What the hell was my mom thinking sending me here? Most girls would probably all be excited and cream their panties hearing that there were only dudes here. The fact that this was a correctional facility though… All the boys here were probably dirty and rapists, among other crimes they've committed.
I sat on the bed filing my nails. There was no way I was walking around this place by myself. I told Lou that as well and she promised no one would lay a hand on me for fear of the consequences. She'd warned them a few days earlier that I was coming, but that didn't put me at ease. They were here by their own stupidity of not caring what would happen to them if they were caught. I doubt my aunt taught them wrong from right.
I heard a faint knock on the door and soon Lou was calling my name. I pretended to not hear her but she was persistent. "Natalia!" she yelled.
"What?!" I hated when people shouted for me like that.
There was silence for a moment before footsteps were heard making their way to my bedroom. Great. Her freckled face appeared and she had a slight grin on her face, looking kind of amused. "I'm going to give you a fair warning," she said in a quiet voice that made me raise my eyebrow. "When I call for you, you don't give me attitude or shout back. You come when I call you. Do you understand?"
Are you serious right now? "First of all," I said, giving her as much attitude as I could, "I'm not a dog. I won't 'come when called,'" I finger quoted. "If you shout at me across the house, expect me to do the same thing to you."
She stared at me for a hard moment and I stared right back. Slowly she nodded. "Okay," she said. "You're right. If I want respect, I need to give you respect. Would you please come out here? I have someone I want to introduce you to." She turned and left, leaving me to roll my eyes and flip the bird at her.
I took my time, putting away my nail filer, checking my makeup and hair in the mirror, and sliding my flip flops on. When I went to the main area she looked a bit peeved but held her tongue. A small, dorky man was standing by the door, smiling widely.
"Natalia, this is Doctor Pendanski, one of the counselors here."
"How do you do?" Doctor Whoever asked, offering his hand.
"Hey," I said, staring at his hand and crossing my arms.
"Don't be rude," Lou said. "Shake his hand."
I looked to her. "I'd rather not." Mostly because you want me to. Man, it's going to be fun pissing her off. She took a breath and kept the faint smile on her lips. Her eyes showed that she was irritated though.
"It's alright," el dorko offered. "A lot of folks don't like shaking hands for fear of germs. Perfectly understandable."
"Right." I was wondering how my aunt of all people could put up with this guy, but it was clear on her facial expression and tone that she couldn't. "The reason why I asked Doctor Pendanski over here is to show you around the camp, since you said you don't want to go alone."
"Yeah, I don't want to go alone," I agreed, "but I also don't want to go with him either." What I really wanted to do was go home.
"Staying cooped up in here all the time won't be good for your health," she said. "Go out and get some fresh air."
I shook my head. "Nah."
She took a step toward me. "Would you rather clean this cabin?"
"No."
"Then I suggest you go outside." I opened my mouth to argue but she cut me off. "Unless you'd rather stay in one of the tents out there…"
Is she seriously threatening to kick me out? What a bitch. "Whatever," I muttered and walked past the pair to go outside.
"It's 'yes, ma'am,'" she called after me.
"Whatever!" I called back as I went down the steps. I was so over hearing her voice and seeing her ugly self. Maybe it would be better to walk around for a little while. I didn't want this other idiot with me though.
"So where are you from, Natalia?" Doctor Pendanski asked once he caught up to me. I kept walking and didn't answer. There were buildings scattered about but none of them caught my attention. They were all bland and run down. "Do you have any hobbies or interests?"
Omg, please stop talking to me.
"Over there are the tents that the boys stay in," he informed me, pointing to a row of tents. "I'm the counselor of D-tent. D stands for diligence. If you follow me I can show you to the rec room."
He began walking toward a more bigger building and since I didn't know where else to go I followed him. There was a sign next to the entrance that read 'wreck' room. I thought these boys must be slow as well, but when I went inside I realized they spelled it like that on purpose. Everything was wrecked. The television screen had a crack in it, the pool table felt was ripped, all the furniture was broken in someway or another. It was a mess.
"As you can see," Doctor Pendanski said, "they don't like to take care of their things."
"Obviously," I replied.
We stood in silence for a couple seconds before he broke it. "Well there's not much more to show you. There's the mess hall but I'm willing to bet you don't want to eat in there." He laughed as if he made a joke. I raised my eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat. "Do you have any questions for me?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Alright, well, I guess we can head back to the warden's cabin," he said almost awkwardly.
I turned on my heel and went out. Once I got down the steps a thought occurred to me. "Where are the delinquents anyway?"
"'Delinquents' isn't really the term we like to use here," he told me. "They may have done bad things, but that doesn't make them bad kids."
I stared at him. What?
"They're out digging holes. They do that everyday for their lesson."
That didn't make any sense to me. "They dig holes as a lesson?"
"Yep," he said. "Five foot deep and in diameter. Some of them should be finishing up soon."
"That's dumb," I said. "All that's going to do is make them stronger and angrier. Has anyone ever tried to escape?"
"Tried, but failed. Most of them are smart though. They realize we have the only water supply for miles and miles."
I looked around. The realization of just how secluded this place was hit me. They would be stupid to run off. I wondered if anyone ever tried to sneak on the bus when it left.
"I heard your aunt might have you dig a couple holes to put toward your community service." He sounded unsure of whether to say that or not.
"Um, I'm not digging holes," I said. "She's delusional if she thinks that."
He shrugged. "That's what I heard. I've suggested that you help me on the water runs instead of digging."
Okay, so even if he is really annoying, at least he actually cares about my well-being. At least I think. "What's the water runs?"
"I have to drive out to the digging location and give the boys water and hand out lunch," he explained. "Nothing too hard."
"I'll do that," I decided.
Doctor Pendanski chuckled. "You'll have to discuss that with the warden. It was only a suggestion on my part."
I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. When I looked, I saw a boy in an orange jumpsuit carrying a shovel. The delinquents are coming, time to go.
"That there's Zero," Doctor Pendanski said, seeing what I was staring at. "He's in D-tent."
"Zero?" What kind of name was that? Are the boys here numbered like cell blocks?
"Just a nickname," he said. "He doesn't talk to anyone. Nothing goes on in his stupid, little head."
My eyebrows raised. That definitely wasn't what I expected him to say. Guess I judged his cover wrong. "'Kay, well, later. I'm going back to air conditioning."
I began walking back to the cabin when he called after me. "Later on I can introduce you to the D-tent boys if you'd like?"
I ignored him, ready to get out of this heat and away from him. I didn't have any intention on meeting any of the delinquents.
A/N: I think the Warden's been a little bit too kind to her brat of a niece, don't you guys? I'm guessing her patience is going to start thinning quickly. Natalia doesn't even know what's to come.
Hope y'all enjoyed. D-Tent boys in the next chapter. How do you think they'll react to her? Also, the next chapter of Fuse should be up within the next couple days. R&R! :)