new, and his nickname was Zero. Come to think of it, I didn't even know his real name.

But that act of kindness made me want to know his real name. It made me curious about who Zero was.

And that curiosity is how I wound up becoming more involved than I wanted to be.