Chapter Twenty Three

The next day was ZigZag's birthday. Or so he said. Squid told me ZigZag was in the bed and told them, "I get to sleep in, because it's my birthday."

Then a little while later he cut into the breakfast line, just in front of Squid. Squid told him to go to the end of the line. "Hey, it's my birthday," ZigZag said, staying where he was.

"It's not your birthday," Princess said from behind me.

"Is too," said ZigZag. "July 8."

"How do you know that?" I asked him.

"I just do," he said.

"Can I have an extra carton of juice?" ZigZag asked Mr. Sir. "It's my birthday."

To everyone's surprise, Mr. Sir gave it to him.

We had been digging for five hours. Right before the lunch truck came Zero got into Caveman's hole, and Caveman got out.

"Hey, Caveman," said ZigZag. "You should get a whip. Then if your slave doesn't dig fast enough, you can crack it across his back."

"He's not my slave," said Caveman. "We have a deal, that's all."

"A good deal for you," said ZigZag.

"It was Zero's idea, not mine."

"Don't you know, Zig?" said Squid, coming over. "Caveman's doing Zero a big favor. Zero likes to dig holes."

"He sure is a nice guy to let Zero dig his hole for him," said Armpit.

"Well, what about me?" asked Magnet. "I like to dig holes, too. Can I dig for you, Caveman, after Zero's finished?"

We all laughed, except TC.

"No, I want to," said ZigZag. "It's my birthday. Come on, Caveman. Be a pal. Let me dig your hole."

Caveman smiled, as if it were all a big joke. When Mom finally came with water and lunch, ZigZag offered Caveman his place in line. "Since you're so much better than me."

Caveman remained where he was. "I didn't say I was bet-"

"You're insulting him, Zig," said Squid. "Why should Caveman take your place, when he deserves to be at he very front? He's better than all of us. Aren't you, Caveman?"

"No," said Caveman.

"Sure you are," said Squid. "Get up here."

Caveman surprised me when he actually walked to the front of the line. Did he really think he was better than all of us? If he did, he has another thing coming.

"Well, this is a first," Mom said, coming around the side of the truck. He filled Caveman's canteen and handed him a sack lunch. Caveman sat down between his own hole and Zero's. ZigZag and Squid started walking toward him.

"I'll give you my cookie if you let me dig your hole," said ZigZag.

Squid laughed. I thought that they were now taking it a little too far. I mean, nobody liked that fact that Zero was doing what he was doing, but he would stop if he didn't want to do it. I think that Squid and ZigZag should stop before something really bad happens.

"Here, take my cookie," said ZigZag, sticking it in his face.

"Leave me alone," said Caveman.

"Please eat my cookie," said ZigZag, holding it under Caveman's nose.

Squid laughed again.

Stanley pushed it away.

ZigZag pushed him back. "Don't push me!"

I knew that this was going to end badly.

"I didn't…" Caveman got to his feet. He looked around. Mom was filling Zero's canteen.

ZigZag pushed him again. "I said, 'Don't push me.'"

Caveman took a step back. ZigZag kept after him. He shoved Caveman and said, "Quit pushing!"

"Lay off," said TC, as she and the rest of us joined them.

"Why should he?" snapped Squid. "Caveman's bigger. He can take care of himself."

"We don't want to get into trouble," Hype said.

ZigZag pushed him hard. "Eat my cookie," he said.

Mom was coming toward us along with Zero.

"Hi, Mom," Princess said. "We were just fooling around."

"I saw what was going on," Mom said. He turned to Caveman. "Go ahead, Stanley," he said. "Hit him back. You're bigger."

We stared at Mom in astonishment.

"Teach the bully a lesson," said Mom.

ZigZag hit Caveman on the shoulder with his open hand. "Teach me a lesson," he challenged.

Caveman made a feeble attempt to punch ZigZag, then ZigZag punched both of his fist against Caveman's head and neck. ZigZag had a hold of his collar with one hand and was hitting him with the other. The collar ripped and Caveman fell backward onto the dirt.

"That's enough!" Mom yelled.

It wasn't enough for ZigZag. He jumped on top of Stanley.

"Stop!" TC yelled.

It was as if time was in slow motion, Zero jumped on ZigZag and started to choke him. ZigZag got off of Caveman and started gasping for air. This was the scariest thing I had seen at this camp yet.

"You're going to kill him!" shouted Princess.

Zero kept squeezing. Armpit charged into them, freeing ZigZag from Zero's choke hold. The three boys fell to the ground in different directions.

Mom fired his pistol into the air.

The other counselors came running from the office, the tents, or out on the lake. They had their guns drawn, but holstered them when they saw the trouble was over.

The Warden walked over from her cabin.

"There was a riot," Mom told her. "Zero almost strangled Ricky."

The Warden looked at ZigZag, who was still stretching and messaging his neck. The she turned her attention to Caveman, who was obviously in the worst condition. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing. It wasn't a riot."

"Ziggy was beating up the Caveman," said Hype. "Then Zero started choking ZigZag, and Armpit had to pull Zero off of ZigZag. It was all over before Mom fired his gun."

"They just got a little hot, that's all," said Squid. "You know how it is. In the sun all day. People get hot, right? But everything's cool now."

"I see," the Warden said. She turned to ZigZag. "What's the matter? Didn't you get a puppy for your birthday?"

"Zig's just a little hot," said Squid. "Out in the sun all day. You know how it is. The blood starts to boil."

"Is that what happened, ZigZag?" asked the Warden.

"Yeah," said ZigZag. "Like Squid said. Working so hard in the hot sun, while Caveman just sits around doing nothing. My blood boiled."

"Excuse me?" said the Warden. "Caveman digs his holes, just like everyone else."

ZigZag shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Excuse me?"

"Ma'am, Zero's been digging part of Caveman's hole every day," I said.

The Warden looked from me to Caveman to Zero.

"I'm teaching him to read and write," said Caveman. "It's sort of a trade. The hole still gets dug, so what does it matter who digs it?"

"Excuse me?" said the Warden.

"Isn't it more important for him to learn to read?" Caveman asked. "Doesn't that build character more than digging holes?"

"That's his character," said the Warden. "What about your character?"

Caveman raised and lowered one shoulder.

The Warden turned to Zero. "Well, Zero, what have you learned so far?"

Zero said nothing.

"Have you just been digging Caveman's hole for nothing?" the Warden asked him.

"He likes to dig holes," said Mom.

"Tell me what you learned yesterday," said the Warden. "Surely you can remember that."

Zero said nothing.

Mom laughed. He picked up a shovel and said, "You might as well try to teach this shovel to read! It's got more brains the Zero."

"The 'at' sound," said Zero.

"The 'at' sound," repeated the Warden. "Well then, tell me, what does c-a-t spell?"

Zero glanced around uneasily. "Cat," Zero said.

Mom clapped his hands. "Bravo! Bravo! The boy's a genius!"

"F-a-t?" asked the Warden.

Zero thought a moment.

"Eff," Zero whispered. "Eff-at. Fat."

"How about h-a-t?" asked the Warden.

Zero concentrated hard, then said, "Chat."

All the counselors laughed. Me and the rest of the girls felt really bad for him.

"He's a genius, all right!" said Mom. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."

I didn't know why Mom seemed to have it in for Zero.

"Okay, from now on, I don't want anyone digging anyone else's hole," said the Warden. "And no more reading lessons."

"I'm not digging another hole," said Zero.

"Good," said the Warden. She turned to Caveman. "You know why you're digging holes? Because it's good for you. It teaches you a lesson. If Zero digs your holes for you, then you're not learning your lesson, are you?"

"I guess not," Caveman mumbled. "Why can't I dig my own hole, but still teach Zero to read?" he asked. "What's wrong with that?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong with that," the Warden said. "It leads to trouble. Zero almost killed ZigZag."

"It causes him stress," said Mom. "I know you mean well, Stanley, but face it. Zero's too stupid to learn to read. That's what made his blood boil. Not the hot sun."

"I'm not digging another hole," said Zero.

Mom handed him the shovel. "Here, take it, Zero. It's all you'll ever be good for. What does d-i-g spell?"

Zero took the shovel. Then he swung it like a baseball bat. The metal blade hit across Mom's face. His knees crumpled beneath him. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Zero bent down and said, "Dig." Then he ran off.

We all watch him as he left.

The Warden turned towards us, then looked at Caveman. "I still expect fourteen holes."

JainaZekk621 : Thank you so much. I love reading your reviews for my story.

Running to Stand Still : Ha. I wouldn't be that devestated if you killed her off. I wish Squid was mine too. And I love your reviews.

Haircut Scissors : I love that my story for Holes is one of the best you've ever read, I put a lot of energy in making sure it is enjoyable.

Magenta Stone : Thank you so much.

Trix are for kids: I like that line too. Thank you for the review.

Prancing Flamingo: I'm glad my story is one of the first good ones you have read; I do my best. Thank you for the review.

And thank you to everyone else who reads my story. I love you all.

Dee