Chapter Five - Magnet's Letter
The next morning, Madeline woke up to a very queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she went to stand up, she nearly fell over back onto her cot.
Zero looked up when he saw her almost fall. She had her hand on her forehead, her face a light green-ish color.
'Should I say anything?' he wondered. She'd probably just get mad at him... but...
Before he could do anything else, Pendanski popped his head into the tent.
"Alright boys... and... Madeline... let's get going now!" he told them.
"Yo, Mom, her name's Firecracker," X-Ray corrected. Their counselor just shook his eyes and left the tent.
By this point, her queasiness had lessened and she was able to quickly change out of her t-shirt and shorts and into her jumpsuit.
***
By mid-morning, it was getting very hot and Madeline's queasiness had come back. The heat wasn't doing anything to help the roller coaster feeling in her stomach.
Sweat was trickling down her scalp and soaking her bandana that held her hair up, also soaking the back of her jumpsuit.
Groaning in frustration, she unbuttoned the jumpsuit and pulled it down to her waist, tying the sleeves around it, leaving the upper half of her body in just her tank top.
Noon soon came and Mr. Sir came around with lunches.
"Ok come and get it! Ham and cheese, oranges, and graham crackers!"
"Why do we always have to get crackers?" Squid protested as he grabbed three of them.
"Because you get enough already now eat and get back to digging," he barked.
Madeline walked through the line, in front of ZigZag. When she went to turn around to go back to her hole, she tripped over something that just happened to be his foot and fell onto the hard ground, ripping her elbow against it.
"Dammit ZigZag!" she screeched, standing up, her hand covering her elbow. Blood was starting to come through her fingers. ZigZag just laughed at her, along with Squid and Magnet. Armpit and X-Ray knew better than to laugh and Zero didn't think it was funny at all.
Cursing under her breath and glaring at the blonde-haired boy, she angrily grabbed her lunch and returned to her hole. Madeline's elbow was still bleeding pretty badly.
Sighing, she used her good arm to take of her tank top and wrapped it around her elbow, leaving the upper part of her body in just a black sports bra. Magnet whistled from his hole.
"Shove it, Magnet, or I'll make your eyes swell up so bad it'll hurt to see anything," she said angrily over her shoulder. Standing up and grabbing her shovel, she learned that it hurt her elbow like hell to dig. Thankfully, she was almost done.
'I'm gonna kill that bastard...,' she thought, looking over at ZigZag, who was still snickering.
***
Later that night, the tent was in different places around the Wreck room when Pendanski came in with a letter.
"José, you have a letter," he said, handing him the envelope. Magnet's eyes widened with surprise.
"Um... thanks," he said, opening it. The tent crowded around him.
"Hey, hey back off," he said, pulling out the letter. He read it, once, twice, three times. Each time it said the same thing
Dear José,
I know I haven't written you since you got to camp... I'm really sorry. I've been busy and I know that's not an excuse but life without you is like torture for me. Mom's unemployed again and we're always fighting. Usually it's about food and rent. We're just barely getting by. I didn't write to complain - that's the last thing I want you to worry about. I got a job at a Mickey D's on the other side of town and it'll hopefully help with the rent. Ariella is fine, she's as hyper as ever. She misses you too. She keeps saying "When is Uncle José coming home?". I keep telling her that you'll be coming home soon and trying to make my heart believe it too. But the truth is, it seems like you've been gone for twice as long as you have to stay there.
Well... I have to get ready for work. I'm sure if Mom and I were talking she'd send her love. Ariella and I both miss you... and I love you. Please never give up on that fact. I'll love you forever and that's how long I'll stand by your side.
All the love in the universe,
- Lizzy
Magnet sighed and walked out of the Wreck Room. No one followed him. And he was glad.
For the past five months that he had been here, he had always thought about her. Lizzy was the strongest person he knew yet the tearstains were still on the letter. Ariella, her little sister, was only six and was too little to understand what had happened to "Uncle José".
He had changed so much in so little time. But his heart still held on to his Lizzy, his angel.
*~*
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