A/N: alright everyone, enjoy! and remember to review and comment!!! :)

Chapter 10: Sly as a Fox

As tired as I was, I didn't get much sleep. I kept waking myself up, afraid to fall into too deep a sleep and miss my chance. Finally, when it felt like it was about time, I slipped from my cot and pulled on my boots, then quietly left the tent. The cool night air had warmed up some since the last time I'd been outside, signaling that dawn was almost here. So keeping my body low, I ran back to Mr. Sir's office, and opened the side window. I clamored through and as soon as I could make out dark objects, I began looking. While I had been looking for the seeds, I had found two somewhat small buckets. They were perfect.

Once I found them, I climbed back through the window after tossing them out and ran to the water spouts, grinning all the way. Squid and Armpit were going to be sooo mad at me. After filling the buckets enough, I quietly carried them back to D-tent, careful not to slosh the water too much. I could hear the counselors stirring awake. Perfect timing. Luckily, Squid's and Armpit's cots were opposite each other, so all I had to do was stand at the end of them. I set one bucket at the foot of each bed and waited.

Minutes ticked by, until finally I heard the first tune from the horn. I grabbed the first bucket and flung the water at Armpit, who gasped and shot up instantly; without missing a beat, I dropped the empty bucket and grabbed the next, flinging the water at Squid, who jumped and yelped. "Wake up, boys!" I yelled, and then fell onto my cot laughing. Cot springs groaned as everyone in the tent awoke, and slowly snickers surrounded the two wet boys. Squid and Armpit glared at me, but all that did was make me laugh even harder. "Don't ever dump me out of bed again," I scolded, wagging my finger at them.

They shared a look, and then lunged at me. I shrieked and fell backwards off my cot to avoid being crushed. But all that really did was make me an easier target. The two boys reached over the cot and seized my arms, yanking me up and dragging me over to them. They shared another look, and then grinned in unison. That could not be good.

They started dragging me toward the tent's opening, and my eyes widened. "Guys, let go!"

"Peyton, you look a little dirty. I think you need a shower," Squid said casually.

"No way!" I tried to rip my arms from their grasp, but it was useless. Little me fighting two strong boys who had spent the last six months, at least, digging holes and building up their muscles, that was no contest. My struggles didn't seem to phase them in the least. "Magnet! X-Ray! Zigzag!" I yelled desperately. "Help!" My only answer was laughter. Of course. I was on my own.

I planted my feet and leaned back and down into a crouching position, pulling myself in the opposite direction. Armpit rolled his eyes, gave a brief nod at Squid, and let go. My brief moment of relief fled as soon as Squid bent and scooped me up onto his shoulder. I wriggled and squirmed in his grip, and then just grabbed one of the wooden tent poles and held on tight.

"Let go, Peyton," Squid said.

"Hell no," I answered as I tried to use the pole to pull myself away from him.

"Peyton," Squid said, sounding slightly annoyed. He tugged me back, but I held on firmly to the pole. He sighed, his grip loosening the tiniest bit, and I took that chance to yank myself toward the pole. It caught him off guard, and I slipped through his grasp and dropped onto the floor. I jumped to my feet and whirled to face him, slowly backing away.

"Alright, children," X-Ray sighed. "We need to get outside before Mr. Sir comes in looking for us."

Once we were dressed, I walked outside with the others, keeping my distance from Squid and Armpit, and after surreptitiously dropping the two buckets near the water spouts, picked a shovel and tortilla. We filled our water jugs and headed out onto the "lake". After assigning our spots to dig, Mr. Sir moved on, leaving us alone. From the corner of my eye, I watched Squid and Armpit (who were conveniently digging beside each other) whisper back and forth, every now and then glancing my way. Yeah, that wasn't making me paranoid at all.

"Scared?"

I looked over at Magnet, who was watching me. "What?"

"Are you scared about what their planning?" he clarified, nodding toward the two boys.

"Nah. Just curious," I said with a shrug. Well, okay that half true. I really was curious, but yes, I was also a little afraid. Who knew what sorts of things those two were discussing. I frowned slightly when X-Ray climbed out of his hole and went over to them. Squid and Armpit nodded, and X-Ray moved on to Zigzag, who also nodded. "Really curious now," I added quietly.

Just like previous days, the sun rose slowly as we dug. An hour or two passed, and Zero left his hole and started digging with Caveman. The other boys cast each other confused looks, but didn't say anything. When the sun was just about overhead, the water truck arrived for the second time, bringing lunch as well. I climbed out of my hole and lined up behind Zero, who was quietly talking with Caveman. I stretched my fingers, which were starting to cramp from all the digging, as I waited my turn for water.

"You wouldn't know anything about my missing bag of sunflower seeds, would you?" Mr. Sir asked as soon as he started filling my water jug.

I swallowed a grin and shook my head. "No, Mr. Sir." He screwed on the top to my water jug and straightened up, glaring at me. "Honestly, I have no idea," I said, feigning innocence. I mean seriously, what kind of an idiot would I be if I told him about the dare? After a few minutes of eying me, he handed me the water.

"Then you won't have any problem with me searching D-tent when I get back," he said, narrowing his eyes.

My pulse raced and I forced my face to remain neutral. "No, Mr. Sir. Have at it." I moved past him to get my lunch and walked back to my hole as calmly as I could, aware that my tent mates were all watching me. I situated myself on the edge of my one-third dug hole and took a bite of my apple as Mr. Sir climbed into his truck and pulled away. Thirty seconds later, I jumped to my feet. "Shit!"

"Damn," X-Ray mumbled, leaning against his shovel and shaking his head. "We're all dead."

I fisted my hair with both hands and stared after the truck, hot panic rising inside me. And then I just started running toward the camp. The boys yelled to me, asking what I was doing and calling me back, but I ignored them. If Mr. Sir found his seeds... I couldn't even think of the consequences. It suddenly felt like the lake bed stretched on and on as I ran, and having to avoid hazardous holes slowed me down a lot. But I couldn't stop. I had to beat Mr. Sir to the tent. I had to.

By the time I got to the camp, I was gasping for air and had a painful stitch in my side. I slowed and looked around, and spotted Mr. Sir's truck in the garage. But Mr. Sir was nowhere to be seen. I dashed to the tent, keeping a careful eye out for any and all counselors. At the tent, I peeked in, and frowned. He wasn't there. I ducked under the flap and rushed to my cot, and snatched the bag from under it. Where the hell was I going to hide it? Clutching the bag, I moved to the tent flap and peered out, and my heart stopped for a second.

Mr. Sir was stalking toward the tent. Toward me.

I stumbled backwards, turned, and dove into the corner, near Magnet's cot, stuffing the bag into my suit and zipping it in, again. My breathing was uneven, and I tried my best to keep as quiet as possible. Mr. Sir's shadow appeared before the actual man, who stepped in and went directly to my cot. As he rummaged around and through my things, I slowly moved toward the tent's opening, and once I was there, I bolted.

Outside, I made a beeline to Mr. Sir's office. Thankfully, it was unlocked and open. I raced inside, dropped the bag onto his desk, and ran back to the door and outside. I jumped down the steps and began sprinting back out onto the lake bed, desperately hoping no one would see me. Hopefully Mr. Sir was still searching the tent. Once a good distance away from the camp, I slowed and walked the rest of the way to my hole.

"Look who's back," Squid called.

"Where'd you go?" Armpit asked, frowning as I collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

"Tent," was all I said.

"Why?"

I lifted my head just enough to look at him, resting my chin on the dirt. "Well I figured it would be bad if he found the seeds under my cot."

"You got it?" Magnet asked, incredulous, and I nodded. "Where is it?"

"Back in his office."

"Wait, what?" X-Ray said. "You managed to get it before him and return it to his office?" I nodded again. He let out a low whistle.

"Can you believe Fox pulled that off?" Squid said.

I frowned. "Fox?"

"I know," Magnet laughed. "Fox is good."

"Who's a fox?" I asked, sitting up.

Squid rolled his eyes. "Duh, you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, it's your nickname," Magnet explained.

"Why Fox?"

"You know, 'cause your sly as a fox," Squid grinned.

"After the dare, and what you just did, you deserve it," X-Ray said. "It fits you."

I smiled. I had a nickname.