Prejudice. Xeno. Animosity. Pain.

Part 4. The Morning After.

By Aly the WheelerChick

Disclaimer(s): Lyrics belong to Linkin Park. Magnet, Holes, and other characters belong to Louis Sachar, and other people that are not myself.

A/n: Whoo! This chapter was kind of fun to write. Everything will be made clear in the next and final chapter. Thank you guys for reading and reviewing. You all rock, seriously! Keep spreading the Holes love, and enjoy the chapter/ficness.

But in the meantime there are those who wanna talk this and that
So I suppose that it gets to a point where feelings gotta get hurt
And get dirty with the people spreading the dirt

Stanley yawned. It was four AM. He'd been up since quarter after two, keeping and eye on Magnet. Not that it was a big deal, in fact he offered to do it. Even after Zigzag told him that they could take shifts. But going to dig a hole was going to be like going to dig your own grave.

There was no way in hell Magnet could do it.

He could see tear streaks where the Hispanic boy basically cried himself to sleep. Magnet's eyes fluttered open at the horn that woke them for breakfast. Stanley sighed, and gave him an exhausted, yet relieved smile. "Hard night, eh? You feel any better?"

Magnet groaned. He could taste the crusted blood on his lips. His right arm hurt when he moved it the slightest. His whole body was stiff, his neck ached, and it felt like there were open gashes in his stomach, though he knew there wasn't. When he looked at the Caveman though, he couldn't help but smile.

"Whoa, Caveman, you got like these huge rings under your eyes! You look like you're in worse shape than I am, man!"

Stanley laughed slightly. "'was up all night watchin you. Didn't sleep as much."

Magnet's smile dropped to a frown, and he looked down at his bed sheets. "Man, I'm sorry…" the memories flooded back into his brain.

"Nah, nah, its okay."

"Yeah, Magnet-man, ain't your fault that people have their heads shoved up their asses," Squid said. All the rest of the guys were up and getting dressed silently, too tired to talk.

Magnet tried to sit up. Pain shot through his entire body, particularly residing in his right shoulder. He screamed.

"YO! YO! COOL IT! LAY BACK DOWN!" Stanley yelled, extending his arm over Magnet to keep him from sitting up any further. Magnet fell back, taking short quick breaths. "Ahhh…." He cried.

"You alright, Magnet?" asked X-Ray.

"Hey yo, take it easy man," said Zigzag.

"M-my shoulder…" Magnet whispered, "Guys, I can't move! One of those bastards like, completely crushed it earlier-"

"Alright, alright, shh!" said Stanley, "Just calm down. One of you guys come with me and we'll get Pendanski or the Warden or somethin. Yo, Zero! Pit! One of you guys, c'mon!"

Zero got up off his cot, mumbling something, and the both of them took off jogging out of the tent. An uneasy silence lingered inside the tent. No one knew what to say to the other when….

Moments later, Mr. Sir, Pendanski, and the Warden came barreling in through the tent's entry flap, almost knocking over Stanley and Zero.

"Where is he?" asked the Warden. Zero pointed.

"Oh God…." She said, staring at Magnet. Magnet's eyes widened. He looked shocked and scared.

"He said he'd be okay!" said Pendanski, in a panicky voice.

"Look at 'im!" said Mr. Sir, "kid's got bruises on 'is bruises! Not even I'd make him dig!"

"He can't even get up, let alone dig!" X-Ray told them, "He can't move his arm."

The three authorities looked from Magnet to X-Ray then back again. The Warden sighed. "We might have to call-"

"Shit!" exclaimed Mr. Sir. Pendanski nodded. The Warden was mumbling quietly to her self. "What are we gonna do? What am I gonna do…."

The rest of D-tent, including Magnet, looked from one to another, all their expressions puzzled. They shrugged back and forth at each other, as the Warden continued mumbling. Finally she said, "Magnet, you don't gotta dig today."

Magnet nodded and Squid shot him an unintentional expression of evil jealousy. Magnet saw. "Hey Squid, I'd currently give anything to be out there digging a hole than stuck in here all busted up, and not able to move my arm." Squid shrugged. "I know."

"HEY!" The Warden said suddenly, "Don't mean the rest of ya get to sit around here doin nothing! You got holes to dig! Get outta here!"

They all sighed and grabbed their bandannas, caps, do-rags, and canteens, and mumbled farewells to Magnet, and filed out the flap, heading for the mess hall. Behind them in the tent, they heard Mr. Sir yell "well what if he got infected and needs his arm amputated or something!" Zigzag shuddered at it. The rest of the guys glanced at him and raised their eyebrows.

"I hate people," Zigzag said, "Especially racist KKK bastards."

Everyone nodded. "It sucks," mumbled X-Ray, "We's all equal, ya know?"

"Yeah," Said Armpit, "Shit amazes me though. You know there used to be this governor in Mississippi that was like one of the top dogs in the KKK, and like, no one did anything about it. You know what I'm sayin?"

"That's whacked!" shouted Stanley, staring at Armpit in disbelief. "I know," Pit replied. X-Ray shook his head, wanting to say something, but refraining from it. "It's fucked up," Grunted Squid. "The whole system is."

Trudging to the mess hall was always a bitch, and there was no denying it. They all hobbled there slowly, and none of them hungry. No one in the state of Texas is ever really 'hungry' at four-thirty AM. Yet, there were slow there and slow to eat for another reason though. The faster you walk to the mess hall, and the faster you eat, means the faster you'll be out on the lake digging a hole.

And though sometimes you want to walk and eat fast so you can start and finish your hole early….

No one's mind was really set on digging today.

None the less, they got their trays and sat down, and procrastinated eating the 'food upon them. They stayed quiet, listening to everyone around them yawn and chatter. Squid tried to work the sleep out of his eyes. Zero pushed the food around on his pate with his fork.

"…who the hell?" whispered Stanley.

"Shut up and eat, Caveman," X-Ray muttered.


"No!" Stanley replied, "I-I mean, there's like-"

Suddenly Armpit roared, "YO! SHUT THE FUCK UP MAN!" and stood up, almost knocking his chair over. He looked menacing, with the veins on the sides of his neck seeming to pop out of his skin. Stanley cringed, thinking Armpit meant him, but soon enough, he saw that he wasn't. Armpit was facing another table behind theirs. Everyone turned to see who it was in particular that he was screaming at. Silence fell across the hall.

With the exception of three boys sitting one table over, there was still slightly giggling.

"C'MON CRACKER BOYS! YOU WANNA TALK TRASH ABOUT MAGNET?! MAN, YOU GOT SOMMIN AGAINST LATINOS? C'MON, YOU SETTLE IT WIT ME!"

One of the boys, with slightly blonde hair, rolled his eyes. "Oh, your wetback friend?" he said. "Rick Ricardo!" said another one.

"More like Ricky Retardo."

"Luuuuucy! You gotsa lotsa 'splaining to dooo!"

"MAN, SHUT UP!" shouted X-Ray. He stood too. Zigzag followed, and so did Stanley, Zero, and Squid.

"And you're gonna stop me? Like the dirty Mexican? Yeah, he did a hell of a job fighting back!" The two groups inched closer to each other.

"I will bash your face in," seethed Armpit. He leaned in, staring directly into the blonde's eyes. X-Ray and Squid were on either side of him, also staring down the other two guys. And on either side of them were Stanley and Zero, and Zigzag.

"Cool it, Pit," whispered X-Ray. Armpit grunted. "One smartass remark and they're all dead."

But the blonde kid showed not a single sign of concurrence or fear from anything Armpit said.

And he was about to regret it. A lot.

Because what happened next could've been avoided. Though it happened almost all too fast.

The blonde shifted his glance from Armpit, and was now staring at X-Ray. X-Ray did the same thing, moving his stone cold glare from the other kid to him.

"Why you tell your G to chill out, Negro boy? C'mon show me what you got-"

It was like X-Ray forgot everything he said. "WHA'D YOU SAY?!" he screamed. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Armpit added.

No one was sure who lunged for them first. But it was an instant all-out brawl.

X-Ray's fist shot out from his side and made hard contact with the blonde's nose, and he fell back in pain. Armpit was all over him next, punching and swinging his fists into his gut over and over. Squid completely tackled the kid with the almost-black hiar, and straddled his legs over him, sitting on top of him, and pinned his arms to the ground. Zigzag kicked the third boy, one with a lighter brown hair, in the shins, and then grabbed both his arms and twisted them hard. Other boys began shouting, screaming, and cheering. It was pure pandemonium.

"C'MON!" Stanley yelled at Zero and turned back to their table. Zero raised an eyebrow. "WHAT ARE WE DOING?!" he replied.

"HELPING!" shouted Stanley. "HERE, C'MON!" he picked up his tray and scooped a glob of refried beans in his fingers. "TAKE THIS!"

He hurled the beans at the boy Zigzag was holding. They hit him smack in the middle of his forehead. Zero followed suit, hitting the blonde kid in the shoulder. Someone on the side screamed, "FOOOOD FIIIIIGHT!"

A second later, X-Ray urged Armpit, Squid, and Zigzag off of the guys. "We can't kill them!" he said, "We'll be locked up in jail for an eternity!" A glob of beans hit him on the chest.

The food was flying in every direction now, and everyone was throwing it. Well, everyone expect the three B-tent members on the floor. People were shouting, screaming, and cussing. Everyone was out of their seats.

It looked like it was World War III.

Suddenly the lights flickered off, and a raging voice filled the room.


"WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

The mess fall fell silent as Mr. Sir swaggered in, looking even more menacing than Armpit previous had. "Who is responsible for this?"

Low murmuring fell over the hall as people pointed and staring in all directions. Finally, someone yelled "CAVEMAN!" while another person yelled "X-RAY!"

Instantly, everyone started yelled out the names of each member of D-tent. Someone even yelled "MAGNET!" out of pure stupidity. Mr. Sir narrowed his eyes.

"D-tent, come with me," he hissed.

Covered in food, and showing no emotion, Squid obediently stepped out of the crowd toward the doorway. Armpit followed. Then Zero. Then Stanley. Then Zigzag.

Finally, X-Ray looked up at Mr. Sir, then down at the blond kid. Though his face was dripping with blood from his bleeding nose, the kid still managed to ignorantly roll his eyes. They looked filled with poison.

"You tryin to be the Mafia, eh Marlon Brando?" he whispered, "this a re-enactment of The Godfather?"

X-Ray simply nodded.

"We're D-tent, yo. You mess wit one of us, and you mess wit us all. We're like family."

The blonde kid sneered, but X-Ray didn't care. He sucked some saliva from the walls of his mouth.

Everyone was watching.

Then X-Ray spat on him, the mass of saliva landing on the blonde's cheek. X-Ray help a still expression. He turned and walked out of the silent crowd.

Spit is a waste product.

It belongs in a garbage can.

Or in this case, a racist mongrel's cheek.