I didn't mean for it to happen: these things just happened to me. Something catches my eye and I feel this itch inside my fingers, as if the bones themselves are vibrating. My head gets all stuffy, like what happens when you get a cold. Next thing I know, I running away with the item clenched in my fist. I think my dad called it Kleptomania.

I've stolen quite a large amounts of items in my life. I remember that first thing, a rubber duck. I was seven and I just got this urge to take it. I have no idea why, out of all things, I wanted this duck, but next thing I knew, my hand was wrapped around the duck and I was trying to get away from the security guard.

My dad never had any idea what to do with me, most of time he ignored me. He's spent most of his time ignoring me since my mom died. I tried to tell myself that I didn't care, but I soon found myself trying extra hard to get his attention, whether it was good or bad. And so my obsession with stolen artifacts truly began.

I almost never got caught. I ran track at school so no security guard really got to chance to compete with me. I didn't normally steal from stores because of the security guards, but this problem of mine doesn't come with an on and off switch. So I ended up taking things from school, whether it's a neat-looking pen or someone's planner.

It all went downhill when I stole Brenna Martin's charm bracelet right off of her wrist.

Brenna was the most popular girl in school. Her dad was an attorney and her entire family was filthy rich. I wouldn't have gone after that stupid bracelet, but like I said, this Kleptomania or whatever doesn't come with an off switch. I had gotten pretty good at pick-pocketing and so Brenna's bracelet was gone before she could even blink.

People at school knew about my disorder. I never had any real friends because everyone was afraid of having their stuff nicked. So when word spread around that Brenna's bracelet was missing, I was the first suspect. The principal found the bracelet pretty fast and returned it to Brenna, hoping that that would be that. But that bracelet had belonged to Brenna's dead mother, so she pressed charges.

The judge hadn't been exactly sympathetic. She ranted at me about how stealing was a sin and so on and so forth. I had hung my head in shame. Why was I like this? People acted as if I wanted to be like this. But who would?

"I'm sure you've heard of Sister Judith's Detention Hall for Girls?" The judge asked me. I sunk a little lower in my seat. Sister Judith's Hell for Girls was hell. One girl from our grade had gone there and when she came back, she never spoke up in class and kept her head down the entire time. I was nervous and fidgety enough already; what would that place do to a person like me?

"But," The judge said suddenly. I jerked my head back up to watch her carefully. "There is an opening at Camp Green Lake. They're looking for a girl to join their camp as a tester. The choice is yours, Miss Krueger."

I had no idea what "tester" meant but there was no way I was going to spend a year and a half at Sister Judith's Hell for Girls. So I agreed to Camp Green Lake without hesitating.

Now I was handcuffed to a bus seat facing a guard who carried a shotgun on his lap. He wore dark aviators and I couldn't tell if he was looking at me or not. I jerked my head to the right, trying to flip my dark and wavy brown hair off my shoulders.

The bus was driving on a dirt road in the middle of the desert. The camp was called Camp Green Lake; where was the lake? I kept an eye out for anything green; so far I couldn't find anything remotely green. I sighed and that's when I started to notice the holes.

And then I noticed the boys.

I realized what tester meant with full force. I was going to be the only girl in this camp. The boys digging the holes stopped and stared as the bus passed, probably trying to catch a glimpse of the new kid. I moved over just a tad away from the window.

The bus pulled into the center of what looked like a small town. I could see six large tents standing side by side and a wooden shack and stalls and a log cabin with two trees beside it. I saw two boys washing a Cadillac. With any luck I would be put on car-washing duty. But with my luck, I highly doubted that.

The bus squealed to a stop and the bus opened up with a shuddering squealing noise. I could feel my body shaking as the guard took off my handcuffs and lead me outside. The bus driver wished me luck. I wanted to run back on the bus and hide, but it was already too late.

Some small groups of boys had gathered around the bus and had spotted me.

"It that a girl?"

"That's a girl!"

"What's a girl doing here?"

More boys crowded around, curious to see me. I ducked my head and stayed close to the guard, trusting him to use his shotgun if he needed to. He glanced at me sympathetically and led me into a small cabin.

The second I entered the room I was attacked by a vicious-smelling cloud of smoke. I coughed violently and the guard pushed me farther in. Cold air-conditioning folded me in its embrace and I found myself willing to sit in the overwhelming cigarette smoke storm.

A man was sitting at a desk with his feet up. He turned his head when the guard and I entered and I thought that he looked vaguely like a cat. A cigarette dangled lazily from his mouth. He glanced at us, seemingly bored and turned around. When he turned back 'round, he held two large bottle of Coke. I thought that one was for me but instead he gave them to the guard.

The man finally gave me some attention. "My name is Mr. Sir. You must be Beth Krueger, our guinea pig. First thing's first, you're the only female camper here and we're gonna be keepin' a close eye on ya, to see how other gurls could react to camp. If it don't work out, you go home after your sentence, but if it does, then more gurls will come here. Understand me?"

"Yes, Mr. Sir," I answered quietly. The guard left. Mr. Sir stared me up and down and snorted in amusement.

"You're not in Girl Scouts anymore,"