Summary: One of the boys receives shocking news. He doesn't know what to think of it, and neither do the other boys. What will he do about it? What can he do about it? He can't take back the past.
Author's Note: Here's the next installment! Be sure to leave a review with your thoughts! Hope none of you reviewers are let down.
Disclaimer: Louis Sachar - Holes, 'nough said.
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Chapter Four: Prides Are Wounded & Emotions High
The boys soon learned about the arrangements Magnet now had. In exchange for him working around the camp he was going to be given nine hundred dollars on the day he was to leave. It was hardly a fair amount of money considering he was going to be working everyday for the next four months, plus digging his hole. But beggars can't be choosers, at least that's what he told himself.
The best thing for him about the deal was that he was allowed to leave two months earlier than he was sentenced. The warden, for some unknown reason, granted him early leave so he could go home in time for the baby's birth.
Magnet couldn't have been happier. Though, not everyone at the camp was as enthusiastic.
The D-Tent boys tried their best to be happy for their tent mate. But as the months went by it got harder not to let their jealousy get the better of them.
"What gives him the right to leave early and get paid for it? We all have family and girls that we want to see but they ain't doin' anything for us," X-Ray voiced out loud.
Magnet had left to prepare lunches and it just reminded X-Ray of how he was going to have to stay another six months before he could leave and how Magnet wasn't.
No one said anything in response. They were too hot and busy to bother with replying. They knew he wouldn't listen to what they said anyway. He was the most stubborn person they knew and if said something he would stick to it.
The lunch truck came and with it Magnet. He didn't bother saying anything to anyone, he just went straight on digging. He was too exhausted from working and thinking about all the work ahead of him to stop for chitchat.
However, X-Ray mistook it as Magnet showing he was too good to associate with them anymore. Since he was already upset he didn't too much about it. He also wanted to stay mad. Maybe it was because of the heat or the fact that he was jealous, or a combination. He didn't know. All he knew was that he was in the mood to be mad, and Magnet was the perfect target since he was already irritated with him.
After dinner the boys headed back to their tent. Magnet came in an hour later, ready to just slip into the divine comforts of sleep, but X-Ray wouldn't have it.
"Tired are you?" X-Ray asked, as Magnet sat on his mattress unlacing his boots.
"No shit, can you tell?" he sarcastically answered, not bothering to look up. He could tell from the tone of X-Ray's voice that he just wanted to cause trouble. And he really wasn't in the mood for it.
"Let me just wipe this tear away," he faked like he was brushing off a tear beneath his eye.
Magnet was tired and agitated enough as it was, he didn't need to deal with X-Ray's ridicule.
"Just shut up and leave me alone X-Ray. I am not in the mood to deal with your bullshit."
In just a few seconds X-Ray was within five inches of Magnet, crowding the space around him.
"Do you think I care if you're in the mood or not? 'Cause you're about to learn that I don't."
"I'm sick of you acting like you're so tough. You can't do half the shit you threaten. Why don't you fuckin' do what you say already?"
By now they were circling each other, fists balled, ready to react at any moment.
"I don't want to hurt you, that's why," Magnet rolled his eyes, how long was he going to have to listen to this crap.
X-Ray continued, "I know you want me to feel sorry for you. But you're just out of luck, because I don't and I won't. Why feel sorry for you when you had sex and now have to deal with the consequences? So, you knocked up some hoe and now-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as a fist flew at his face and hit him with so much force he was knocked onto the floor. The rest of the boys, who were staring nervously at the scene before them, jumped up to intervene.
Magnet was now on top of X-Ray, pinning him down. X-Ray managed to twist his arm away and swung a punch. But Magnet retaliated and swung back, hitting X-Ray's jaw.
"Don't you dare talk about Charisma like that. You say another word about her I swear to God I will hurt you so bad you won't fuckin' know what happened!"
Zigzag and Squid finally managed to pull Magnet off of X-Ray. They dragged him to one side of the tent as Armpit pulled X-Ray to the opposite side.
"Calm down you guys! The last thing anyone needs is to waste energy on dumb shit like this," Squid exclaimed, surprised at how the two were acting.
"You're right. I don't need to waste my energy on dumb fucks like him. I'm outta here in a couple of months and I can forget all about this," he roughly pulled himself out of Zigzag's grasp and walked out of the tent.
X-Ray didn't say anything. He couldn't think of anything to say. He knew he had crossed the line, but his pride was already wounded. He didn't want to add insult to injury.
So he went to his cot and laid down, facing away from the guys. The boys looked at each other, not knowing what to do or who to side with, they saw both points of view.
The following weeks had been filled with just the same amount of tension as the day of the fight. Magnet and X-Ray had not spoken to each other since, and they appeared perfectly content to keep it that way. The rest of the boys decided not to get in the middle of it all.
That wasn't the case however. Both didn't want to apologize, but they didn't want to have to ignore each other all the time. They were each too stubborn to be the first to say sorry.
It was a rare occasion when Magnet could take a break, so he was quick to rest up in his tent while he had the chance.
Pendanski came in with a letter addressed to him. He wasn't so surprised anymore as he had become accustomed to delivering letters to Magnet. It took about two weeks for the mail to reach each other, so the two had written to each other twice a month to send the most current updates possible.
"Here," he handed the boy the letter, "I've noticed you haven't gotten one in a while. What happened, trouble in paradise?" He laughed a bit, walking out of the tent, not bothering to wait for a response.
Magnet chose to ignore him and went on to read the letter:
Dear José,
Sorry it took me so long to write to you. I know you wanted to see the baby being born, but the baby came early. You now have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. He is definitely worth all the pain I had to go through. Just wait until you see him.
I've named him Anthony. I know we were having trouble picking a name so I decided to name him after my brother, God rest his soul. I know he would have been happy for me. I hope you're not mad.
Anyways, I'm so lonely. I can't wait for you to get here. He is so adorable. You'll see. I miss you so much. But we'll be together soon.
I love you,
Charisma
Magnet smiled the biggest smile he smiled since he had come to camp. He jumped up from his bed and began strutting around the room. He was disappointed that he missed out on his son's birth, but he was grateful that the baby was healthy. And it didn't hurt any that it turned out to be a boy. He didn't know anything about taking care of girls, but boys he knew. Boys he could handle.
He now had a son, a boy of his very own.
As the realization was sinking in, he began to calm down. It was official, he was a dad. He now had the responsibility of raising his son and being an adult. Now he was on his own to take care of his very own family.
He flopped backward onto his mattress. Now his problem wasn't getting back home, it was figuring out how to grow up.
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Author's Note:
I realized that there's quite a bit of swearing. I was just in an argument when I wrote this and it kind of ended up in the characters. Although, I think it just emphasizes on how upset they really are, and it is supposed to be realistic. But if it's offensive, tell me and I'll consider re-editing it. Don't forget to review! Thank you!
XOXOXO – Lilac Bloom