Exhausted, and covered in dirt, Cecile sat down at the edge of the crater the group had just barely made a dent in. She wiped her brow and breathed heavily.

Beverly plopped down next to her, resting her shovel on her legs, and idly kicking her feet back and forth. "Hey! Wasn't today great!?"

"Huh?" Cecile looked over. "Oh uh, yeah … it … it was fine …"

Beverly pouted slightly. "Oh come on, Cecile! Digging was amazing!"

Cecile stroked her hand against the handle of the shovel, as Beverly kept speaking.

"... And when we're ten we'll get shovels made of bismuth like mommy and daddy have!" She pulled the shovel closer to her chest. "I like my shovel though. I don't wanna get rid of it! Do you think I can keep it? I wanna use it when I'm ten too!"

Cecile examined her shovel. The metallic covering was already peeling off the spade and handle. When she looked up again she saw Chuck, waiting with the parents of the other children.

"Oh uh … I have to go." Cecile said, getting up.

"Oh okay! I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Beverly asked.

Cecile nodded, putting her shovel on the ground, and heading over to Chuck. Like her, he was sweaty, and his clothes stained with dirt. Over his shoulder he held the bismuth shovel Beverly had mentioned. Cecile hadn't really bothered to look at Chuck's shovel before; while there was a rainbow sheen to it, the color seemed to be faded under the caked on dirt.

"You ready to go?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah." Cecile said as she started following him.

The guard dogs let out a slight snarl as Cecile passed by them. She shivered slightly and tried to keep up pace with her older brother.

"So how was your first day of digging?" Chuck asked.

"It was okay." Cecile said.

"Ah, I was a little unsure after my first dig too." Chuck said. "But trust me, by tomorrow, you'll be all about digging."

"Right … right ..." Cecile said. I sure hope you're right...

"My dear student, would you care to explain this?" The Leader asked, holding a shovel in front of Cecile.

"A …. shovel?" She asked, confused.

The Leader pursed her lips as she pushed it into Cecile's hands. "Look familiar?"

Cecile looked at it: The handle and the spade were scuffed up and it was quite dirty.

"It's your shovel." The Leader said. "You left it here yesterday."

"Oh." Cecile tightened her grip on it. "Was I not supposed to?"

"No." The leader said, as if it were self explanatory. "Your shovel is your most valuable tool. You treat it with respect. It's an extension of you, not just a piece of waste for you to throw around wherever you please! Got it?"

Cecile's eyes watered as The Leader continued her scolding, "You will take your shovel home with you every night and keep it clean and pristine! Do you understand?!"

"Y..yes m..ma'm." Cecile sniffled as her knees started to wobble.

"Good." She said, forcing another one of her grins. "The dig will start soon, so you better get in place."

Cecile nodded silently and headed over to the crater from yesterday, trying her best not to start crying. The guard dogs stood alert, standing in a single file line, examining the kids as they filtered in.

Cecile made the mistake of making eye contact with one, The dog huffed and let out a low growl.

Cecile let out a small squeak before looking at the crater again. The dirt was basically scraped off the top layer from yesterday's dig, just barely showing the fresh dirt beneath.

Beverly stood by Cecile and smiled widely. "Hey! You got your shovel back!"

"Huh?"

"Your shovel." She said, pointing to it.

"Oh…yeah, I did.." Cecile said.

"You forgot it here yesterday so I gave it to Miss Leader." Beverly beamed proudly.

"Oh." Cecile said. Her eyes wandered over to Beverly's shovel. It was much cleaner than it was yesterday. The whole thing sparkled brightly, even in the limited underground light. When she looked at everyone else's she noticed they were about the same, almost brand new looking.

She looked back at hers. Still dirty.

The Leader stepped towards the front of the group and cleared her throat. "Class!"

The children obientently looked up.

"Before we start, I'd like to remind you of the importance of your shovel." She said, pursing her lips. "It's of the utmost importance that you take proper care of it." Her eyes wandered over to Cecile for a moment, before looking back at the whole class. "Make sure it's clean and properly ready for use the next day. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Miss Leader!" They all said in unison.

"Y...y...yes Miss...Miss Leader.." Cecile felt tears well in her eyes as she gripped onto the shovel tightly.

"Good. Now, let us begin today's dig!" The Leader said.