Inconsolable » Squid [Holes]

5: Humpty Dumpty

Pain wasn't new to Mickey. Of course there was a difference between aching muscles due to hard labor and aching muscles due to a hard workout or from getting into a fight. And that was in a different category from emotionally inflicted pain, the sort of pain that dug in deep and held on with barbs. The kind that made you feel as if you were kicked in the gut by someone wearing steel-toed shoes. That kind she felt whenever she remembered her childhood with Alan or Squid or whatever the hell he was called now or heard him laugh or saw that particular smile when something made him giddy. Unfortunately that one only appeared at her expense nowadays.

He'd get a good laugh out of her today. The pain in her muscles had masked the pain that was nestled within the pit of her stomach which only meant she was going to have a horrible next few days. It wasn't every day that someone got their time of month while in a hot desert having to dig all day with no private bathroom nearby.

She grimaced as she followed the mass of boys towards the shed marked 'Library'. It still made her heart sink to know that behind the doors were shovels and not an actual library. She had brought a couple of books with her—her favorite being her worn copy of Hatchet—but then she could only read them so many times before getting bored. She expected some to be in the Wreck Room when she first spied it but then thought better about it. Even if there were books there she doubted they'd be in any sort of decent condition if the TV and pool table were anything to go by. Seemed they provided enough to keep the 'campers' from going completely crazy rather than giving them something to bide their time and stimulate them.

When Mickey finally got a shovel she barely had any strength to keep it off the ground. It wavered in her arms, the balance unsettling her momentarily. She barely slept, her muscles throbbed, and it felt as if a squirrel was trying to claw its way out of her. But she didn't complain. She kept her mouth shut, grabbed her peanut butter covered celery and peanut butter covered bread—breakfast if it could be called that—and merged with the masses out to the lake.

The sun hadn't risen yet, it was a faint line of pink off in the distance of an inky blue that blanketed the sky. Any remaining stars that twinkled above their heads slowly faded as they walked out across the dry wasteland. Dust kicked up around their feet as their heavy boots clomped against the cracked dirt. Mr. Sir led each group to different parts of the lake, starting with A-Tent. They walked far enough away that the sounds of their shovels hitting the dirt was faint, almost as if they were imagining the noise. The same process was followed as Mr. Sir pointed out where B and C Tent were going to dig.

Then D Tent was told where to dig. Mr. Sir marked the ground with the heel of his boot for each camper, giving them roughly enough space between holes per person so as not to end up have a cave in. With how anal the boys seemed to be about where their dirt landed she couldn't even imagine how they'd react if their holes were too close. They'd probably lose their minds, not that she could exactly blame them. Being out there in the desert digging one hole day after day in the hot sun was enough to drive any sane person crazy.

Mickey pressed the tip of her shovel against the X that Mr. Sir had marked out for her and stared at it. She knew the only way she could get the tip into the ground would be to jump on it with all her might but she was just too tired. The other boys had it easy. Stanley, no, Caveman and Armpit could use their weight to help them out. Zigzag, Magnet, and Squid, judging by their forms, could use their muscles to help them out easily. X-Ray and Zero on the other hand, they were small and on the thin side. How they managed to get their shovels into the thick crust of the surface was beyond her.

She gripped the smooth shaft of the shovel between her aching palms. They throbbed in time with her heart beat and, for a moment, she stood and felt the pulse in her palms and listened to the oddly rhythmic sounds of her "tentmates'" shovel scoops and dirt tosses. But then she broke herself out of her trance because, well, no one else was going to dig her hole for her and if she didn't start she'd be out all day.