Chapter 1

If someone wanted to play a game of 'I Spy' with Mickey, the game would end after two turns. The only thing that could be 'spied' was dirt, dirt, and more dirt. Dirt coated the windows, it trailed behind the bus in cloud form; even the road they were traversing was made of dirt. It was a boring sight to have to stare at for three hours.

Three hours on the way to Camp Green Lake, Some correctional facility deep in the heart of Texas. She had been facing jail time originally. She was prepared to get her fingerprints taken down and her number assigned. It couldn't have come at a better time that her court-assigned lawyer found out about an opening that was available at Camp Green Lake. It saved her from having to be put behind bars but then it robbed her of visitation from her family. If only they hadn't been so desperate.

Never has a double-edged sword hurt so much.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and rolled down her back. Whoever said sweating was the body's way of cooling down was a liar. She did not feel cool at all. She would've wiped the sweat away if her hands weren't handcuffed to the seat in front of her. She didn't expect to die so soon on her way to Hell.

Heck, Mickey Mason didn't expect to ever find herself going against the law either.

The bumpy ride finally came to an end as the stuffy bus pulled up next to a small, wooden office building. One sign on the wall read YOU ARE NOW ENTERING CAMP GREEN LAKE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. She grimaced at the next sign that read: It is a violation of the Texas Penal Code to bring guns, explosives, weapons, drugs, or alcohol onto the premises. Despite the ominous signs she sighed in relief, finally able to pull her sweaty back off of the hot plastic bus seat. She rubbed her wrists once the handcuffs were removed, wiping the sweat rings off on her shirt. With shaky legs, she followed the guard off the bus and into the building.

A fan spun overhead but it didn't provide the break from the heat in the stuffy room as she had hoped. The humidity was enough to make her feel as if her throat was closing. But it seemed to work properly when she gulped at the mere sight of the scary looking man in the chair.

His already beady eyes narrowed as he peered at Mickey. His teeth gnawed on sunflower seeds. The chewing and popping between his teeth slowed as he got a good look at Mickey. She shifted beneath his gaze, her blue eyes dropping down to her scuffed up shoes. He was looking at her as if he had never seen a girl before.

That couldn't be good.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"New camper," the guard replied.

The man grunted. "This here's a girl," he stated. Mickey's head lifted at his statement. Something about the way he said that made her uneasy. "Aint no girls at Camp Green Lake."

That's why.

Mickey's ears perked up at this. "Wait," she said. Her voice sounded small in the room. "But this is a youth correctional facility. Right?"

"It's a juvenile detention facility for boys," the man said. "You aint no boy."

Mickey kept herself from making a snarky comment. The guy looked as if he could kill her with his pinkie finger alone. Her eyes shifted back and forth between the two men as they looked at one another. Finally the scary man picked up a walkie talkie and then muttered something into it. She didn't catch what he said.

"Sit down," he ordered. Mickey caught that. She dropped into the seat on the other side of the desk without hesitation. She messed with the hem of her t-shirt ad licked her dry lips. Only when the saliva dried up a second later did she regret it. Boy did she wish she had a glass of lemonade right now.

"Mickey Mason?" the man asked aloud, looking at a clipboard.

"Yeah," Mickey, squeaked, awkwardly raising her hand. Never in that moment had she seen a better placed 'Oh Crap' face. She would've laughed if the situation was funny. But it wasn't. The scary man and the guard whispered back and forth to one another. Mickey looked around the room to keep busy, especially so she wouldn't be accused of eavesdropping. She clutched her bag close to her chest and kicked her legs beneath the chair. Her feet barely touched the ground.

The silence that had filled the room was broken at the sound of a door creaking open. Mickey turned around in her seat and spied a short man with zinc oxide on his nose. He couldn't have been that much taller than her. He too one look at Mickey and then his expression matched the Scary Man's.

"Did you two rehearse that?" Mickey tried to joke. No one laughed. She cleared her throat and whispered, "Okay then."

"Are you Mickey Mason?" Zinc-Oxide asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"You're not a boy."

"Yeah…I'd grow a Y Chromosome but I don't think that's possible."

"This s a boy's camp."

"I gathered that." Not like Mickey would go had she known that fact. Jail probably had AC. That had to be a plus side. Either way, there was a lot she needed to talk to that lawyer about.

Zinc-Oxide rounded the table and looked over the Scary Man's shoulder to see the clipboard. The two conversed for a moment. The Scary Man spat out his empty sunflower seed shells and stuffed another handful in his mouth. Zinc-Oxide motioned for Mickey to stand up and follow him, bidding someone named Mr. Sir a goodbye on the way out. Out into the depths of Hell.

"There seems to be a little mix up in our filing," Zinc-Oxide said. Despite being short as well, his strides were still longer than Mickey's. She had to walk a little faster than her usual pace to keep up with him as they crossed the dusty compound. She spotted people in orange jumpsuits every now and then and they seemed to do a double take as she walked by. "We were expecting you to be a boy. Unisex names and all." Mickey wondered how her gender didn't appear on her file but she didn't ask. She wasn't sure she'd get an answer. "We're asking the Warden how to handle things and get you back on your way. In the mean time, I can get you some water. I bet you're thirsty."

"Yeah," Mickey rasped, her dry throat keeping her from whooping with joy at the very idea of water. Heaven in liquid form.

"It's right over here." He pointed and lead her over to what looked like was supposed to be showers. "My name's Mr. Pendanski. I want you to know that although you've made a bad decision it doesn't make you a bad person."

Mickey pressed her dry lips together. No, defending herself apparently made her a bad person. She removed her cap from her head and wiped sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. Her black hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, swung free. A few seconds later wolf-whistles rang in the air. Mickey flinched at the noise. Mr. Pendanski ignored it. She stood by with her arms crossed as Pendanski filled a canteen and then held it out to her. She eagerly gobbled the water down as a voice cut through the thick air.

"Yo Mom! Is that a mirage standing next to you?"

Mickey stopped drinking in mid-gulp to see who was yelling. Three boys sauntered over to Pendanski, all covered in dirt. One's glasses were covered so much Mickey was surprised he could see.

"Now Rex, that's no way to speak to a girl," Pendanski replied, putting a hand on Mickey's shoulder. She shrugged out from underneath his arm, frowning. "There was a bit of a mistake and she'll be here until we can sort it out. For now, be the gentlemen that I know you can be." Pendanski turned his grin to Mickey. It made her frown deepen. "Boys this is Mickey. Mickey this is Rex, Jose, and Theodore." He pointed to each of them in turn.

"Naw, man, it's X-Ray. And that's Magnet and that's Armpit," the boy with glasses said, correcting names. "What are you doing here?" He lifted his chin in Mickey's direction.

"Lacking a dick, apparently," Mickey replied. Magnet cracked a smile. It made his already tired-looking face that more tired-looking. "So…" she looked around herself. "Where's the lake?" This time all three boys laughed. Mickey blinked in confusion, mentally slapping herself for the seemingly funny question. "Did I say something?"

"Pendanski!" The Scary Man, whom Mickey learned was Mr. Sir when Pendanski addressed him, walked towards them, a bit bowlegged, his hand upon a holster that Mickey hadn't noticed before. Beneath the hot sun she blanched. "That was the Warden." Mr. Sir spat on the ground and wiped off his mouth. "Says to keep her here. Already takin' up a vacancy. Says it doesn't matter where she spends her sentence. 'Sides, bus won't return until another spot opens."

Mickey's eyes widened. Stay here? In a camp full of boys? Full of criminal boys? Until who knows how long? She shook her head. She must have been hearing things. "You can't keep me here!" she squeaked in desperation.

"It's only temporary!" Pendanski said brightly. "Time will fly by! You won't even notice!"

Another round of whistles pierced the air as a few more dirty boys passed by them. Mickey's eyebrow popped up at the sound and she stared at Pendanski. Needless to say, she was sure she'd notice.

"Others might," Armpit noted as Magnet nodded his head in agreement.

"Don't worry, Mom, we'll be sure to keep an eye on her. As a favor to you, of course," X-Ray said with an easy smile. "Wouldn't want you getting' in trouble with the Warden. Win-win situation. We'll show her around. Watch her back and stuff."

"Right. Please do that while we sort this out," Pendanski said. But Mickey had a feeling all of the sorting out had been done already. Pendanski patted Mickey's shoulder. Her grip tightened on the canteen in her hands as he walked away. Leaving her with the dirty boys.

"Well, we can give you a tour," Magnet said. Mickey looked around them. Whatever tour he could give she guessed it would be short.

"Why are you so…dirty?" Mickey asked.

"They never told you?" X-Ray asked in response. She tilted her head in confusion. "Gotta dig holes here. Once a day. You get used to it."

Mickey made a face. They dig holes every day. What kind of correctional facility was this? She didn't dare ask the question aloud. They were juvenile delinquents after all. Well, she was one too but who knows why they were arrested? She didn't want to begin that train of thought. Instead she kept quiet while following the boys around. She learned early on in her life that it was better to keep quiet than to ask a bunch of questions.

The big tour went from the offices to the Mess Hall to the Wreck Room (was that a spelling error?), and then to the tents. X-Ray's, Armpit's, and Magnent's tent was D-Tent. A, B, C, and E were for other campers. F was for counselors. The lone house on the property was for the Warden.

"And this is the best tent in all of camp," X-Ray boasted as they stepped into D-Tent. It was as humid as the others. Three other boys lay on cots in the tent; one with wide eyes and crazy hair, one with curly brown hair, and one small boy. They were Zigzag, Stanley, and Zero. Mickey wondered if Stanley was his name or a nickname as the others seemed to have.

Their naming system was strange around Camp Green Lake. The whole day was strange. Even that Zigzag guy asking if she had seen any yellow-spotted lizards. She hadn't and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"So you were sent here on accident?" Stanley asked, the only guy who actually talked to her rather than stare at her or openly ogle. He had arrived only two days ago. He was a newbie just like her.

Mickey nodded. "Somewhere along the way they lobbed off an X and gave me a Y," she replied. Stanley smiled. Saying it out loud still didn't make the situation any better. Besides te name, how was it possible for this all to go wrong? Don't they double check these things?

"How long are you here?"

Mickey didn't get a chance to reply as Magnet cut in with, "Hopefully forever. You're the best thing I've seen all day."

She tried to smile but it didn't go that far. She did her best to curl in on herself, make herself smaller. Maybe then they'd leave her alone and stop asking questions.

"Yeah, so, nice chattin' with ya. I'm gonna go find Pendanski," she said, jumping up from the end of Stanley's cot. Se had almost made it out of the tent when she walked smack dab into someone entering on the other side.

"Man, watch where I'm goin'!" the person grunted

"Sorry!" Mickey squeaked, flinching. "I didn't see…" her words trailed off and her eyebrows knitted together. "Wait…Alan!?"

"Who wants ta—" 'Alan' started but then he stopped once he took a look at Mickey. "Mickey!?"

"I take it you two know each other," X-Ray commented from behind them. As if that wasn't obvious.

"Unfortunately," Mickey growled, glaring at 'Alan'. He did the same and brushed past er, knocking his shoulder against hers on the way. The force made her take a couple of steps back to keep from falling over.

"Who sent you to check in on me?" 'Alan' demanded.

"Typical Alan, thinking the world revolves around him," Mickey muttered. "I'm not here for you."

"It's not Alan, it's Squid!" he said from what she guessed was his cot as he yanked a shirt on over his head. His orange jumpsuit was tied around his waist by the arms. Everyone else stayed quiet as they watched the two.

Mickey snorted at the ridiculous name. "Oh ho! That's even better! An animal that reflects your lack of a spine!"

"Wanna say that again?" Squid demanded. He crossed the short distance of the tent and grabbed her by her collar. "You'll be snacking on your teeth!"

"Whoa! Squid, easy man," X-Ray cried out, jumping up.

Mickey tried to pry his fingers off of her but they wouldn't budge. He was much stronger than she remembered. "Get your hands off me!" She hissed.

"Looks like you're all getting along," Pendanski said cheerfully as he entered the tent. Mickey turned her glare to him. Was he really that blind or did he choose not to see what was in front of his face?

Squid held his glare a little longer and then let her go. He wrenched his arm from X-Ray's grasp and sauntered back over to his cot.

"Here's the deal," Pendanski addressed Mickey, "The Warden has decided to make an exception and allow you to stay for as long as your sentence allows." He shoved orange jumpsuits, a pair of gloves, and a few towels in her arms. "You get two jumpsuits. One to work in, one to relax in. You're to dig a hole per day, five feet deep, five feet in diameter. Your shovel will be your measuring stick. You get shower tokens to wash up. There's only one temperature: cold." The longer Pendanski spoke the wider Mickey's eyes got. He couldn't be serious. But, sadly, he was. "You were supposed to fill the vacancy in B-Tent but considering the circumstances and that you already have a buddy here"—Squid lifted his middle finger—"we can shift and have you in D-Tent." Pendanski put his hand on Mickey's shoulder again. Her lip twitched. Her skin burned beneath his heavy hand. "Now the Warden is concerned about this…predicament so you will be working in the kitchens part time to ensure your safety. You'll be preparing breakfast and dinner."

Mickey's internal screams of despair were interrupted by Alan's, no, Squid's burst of laughter. "Good! Stick her where she belongs!" That got him a high five from Magnet. Mickey wanted to high five him in the face.

A/N: Recently I watched Holes and I read the book and the survival guide and Small Steps again which brought me back to the Holes fandom after a few years to try my hand at writing Holes stories again. I had two up recently, Squids Don't Cry and Papercut Hell, that I have decided to delete and try again later. I wanted to get this story out before I forgot my idea. I'm writing this so it kind of reflects the narrative voice of Louis Sachar but with my own flair.

I have old Holes stories up on my profile (of which really make me cringe, to be honest), but I hope you all can see my improvement in writing over the years between now and then.

Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy this story!

~C.M.