Inconsolable » Squid [Holes]

6: There's No Place Like Home

Her muscles screamed in pain so she had to drop down in the chair that had been set up in the now empty Dining Hall. Why Pendanski insisted on having their tent meeting in there, she didn't know but it wasn't as hot as the tent so she didn't complain. She brushed the back of her hand across her forehead and shifted in her seat, anything she could do to make herself feel comfortable while she waited for the painkiller to kick in. it was the second one she took today and just seeing the small while pill made her get whacked by another wave of guilt.

Maybe it was a bad idea to give X-Ray the pills. But how else was she supposed to be sure that she would make it out of there alive? Besides dying of heatstroke or dehydration or being bitten by some lizard and by malnutrition. Hell, she was surprised to know she lasted as long as she did now. Sure, it was only a couple of days but that was a couple of days longer than she—and everyone else, she guessed—expected her to last.

She took a swig from her canteen and curled up on her chair as best as she could to avoid the boys. Which was hard when she had to sit in a circle with them but she was feeling bloated, her lower back hurt—more than usual anyway—and her head was pounding. The last thing she wanted was to smell them, have to talk to them, and have to deal with them any longer than she already did. And yet, here she was. Thankfully Stanley took the empty seat next to her. It would save her from a night of harassment.

"It's great to see you, boys!" Pendanski greeted them all as he entered the room. He got blank, tired stares in return. That didn't seem to deter him or make his smile falter. It was almost as if he didn't notice he didn't get a reply. He sat down in his chair, closing out the circle and sighed. "Well, who wants to start today? We can talk about anything you want."

Mickey gulped. She didn't have to look up to know that some of them were looking in her direction. She could feel their gazes swivel in her direction. The hair on her neck and arms stood up and a ball of dread rolled around in the pit of her stomach. Nothing good could come from the meeting.

"I have an idea, Mom," X-Ray spoke up. She could hear the smile in his voice. "Let's talk about Squid." Wait, what? Her eyebrows crinkled and she looked up at him. As she suspected he had the largest, shit-eating grin on his face that she had ever seen in her entire life and he was patting Squid on the back who looked as if he had eaten a lemon. "We don't know that much about him. And he's my tentmate. He's my bro. And we need to trust each other, right? Well, how can you trust someone you don't know that well?"

"X has a point," Magnet spoke up, ignoring the middle finger that Squid had extended in his direction. "We've never talked about him like we talked about the rest of us. It's only fair."

"And now we can talk about him, with our expert here," X-Ray continued, now smiling over at Mickey. She wished she could shrink even more in her seat but she was already small enough. Anymore and she'd disappear completely. "Mom, these two have known each other since they were kids," he continued, pointing between Mickey and Squid who looked anywhere but at each other. "Isn't that fascinating?"

"Really now!" Pendanski said, rubbing his chin. The gap between his two large front teeth was now on full display. "What a coincidence!"

"Yeah! Mickey, tell us what Squidly was like as a kid," X-Ray said, ruffling Squid's hair. Squid shoved him away and rolled the toothpick between his teeth from one side of his mouth to the other. His hard gaze stayed on Mickey, watching her; waiting.

"Who gives a fuck about that?" Zigzag spoke up, turning his smile to Mickey's direction. "I want to hear about her."

"Yeah, if you can get her to talk," Armpit commented. "She's so quiet!"