The Boys With Fake Names
Star stared anxiously at the three sand-covered boys, while the sand-covered boys stared at her with a mix of confusion and shock. The boy who had talked before - the one with the huge black glasses - had dark skin and a cloth wrapped around his head. The bigger one, who also had dark skin, had a cap fashioned onto his head. And finally, the boy in the middle, was pale-skinned, had a dusty white cap on his head, and had a toothpick in his mouth. Each of the boys had a plastic water bottle securely around their body with a matching orange jumpsuit.
And Star didn't know what gave her this feeling, but these three boys brought with them a feeling of…superiority. The way they walked up to Stanley and Star, now openly staring them down, she could tell their confidence was pretty unmatched. These three would say anything that was on their mind, however rude it may have been. And that kind of attitude kinda reminded her of life at home.
Maybe life in the desert wasn't so different from life at home after all.
"No, seriously, what she be doin' here?" the biggest boy then continued the other boy's question. "Ain't no girls on this side of Texas."
"Especially ones that look like her," the boy in the middle mused, chewing on his toothpick while staring Star up and down. "She looks like she could get stomped on by an ant."
"This is Star, boys," Dr. Pendenski finally replied with a smile on his face. "And this boy beside her is Stanley. They'll both be stayin' in your tent for the months ahead."
"Wait, what?!" all three boys shouted at the same time, making the attention focused on the group (particularly Star) get more numbers added to it. "No fucking-!"
"Now, now, you three! You know that is no way to treat a lady!" the older man loudly chided. "If anything, you should be thankful that your tent was chosen! Lookin' after a girl is no easy feat."
"Which is exactly why we don't want it!" the boy with the toothpick shouted. "She'll just be an annoying crybaby!"
"U-Um, Dr. Pendenski?" But when Star ultimately spoke up, all eyes were back on her awkward stance. "I really don't want to be a burden for anyone, so…it would be okay if I stayed somewhere else. Honestly, I could just sleep outside if-"
"Oh, you don't wanna do that, girl," the one with the glasses unexpectedly interrupted Star. And unlike the other two boys, his large dark-brown eyes were sparking with interest. "Anythin' and everythin' can kill ya out here. You gotta be careful, being that you're such a weak-lookin' thing… Your boyfriend, too."
At his final sentence, however, Stanley's face quickly went red, while Star was only worried about taking up space. And not even caring about the insult, Stanley frantically shook his head. "I-I'm not her boyfriend!"
"Then who is she?" the big boy asked. "Your sis?"
"They do have the same eye and hair color…" the toothpick boy stated. "Maybe they're some famous criminal-twins or somethin'."
"Ohh, yeah. That would prove why they came here together, then," four-eyes concurred to himself. "Damn, girl. You have some stupid bravery to come here… Them animals are gonna lick ya dry."
"They're going to… What?" Star murmured, completely confused. "I'm sorry, but what does that-"
"Let's go over the facts later, shall we? I think it would be better if we introduce one another before explaining anything," Dr. Pendanski interrupted the conversation like he always did. "Now, Star and Stanley, these are three of your six bunkmates. This boy is Theodore." He pointed to the bigger boy. "This is Alan." He pointed to the toothpick boy. "And lastly, Rex."
However, when he pointed to this last boy, he only glared at the name. "Yo, the name is X-Ray!"
"And mine's Armpit!" 'Theodore' argued as well, causing 'Alan' to nod in agreement.
"Squid's my name. And he's Mom."
What…peculiar names, Star thought after 'Squid' motioned his chin toward Dr. Pendanski. And also, Star wondered, why were they so insistent on having fake ones? Was it a sign of power? A sign of acceptance? There seemed to be a lot Star still needed to learn about the place she grew up hearing stories about every night.
"They all have their little nicknames," Dr. Pendanski then sighed like this had happened many, many times before. "But I prefer the names their parents gave them - the ones society will recognize them by!" And, ignoring the eye-roll from each boy, Dr. Pendanski said his next order. "Theodore, why don't we show Stanley and Star their cots?"
For a few moments after that, though, all Armpit did was stare between the two newest campers and their counselor. His eyes eyed them skeptically, and Star could see how much he really didn't want to. Especially when his eyes landed on her; which, if Star was being her modest self, understood why he felt such a way. I mean, she was a girl - the only girl - and she'd have to take up their tent of all places? It would totally feel like a waste of space and privacy. And even if she wanted to stay near Stanley, if it stole both of those things for him too, it wouldn't be worth it or be better for his time here.
So, thinking this over in her head, Star tried to console them one more time. "S-Seriously, you guys, you don't have to-"
"Go ahead, 'pit," X-Ray suddenly said before Star could finish. He motioned his head toward the tents, showing the two newcomers a judgmental look. "Let's go show 'em to our hell."
"Welcome to your new home, Star and Stanley!" Dr. Pendanski announced once they entered the green tent. Around them, there were around seven dirty, sheetless cots against the walls, and little slits in the tent for the windows. There were even some storage shelves and a wooden floor beneath them. It was small, but it was also large despite the circumstances. "And Star, we just installed an extra wall for you in the back. Your cot's behind it."
"O-Oh, wow…" Star stuttered in disbelief. "You really did that… For me?"
"Well, it'll be better than seeing you hafta change," Squid jested as he walked past her, earning chuckles from his friends. Though, to Squid's surprise, Star only looked positively guilty at the rude joke. But the reason she was flustered like that probably wasn't the reason anyone was thinking.
"Oh, right! I-I'm so sorry! That was so dumb of me!" Star stammered out, earning her a few weird looks. "I'm sorry I didn't think of that! It was so thoughtless of-!"
"Now, now, Star… Calm yourself down," Dr. Pendanski used his peace-keeping- interruption-tactic yet again. "That was just Alan being Alan - pay no mind to it."
"...Barfbag slept here," Armit then acknowledged as he patted a bed to Stanley, making Stanley himself gulp worriedly in response. "Welcome home."
This was Star's new home. Stanley's as well. And even though Star was better at hiding it, she was truthfully feeling the same anxiety as Stanley right then. She may have had the courage to stay calm, and a solid reason to actually be here, but that didn't necessarily mean she was ready for such a change.
Star was scared: she had never been this far away from her home before, and was surrounded by people she didn't know. All men, no less. Of course, she had many boys at her school, but…it wasn't like she was important or good-looking enough to be noticed by them. And now, suddenly, all attention seemed to be on her. Never in her life had Star been looked upon so curiously.
It was strange.
It was different.
It…wasn't home.
"That's amazing." However, in the next moment, Star felt yet another pair of eyes on her. But these sets of eyes were different from the others: they were much more intense and emotional, even somewhat crazy-feeling. And when Star eventually turned her head over toward the noise, she saw a boy with equally crazy blond hair that stuck up toward the sky. "How do you do that…?"
"E-Excuse- Woah!" Star cut herself off in shock, though, right after the boy in question suddenly speed-walked over to her. His blue eyes stared wide down into hers, being that there was a significant height difference, and Star was in so much shock that she even backed up into a pole keeping the tent up. So now, she had - basically - cornered herself with a teenage boy trapping her against him. "Er, um…"
"You look just like a girl, man," the blond exclaimed with his mouth wide open as well. "How did you grow your hair that long? Were you born lookin' like a girl or did you just get surgery? What agency do you work for? Why were you sent here?"
HUH?! Star screamed inside her head. But before she could answer, another boy she hadn't seen yet dragged the crazy-eyed boy away from her by the collar. "Dude, it's not cool to treat a girl like that! Even if she's a boy!"
"I-I can assure you that I'm not a boy," Star was finally able to speak. She then gulped at the boy still staring into her soul. "Sorry if I disappointed you, though, about me not being a spy or…something."
"Star, Stanley, meet Rickey and José!" Dr. Pendanski butted in like the situation prior didn't even happen. "Rickey, José, this is Star and Stanley. And Rickey, sorry to break it to you, but Star is an actual girl. No spy at this camp."
"Woah, really?" the boy Star believed was José gasped while staring her up and down. The boy himself had a shaved head of black hair, a round face full of sand, and an orange suit to match. "What in the world is a chica doin' here?"
"Y'know, Magnet, we'd like to know that too," X-Ray claimed with his muscular arms crossed over his chest. "Especially if she's sleepin' with us."
"Seriously? We get our own girl?" the boy Star now knew as Rickey said as he blinked down at her. "...Cool."
"Dog, what? What about this is cool?" Squid challenged almost instantly; he had unbuttoned his orange jumpsuit to reveal a yellow t-shirt, and his hair was disheveled after taking off his cap. "Our privacy is bein' taken over by some rando girl, who obviously has the mindset of a blockhead. She didn't even care about chanin' in front of us."
"A-Again, that is not what I meant!" Star quickly protested. "I'm sorry for saying it the wrong way, but I truly just wanted what you wanted, which was to give you privacy!"
At this explanation, however, the boy named José (or was it the nickname "Magnet"?) let a smirk adorn his handsome face. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind the chulo stayin' here with us... Or the other thing…"
"Dude, you nasty as hell," Armpit scolded, but he nevertheless had a smile on his face. "Don't you go be stealin' her off into the desert or anythin'. Alone."
W-What… What in the world was going on? Star continued to think to herself.
"...Well, even though those introductions went horribly," Dr. Pendanski finally chimed in, "I guess we can continue with one more introduction. So Star, Stanley, this," he moved over to stand above a boy laying on a cot in the corner, "is Zero."
When this boy caught Star's eyes, however, something snapped within her. There wasn't anything really special or different about him - other than maybe the fact that he looked much younger than the rest of the boys. But still, that wasn't the reason for Star's astonished stare. It wasn't. It wasn't really…anything. It was just this feeling she had that made her heart beat faster.
Zero, huh?
What an odd name or nickname to give such a young boy.
"And do you know why they call him "Zero"?" Dr. Pendanski then questioned, putting his hands into the boy's brown, fluffy hair. "Because there's nothing goin' on in his stupid little head!"
Something in Star snapped again at that insult Pendanski dealt.
Why would he say such a cruel thing? What was the point?
The man seemed nice before, but now Star's opinion of him had done an one-eighty.
Yet the boy didn't respond to the rudeness; none of the boys did either.
But again, Star thought, why would anyone hate such an adorable little boy like that? He looked more innocent than everyone at this camp combined. And what was this feeling she got from him that almost felt like…
Hope?
"Well, it's time to go to dinner now, boys," Dr. Pendanski declared, putting his hands on his hips. "We'll have a tent meeting in here afterward about our situation, and get acquainted with one another. Star, Stanley, are ya hungry?"
"Mom, do ya really think it's smart for the chulo to go into the Mess Hall?" Magnet cut in, making Star's eyes blink at his odd…care for her. "You know what I'm talkin' about, right? Those boys are hungry for more than just fo-"
"Are you hungry, Star?" Pendanksi interrupted yet again while some of the other boys laughed at the joke. "Even though José worded it rudely, he has a point. Being in a camp full of boys, especially a room where all of them are together, might not be comfortable or a good idea for you. So it's up to you."
Before Star could respond, though, Stanley raised his hand. "I can stay back with her, if you'd like. I could give her some food, too."
"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" X-Ray rolled his eyes, causing Stanley to gulp again worriedly.
"I just…don't want her to be alone…in a camp full of boys."
"St-Stanley, I…" Star was stunned at his words, but eventually let a smile adorn her face. "Thank you."
That smile.
That smile of a girl's.
Innocent, pure, and…
Damn the eight boys for thinking it, but…beautiful.
It had been so long since any of them had seen anything remotely beautiful like her, however, so the reason was probably something related to that.
Yet…
Yet, my God, what was a girl like her doing in a place like this? Only one of them knew the full story, yet even he was still shocked at her appearance here. Again, Stanley barely ever had girls talk to him back at home or at school, so seeing one smile at him in such a way… Protect him in such a way…
Maybe his luck wasn't so bad after all.
Not when it came to Star, at least.
Just then, though, Dr. Pendanski clapped his hands together, snapping everyone out of their trance and turning their heads toward him. "It's settled, then! Star, stay back in the tent so that the rest of our camp can calm themselves down after your appearance; I wouldn't be surprised if all of Camp Green Lake knew a girl was here now. You can have dinner there tomorrow after everyone has already seen ya digging. And Stanley, you follow the boys and me to the mess hall to pick up Star's and your food, okay?"
However, on the way out, none of the eight boys left without giving Star one last look. She tried her best to lightly smile at each one, but the only thing she got back was an eye roll, a stare, or even a smile. Regardless, Star was still relieved that she wouldn't have to be in a ginormous room that was full of boys. Already. Again, she wasn't used to that kind of attention or that big of crowds, especially since they were all supposed to be criminals.
She'd have to thank Stanley again once he came back.
So finally, Star was left alone for the second time that day. And she let out a sigh of relief at that fact.
