Chapter 8
Jesse laughed in his head. He was too upset to laugh out loud. Mr. Sir didn't move, he just cowered over Jesse. He was chewing something, but Jesse couldn't make out what it was. He smacking his lips and making nasty sounds. "When you speak to me, you will refer to me by my name. Is that clear"? He asked. Jesse didn't look at him, "y-y-yes sir" he said. Mr. Sir became vexed, "that's Mr. Sir" he said. Jesse still looks at the floor, "sorry Mr. Sir" he said shyly. Mr. Sir walked to a little closet in the corner of the small shack. "You will receive 2 jumpsuits, 1 for work and 1 for leisure. When you are finished with your hole, you can go and chill or kick it or whatever it is you kids say with your homeboys in the Wreck Room" he said. Jesse looked up at him like he was thought he was serious. "No change out of your clothes and get into your suit. Now" he said. Jesse didn't waste any time and went right to it.
When he was all done, Mr. Pendanski came in and led him out. "Was that the Warden"? Jesse asked him, as soon as they were out. Mr. Pendanski shook his head, "no. Mr. Sir is the uh, the uh. Well come to think of it I don't know what he is. 10 years of working here and I don't know what the hell it is he does here" he said, shrugging. "That's the Warden's cabin" he said, pointing to a much bigger shack than Mr. Sir's. The curtains were drawn and there was smoke coming out of the chimney. Finally, they both arrived at the tent: D-Tent. "Welcome Jesse. This will your home for the past six months. And these are your roommates. Get to know them, you'll have to. Dinner is in 10 minutes. Good day" he said and walked the door.
Jesse walked to an empty cot at the very back. He set his bag down and watched everyone else. He saw two tough black guys playing cards. He saw one writing a letter and one laying on his cot all alone. The one writing the letter spotted Jesse and put his letter down on his cot. He walked over to him and sat on the cot next to his. "Hi my name is Stanley" the boy said. Jesse looked up at him with a slightly sad and worried face. "What's your name"? He asked. Jesse hesitated before answering, "Jesse" he said. Stanley nodded and held out his hand, Jesse shook his hand. "What do you think of Camp Green Lake so far"? He asked. Jesse pondered and shrugged, "its okay. Do we really have to dig a hole every day"? He asked like he couldn't believe it. Stanley lightly laughed, "yeah. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it" he said.
Jesse looked around at the other campers and then one all alone. "Who're they"? He asked pointing to the guys playing cards. Stanley turned around to look at them, "oh that fat one is Armpit. And the other one is X-Ray. X-Ray is the leader. And trust me, you don't want to make them mad. You'll be in serious crap" he said. Jesse laughed then looked at the one alone. "And who's that"? He asked. Stanley saw him and motioned him to come over. The boy did and sat right next to him. "This is Hector. Everyone calls him Zero. He only talks to me" he said. Jesse nodded but figured he'd give talking a whirl, "hey Hector" he said. Hector didn't answer but looked at Stanley. "It's okay, say hi" Stanley said. "Hey" said Hector.
"How come they call you Zero"? Jesse said after a while. Hector didn't answer, "he doesn't like to talk about it" Stanley said. Jesse nodded. "Does Mr. Sir always act that way? Kinda cool and hip" Jesse asked. Stanley and Hector laughed, "yeah, he's think he's one of us. He never had a childhood" said Hector. Jesse joined in laughing. He looked at Stanley for a while, "hey what's your nickname"? He asked. Before Stanley could answer, Hector bumped in, "Caveman" he said. Jesse nodded confusedly.
"Are there any girls here? Or is it an all boys camp"? Jesse asked. Stanley looked like he was really tired of this question and rolled his eyes, "no there are girls here. Some" he said. Hector looked bored and tired and fell onto his back on the cot. Just then Mr. Pendanski walked in, "come on fellas, time for dinner" he said.