summer camp

Four

 Henry was at a loss. The lady in the office would not change his cabin number or put different people in his cabin, no matter how much he begged and pleaded with her. Her reasoning? "In the real world, you will have to get along with people, no matter how much you hate them." Henry wanted to bash her ugly face in the desk she was sitting at, but he didn't want to go to real jail, so he kept his calm.

He wasn't going to tell the lady that he used to beat Richie. He wasn't going to tell the lady that he wanted to stop beating him, but he still wanted to be separated from Richie anyway, because he didn't want to be nice, either. He wasn't going to tell the lady that he felt guilty for everything he did to Richie. Instead, he was going to go back to the cabin he was assigned, take a shower, skip dinner, and spend the rest of his night under the covers, trying to think of a way to escape without being caught by the "country boy," which he learned was actually one of the camp leaders, and not just a camp-ee.

He went back into the cabin and slammed the bathroom door shut without making eye contact with Richie or the fat guy he was hanging out with. Henry figured Richie had already told the guy everything, and there was no point in talking to either of them now. Henry showered, brushed his teeth, and threw on some underwear and pajama pants, thanking God that Clarissa did wash his clothes before putting them in the bag. He also thanked God for the stick of deodorant that he found, although he wasn't very religious.

Henry left his bag by the front door, laying down on the bunk bed opposite of the one Richie and the fat guy were occupying, still refusing to make eye contact or say a word. He laid under the covers for a good three hours before falling asleep.