We're all in the dinner line when I hear Mr. Sir talking about the price of onions.
"I'll taste it!"Mr. Sir says grabbing a laddle and leaning over a pot of...something.
I see the two fresh wounds on his face from the warden and her nail polish.
"Woah. What happened to your face?"Squid asks him.
Stupid Squid.
Mr. Sir grabs Squid's collar and holds him close to his face.
"Something the matter with my face?Huh?"Mr. Sir asks him.
"No!No Mr. Sir."Squid gets out.
"You got that right!"Mr. Sir says before he throws Squid backwards onto the floor.
Mr. Sir comes out from behind the counter.
"Anybody see anything wrong with my face?Huh?I think I'm kind of pretty,don't you?"Mr. Sir angrily asks everyone.
"Yes Mr. Sir."Everyone says.
Mr. Sir turns to Squid who's lying on the floor with a trash can and some other things scattered around him.
"Clean this up."Mr. Sir says before he starts to leave.
"Now I think we all just learned a valuable lesson!We're all people and Mr. Sir is a very sensitive man. Just like all of us."Dr. Pendanski says as Squid gets up from the floor.
I stand in line as Mr. Sir fills the canteens. Once Stanley's canteen is filled,I step up and give Mr. Sir my empty canteen. He gives me a dirty look.
"You thirsty Mays?"Mr. Sir asks me.
"Yes Mr. Sir."I gasp.
Mr. Sir turns on the faucet of the water tank,he lets it make a large puddle on the ground.
It quickly evaporates.
Mr. Sir shuts off the faucet and hands me my still empty canteen.
"There. That should hold you. Next!"Mr. Sir says.
I move so Zero can get some water.
I go back to my hole and I start thinking. K. B. ,The wanted posters in the warden's cabin of Kissin' Kate Barlow flash through my mind.
I get out of my hole and run to Stanley's. I fall into his hole and he falls on the ground with me on top of him.
"What the..."He says.
"Sorry."I say getting off of him.
I help him up.
"No problem. What did you need?"He asks.
"You remember that golden tube that you found?"I ask. He nods.
"I think that that tube was a tube of lipstick and that K.B. stands for Kate Barlow."I tell him.
Stanley thinks about it and smiles.
"You could be right."He murmurs.
"Now that I helped you,I want you to do something for me."I say.
"Okay. What?He asks.
"I want you to help me teach Zero to read and write. You're a guy so you might be able to help him. I'll still be there of course!"I say.
"Okay."He says smiling.
"Good."I say getting out of his hole and going to mine.
I sit with Stanley as we teach Zero how to spell his name.
"Z-E-R-O."He writes.
"Good job!You're gettin' the hang of it."I say.
"I can help you dig your hole so you won't be so tired to help teach me,Stanley."Zero says.
"Nah,I'm fine."Stanley says.
"Look,you're a slow digger."Zero says.
"Are you gonna help Angel?She's the one who had the idea for me to help."Stanley says.
"Angel is about as fast as I am when it comes to digging."Zero says.
"Besides,when I get done,I won't do anything but sit around so I'll help you two dig."I say.
"That way we'll all be done at the same time."Zero says.
"Oka.y"Stanley says before we look back at the 'ZERO' written on the paper in front of us.
"You know Zero's not my real name."Zero says.
"It's not?But even Pendanski calls you Zero."Stanley says.
"My name's Hector. Hector Zeroni."Zero says.
"It's nice to meet you Hector."Stanley says shaking Zero's hand.
"It's nice to meet you."Zero smiles.
Zero and I help dig Stanley's hole while Zero talks about our agreement.
"Twenty six letters. So we can do five letters for four days and then six letters on the fifth day."Zero says.
"That's some good math."I say.
"I'm not stupid. I know everyone thinks I am but I just don't like answering stupid questions."Zero says.
"Hey Caveman!It's pretty easy working with your own personal slaves huh?"X-Ray asks.
We look up to see him and Squid.
"'Sup stupid."X-Ray says to Zero before he walks off.
"Come on Squid."He says.
Squid pushes some dirt into our hole before following X-Ray.
Stanley and I sit with Zero in the tent as he writes MOM.
"We weren't always homeless. I remember we used to live in a lot of different places. And then… we didn't live anywhere."Zero talks about his mom.
"It must have been hard."I say quietly.
"My mom had problems but she would try so hard to make a better life for us. She always use to say,'I love you more than air'."Zero sighs
"She couldn't take me everywhere she went. I used to have to wait at a park or on a porch…and then one day...one day she didn't come back."Zero says.
"What happened to her?"Stanley asks.
"I don't know. That's what bothers me the most. If I could, I'd hire a whole team of private investigators to find her I used to wait at Laney Park."Zero says.
"Laney Park!I use to go there all the time."Stanley says.
"Oh really?"Zero asks.
"Yeah!"Stanley says.
"I used to sleep in the tunnel next to the swinging bridge."Zero says.
Stanley's smile turns into a frown.
"But no biggie."Zero adds.
We're digging our holes when Dr. Pendanski pulls up with lunch.
"Come on and line 'em up!I don't have all day!"Dr. Pendanski yells as we get in line.
"We have bologna and cheese,apples,and graham crackers!"Dr. Pendanski says.
I just get an apple because I hate bologna.
I go sit by my already finished hole as ZigZag goes over to Stanley. ZigZag hits Stanley in the leg to get his attention.
"Hey!How about I give you my cookie and you let me dig your hole?"ZigZag offers.
Stanley does nothing but take a bite out of his apple.
"Come on. Take it."ZigZag says trying to hand Stanley the cookie.
"Look I get it,alright?I'll dig my own hole from now on. Just let me eat my lunch."Stanley says.
"He isn't gonna take it."ZigZag laughs.
"Come on. Eat the cookie!"ZigZag pushes the cookie to Stanley's lips.
Stanley slaps his hand away so ZigZag pushes him.
"Back off man!"Stanley says standing up only to nearly fall in his hole when ZigZag pushes him again.
"Hey,hey,hey!What's going on here?"Dr. Pendanski asks walking over to them.
"Nothing Mom,we were just foolin'."Squid says.
"No,I saw what was going on. Go on Stanley,teach him a lesson. Hit him back."Dr. Pendanski encourages.
"Yeah,teach me a lesson."Zigzag mocks
"Yeah Stanley!Teach him a lesson!"Armpit says.
Zigzag pushes Stanley and Stanley weakly slaps him. ZigZag tackles him to the ground. I get out of my hole as ZigZag gets on top of Stanley and starts to punch him.
"STOP!"I yell.
The don't listen as they roll over and Stanley elbows ZigZag in the stomach. Stanley scrambles out of his hole and Zigzag chases after him.
Stanley turns around to see if ZigZag's following. Zigzag swings his fist violently sending Stanley to the ground.
Zero jumps on ZigZag's back and starts choking him. They fall to the ground with Zero still choking him.
"Zero stop man!He can't breath!"Armpit yells as he tries to pry Zero off of ZigZag.
A gunshot is heard.
"NOW I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!WHEN I SAY TO END SOMETHING,I MEAN END IT!GET BACK TO YOUR HOLES!"Dr. Pendanski yells.
I go over to Stanley and I embrace him.
"You're okay."I say happily.
"Yeah."He says out of breath.
I pull back and give Zero a hug.
The warden's car pulls up and we all crowd around the water truck as Mr. Sir and the warden walk up to us.
"Basically,Zero almost killed Ricky."Dr. Pendanski says.
"Basically?"The warden questions.
"Ziggy was beating up the Caveman right?And then Zero started choking ZigZag. I had to pull Zero off of him."Armpit speaks up.
"Yeah,I mean,Zig just got a little hot. Out in the sun all day,the blood starts to boil."X-Ray says.
"Is that what happened Zigzag?"The warden turns to ZigZag.
"Yep. Like X-Ray said,working all day out in the hot sun,while Caveman sits around and does nothin'."ZigZag says.
"Excuse me?Caveman digs his hole just like everybody else."The warden says.
"Sometimes."ZigZag says.
"Excuse me?"The warden asks getting impatient with ZigZag.
"Ma'am,Zero's been diggin' a part of Caveman's hole every day."Squid says.
Why did he leave me out?I help dig Stanley's hole!
"You're not diggin' holes no more?Huh?"Mr. Sir angrily asks Stanley.
"I'm teaching him how to read."Stanley says.
"What?"Mr. Sir asks.
"He's a smart kid."Stanley argues.
"Smart?Oh yeah?Hey Zero,what does C-A-T spell?Huh? What's it spell?"Dr. Pendanski asks Zero.
Zero remains silent.
"Yeah,he's a real genius!He's so stupid,he doesn't even know he's stupid."Dr. Pendanski says.
"Okay,from now on,I don't want anyone diggin' anyone else's holes!And no more readin' lessons."The warden directs the last part at Stanley.
"Why?I mean if the hole gets dug,who cares who's digging it,right?"Stanley asks.
"You know why you're diggin' holes?'Cause it's good for ya'. It teaches ya' a lesson."Mr. Sir angrily tells him.
"If Zero digs your hole for you,you're not learnin' your lesson,are you?"The warden asks.
"Well why can't I just dig my hole and still teach him to read?"Stanley asks.
"Because I said so."The warden says threateningly.
"We know you mean well Stanley,but the mental stress just causes his brain too much of a challenge. That's what made his blood boil,not the hot sun."Dr. Pendanski says.
"I'm not diggin' any more holes."Zero states.
"Good."The warden says.
"I mean,you might as well teach this shovel to read."Dr. Pendanski says taking ZigZag's shovel and handing it to Zero.
"Go ahead Zero,take it. It's all you'll ever be good for."Dr. Pendanski says as Zero puts his canteen down.
"D-I-G. What's that spell?"Dr. Pendanski asks.
Zero acts like he's thinking before he swings the shovel.
It hits Dr. Pendanski's face causing him to fall over unconscious.
Zero crouches down.
"Dig."Zero says before he starts running.
"GO ZERO!RUN!"Stanley and I yell as Mr. Sir chases after Zero with his pistol out of its holster.
"Don't shoot!He can't go anywhere!"The warden yells.
"You think I was gonna shoot him?"Mr. Sir yells.
"The last thing we need is an investigation."The warden says.
"I know that!Misinterpretation!Fine!Let him go then!Let him go!"Mr. Sir says coming back to us.
"I want round-the-clock guards on all water sources."The warden yells pouring water on Dr. Pendanski's face.
She starts to her car but stops right by Stanley.
"I still expect eight holes."She says before leaving.
"I'll have the chicken tenders. Warden?"Dr. Pendanski says getting up only to fall back onto the ground.
I lay on my cot as the boys talk.
"Man,if he's not back by morning,he's dead."Armpit says.
"He's dead either way. If he stays out there or if he comes back."X-Ray says.
"Hey,when do you think they're gonna find his body?"ZigZag asks.
"What body?"Squid risks a glance at Stanley and I.
"Man, Zero's buzzard food… You know what? They'll pick out the eyeballs first."Squid says making a disgusting sound.
"Lord,I can't believe you just said that."X-Ray says.
"Squid that's disgusting."Zigzag says.
I turn away from them trying to ignore the thoughts of Zero and his death.
"Come on,we were just playing,dog."Magnet says trying to shut them up.
They turns the lights out and we go to bed.
I lay on my cot thinking. I can't sleep so I get up and go outside. I sit on the steps and close my eyes.
"Can't sleep?"I hear someone ask.
I open my eyes and see ZigZag.
"No."I sigh.
"I wanna show you something."He says after a few seconds of silence.
"Okay."I say.
I let him pull me up and he leads me to the showers.
"What are you showing me?"I ask as we go behind the showers.
"This."He says before he kisses me.
I kiss back before he puts his hand on my area.
"ZigZag!"I say.
He smirks before kissing my neck. I now realize who he reminds me of!He reminds me of Keith!
I look around for a weapon but come up with nothing. I let a tear roll down my cheek as he lowers me to the ground.
He gets on top of me and continues to kiss my neck and touch me in inappropriate places. I try to scream but he just puts one of his hands over my mouth.
He starts pulling my tank top up as I close my eyes. ZigZag is pulled off me.
"What are you doin'?"I hear Squid ask.
I open my eyes to see Squid holding ZigZag's collar.
"Just tryin' to have some fun!I'll let you have her when I'm done."ZigZag says.
"You leave her the hell alone!"Squid says before he pushes ZigZag to the ground.
ZigZag gets up and walks back to D tent muttering things under his breath.
Squid turns to me and drops to my side.
"You okay?"He asks.
"Yeah."I whisper.
Squid can tell I'm shaken up so he wraps me up in a hug.
"Did he get far?"Squid asks.
"Not really."I say starting to cry.
He wraps his arms tighter around my waist.
"It'll be okay."He whispers.
I now know that Squid doesn't hate me. Squid cares for me.
Squid helps me up from the ground and takes me to the tent. He puts me on my cot and is about to go to his when I grab his hand.
"Please stay."I whisper through my tears.
He nods before getting on the cot.
He lays me on top of him because the cot is so small. Within a few minutes,I fall asleep.
I see a little girl with dark brown hair,dark brown eyes,and a smile. She is good. She is kind. She is pure.
She then transforms into a 12 year old. Her hair shorter and her eyes darker. Her smile is the same. She is still good,kind,and pure.
She then transforms into a sixteen year old with shoulder length dark brown hair,dark brown eyes,and a small smile. It's me.
I then realize,it was me as a child,as a tween,and me now. I stand with Keith who is kissing me.
Everything that happened...the near rape,the knife to his shoulder,me running from the police plays out in front of me.
Then,me coming to Camp Green Lake,introductions,my first hole,my relationship with the guys,ZigZag nearly raping me,Squid saving me all plays out.
I now know...I was good. I was kind. I was pure. But not anymore...
That was a dream scene in the italics! Thanks for the reviews and I've decided to start asking if I should do a sequel after the story ends?If so,I'll need some ideas! Either send me a message with an idea or review with an idea! I'll give you credit!Review:)