R_S: Hello loves! Not a huge fan of this chapter, but it was about time I got another update out, so it will have to do. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Babysitting

The matter of Kat's attack was dealt with swiftly, if not harshly. Scarface was simply given maintenance duties, cleaning up messes and fixing up buildings, because he was only being punished for the fight. Meatloaf and Snake Eyes, however, were henceforth expected to dig not only one hole each but a third hole in conjunction every day until the warden ordered otherwise, leaving them too exhausted to cause any more trouble. It would also keep them away from camp longer and thus further away from Katrina.

She was already almost useless at digging, seemingly getting worse and worse at it every day. There was not much character-building for her to find in the activity, and as Pendanski pointed out frankly, she had been nothing but repentant since the start of her time at Camp Green Lake. It was a waste to have her out there, the faculty decided, and thus, she would no longer be responsible for digging- Meatloaf and Snake Eyes would take care of that for her. Instead, Mr. Sir later informed her as the rest of D-Tent listened on in the background, she would be responsible for more 'womanly duties' around the camp- cooking, cleaning, and laundry. She would wake with the rest of camp, but after breakfast, she would immediately part ways with the herd of boys. Kat nearly wept with joy when she found out about her new position, heedless of the envious looks it garnered and its misogynistic perpetuation. Mr. Sir was duly dismissive of her excitement, stalking off immediately after.

Following his departure, she lied back on her cot, her curtain hallway open so the boys could just see the back of her head and curve of her shoulders. She had been given double shower tokens and allowed to shower before any of the male campers were allowed out of their tents. From the sounds of it, D-Tent had thought she cried the experience away in those twenty or thirty long minutes. Nonetheless they caught the shaking of her shoulders from the corner of their eyes and heard the distant, poorly hidden sniffles. They had warned her not to cry, but it was hard to come up with a reason to tell her not to that day.

"Hey, uh, you good, Bambi?" Zigzag called to her awkwardly. X-Ray rolled his eyes at him, and Magnet gave him a smack on the arm.

"Yeah bro," he muttered, "real smooth."

A loud sniffle came from her side, followed by, "Yeah… yeah I'm fine." She sat up slowly, her back to them, and wiped sloppily at her face to hide the evidence. Knowing it would not work, she kept her back to them, shoulders hunched and head down in defeat. Some of the tent moved to form a wide semi-circle behind her.

"Look, I, uh, know we said we didn't want you cryin' none, but… I reckon no one here would judge ya for it today." Zigzag offered lamely, rubbing the back of his head and scuffing the front of his boot.

"It's ok." She said, voice barely a whisper.

"It ain't ok, girl." Armpit said firmly from where he sat on his cot, running a hand over his hair. "I mean damn, they should'a sent you home- or them, at least." X-Ray made a noncommittal hum of agreement. She shrugged, twisting her hands around in her lap. From all around, she felt their eyes boring into her. She did not want to turn and see the way they were looking at her. She could picture it just fine in her mind. It was the same way they had been looking at her since the fight. Even Zero looked at her with pity as Mr. Sir and Pendanski took everyone's statements. Zero, who was probably a catatonic schizophrenic or autistic or something, from the way he never spoke and always stared at nothing. He had come out of his haze of emptiness just to feel sorry for her. Her entire life was just the universe playing some kind of sick and twisted joke.

"Bambi, y'gotta look at us sometime, y'know." X-Ray drawled from afar. She turned obediently, knowing better than to question him, and tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. She looked up at them with her big eyes, reminding them why they called her what they did, and Magnet offered her a weak smile.

"Hey," he joked, "there she is." She tried to return the expression, but it did not reach her eyes. She twirled a piece of hair, taking in the silence.

"Thank you." She said finally. Her voice was small, hardly reaching the group.

"What?" Zigzag asked, not certain if he had heard her.

"I never thanked you. Thank you, for what you did today. I… I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there."

"Yeah you do, Bambi. So let's just not think about it, yeah?" X-Ray ordered gruffly. She bit her lip at that, knowing he was right. She did not want to think about it. Her big eyes scanned the motley crew surrounding her.

"You guys are my heroes… you know that, right?" Squid snorted, shooting her a dark look.

"Shit, girl, we ain't heroes. Stop that white knight bull." His aggression was startling to her, though by then she thought she should have been used to it.

"What… what do you mean? You came when no one else-"

"We ain't heroes, Bambi. We're criminals, and you best remember that in a place like this. We're all bad here, darlin', and no fight is gonna change that." She opened her mouth to protest further, but he cut her off. "Just drop it, alright!" She froze for a moment and nodded. Silence permeated the tent, no one wanting to deal with Squid when he was in one of his moods. The only sound was them shuffling around, looking for something to do. Armpit stretched his arm across his body, grimacing and letting out a grunt.

"Man, I think I pulled somethin'."

Zigzag snorted, "Oh yeah? Boo-hoo." That earned a laugh from the boys, but Kat's eyes began to wander across their features.

Magnet and Zero were fine; neither of them had been involved in the fight. But Armpit looked sore from picking boys up and it seemed likely was finally feeling all those good hits Scarface had gotten against his hefty frame. X-Ray looked a little roughed up but not too bad- he and Snake Eyes were both the type to avoid serious altercations, likely only fighting weakly to keep away from serious trouble. Zigzag's body held a few bruises, his arms looped with a couple red marks where he held back Meatloaf and where other boys had tried to pull him away. Squid looked the most noticeably injured, a big bruise blooming against the side of his jaw. He chewed that make-shift piece of wood he used as a toothpick, but it seemed to cause him discomfort. Being Squid, though, he was too stubborn and ornery to admit it.

Katrina dropped her gaze. It had not been a long time since the fight but long enough for her to collect her wits somewhat at least, and she was only just stopping to consider if they were alright. They had just taken some hits to defend her chastity, after all, even if it was she who had taken the brunt of the trauma. She doubted they even wanted to talk about it, she reasoned, so there was no harm in her waiting to ask. Nonetheless, she was glad she could trust them enough to be there in such a time of need and had to make sure to capitalize on it to strengthen their connection.

She licked her lips and asked, "Are… Are you guys alright?"

"Eh, we'll live." The tough young man was dismissive, but against her better judgment, Kat spoke more.

"I'm sorry," she continued, "that I've been so much trouble… that you're all hurt because of me."

"Ain't your fault, girl," Zigzag murmured with a gruff voice, "s'theirs."

"Yeah, don't you worry none." Agreed Magnet loudly, "We can handle it." A pillow smacked him in the face.

"Easy for you to say, dog, you wasn't fightin' nobody." Armpit smirked, and the boys devolved into another short break of laughter. From the corner of her eye, Katrina noticed Squid wince and rub his jaw, sore from the motion. In the distance, a dinner bell rang.

"You ain't comin' to dinner, Bambi?" X-Ray looked back at her demandingly when she made no motion to follow the group out of the tent.

She shook her head, "No… they want me to eat in the tent tonight. Dr… Mom's gonna bring me a tray."

He looked like he was ready to smirk at her use of disrespect, if not for the implications connected to her staying in for the night. The boys simply nodded and exited their cramped quarters with final, pitying gazes. As soon as they left, Kat pulled her knees up to her chest. She felt relaxed to be away from males for the first time that day, but she also felt utterly alone.

The D-Tent boys came back early, looking agitated. The camp, it seemed, was largely preoccupied with the drama from earlier. The group got a lot of stares and whispers, campers coming up to them to find out what happened and if the girl would be leaving. The perpetrators were entirely unashamed and seemed none too ostracized by the general population, which was another sore point. They had thought the others would have at least some sense of disappointment in their cohort's actions, but evidently not. It was worrisome and demanded to be dealt with immediately. The small group ate quickly and returned swiftly to the tent. Katrina sat on her cot, sadly picking at the food and looking like she had just given in to another intense bout of crying.

"That was fast." She commented softly.

"Didn't like leavin' you here." Zigzag answered, looking at her with earnest eyes. Kat offered a gentle smile in response.

"N' we got business to attend to," X-Ray cut in, "boys, circle up." The group moved to lounge around in a circle the way they usually did when they played dice, only this time they seemed far more intent. It drew her attention, though she moved no closer. As usual, the scrawny black boy held the floor.

"Arlight, Bambi can't travel around the camp alone anymore. It just ain't safe."

"So what, we just gonna make a babysittin' schedule?" Armpit inquired boredly, lounging on his cot. The girl in question pouted, vaguely affronted by the use of the term 'babysit,' but she wisely held her tongue. Was there, she wondered, any better phrase for being stuck with her?

"Naw," X-Ray shrugged off, "don't need it. We usually chill as a group anyway; one of us'll just walk her to wherever she needs to go." The unspoken 'whichever one of us I so delegate the responsibility to' hung in the air, but no one questioned the boy's authority.

She shook her head, finally interjecting into the conversation. "You don't have to… I don't think anyone's gonna try anything again." The boys did not respond, eyes downcast. They could not bear to look at her. She had not been there, in the canteen. She did not understand the utter ambivalence every other male had shown toward her wellbeing. If she had, they knew she would not have been able to even feign calmness.

Put off by their silence, she found herself speaking again just to fill the dead air. "I mean, it's over right? It happened, what I was scared of, and now the worst is over. It's better now, to have it out of the way, right? Now there's nothing to worry about."

"You ain't got a say in this, darlin'. Just si'down." Squid barked, not looking at her but instead keeping her head down.

"Really," she insisted, slowly shaking her head, "I don't wanna be a burden." X-Ray snorted.

"Girl, to be perfectly honest, you'd be more of a burden if we didn't. It's a lot easier to rescue you when you already with us than on the other side of the camp." She blushed but nodded obediently. She really had learned her place, he noted. If she was not such a bother to the group, he might have considered moving her up in front of Zero in the lines.

"So remember that from now on, Bambi." He continued, looking at her seriously. "You don't go nowhere without one of us from now on- not to eat, not to shower, not to take a goddamn piss. Got it?" She nodded mutely, intimidated by the tone his voice took on in the lecture. Even the other boys seemed uncomfortable with it, shifting and looking at one another from the corners of their eyes.

"Good. Now get to bed; you look like crap."

With another obedient nod, she shut the curtain of her area with a small, shaking hand. The sounds of the boys likewise readying were comforting, but she had never been more aware of the thinness of the sheet. She thought she could feel their eyes on her disrobing form most nights, but she paid it no mind before. That night, though, she hopped into bed at lightning speed. Her eyes drifted shut before lights out, but she did not fall asleep until long after, listening dully to the snores of her tentmates as silent tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Eventually she sunk into a restless sleep, plagued with haunting dreams and unrest.

That coming morning, without even a day to recuperate, Katrina started training for her new role in camp. She would eventually be in charge of the division, they told her, once she got the hang of her duties. Whenever boys were in trouble and assigned to maintenance, she would be their supervisor and assign roles as she saw necessary- never, however, would she be allowed to work directly with any of them unsupervised herself (both for her own protection and to keep boys from getting into trouble just to spend time with her). Of course, her duties mostly consisted of washing dishes, folding clothes, and stirring pots of slop, so she had essentially mastered it all by the end of the first day. A steady routine was easy to fall into, even by the third.

Kat somewhat missed the extra time spent with the boys, but she was also oddly glad for the busy work her new responsibilities afforded her. While the various tasks she managed around camp were much less strenuous than all the digging the boys did, her hours were much longer than theirs. She rose with the males, and while they got their shovels, she helped put out breakfast. After, she cleaned up the remnants and the serving containers. Next was hours of laundry or making lunch, depending on the day (sandwiches were prepared up to 3 days ahead of time, it turned out, and she devised a method of wrapping them differently each time so the boys would be able to pick out the freshest ones), followed by a free period before dinner preparation. After serving out the slop that passed for food, the girl was finally off duty. She was able to fix herself a plate and sit for a meal with the guys. There were often other breaks in between those duties, of course – she was allowed essentially free reign, provided everything required was taken care of – but the break and the after dinner nights were her only guaranteed leisure time. Sometimes, if she was feeling generous, she would sneak some extra graham crackers back out to D-Tent – Magnet and Squid taught her some sticky-finger tricks after they came back for her first ever break and found she had not brought them any. A little voice in the back of her mind, her conscience, reprimanded her for the morally ambiguous choice, but she hardly figured it mattered at a place like Camp Green Lake.

Working as part of the maintenance crew had other perks as well. For one thing, it made the entire establishment less daunting. Objectively, Katrina had always known that it was made up of only tents A-F and that each tent likely had about 7 campers, like D-Tent, but somehow in the earlier weeks, it had seemed so much larger. Moreover, she was away from the other campers for the majority of her day and consistently supervised by counselors. The whole situation was significantly safer and a lot less sweaty. Her tentmates still escorted her most places, but she now consumed less of their time, which in turn put less of a strain on her relationship with them.

Things seemed settled for her for the first time in a while, the best they could be at a detention facility. It was still awful, but she was no longer genuinely concerned for her health. She would never be happy at Camp Green Lake, but she could almost have settled into a jaded contentedness, if not for the lingering stress of her attack. She still felt her heartbeat increase at the turn of every corner, and visions plagued her sleep. Seeing those responsible still at the camp made it worse, but she was coping. There was, after all, no other option but to cope. Mostly, though, during her busy work and time alone with the D-Tent boys, she could put it from her mind.

Unfortunately, the three days she spent cultivating her newfound sense of zen were quickly laid to waste. She was sitting in the kitchens beginning to prepare dinner for the coming nights, as she stirred a vat of what appeared to be lumpy green mucus. It was quiet, relaxing even. The boys were off in the Wreck Room enjoying some gift from B-Tent- an apology for their lewd behavior and a parting gift from Slingshot, who had left that morning.

"I warned you, darlin'." A voice cut in smoothly. She turned to find the boy from F-Tent standing there, the burly one who had propositioned her on one of her first days. He leaned smugly up against a support beam, staring at her pointedly.

"Told you- you best be somebody's before they make you everybody's. Was that the wake-up call ya needed?" She only shook her head at him, not trusting her voice. He frowned.

"This ain't gonna go away, not 'til you suck it up and just give in." He pushed himself off the wall. "At least if you pick me, you know you ain't gettin' beat. You get a say, at least, if you decide to be mine." Without another word, he walked away.

End of Chapter

R_S: I played around with the idea of putting Kat with another boy or being romanced by another boy for a while, but I really do wanna minimize excess OC involvement. Let me know what you guys think!