Disclaimer: I don't own Holes, or anything associated with it. That honor belongs to Louis Sachar. The title of the story is taken from the song "Down to the Valley" by Doc Watson.
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Chapter 3: make your move.
"When you make your move, I won't hesitate,
if you take too long, you could be too late,
this time I'm playing to win.
If you want me, come and say it,
don't wait around for another chance,
make your mind up, make your play,
you should be playing to win this time."
-John Farnham "Playing to Win"
I trudged back to camp, dragging my shovel behind me. I was the last camper to finish, and I was completely exhausted. Everyone else was lounging around the camp, either finishing up their showers, hanging out in the rec room, or sleeping in their tents. I tossed my shovel by the "Library" shed, minding my bleeding hands, and made my way back to D-Tent.
"Well, well, look who finally finished their first hole," Squid said smugly as soon as I entered the tent. He was lounging on his cot, playing cards with X-Ray. His complementary toothpick hung out of the corner of his mouth. "Man, I thought you'd never finish." I shrugged. Squid squinted at me. "Girl, do you ever talk? You're almost as bad as Zig."
I smiled. "My throat hurts," I said. "I don't wanna talk."
"Well, make your throat un-hurt," X-Ray said, putting down his hand of cards triumphantly. He had beaten Squid in whatever it was they had been playing. He turned to me. "You till haven't explained the full reason why you're here."
"Why should I tell you that?" I toed off my boots and sat down on my cot.
"Murder?" X-Ray raised his eyebrows. "What's that all about? No one gets sent to Camp Green Lake for murder."
"Oh, that." I laughed. "You don't need to know that. As long as you don't piss me off, you're good. That's all you need to know." I flopped face down in my pillow, sighing.
"Man, chica, you really got toasted," I heard Magnet say as he came in the tent, Zigzag following behind him.
"Curse of the Irish," I replied, my voice muffled. I lifted my head. "You wouldn't happen to have an aloe lotion, would you?"
"Mr. Sir might have some in his office, but I ain't about to go ask him," Magnet replied. I rolled my eyes.
"Gee, thanks. You're such a help." I heaved myself off my bed with a groan, not bothering to put my shoes back on. I winced as I walked across the courtyard, doing my best to ignore the catcalls from the other campers.
"Ooh, look at that babe!"
"Take it off, baby, take it off!"
"Why don't you come on over here and give me some of that, eh?"
I scowled at them. "I'd rather kiss a yellow-spotted lizard then come within ten feet of you," I called back to them. I heard a collective 'ooooohhh' as I entered Mr. Sir's office and closed the door with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary.
"Nasty, ain't they?" Mr. Sir grumbled. I sighed.
"More so than I thought." I paused. "Do you have any aloe lotion?"
He frowned at me. "Say what?"
"Aloe lotion. For, you know, sunburns?" I turned a little so he could see my back. "And maybe some gauze pads for my hands?"
"Oh, yeah. Lemme see 'bout that. Gimme a sec." He sat down at his desk and began opening drawers. He took out an ancient-looking first aid kit and opened it, pulling out a pinkish bottle and a plastic bag full of cloth and band-aids. "Here." He slid it towards me. The label on the pink bottle was yellow and peeling, and it was crusty around the cap. I wrinkled my nose.
"How long have you had that?"
"If ya don't like it, ya don't gotta take it," he said, looking pointedly at me.
I groaned. "Fine. Thanks Mr. Sir." I took the bottle with trepidation and stuck the bag of band-aids in my jumpsuit pocket and went back outside, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone until I reached the tent. I closed the flap behind me, glad to be out of the sun.
"What is that?"
"I think it's aloe lotion," I replied, sitting down on my cot. I looked at Squid, who was sitting on his cot with Zigzag beside him. It looked like they were playing Go Fish. X-Ray was lying down on his cot, reading a sports magazine from 1993. Magnet had disappeared.
"Looks kinda fugly to me." Squid made a face.
"That makes two of us," I muttered. "I'm not sure if I wanna put this on me, or wait until I get my package from my aunt."
"Aunt?" Zig looked at me.
"Yeah. I got an aunt on my dad's side that drives a truck for Fed-Ex in South Dakota. I sent her a letter asking for stuff."
X-Ray smirked, looking at us over the top of the magazine. "Like what?"
"Well, aloe lotion for one. Some more socks. Some cigarettes. Edible food, perhaps."
X-Ray frowned. "You smoke?" I shrugged. "Just be sure they don't search the box," he replied, coming to sit beside Squid and across from me. I took the plastic bag out of my pocket and opened it, taking a roll of gauze, some cloth, a half-used tube of Neosporin and some rubbing alcohol.
"God, my hands hurt like hell." I hissed and bit my lip as I dabbed the alcohol on my hands and spread the Neosporin on them.
"They always do after day number one." Squid smirked. "First hole's the hardest."
"That's what I've heard," I mumbled as I struggled to wrap the gauze around my hands.
"Here, gimme that." Zigzag held out his hands. I squinted a little, confused. "Your hands. Lemme see them." I held them out and he took them in his own, wrapping the gauze around perfectly and tying it securely, doing the same with the other. I smiled.
"Thanks, Zigzag. You rock." He shrugged. X and Squid exchanged a look. Somewhere off in the distance, the dinner bell rang. As if on cue, all three boys stood as one and went to leave. I stayed on my bed, trying to get my hands to function properly again. X-Ray looked back at me.
"You comin', Red?"
I looked up slowly. "Pardon?"
"C'mon, Red. Dinner." Squid motioned to the dinner hall with his head. He and X-Ray left. Only Zigzag stayed behind. I cocked my head at him.
"Red? What kind of a name is that?"
Zig shrugged. "It's better than Armpit."
I nodded. "True." I stood up and walked towards him. "What's your name?"
He looked a little puzzled. "Zigzag."
"No, I mean, you're real name."
"Oh. Ricky. It's Ricky."
I grinned. "Ricky. I like it. I had a dog named Ricky once."
Zig cracked a smile. "Are you comparing me to your dog?"
"Not at all. Well, sort of." I looked at him. "I mean, he was a golden retriever; you have blonde hair. He was kinda big; you're really...tall." I smiled. "He was lovable. You're lovable too."
"Oh. That's good."
I laughed. "Come on, let's go to dinner."
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Time passes awfully slowly at Camp Green Lake.
I had only been there for two weeks, but it felt like two years. Two weeks. That's fourteen holes. It felt like fourteen thousand. My hands had built up calluses, and I had lost about seven pounds since I arrived. The name I had received, Red, stuck with me. Charlie was long gone.
In a way, Camp Green Lake was like a utopia. A hot, dusty utopia, sure, but still a utopia. I no longer had to hold up a front of being the 'drug dealer's girlfriend', trying to scrounge enough money for food and rent. I got free housing and food even if the housing was in the middle of nowhere in 150 degree weather and the food sucked, and even though I had to dig a hole each day, I was building up muscle and getting fit. And I was tan, something you couldn't get very often in New York. And I had made friends.
Everyone at camp knew me as 'the chick that got nailed for murder'. So, of course, not a day went by in which my tent didn't pester me about the details.
"You have to tell us eventually," X-Ray said for the hundredth time one Tuesday afternoon. Me and Zig were playing X-Ray and Squid in pool, and currently we were winning.
"No I don't," I said, sinking the nine ball in the left corner pocket. I smiled. Squid kicked the wall in frustration.
"Damn girl, where'd you get so good at pool?"
"Hey, Squid, man, don't change the subject," X said as I took aim and finished the game, sinking the eight ball. Squid groaned again.
"She's like, the best pool player in the camp. It's not fair."
"But I am the slowest digger," I pointed out, straightening back up and placing my stick on the table. "So it evens out." Even though I had been here for two weeks, my hole still took me nearly seven hours to complete.
"Back to what I was saying," X said impatiently. "Why don't you just tell us already? You're gonna crack anyway."
I laughed. "I don't crack easily, Rex. You can't squeeze blood from a stone, so you might as well give up."
"But...rocks ain't alive," Squid muttered.
"Shut up, Squid," X and I said in unison. Zigzag chuckled, resting his arm on my shoulder.
"It's called a metaphor, stupid," Zig said. "Means she's a stubborn lil' bitch, so just give up."
"Hey!" I laughed, smacking him on his arm. Zig grinned at me.
Zigzag had opened up a lot in the two weeks I had been at Camp Green Lake, and he was easily my best friend. Now, hardly anyone could get him to stop talking. Maybe it was because, before I came, no one would talk to him because he seemed so...odd. But I had been around a lot of weird people in my day, so I knew how to handle him. There were still the occasional times when he would stare at me, as if trying to remember something. I shrugged it off as one of his weird episodes, certain that if I had known him in the past, I would surely have remembered him.
"Hey guys, how's it hanging?" Flash strolled up to us, jus jumpsuit tied around his waist and his hands in his pockets. His black hair fell over one eye and he smiled at me. I felt my heart melt.
Okay, I'll admit it. I had a bit of a crush on the guy. But how could you not? He was gorgeous! And half the time, he went around the camp shirtless, and boy howdy, he had a nice body. Not to mention, he had a fascination for fire, and everyone loves a pyromaniac.
"Hey, Flash. Me and Zig just beat these poor suckers in pool." I turned to X and Squid and smiled. "And I believe that both you boys owe us two shower tokens each."
"Oh, come on, Red," Squid complained, smacking his pool stick against the side of the table. "It's not fair! No one can beat you in pool."
"That's not my problem. It's yours for betting against me. Now hand 'em over." Zigzag and I held out our hands expectantly, and, grumbling, Squid and X gave us their shower tokens. We smiled at each other.
"Nice playing, partner," Zigzag said, patting me on the back. I shrugged, grinning.
"What can I say? I'm a natural."
"I'll bet I can beat you," Flash challenged. I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. And if I win..." he smiled cockily. "You have to tell us why you're here."
I swallowed. "And...and if I win?"
"If you win..." He bit his lip, thinking. Then he smiled wickedly. "If you win, you have to choose one of us to kiss: me, Zigzag, X or Squid. And we have to kiss you."
"You don't have to convince us twice," X-Ray said, looking at me pointedly. I rolled my eyes at him.
"You're gonna make me choose?"
"Who said you have to choose?" Flash replied. "I'm gonna win."
"I doubt that," I said smugly, chalking the end of my stick intimidatingly. Flash just smiled.
"You can break," he said, picking up a stick and swaggering to the wall to lean against it. I shrugged.
"Very well." I lined the balls up with the rack and took aim. The cue ball shot out and struck the tip of the pyramid perfectly. The seven ball shot into the corner pocket and I grinned. "Solids. My lucky ones."
"Dandy." Flash didn't seem deterred. "Come on, there's only half an hour until dinner. We haven't got all day."
"Patience," I scolded, lining up the stick with the cue. I missed the two ball by a centimeter. "Dammit," I mumbled. "Go."
He did, hitting both the nine and the eleven ball into the pocket at once. I whistled. Boy's good. I might have to work harder than I thought. He missed the fifteen though, and it was my turn. Thankfully, I sunk three balls this time, and I was back in the lead.
"Gonna have to work harder than that," I chided. He just grinned.
"It ain't over till the scorpion sings, girl. Go again." I did, but missed. He chuckled, and sank another two balls. We were even. He smiled.
"Shut up," I mumbled. He just shrugged.
"I didn't say nothing."
"Whatever."
He missed his next ball and I struck the one ball with a bit more force than necessary. It bounced off the corner and narrowly missed the left side pocket. I groaned. "You're distracting me, Flash," I muttered, slouching against the wall. "I'm going to lose."
"Not my fault," he muttered, taking aim but missing. I smiled.
This went on for a while, each of us missing, sometimes randomly getting a ball in. I didn't know why I was so distracted. Maybe it was the fact that I was playing pool with freaking Flash, easily the cutest guy in camp. Ah, well.
Finally, it was down to the eight ball. Whoever sank this would win. I would either spill my story, or kiss someone. I definitely did not want to parade the real reason why I had killed who I did and why, but neither was I particular on kissing someone. Besides Flash, that is.
It was my turn. "Eight ball, left side pocket," I called. I held my breath, and shot. The cue ball struck the eight ball, which bounced off the corner of the side pocket. I had missed, and simultaneously set up the perfect shot for Flash. Damn.
He grinned wickedly. "Eight ball, left corner pocket." He shoots. He scores.
I had lost. Flash had won.
Fuck.
"Flash! You just beat the master at her own game!" Squid cheered, clapping his hand on Flash's back. He just smiled.
"Wasn't too hard," he said.
"Fuck you," I muttered.
"Pity you won," X said. "I was lookin' forward to gettin' a lil something-something, if you know what I mean." He raised his eyebrows suggestively at me. I scoffed.
"Get real, X. Even if I had won, I wouldn't have chosen you. You're not my type."
"You kill me, Red," X replied, placing his hand dramatically over his heart. "I think I may die of heartbreak now." I laughed. Just then, the dinner bell rang.
"Come on, you can tell us the story over dinner," Flash offered, setting our sticks against the wall. I sighed.
"Yeah. Sure."
"This is great," Squid said, rubbing his hands together. "Finally, the mystery of Red's real reason for winding up in Camp Green Lake is revealed. I am way too excited."
"I'll bet you are," I muttered.
I wasn't about to spill my secret to people I had only met two weeks ago, but I didn't want to lie to them either. They deserved more than that. I sighed.
This could get interesting.
