So this, is my first Holes fanfic EVER! YAYYYYY!!! xD, so yeah, I haven't gotten the characters quite down pat yet but I think I did okay! ANYWAYS, BIG credit to Annabelle from my myspace rp page for the plot idea! LOTS OF LOVE! I'll probably have the link to her page on my profile soon. And another credit to 'Silly Wendz' from my rp myspace page for a further scene in the future (i'll tell you what it is when I get to it). So, I will be naming chapters after songs that fit the chapter or that I like. Same thing. lmao, this chapter is "Welcome To Wherever You Are". :D, anyways, read on my peeps!
I didn't do anything. Nothing. Not one thing in my entire life. At least, that's what I thought. Clearly my parents thought I did considering where exactly I was right now. A stuffy old bus that was caked so thick with dirt that I could barely see out the window, if there was anything to see. Just holes. Nothing but deep holes for miles and miles and then nothing. After that it was just dirt. All cracked and parched. Just thinking about living here for how long made me want to stab myself with a fork.
And the officer that had accompanied me on this drive to hell thought I did something wrong too. Right when I was forced onto the bus, he had clamped a pair of handcuffs onto my wrists maybe a little too tight. The steel is digging into my skin and it's impossible to move my hands. Why would I need handcuffs if I didn't do anything wrong? I don't remember ever robbing a bank or murdering a cashier or any other crime that would land me in Camp Green Lake. This camp was for delinquents and I, clearly, wasn't one.
Clarity Simmons peered out of the grimy window, despite the fact that there wasn't anything really to see. Her eyes were searching for a lake, which she would never find. After realizing this, Clarity sighs and turns towards the officer that was sitting nonchalantly near the exit. He was intimidating, the way he never spoke and only glared. She kept her mouth clamped shut for a few moments, gaining up the courage to say something. He's just human, she told herself inside her mind. She assures her statement with a quick nod before sucking in a deep breath and speaking.
"Excuse me, I was just wondering, where's the lake?"
The officer gazes at her through his dark sunglasses and she immediately regretted asking. She was unable to read his eyes due to the glasses but she guessed that they were set in a permanent glower.
"Okay, um sorry." She finally mutters, her eyes now on her shoes. She was ready to cry. Tears were threatening to spill but she quickly wiped them away. What would the officer think if this so-called delinquent started bawling her eyes out? Sympathetic? Clarity doubted it. Nobody felt sympathy for her, not even her so-called parents. The ones that had sent her here over…
She wipes away more tears. She didn't want to think about that. Not now, not ever.
The bus squeals to an abrupt halt, jerking Clarity both forward in her seat and out of her thoughts. Curiosity instantly took over. Where exactly was she? She could here voices, all of them deep and Clarity groans. She had forgotten that one little detail; this was a facility for boy delinquents. The doors to the bus squelch open slowly and the voices become clearer.
"Fresh meat!" Was called over and over again followed by a cruel laugh. This was going to be hell. The officer roughly grabs Clarity's arm and pulls her to her feet. Was he really going to make her go out there? Before she could even ask, he shoves her in front of him with a smug grin. Apparently he was. Hesitantly, Clarity shuffles down the stairs of the bus, muttering a quick thanks to the driver on her way by. Right when she stepped off of the bus, Clarity gasps.
"Oh my god."
The heat was unbearable. It was like stepping into an oven. Almost instantly, beads of sweat had begun to form on her forehead and scalp. In merely five minutes, somebody could get a heat stroke. Panting, Clarity looks around the facility. She was standing in front of an old building with a faded sign that read 'Office'. A few boys dressed in orange jumpsuits were huddled nearby, staring at her. They looked like those old cartoon characters with their eyes bulging out and their mouth on the floor. Clarity blushes and pulls her eyes away, feeling self conscious and a little frightened. Male criminals who probably hadn't seen a girl in eight months surrounded her. Before she could ponder this any more, the officer nudges her forward.
"Sorry." She pants, climbing the rickety steps to the 'office'. Once on the porch, the officer unlocks her handcuffs, causing her to sigh in relief. The once noisy camp had suddenly made an extreme transition to dead silence. Clarity's cheeks redden once again and she knew that it wasn't from the wicked sunburn she was probably already developing. The officer chuckles beside her before stepping forward and unlatching the door. Cautiously, Clarity steps inside and can't help but smile. Air conditioning had to be the most wonderful thing ever invented.
"Something funny?" A man booms with a thick, Texan accent.
Clarity jumps, startled before noticing a heavyset man with major sideburns lounging in a desk. He had his feet propped up on the top of the desk and was munching on a handful of sunflower seeds. His cowboy hat was pulled down low so it was impossible to see his face unless you crouched down under him which Clarity was definitely not going to do. Cautiously, she takes another step into the dark room with her bag in hand.
"N-No." She stutters, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. The man pulls his cowboy hat up slightly, enough for her to make eye contact with him. He spits a shell into a glass jar before waving the officer out of the building.
"Good. My name's Mr. Sir." He says sternly. Clarity raises an eyebrow but keeps her mouth shut. She didn't want to get on Mr. Sir's bad side on her first day. She struggles a smile, rubbing the part of her wrists where the handcuffs had once been.
"Hi." She says quietly. Mr. Sir glares at her before pointing towards a fold up chair facing his desk.
"Clarity Simmons. Well, looks like you've gotten yourself into some mighty fine trouble there, girly." He murmers as the timid girl sits down in the seat. Clarity groans and leans forward so her arms were resting on Mr. Sir's desk.
"I didn't do anything! I don't even have a criminal record! My parent's-"
Mr. Sir cuts her off with an annoyed tone.
"If you were so innocent as you claim to be, then you wouldn't be here would you?"
Clarity stares at him for a few moments before sighing and leaning back in the chair once again. Mr. Sir smirks and folds his arms across his chest but not before spitting out a gob of sunflower seeds.
"That's right girly, now come with me."
Unfortunately, Clarity found herself back in the sweltering heat and unbearable stares once again. As weird as it might sound, she actually felt a bit better with Mr. Sir by her side. He was like her shield.
"As you can see, we have no barbed wire fences or watch towers. If you wanna run away, go ahead. By all means, go." Mr. Sir growls through a mouthful of seeds. Clarity's eyebrows raise and she looked around. There were 5, faded green tents set up side-by-side with letters painted onto them. And then there was a rickety, wooden set of showers, which made her gulp. Opposing the showers, there was a large cabin with small, green shrubs planted around the building. And then…well and then there was nothing but wasteland and holes for as far as her eyes could see and she realized that Mr. Sir was right. No kind of security whatsoever. For a split second, Clarity considered running but decided against it.
"I won't run Mr. Sir." She finally speaks, now eyeing a group of boys that were perched on the support railing of a porch. She guessed that some of the boys still didn't hear the news since one feel backwards with a yelp when he saw her. Mr. Sir nods and continues to take long strides towards the building that the boys were lounging by, Clarity not too far behind him.
"Smart thinkin' girly. Camp Green Lake is the only water source for a hundred miles. It'll only take three days of runnin' before the buzzards pick ya dry." He explains, pushing the door open of the small building.
"Yes Mr. Sir."
Inside it was dark and cool, just like Mr. Sir's office. The right wall was covered with shelves, each stuffed full of orange jump suits and white wife beaters. There was then a desk, cluttered with papers and a tall, greasy looking young man sporting what seemed to be the camps trademark look of orange jumpsuits. Behind him was a wall cluttered with dirty shovels. Surprisingly, when the young man saw Clarity, he didn't seem shocked. He just yawned and greeted Mr. Sir lazily. Right then, she decided that she liked this mystery boy. Mr. Sir clears his throat, snapping Clarity out of her thoughts before grabbing a random jumpsuit and shoving it into her arms, along with a matching hat and a white wife beater.
"These are your work clothes. You will get two sets. One is for workin', one's for relaxation. Every two weeks, you will wash your work clothes and your relaxation ones will become for work and so on. Understand?"
Clarity felt a bit dazed but nods, deciding that that was the best thing to do. The same thing kept repeating in her mind like a broken record player. I am not a delinquent and I don't belong here. Mr. Sir raises an eyebrow at her and steps back, spitting another shell to the rotting, wooden floor.
"Don't think that just cause you're a girl, that we'll be treatin' you better than anyone else. You screwed your life up and now you're gonna pay for it." He smirks, leaning against the desk. He really was enjoying this. "Now change."
Clarity looks at him in awe. Was he serious? Her arms drop to her sides, the bundle of clothes nestled in the crook of her arm.
"E-excuse me?" She stammers, looking him up and down. Mr. Sir sneers and readjusts his hat.
"You heard me, girly." He says through clenched teeth. Clarity shakes her head, forgetting how much this burly man scared her for a few moments. Was Mr. Sir a pedophile or something?
"But Mr. Sir! I'm a…well…you know?" She stammers once more before looking down at herself and back at him. Mr. Sir rolls his eyes and turns around along with the boy. He waves his hands up over his shoulders as if to say 'happy?' Clarity sighs and quickly begins to slide of her sweaty tank top. She changes into the garments quick and goes to tuck her street clothes into her bag before realizing that the boy had it. The contents of the bag were strewn across the desk and she realized that he was searching for dangerous objects. When were people going to realize that she wasn't sent here because she was a criminal but because her parents didn't WANT her? But why exactly had they sent her to a detention facility for boys? It didn't make sense. Shaking her head, Clarity clears her throat, letting the two males know that she was done changing. Mr. Sir turns around and looks at her with a deadpan expression.
"Can we continue princess?" He asks sarcastically. Clarity thought for a second, debating on whether to ask for a smaller size since she was practically swimming in the jumpsuit she had on but decided against it.
"Yes Mr. Sir." She responds quietly.
Mr. Sir harrumphs before grabbing a shovel from the stack. He smacks the butt end on the floor with a thump, one hand on his hip before explaining.
"You are to dig one hole each day. Five feet wide, five feet in diameter. Your shovel is your measuring stick. Once you're done, you are to head back to camp and spend the rest of the day however you'd like. The faster you finish, the faster you can get out of the sun and away from the rattlesnakes and yellow spotted lizards." He pauses to watch Clarity's reaction to the lizards before continuing, happy with the look of confusion and fear plastered on her face. "Rattlesnake venom won't kill ya most of the time but if you get bit by a yellow spotted lizard, you will die a slow, painful death…always."
Clarity swallows the lump in her throat as Mr. Sir places the shovel with the rest. The boy hands her the bag, half of the contents in a neat pile still on the desk. Pens, nail polish and her Ipod made up the majority of it. Mr. Sir notices Clarity frowning at the boys "confiscated" pile and grins.
"This ain't any Girls Scout Camp, princess." He chuckles. Suddenly the door to the building bursts open and a short man with sun block smeared all over his nose beams at her.
"Clarity Simmons! Welcome to Camp Green Lake! First of all, I'd like to say that you might've done some bad things in your life but that doesn't make you a bad person!" The man exclaims with a bright smile. Finally realizing that it didn't do any good to tell them why she was actually here, Clarity just gives him a small smiles and a short wave.
"Thanks?"
Beside her, Mr. Sir groans and covers his face with the palm of his hands. Clearly he thought that this adult version of a geek was as sickening as Clarity did. The geek holds out his hands with the same goofy grin.
"I'm Dr. Pendanski, you're guidance counsellor!"
Grudgingly, Clarity takes Dr. Pendanski's hand and shakes it quickly before letting go. He nods towards her, grinning.
"Now, follow m-"
He order was cut off by static on the radio clipped to his belt. He frowns and grabs the radio, holding it closely to his ear.
"Pendanski! Send Clarity Simmons to my cabin immediately!" A woman's voice demands through the static. Pendanski's eyebrows knit together and he hesitates to press his finger down on the speak button. This was obviously a new command. Even Mr. Sir looked curious beside Clarity. Finally, Pendanski presses on the button and speaks into the radio.
"I'm sorry Warden, but I was just about to take her to her tent." He replies, eyeing me with a look that said 'What has she done already?' He didn't have to wait long for the so-called 'Warden's' response.
"Excuse me?"
And with that, the Doctor's lips begin to tremble. Clarity was awestruck. Just two words had a full-grown man quivering like a baby, even if it was the dorky guidance counsellor.
"I'll have her over there right away, Warden."
Dr. Pendanski led Clarity through the camp in silence. More boys had gathered around and the eerie silence was now replaced with whispers and points. And they became even louder when Pendanski marched her up to the Warden's cabin. His preppy attitude from a few minutes earlier had been replaced with fear and curiosity, and Clarity couldn't really blame him. She felt the same emotions pulsing through her. The counsellor knocks loudly on the door to the cabin three times, eyeing the girl to his side. The door bursts open and Clarity felt her mouth drop in shock. The woman had fiery, read hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail and freckles were splattered across her face. She gives Pendaski a short, menacing glare, her arms folded across her chest.
"Excuse me?" She says with almost no emotion. Pendanski's eyes widen and he nods before fast-walking away. Once he was out of earshot, the Warden turns to Clarity and gives her a wry smile.
"And how are you Clary?" She nods, leaning against the doorframe. Clarity studies the woman for a few more moments.
"A-Aunt Lou?" She splutters in shock.
FIRST OFF, I'd like to say that this isn't one of those stories where the Warden just adores the neice, blahblahblah. It's different, because well...Lou doesn't feel that way about Clarity. Anyways, Review if you liked! I appreciate constructive criticism but please, no flames. So...REVIEW/FAVORITE/ALERT/DANCE!
Choose whatever you please! :D
Love,
Jay