Camp Green Lake's Visitor

one

I sat on the bus, sweat dripping down my forehead and back, sticking myself to the bus seat.
My hand had been cuffed to the side of the seat, and I've been sitting on this bus for at least 8 hours.
Sweaty and hot, I leaned on the bag I packed for camp. I had no idea what to expect other than it was a camp for juvenile delinquents. I was guilty, despite my plea of innocence. I stole from a convenience store. 3 bottles of nail polish, a bag of chips, and a pack of batteries to be exact.
I packed clothes and extra food in case of emergency. I figured it would be a character building camp. I would do my eighteen months and leave.

Eventually, the bus stopped. If I hadn't been handcuffed to the seat, I was sure I'd fly into the aisle. A guard came over and uncuffed me from the seat. He walked me off of the bus. I lifted my eyebrows at the driver just as a way to say 'thank you'. He just grunted and closed the doors, almost catching my bag.
The guard walked me into an air conditioned room, which felt amazing on my hot, sweaty body. However, I was greeted with a lot of whistles and catcalling. One boy even tipped the ball-cap he was wearing. Another boy elbowed him in the side, which made me smile a bit.

I sat down at the opposite side of a desk in the air-conditioned office. A man who was chewing sunflower seeds spit out a shell, barely missing my head. It seemed almost like a game to him, spitting the shell just far enough so it hit the wall and fell into the wastepaper basket.
"Sit down," he said, spitting another shell out, this time in a glass jar. I sat and stared at the man. "Shayyla Barron?" I nodded. "That's me, sir." "Me. Sir to you," he said, popping another handful of seeds in his mouth. "You are to call me by name, is that clear?" I nodded. "Yes Mr. Sir." "Good," he spit out more seeds as he spoke. "You'll be in D tent with Dr. Pendanski. We don't want you drawing attention to these boys, so you are to shower in the Warden's cabin, sleep on the other side of the tent, and every other day wash the dishes. On Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday you are to dig holes. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday you wash the dishes in the mess hall. Each hole must be 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep. This isn't a Girl Scout camp."
I nodded like I understood the instructions, however, there were so many things going through my head, I figured I would just act like I knew what I was doing.

I was led into a room with orange suits and black boots. Mr. Sir checked my ba and told me I could keep it. "Care to share some of those sweets?" He said, picking up a small chocolate bar. "Uh, sure," I said. "Mr. Sir," I added, hesitantly. He popped the small bar in his mouth, smacking his lips. "You'll have two sets of clothes; one for work and one for relaxation. Every three days your first set will be washed and the next set will become your work clothes. I see you packed some extra clothes, and we ain't gonna make an effort to wash those, so use em' carefully." I nodded. He closed the door so I could change into my jumpsuit. I opened the door to a little bit of a younger man; thin with sunscreen heavily smeared on his nose. "Hello! You must be Shayyla," he stuck his hand out. I smiled a bit and shook his hand quickly. "I understand you've done some bad things in your life, but that doesn't mean you're a bad kid. I respect you, Shayyla. I'm Mr. Pendanski, and I'll be your counsellor." I nodded.
"I'll lead you to our tent."

We walked at least twenty feet until we came to D tent. Mr. Pendanski pulled back the cloth to a bunch of cots and boys. They all looked up. "A girl?" One asked. He took off his glasses and shined them on his shirt. It didn't do anything other than make them dirtier.
"She'll be washing dishes and digging holes." The same boy snickered. He was African American with a black tank top and an orange jumpsuit tied around his waist.
"Rex, you'll be her mentor. I expect you to show her the ropes around here." "X-Ray," a boy with crazy blonde hair and even crazier electric blue eyes corrected. I smiled a bit.
"They all have their little nicknames, but I perfer to call them the names their parents gave them. The names society will recongnize them by when they become functioning members of society."
I nodded. "I'm Zig-Zag," the boy spoke again. "And that's X-Ray-" he pointed to the boy with the glasses. "And that's Armpit-" he pointed to a bigger African American who had some sort of smell erecting from him. "And that's Squid, and that's Barfbag, and that's Magnet." I nodded. "What about him?" I pointed to another African American boy who had curly hair. He rolled over in his cot. "Oh, that's Zero." Mr. Pendanski said. "You know why they call him that? Cause' he has nothing in that head!" He shook Zero's shoulder playfully.
"Now, you boys take care of Shayyla here."
"It should be no labor to be nice to your neighbour!" He added, walking out of the tent.
I looked at the boys. "Uh, hi."
"I haven't seen a girl in... what, 12 months?" Armpit joked, nudging X-Ray on the arm. "Man, she's quite the looker, huh?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Can you just tell me where I sleep... X-Ray?" He pointed to the farthest cot.
I nodded. "Thanks." I slid my bag under the cot and grabbed a piece of chocolate. I shoved a few pieces in my pocket.
"Hey, what're you chewing?" Zig-Zag asked, hopping to the cot closest to me. I was walking to where the rest of the boys were sitting. "Oh, uh, just some chocolate. Want some?" Zig-Zag grabbed a piece from my hand. "Hey, I want some," Armpit said, pulling two pieces from my pocket. Everyone was grabbing a piece except for Zero. "Hey, Zero!" I shouted. "Want some chocolate?" He shrugged and turned on his cot again. "Nah, I don't think he eats chocolate."
"Zero's one weird dude."
"I thought Mr. Pendanski said he calls everyone by their real names? Is Zero his real name?"
"No, but he doesn't talk... you got anymore?" X-Ray asked, popping his third bar in his mouth. "Uh, sure."
"Smart girl, surprising," Squid joked.
I cracked a small smile.
"We eat at the mess hall in like... a half an hour." Barfbag said. "I don't care, man. All I do is eat my bread and an orange or somethin'"
I sat down on someone else's cot.
"What day is it, girl?" Armpit asked.
"My name's Shayyla. And it's Tuesday, why?"
"Just askin'. You dig tomorrow?"
"No, I'm supposed to wash the dishes."
"Huh, don't break a nail." He said. "Anymore chocolate?" He asked again. I pulled my last piece in my pocket and handed it to him. He popped it in his mouth.
"Zero, are you sure you don't want a piece?" He didn't answer. I think he fell asleep.
"Don't worry about him, he's just here to dig holes."
I nodded.