Rachel awoke. This time to shuffling feet and loud voices., rather than the loud horn. She got out of her cot and walked out of her tent.
She rubbed her eyes in the bright sunlight. Wait, sunlight?
Rachel squinted, "What's going on?" she yelled out.
Zigzag and Caitlyn ran over to her. "A bus is comin'. Look." Cate said, pointing over to the horizon.
"Whoa…already?" Rachel asked, bewildered.
"I guess so," Zigzag said, "but we still have to dig." he added.
Rachel walked past Zigzag to where D-Tent was lingering, outside the Wreck Room on the porch. Rachel sat down next to Zero and Courtney.
Campers walked around the camp, some excited, some absolutely bored. Others paid no attention.
"Everyone!!" It was Mr. Pendanski. "Everyone listen up! I want all of you to go quietly into your tents as you wait for the new girl campers to arrive. We don't want to overwhelm them with so many people at once."
Rachel scoffed, "He never did that for me."
"Now go on." Mr. Pendanski said again, moving his hands like he was pushing some child across the floor, when really, there was nobody in front of him.
Rachel, Courtney, and Caitlyn all sat down on their cots, waiting ever so patiently for the new girls to arrive. Finally, they heard girls voices not far from the tent. Some giggling, one screamed, others talking.
They pushed open the flap to G-Tent and their chatter suddenly stopped.
"Oh my God! There are already girls in here." said one of them.
Rachel kept looking at them, "I'm Rachel." she said. "Pick a cot, it's your new bedroom." Rachel waved her arms around.
"Yeah, and I'm Bet," Cate said, "And this is our friend Dice." she said, pointing to Courtney.
"Oh, so you have nicknames too?" said a girl that looked about 13 years old.
"Yeah, everyone does here in camp." Courtney said.
"Wow, I guess nicknames come with the territory around here, because we all made up nicknames out of boredom on the way here." The 13 year old said.
They walked in, talking a bit more to one another, as they each chose a cot.
Rachel just sat in silence, not knowing what to say.
A girl with cornrows piped up, "How long have ya been here girls?" she asked.
Rachel looked over her way, "About a month, we haven't been keeping track, really." she said.
The girl nodded, "I'm Shorty." she said, holding out her hand. She was very tomboyish, not a slight sign of any makeup whatsoever, and she looked very tough.
Cate reached out her hand, but realized that Shorty didn't mean to shake it. Shorty gave her a high five as soon as Cate's hand left her side.
Rachel was a little taken-aback by Shorty's style, cool and independent. She didn't look like the kind of person that would take crap from anyone.
"So do any of you know each other? Well, I mean, from before the long and tiring bus ride?" Courtney asked.
"Only Shorty and I." said a girl standing behind Shorty, with gorgeous shiny brown hair resting on her shoulders. She had brown eyes that were very intimidating, and she looked the exact opposite of a girly girl.
"I'm Lucki." she said.
Suddenly a girl popped up out of nowhere, Rachel didn't see her, and instantly introduced herself.
"Hi! My name's Banana." she said with a smile, waving at Rachel, Courtney, and Cate.
Cate smiled, "Well hi!"
Banana had dirty blonde hair with blonde streaks that was parted in zigzag, resting on her shoulders. She had beautiful hazel eyes and looked like a very sweet girl.
"Do we really have to stay here for 18 MONTHS?" a girl complained, setting down her bag underneath her cot.
" 'fraud so." Rachel said, raising her eyebrows.
The girl plopped down on her cot and picked at her black and red braces.
"Don't mind her…Babygirl's too young to understand any of that anyway." Shorty said, waving her hand down while rolling her eyes. She unclipped her earrings, taking them off of her lobes and cartilages with her tanned hands that were streaked with dirt.
"I ain't too young! I'm 13!" Babygirl said. Rachel realized that she was the 13 year old that had talked earlier. Babygirl stopped picking at her braces and brushed her light brown and red streaked hair away from her face.
"Wow, they sent a 13 year old here? I thought this camp was for older teens when they get into trouble. " Rachel said.
"Yeah well…Babygirl did something really, really bad." Banana said, lowering her voice, sitting down on Rachel's cot.
Babygirl glanced at her, giving her a look to stop talking, and said, "It isn't that bad, it was an accident!"
"Well, I just mean that 13 is a little young to have to put up with everything you have to do here." Courtney said, trying to change the subject for Babygirl.
Everyone stopped talking.
"The dude on the bus didn't tell us what we had to do." said one of the girls with a large tattoo around her left wrist like a charm bracelet. Rachel saw that it had a fat cat, a guitar, and the four Linkin Park logos .
"Yeah, what'd we have to do?" Babygirl asked.
"Well, they make you wake up way before dawn. You have to eat stuff that should not be called 'food'. And you have to dig a five by five hole every day. Then you come home, take a shower, eat the so-called 'food' again, and go hang out in the Wreck Room if you want. Then…you go into your tent, go to sleep, and do the same thing every single day afterwards. Uh, for however long your sentence is." Cate explained, trying hard not to make it sound as bad as it really is.
Many of the girls' mouths were agape.
"Nah, how hard can it be?" Shorty asked.
Rachel shook her head, "It's a lot harder than you think." she said, so only Shorty could hear.
"Honey!!" someone yelled, and ran over to another girl's cot, picking up some metal strings, "They were in your bag ALL THIS TIME?"
"Yeah! See I told you we'd find them Strings! How far can guitar strings go on one bus anyhow?" Honey answered, adjusting her necklace she had, which was a puka-shell.
"Guitar strings?" Courtney asked.
"Yeah, for my guitar…that the stupid bus driver didn't let me board with. Now I don't even have a guitar to play!" Strings said.
"Gosh, we had to put up with all the stress on the bus for nothin'." Banana exclaimed.
"Whoa...wait, what?" Rachel asked, confused.
"On the bus over here, Strings lost her guitar strings…and it was in my bag all this time." Honey said.
"Oh, so her name is Strings…?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, and I'm Honey." she said.
Just then a woman walked in the door.
"Hey Danielle," Banana said.
"Hi girls," Danielle said.
Danielle was a tall slender woman that looked to be in her 20's. She had brown slightly curly hair down to her shoulders, which at the moment was tied tightly into two pigtails below her ears.
"Oh, you must be the campers Mr. Sir was talking about, I'm Danielle." she said, introducing herself to Rachel, Cate, and Courtney. "The Warden hired me to be your counselor, since after all, yall [I]are[/I] in a new tent now." Danielle explained.
Cate, Courtney, and Rachel all introduced themselves to Danielle, when Mr. Sir walked in.
"Alright people, it's time to go dig." he said.
Some of the girls shot uneasy looks to one another as they grabbed their shovels and followed Mr. Sir out onto the lake.
Rachel ran over to the D-Tent group, who were a little ways away from G-Tent.
"Hey." she said.
X-Ray and Armpit acted as though nobody said anything, but the others looked at her.
"I uh, I have to dig with G-Tent." she said, and started to walk off.
Zigzag stopped her.
"What Ziggy?" she asked.
"Make sure that none of them new girls push ya around." he said, "they could be sent here from the FBI or something'." Zigzag said.
Rachel shook her head, smiling, and said, "Can do Zigzag, don't you worry about me. I can handle them myself." she said.
Zigzag's eyes widened as he looked around suspiciously.
Rachel turned around and walked back to G-Tent, shaking her head, and laughed.
She rubbed her eyes in the bright sunlight. Wait, sunlight?
Rachel squinted, "What's going on?" she yelled out.
Zigzag and Caitlyn ran over to her. "A bus is comin'. Look." Cate said, pointing over to the horizon.
"Whoa…already?" Rachel asked, bewildered.
"I guess so," Zigzag said, "but we still have to dig." he added.
Rachel walked past Zigzag to where D-Tent was lingering, outside the Wreck Room on the porch. Rachel sat down next to Zero and Courtney.
Campers walked around the camp, some excited, some absolutely bored. Others paid no attention.
"Everyone!!" It was Mr. Pendanski. "Everyone listen up! I want all of you to go quietly into your tents as you wait for the new girl campers to arrive. We don't want to overwhelm them with so many people at once."
Rachel scoffed, "He never did that for me."
"Now go on." Mr. Pendanski said again, moving his hands like he was pushing some child across the floor, when really, there was nobody in front of him.
Rachel, Courtney, and Caitlyn all sat down on their cots, waiting ever so patiently for the new girls to arrive. Finally, they heard girls voices not far from the tent. Some giggling, one screamed, others talking.
They pushed open the flap to G-Tent and their chatter suddenly stopped.
"Oh my God! There are already girls in here." said one of them.
Rachel kept looking at them, "I'm Rachel." she said. "Pick a cot, it's your new bedroom." Rachel waved her arms around.
"Yeah, and I'm Bet," Cate said, "And this is our friend Dice." she said, pointing to Courtney.
"Oh, so you have nicknames too?" said a girl that looked about 13 years old.
"Yeah, everyone does here in camp." Courtney said.
"Wow, I guess nicknames come with the territory around here, because we all made up nicknames out of boredom on the way here." The 13 year old said.
They walked in, talking a bit more to one another, as they each chose a cot.
Rachel just sat in silence, not knowing what to say.
A girl with cornrows piped up, "How long have ya been here girls?" she asked.
Rachel looked over her way, "About a month, we haven't been keeping track, really." she said.
The girl nodded, "I'm Shorty." she said, holding out her hand. She was very tomboyish, not a slight sign of any makeup whatsoever, and she looked very tough.
Cate reached out her hand, but realized that Shorty didn't mean to shake it. Shorty gave her a high five as soon as Cate's hand left her side.
Rachel was a little taken-aback by Shorty's style, cool and independent. She didn't look like the kind of person that would take crap from anyone.
"So do any of you know each other? Well, I mean, from before the long and tiring bus ride?" Courtney asked.
"Only Shorty and I." said a girl standing behind Shorty, with gorgeous shiny brown hair resting on her shoulders. She had brown eyes that were very intimidating, and she looked the exact opposite of a girly girl.
"I'm Lucki." she said.
Suddenly a girl popped up out of nowhere, Rachel didn't see her, and instantly introduced herself.
"Hi! My name's Banana." she said with a smile, waving at Rachel, Courtney, and Cate.
Cate smiled, "Well hi!"
Banana had dirty blonde hair with blonde streaks that was parted in zigzag, resting on her shoulders. She had beautiful hazel eyes and looked like a very sweet girl.
"Do we really have to stay here for 18 MONTHS?" a girl complained, setting down her bag underneath her cot.
" 'fraud so." Rachel said, raising her eyebrows.
The girl plopped down on her cot and picked at her black and red braces.
"Don't mind her…Babygirl's too young to understand any of that anyway." Shorty said, waving her hand down while rolling her eyes. She unclipped her earrings, taking them off of her lobes and cartilages with her tanned hands that were streaked with dirt.
"I ain't too young! I'm 13!" Babygirl said. Rachel realized that she was the 13 year old that had talked earlier. Babygirl stopped picking at her braces and brushed her light brown and red streaked hair away from her face.
"Wow, they sent a 13 year old here? I thought this camp was for older teens when they get into trouble. " Rachel said.
"Yeah well…Babygirl did something really, really bad." Banana said, lowering her voice, sitting down on Rachel's cot.
Babygirl glanced at her, giving her a look to stop talking, and said, "It isn't that bad, it was an accident!"
"Well, I just mean that 13 is a little young to have to put up with everything you have to do here." Courtney said, trying to change the subject for Babygirl.
Everyone stopped talking.
"The dude on the bus didn't tell us what we had to do." said one of the girls with a large tattoo around her left wrist like a charm bracelet. Rachel saw that it had a fat cat, a guitar, and the four Linkin Park logos .
"Yeah, what'd we have to do?" Babygirl asked.
"Well, they make you wake up way before dawn. You have to eat stuff that should not be called 'food'. And you have to dig a five by five hole every day. Then you come home, take a shower, eat the so-called 'food' again, and go hang out in the Wreck Room if you want. Then…you go into your tent, go to sleep, and do the same thing every single day afterwards. Uh, for however long your sentence is." Cate explained, trying hard not to make it sound as bad as it really is.
Many of the girls' mouths were agape.
"Nah, how hard can it be?" Shorty asked.
Rachel shook her head, "It's a lot harder than you think." she said, so only Shorty could hear.
"Honey!!" someone yelled, and ran over to another girl's cot, picking up some metal strings, "They were in your bag ALL THIS TIME?"
"Yeah! See I told you we'd find them Strings! How far can guitar strings go on one bus anyhow?" Honey answered, adjusting her necklace she had, which was a puka-shell.
"Guitar strings?" Courtney asked.
"Yeah, for my guitar…that the stupid bus driver didn't let me board with. Now I don't even have a guitar to play!" Strings said.
"Gosh, we had to put up with all the stress on the bus for nothin'." Banana exclaimed.
"Whoa...wait, what?" Rachel asked, confused.
"On the bus over here, Strings lost her guitar strings…and it was in my bag all this time." Honey said.
"Oh, so her name is Strings…?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, and I'm Honey." she said.
Just then a woman walked in the door.
"Hey Danielle," Banana said.
"Hi girls," Danielle said.
Danielle was a tall slender woman that looked to be in her 20's. She had brown slightly curly hair down to her shoulders, which at the moment was tied tightly into two pigtails below her ears.
"Oh, you must be the campers Mr. Sir was talking about, I'm Danielle." she said, introducing herself to Rachel, Cate, and Courtney. "The Warden hired me to be your counselor, since after all, yall [I]are[/I] in a new tent now." Danielle explained.
Cate, Courtney, and Rachel all introduced themselves to Danielle, when Mr. Sir walked in.
"Alright people, it's time to go dig." he said.
Some of the girls shot uneasy looks to one another as they grabbed their shovels and followed Mr. Sir out onto the lake.
Rachel ran over to the D-Tent group, who were a little ways away from G-Tent.
"Hey." she said.
X-Ray and Armpit acted as though nobody said anything, but the others looked at her.
"I uh, I have to dig with G-Tent." she said, and started to walk off.
Zigzag stopped her.
"What Ziggy?" she asked.
"Make sure that none of them new girls push ya around." he said, "they could be sent here from the FBI or something'." Zigzag said.
Rachel shook her head, smiling, and said, "Can do Zigzag, don't you worry about me. I can handle them myself." she said.
Zigzag's eyes widened as he looked around suspiciously.
Rachel turned around and walked back to G-Tent, shaking her head, and laughed.