Holes (12 page)

Stanley hesitated, then moved to the front of the line.

“Well, this is a first,” Mr. Pendanski said, coming around the side of the truck. He filled Stanley’s canteen and handed him a sack lunch.

Stanley was glad to get away. He sat down between his hole and Zero’s. He was glad that he’d be digging his own hole for the rest of the day. Maybe the other boys would leave him alone. Maybe he shouldn’t let Zero dig his hole for him anymore. But he needed to save his energy to be a good teacher.

He bit into his sandwich, which contained some kind of meat-and-cheese mixture that came in a can. Just about everything at Green Lake came in a can. The supply truck came once a month.

He glanced up to see Zigzag and Squid walking toward him.

“I’ll give you my cookie if you let me dig your hole,” said Zigzag.

Squid laughed.

“Here, take my cookie,” said Zigzag, holding it out for him.

“No, thanks,” said Stanley.

“C’mon, take my cookie,” said Zigzag, sticking it in his face.

“Leave me alone,” said Stanley.

“Please eat my cookie,” said Zigzag, holding it under Stanley’s nose.

Squid laughed.

Stanley pushed it away.

Zigzag pushed him back. “Don’t push me!”

“I didn’t …” Stanley got to his feet. He looked around. Mr. Pendanski was filling Zero’s canteen.

Zigzag pushed him again. “I said, ‘Don’t push me.’ ”

Stanley took a step backward, carefully avoiding Zero’s hole.

Zigzag kept after him. He shoved Stanley and said, “Quit pushing!”

“Lay off,” said Armpit, as he, Magnet, and X-Ray joined them.

“Why should he?” snapped X-Ray. “Caveman’s bigger. He can take care of himself.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” Stanley said.

Zigzag pushed him hard. “Eat my cookie,” he said.

Stanley was glad to see Mr. Pendanski coming toward them, along with Zero.

“Hi, Mom,” said Armpit. “We were just fooling around.”

“I saw what was going on,” Mr. Pendanski said. He turned
to Stanley. “Go ahead, Stanley,” he said. “Hit him back. You’re bigger.”

Stanley stared at Mr. Pendanski in astonishment.

“Teach the bully a lesson,” said Mr. Pendanski.

Zigzag hit Stanley on the shoulder with his open hand. “Teach me a lesson,” he challenged.

Stanley made a feeble attempt to punch Zigzag, then he felt a flurry of fists against his head and neck. Zigzag had hold of his collar with one hand and was hitting him with the other.

The collar ripped and Stanley fell backward onto the dirt.

“That’s enough!” Mr. Pendanski yelled.

It wasn’t enough for Zigzag. He jumped on top of Stanley.

“Stop!” shouted Mr. Pendanski.

The side of Stanley’s face was pressed flat against the dirt. He tried to protect himself, but Zigzag’s fists slammed off his arms and pounded his face into the ground.

All he could do was wait for it to be over.

Then, suddenly, Zigzag was off of him. Stanley managed to look up, and he saw that Zero had his arm around Zigzag’s long neck.

Zigzag made a gagging sound, as he desperately tried to pry Zero’s arm off of him.

“You’re going to kill him!” shouted Mr. Pendanski.

Zero kept squeezing.

Armpit charged into them, freeing Zigzag from Zero’s choke hold. The three boys fell to the ground in different directions.

Mr. Pendanski fired his pistol into the air.

•    •    •

The other counselors came running from the office, the tents, or out on the lake. They had their guns drawn, but holstered them when they saw the trouble was over.

The Warden walked over from her cabin.

“There was a riot,” Mr. Pendanski told her. “Zero almost strangled Ricky.”

The Warden looked at Zigzag, who was still stretching and massaging his neck. Then she turned her attention to Stanley, who was obviously in the worst condition. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing. It wasn’t a riot.”

“Ziggy was beating up the Caveman,” said Armpit. “Then Zero started choking Zigzag, and I had to pull Zero off of Zigzag. It was all over before Mom fired his gun.”

“They just got a little hot, that’s all,” said X-Ray. “You know how it is. In the sun all day. People get hot, right? But everything’s cool now.”

“I see,” the Warden said. She turned to Zigzag. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you get a puppy for your birthday?”

“Zig’s just a little hot,” said X-Ray. “Out in the sun all day. You know how it is. The blood starts to boil.”

“Is that what happened, Zigzag?” asked the Warden.

“Yeah,” said Zigzag. “Like X-Ray said. Working so hard in the hot sun, while Caveman just sits around doing nothing. My blood boiled.”

“Excuse me?” said the Warden. “Caveman digs his holes, just like everyone else.”

Zigzag shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“Excuse me?”

“Zero’s been digging part of Caveman’s hole every day,” said Squid.

The Warden looked from Squid to Stanley to Zero.

“I’m teaching him to read and write,” said Stanley. “It’s sort of a trade. The hole still gets dug, so what does it matter who digs it?”

“Excuse me?” said the Warden.

“Isn’t it more important for him to learn to read?” Stanley asked. “Doesn’t that build character more than digging holes?”

“That’s his character,” said the Warden. “What about your character?”

Stanley raised and lowered one shoulder.

The Warden turned to Zero. “Well, Zero, what have you learned so far?”

Zero said nothing.

“Have you just been digging Caveman’s hole for nothing?” the Warden asked him.

“He likes to dig holes,” said Mr. Pendanski.

“Tell me what you learned yesterday,” said the Warden. “Surely you can remember that.”

Zero said nothing.

Mr. Pendanski laughed. He picked up a shovel and said, “You might as well try to teach this shovel to read! It’s got more brains than Zero.”

“The ‘at’ sound,” said Zero.

“The ‘at’ sound,” repeated the Warden. “Well then, tell me, what does c – a – t spell?”

Zero glanced around uneasily.

Stanley knew he knew the answer. Zero just didn’t like answering questions.

“Cat,” Zero said.

Mr. Pendanski clapped his hands. “Bravo! Bravo! The boy’s a genius!”

“F – a – t?” asked the Warden.

Zero thought a moment.

Stanley hadn’t taught him the “f” sound yet.

“Eff,” Zero whispered. “Eff – at. Fat.”

“How about h – a – t?” asked the Warden.

Stanley hadn’t taught him the “h” sound either.

Zero concentrated hard, then said, “Chat.”

All the counselors laughed.

“He’s a genius, all right!” said Mr. Pendanski. “He’s so stupid, he doesn’t even know he’s stupid.”

Stanley didn’t know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he’d realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter “h” made the “ch” sound.

“Okay, from now on, I don’t want anyone digging anyone else’s hole,” said the Warden. “And no more reading lessons.”

“I’m not digging another hole,” said Zero.

“Good,” said the Warden. She turned to Stanley. “You know why you’re digging holes? Because it’s good for you. It teaches you a lesson. If Zero digs your hole for you, then you’re not learning your lesson, are you?”

“I guess not,” Stanley mumbled, although he knew they weren’t digging just to learn a lesson. She was looking for something, something that belonged to Kissin’ Kate Barlow.

“Why can’t I dig my own hole, but still teach Zero to read?” he asked. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that,” the Warden said. “It leads to trouble. Zero almost killed Zigzag.”

“It causes him stress,” said Mr. Pendanski. “I know you mean well, Stanley, but face it. Zero’s too stupid to learn to read. That’s what makes his blood boil. Not the hot sun.”

“I’m not digging another hole,” said Zero.

Mr. Pendanski handed him the shovel. “Here, take it, Zero. It’s all you’ll ever be good for.”

Zero took the shovel.

Then he swung it like a baseball bat.

The metal blade smashed across Mr. Pendanski’s face. His knees crumpled beneath him. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

The counselors all drew their guns.

Zero held the shovel out in front of him, as if he were going to try to bat away the bullets. “I hate digging holes,” he said. Then he slowly backed away.

“Don’t shoot him,” said the Warden. “He can’t go anywhere. The last thing we need is an investigation.”

Zero kept backing up, out past the cluster of holes the boys had been digging, then farther and farther out onto the lake.

“He’s going to have to come back for water,” the Warden said.

Stanley noticed Zero’s canteen lying on the ground near his hole.

A couple of the counselors helped Mr. Pendanski to his feet and into the truck.

Stanley looked out toward Zero, but he had disappeared into the haze.

The Warden ordered the counselors to take turns guarding the shower room and Wreck Room, all day and all night. They were not to let Zero drink any water. When he returned, he was to be brought directly to her.

She examined her fingernails and said, “It’s almost time for me to paint my nails again.”

Before she left, she told the six remaining members of Group D that she still expected seven holes.

Stanley angrily dug his shovel into the dirt. He was angry at everyone—Mr. Pendanski, the Warden, Zigzag, X-Ray, and his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. But mostly he was angry at himself.

He knew he never should have let Zero dig part of his hole for him. He still could have taught him to read. If Zero could dig all day and still have the strength to learn, then he should have been able to dig all day and still have the strength to teach.

What he should do, he thought, was go out after Zero.

But he didn’t.

None of the others helped him dig Zero’s hole, and he didn’t expect them to. Zero had been helping him dig his hole. Now he had to dig Zero’s.

He remained out on the lake, digging during the hottest part of the day, long after everyone else had gone in. He kept an eye out for Zero, but Zero didn’t come back.

It would have been easy to go out after Zero. There was nobody to stop him. He kept thinking that’s what he should do.

Maybe they could climb to the top of Big Thumb.

If it wasn’t too far away. And if it was really the same place where his great-grandfather found refuge. And if, after a hundred years or so, water was still there.

It didn’t seem likely. Not when an entire lake had gone dry.

And even if they did find refuge on Big Thumb, he thought, they’d still have to come back here, eventually. Then they’d both have to face the Warden, and her rattlesnake fingers.

Instead, he came up with a better idea, although he didn’t have it quite all figured out yet. He thought that maybe he could make a deal with the Warden. He’d tell her where he really found the gold tube if she wouldn’t scratch Zero.

He wasn’t sure how he’d make this deal without getting himself in deeper trouble. She might just say, Tell me where you found it or I’ll scratch you, too. Plus, it would mean X-Ray would get in trouble, too. She’d probably scratch him up as well.

X-Ray would be out to get him for the next sixteen months.

He dug his shovel into the dirt.

By the next morning, Zero still hadn’t returned. Stanley saw one of the counselors sitting guard by the water spigot outside the shower wall.

Mr. Pendanski had two black eyes and a bandage over his nose. “I always knew he was stupid,” Stanley heard him say.

Stanley was required to dig only one hole the next day. As he dug, he kept a constant watchout for Zero, but never saw him. Once again he considered going out on the lake to look for him, but he began to realize that it was already too late.

His only hope was that Zero had found God’s thumb on his own. It wasn’t impossible. His great-grandfather had found it. For some reason his great-grandfather had felt the urge to climb to the top of that mountain. Maybe Zero would feel the same urge.

If it was the same mountain. If water was still there.

He tried to convince himself it wasn’t impossible. There had been a storm just a few days ago. Maybe Big Thumb was actually some kind of natural water tower that caught and stored the rain.

It wasn’t impossible.

He returned to his tent to find the Warden, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanski all waiting for him.

“Have you seen Zero?” the Warden asked him.

“No.”

“No sign of him at all?”

“No.”

“Do you have any idea where he went?”

“No.”

“You know you’re not doing him any favors if you’re lying,” said Mr. Sir. “He can’t survive out there for more than a day or two.”

“I don’t know where he is.”

All three stared at Stanley as if they were trying to figure
out if he was telling the truth. Mr. Pendanski’s face was so swollen, he could barely open his eyes. They were just slits.

“You sure he has no family?” the Warden asked Mr. Pendanski.

“He’s a ward of the state,” Mr. Pendanski told her. “He was living on the streets when he was arrested.”

“Is there anyone who might ask questions? Some social worker who took an interest in him?”

“He had nobody,” said Mr. Pendanski. “He was nobody.”

The Warden thought a moment. “Okay, I want you to destroy all of his records.”

Mr. Pendanski nodded.

“He was never here,” said the Warden.

Mr. Sir nodded.

“Can you get into the state files from our computer?” she asked Mr. Pendanski. “I don’t want anyone in the A.G.’s office to know he was here.”

“I don’t think I can erase him completely from all the state files,” said Mr. Pendanski. “Too many cross-references. But I can make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni.”

“Good,” said the Warden.

Two days later a new kid was assigned to Group D. His name was Brian, but X-Ray called him Twitch because he was always fidgeting. Twitch was assigned Zero’s bed, and Zero’s crate.