Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.
My Angel, My Only
Chapter Nine ll Sunflower Seeds
======
Zero had been counting how many days since they had started digging together. They had been digging for ten days, before the Warden gave up and they returned back to their normal five foot holes.
"This is no bigger than it was when I left you yesterday," the Warden had said, "What have you been doing down there?"
"Nothing," Squid said without thinking. Zero felt like smacking his shovel against his head. What a stupid thing to say. Nothing.
Armpit returned at that moment, from a bathroom break.
"How nice of you to join us," the Warden said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "And what have you been doing?"
"I had to... you know... go."
Zero felt like laughing. Some emotion had been returned to him. He could start feeling things again. Feeling happy, sad or angry. Simple things, but it was still a start.
Suddenly, the Warden jabbed Armpit with her pitchfork. He stumbled and fell backward into the big hole. The pitchfork left three holes in the front of his shirt, and three tiny spots of blood.
Zero felt a bit sick after that. He was glad Barf Bag had long been gone, otherwise he would've definitely thrown up.
"You're giving these boys too much water," the Warden told Mr. Pendanski.
After that, the Warden didn't come anymore, but they still dug at the big hole. All of them were digging now, and they no longer used the wheelbarrows.
Zero was having trouble shoveling his dirt out up onto the surface, being so small and all. The boys had given him the highest spot in the hole, so that he was closest up to the surface. But it was still hard.
There was a sudden pinging noise, and a thud. He whirled around in time to see Zigzag's shovel disconnect from Stanley's head. Stanley had collapsed onto the dirt.
"I ain't digging that dirt up," Zigzag was saying, "That's your dirt."
"Hey, Mum!" Magnet yelled, "Caveman's been hurt."
Zero dropped his shovel and peered over at Stanley, who was staring up blankly. There was blood dripping down the side of his neck.
Magnet helped Stanley up, and then out of the hole. Zero picked up his shovel and jabbed at the side of the hole a few times so that he had little footholds to step on when he climbed out.
Zero clambered out, and peered over the top of the hole. He watched as Mr. Sir made a bandage out of a piece of his sunflower seed sack.
"It isn't naptime."
When Zero was satisfied that Stanley would be all right, he jumped back down into the big hole. Then he continued digging.
---
Zero scanned the Wreck Room for Stanley, but he wasn't in there. It was the next day, and they had finished their own five foot holes again. Zero was glad.
But the big hole caused a bit of a problem. Sometimes, when the boys weren't careful, they walked straight into it.
It was comical, but still a problem.
Zero went back into the tent, wondering where Stanley was. He found him sitting on his cot, writing another letter, probably.
Stanley didn't even look up, but stopped writing briefly when Zero walked in. He began to write again.
Zero, like the curious person he was, stood behind Stanley again, watching him write. He was still fascinated.
Stanley stopped writing.
"I don't like it when you read over my shoulder, okay?"
Zero didn't say anything. He continued to watch Stanley write. He watched as he wrote another two lines.
"I don't know how," Zero said abruptly.
"What?" Stanley said, stopping again.
"Can you teach me?" Zero asked before he could stop himself.
Stanley looked confused and a little annoyed, "Teach you what, to rock climb?"
Zero hadn't the slightest idea what he was on about.
"What?" Stanly repeated. There was a slight impatient note in his voice now.
Zero took a deep breath, "I want to learn to read and write."
Stanley let out a short chuckle, before turning away. He looked back down at his letter. Zero stared at him.
"Sorry. I don't know how to teach."
"You don't have to teach me how to write," Zero insisted, "Just to read. I don't have anybody to write to."
Stanley half-shrugged, "Sorry."
Zero watched him as he finished writing the letter. Then Zero turned away and left the tent.
Well, that was just tough luck for him. He'd just have to learn to read some other way.
Still, Zero couldn't help but feel disappointed.
---
The next day was the same for Zero. Well, it started off looking the same.
Mr. Sir came with the water truck an hour and a half after lunch. He filled their canteens, reminding them all that this wasn't a Girls Scout camp.
Zero downed the rest of his water from his canteen while Mr. Sir filled Stanley's canteen.
"You diggin' it, Zero?" Mr Sir asked him gruffly, taking his canteen and holding it under the nozzle.
Zero shrugged. He glanced around him and noted that Magnet was missing.
"Thank you, Mr. Sir," he said mechanically. Zero strapped his canteen over his shoulder before walking back to his hole.
Mr. Sir got back in the truck, and started to drive off to Group E.
"Anybody want some sunflower seeds?"
Zero looked up from his hole and saw Magnet, grinning, holding Mr. Sir's burlap sack of seeds.
"Over here," X-Ray called. Zero stopped digging for a moment and watched as the sack sailed through the air to X-Ray.
"How'd you get them without Mr. Sir seeing you?" asked Armpit.
Magnet laughed, "I can't help it. My fingers are like little magnets."
Zero watched silently while X-Ray tossed the sack to Armpit, then to Squid.
"It's sure good to eat something that doesn't come out from a can," Armpit remarked, spitting out the shells.
The sack went from Squid to Zigzag.
Zero looked over to the next destination, which would be Stanley. He was digging his hole, looking worried.
"Coming your way, Caveman," Zigzag called, "Airmail and special delivery..."
Everyone watched as the sack went flying through the air. Zigzag hadn't rolled up the top, and Stanley hadn't bothered to catch it. They landed in his hole and the seeds all spilt out.
"Oh, man!" Magnet groaned.
"Sorry," Stanley said, looking anything but. Zero watched as he tried to sweep the seeds back into the sack. Zero looked away and tried to keep on digging, but he was too interested in what was happening.
"The truck's coming back!" Zigzag shouted.
The boys all yelped and scrambled back to their holes, except for Zero and Stanley who were already in their's.
Stanley was trying to turn over the dirt in his hole to cover the seeds.
He also seemed to be muttering something. Zero could hear the words, "No...dirty...pig...great...grandfather."
Mr. Sir came out of the truck, looking at all the boys with beady eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Sir," X-Ray said, "Back so soon?"
"It seems like you were just here," Armpit said.
"Time flies when you're having fun," Magnet said.
"You Girl Scouts having a good time?" Mr Sir called, moving from one hole to the other. He kicked Magnet's dirt pile, before he moved towards Stanley.
Zero watched as Mr. Sir glanced down at Stanley's hole.
He hoped Stanley had been able to hide the seeds and the sack.
"Well, what do you know, Caveman?" Mr. Sir asked, "It looks like you found something."
Stanley remained stationary.
Zero felt his heart sink. He had a feeling he was seeing what Stanley had to go through when he got arrested for the shoes that he hadn't stolen.
"Dig it out," Mr. Sir ordered, "We'll take it to the Warden. Maybe she'll give you the rest of the day off."
"It's not anything," Stanley muttered, shifting his shovel to his other hand.
"Let me be the judge of that."
Zero continued to watch as Stanley reached down and pulled out the empty sack.
Zero bit his lip.
"So, tell me, Caveman. How did my sack of sunflower seeds get in your hole?"
"I stole it from your truck."
Zero almost fell over. He got another feeling that maybe Stanley had just "admitted" he had taken the shoes.
The poor guy.
Zero stabbed his shovel into the dirt, and turned it over. He wondered how he could help Stanley.
"What happened to all the sunflower seeds?" Mr. Sir demanded.
"I ate them."
"By yourself."
"Yes, Mr. Sir."
Zero tried to think of anyone else that was more loyal than Stanley.
"Hey, Caveman!" Armpit yelled, "How come you didn't share any with us?"
"That's cold, man," X-Ray agreed.
"I thought you were our friend," said Magnet.
Despite Magnet usually being one of the friendliest to him, Zero wanted to thwack his shovel across his head. He wanted to hit so many people with his shovel. Zero glanced down at the weapon in his hands.
Nah, it was a stupid idea.
Zero peered over the top of his hole and watched as Stanley got into the water truck with Mr. Sir.
If I hadn't thrown the shoes over the bridge, then Stanley wouldn't be going to face the Warden at the moment, Zero thought bitterly. He glanced around at the other boys.
"What a good guy," Magnet was saying.
"I'll say," X-Ray agreed, "I always knew the Caveman was cool."
Zero's eyes fell onto Stanley's incomplete hole. It was the smallest out of all of them.
He looked at his shovel.
He owed Stanley.
Then he hoisted himself out of his hole, and clambered to the surface. He walked some twenty feet, before jumping down into Stanley's hole.
"Watcha doin', Zero?" came Armpit's voice.
With a sigh, Zero ignored him and began to dig.
---
Zero dug hard, until Stanley's hole was almost five feet deep and wide.
He stopped, trying to catch his breath. In the distance, he could see Stanley walking back.
Zero quickly scrambled out of his hole, and returned to his own hole. It was almost finished, anyway. Digging Stanley's hole hadn't slowed him down too much.
Zero collapsed in his hole, lying against the side. He took a long drink from his canteen. He felt exhausted.
"Hey, Caveman! You're still alive!" he heard Armpit's voice call from above.
With a small groan, Zero got to his feet and jammed his shovel into the hard dirt.
"What'd you tell her?" Magnet asked.
"I told her I stole the seeds," came Stanley's distant voice.
"Good going."
"What'd she do?" Zero heard Zigzag ask.
"Nothing. She got mad at Mr. Sir for bothering her."
There was silence after that. Zero felt relieved.
He lifted his shovelful of dirt and dumped it on the surface.
"What's this?"
Zero heard Stanley's gleeful voice. He guessed he had discovered his hole.
"Hey, thanks!"
"Don't look at me," X-Ray said.
"Yeah, it was Zero," Armpit said, "I guess the guy likes to dig holes."
"He's a mole," Zero heard Zigzag say, "I think he eats the dirt."
Zero tried not to smile.
"Moles don't eat dirt. Worms eat dirt," X-Ray pointed out.
"Hey Zero, are you some kinda mole or somethin'?" Squid yelled.
Stanley appeared by Zero's hole. He sat down, his legs dangling into his hole.
Zero stopped digging and looked up at him.
"Hey Zero. Why'd you dig my hole, man?" Stanley asked.
Zero didn't say anything for awhile.
"You didn't steal the sunflower seeds," he finally said, stamping on the back of the blade of his shovel.
Stanley's eyes swiveled down to the dirt that was coming out, "Yeah, so? Neither did you."
Zero stared at him, and his eyes seemed to expand. He stopped pushing his shovel into the dirt.
"You didn't steal the shoes, either."
Stanley just looked at him. Zero looked away and scooped out a shovelful of dirt.
"Hey, you still wanna learn how to read and write?" Stanley asked, with a small smile.
Zero looked up at once, "Yeah."
"Alright, you got yourself a deal, bud," Stanley said, holding out his hand.
Zero smiled, and slapped his hand into Stanley's for a quick handshake.
======
---- A/N: Good morning! Thanks so much for your reviews! You guys are the bestest 'lil munchkins I could ever have! =] Hehe, I had cold and burnt pizza for arvo tea. Yuck.
But it was actually quite tasty. And HERE IS ZERO!
((drumroll))
Zero: Hehehe! I'm all bwetter now! Thwankth fwor reviewin' the storwy. Uhhh--
((hisses)) The bribe, Zero, the bribe!
Zero: Oooh! ((beams and holds up a jar of choc chip cookies)) Cwookieth to all who review agwain!
NOOO! It was Mr. Sir's SUNFLOWER SEEDS! NOT MY COOKIES!
Zero: Ooooh... ((hides jar and grins adorably. The audience is full of "awws" and completely forgets about the cookies.))
Phew... That's all, folks!
--MSQ.