That night, I couldn't sleep. Not that I ever did anyway. But sometime around midnight, I heard soft sobs coming from the cot on my right- Squids. "Squid?" I whispered, touching his shoulder gently.

He sniffed and looked up at me. "I'm fine, Astrid, go back to sleep."

"I don't sleep. What's wrong?" I sat on the side of his cot. He sat up as well, but didn't say anything. "Come on. You can trust me with any secret. I still hold secrets from the first grade." That's true, too.

He took a shaky breath. I put my hand on his back, knowing that even to a kid who'd been beaten, it was comfort. "Mom used to beat me all the time. Threw beer bottles at my head, locked me in a tiny closet. I have nightmares about it all the time. If I stay down in my hole too long, I freak out, so I have to get out every once in a while, to make sure I still can, you know? I'm claustrophobic." He was crying as he told me this. Not being able to think of anything else, I hugged him. He tensed at first, then hugged back, resting his head on my shoulder, sobbing. I saw X-ray sit up, but I motioned for him to lie down. He shook his head but did anyway.

"It's gonna be all right, Squid. You don't have to worry about that here."

"I know. But it still comes back every night." He paused to sniffle a little. "You know, strange as this may sound, I thing this is the first time anyone's ever touched me without hurting me. You know, for a long period of time. "

I hugged him a little longer. "Come on. We have to dig tomorrow." I let go of him and squeezed his hand. "Goodnight Squid. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Astrid." I lay back down on my cot. About 10 minutes later, "Astrid?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

I smiled. "Anytime, sugar, anytime." I finally slept, but only until four. That's when I woke up and dressed for the day, then lay there, sketching Zero's hands. His cot was on my left side. He has these amazing hands. They're small, but the fingers are slightly too long, making them beautiful. Then I began to sketch the rest of him, shading, erasing, my tongue stuck between my teeth. Just as I finished, he stirred.

"Is that me?" he asked sleepily. I nodded. "Can I see it?" I gave it to him. His eyes went wide. "You drew that?"

"Yeah. I got bored, and you're good subject material. Plus, I like your hands. It's a bit of an obsession, ask Rick- er... ZigZag. I've always been fascinated with them."

He raised his eyebrows slightly, but said nothing. "I heard you and Squid talking last night."

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it. ZigZag always said you were a nice person, but you barely know any of us. Why aren't you worried about any of us?" He asked curiously.

"Well, you see, I know ZigZag would kill anyone who tried to hurt me, even if I'd already done it, and like I said yesterday, I know how to kill you, or put you in so much pain you wished you were dead. Plus, I have my switchblade."

He nodded. "Well, that was nice of you. Don't worry, I won't tell. Secrets are safe with me to. And just so you know, I don't sleep either. Not normal hours most of the time anyway. Despite what everyone thinks, I'm here to talk if you want."

"Would y'all shut up?" X-ray muttered. Then he shot up. "Crap! You got Zero to talk! Yo everybody! Astrid got Zero to talk!"

Everybody woke up grumbling and muttering at him to shut up. "Man, only Caveman gets him to talk," Armpit grumbled. There were 'Yeah's heard all over the tent.

"Maybe Caveman's the only one who listens," I spoke up. Caveman smiled and ducked his head, slightly embarrassed. I just laughed while the bell rang. The guys groaned. "Come on, lazy guys. There's holes to dig and fun to be had by all. Come on!" I got up and started to shake Ricky, as he was still asleep. "Come on, I know you're awake, brother of mine."

He hid his head under the pillow. "Bug off, Astrid."

"No way. I haven't been able to do this for a whole year! Come on, Get up before I tip the cot over."

"No."

I sighed, exasperated. "Listen, Richard, either you get up or I'll get you back later. Trust me, bud, I have blackmail," I whispered the last part in his ear.

He shot straight up. "Okay! I'm up! Let's go!"

I smirked as we all left the tent and got the shovels of doom.

(Cut to lunch)

By lunch, I was just behind Zero in digging, and he was way over halfway done. When the water truck of mercy came though, I was more than grateful for the break. I hardly had any blisters on my hands because I lifted weights and played sports so much they were already toughened up quite a bit. I tried unsuccessfully once to get out of my hole, but fell back in.

A black hand reached down to pull me up. I took it and found that the hand belonged to Armpit. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "No problem."

We got our lunches and I sat with Ricky, Squid, and Magnet. Somewhere along the line, we got into an argument about which was better: Pepsi or Coca-Cola. I was the only vote for Coke.

"Coca-Cola! Seriously! It's like, the original! The original's always the best!" I yelled above the three guys.

X-ray rolled his eyes. "Hey Cola! Shut up and dig, okay? You're drivin' me crazy!"

I threw an apple core at him and finished digging about five minutes after Zero. I hoisted myself out and spat in the hole, like I'd seen him do, then walked slowly back to the tent, where I showered and fell asleep on my cot. Zero was already out.