Imprisoned (12 page)

Feeling optimistic, I moved in her direction, but when I was about ten feet away, a girl sat in the empty seat and I knew my chance was lost. I glanced around. Too late, I saw I was standing next to Beth’s table.

“Look, it’s the loser,” she said loudly enough for all in the immediate vicinity to hear. “No one wants to sit with her.”

I couldn’t help it, tears sprang to my eyes. Blinking furiously as I walked away, I got them under control and went in a different direction—making sure to go nowhere near my usual table.  Every table had at least two people. I stopped next to a table with two boys, hoping they’d be nice to me—after all, it had been girls that had been mean to me so far. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“No, that’s cool,” one of them said. He glanced at the card hanging around my neck, then looked me up and down. But it wasn’t in a mean way—he just seemed curious. “You’re in my English class,” he said. “I’m Todd.”

Overwhelmed with relief that someone was showing a hint of kindness, it was all I could do to not throw my arms around him. “I’m Morgan.”

“Darren,” the other boy at the table said.

As usual, I wondered what their story was. They were both built like linebackers and I wondered if that was a bad thing in this world. “How long have you guys been here?”

“Just a couple of weeks,” Todd said. “What about you?”

“This is my third day.”

He nodded. “Why aren’t you sitting with your group?” His question caught me off-guard, and it must have shown because he quickly added, “I mean, I just noticed that you usually sat with some other kids, but today . . .”

I suddenly wondered who else had noticed this change. According to Kyle, there was room for forty people on my floor, and there were four floors of kids, so potentially there could be a hundred and sixty kids here. But I supposed that if someone had been here a while, they’d notice a change like the new girl wandering around looking for a place to sit when she’d been sitting with a certain group up to this point. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Can I ask what happened to your face?” Darren asked.

The swelling in my lip was pretty much gone, but I still had a nice-sized bruise on my face—one which I usually forgot about until someone felt the need to mention it. “I don’t want to talk about that either.”

“You’re not very talkative, are you?” Todd asked, a smile on his face.

I smiled back. “It’s been a rough morning.” I started eating my breakfast, anxious to get out of the cafeteria as quickly as I could, confident that Kyle would have good news for me. As I worked my way through breakfast, no one talked to me and I felt more alone than ever. When the two boys left, I was completely alone. I unwrapped my power bar—which surprisingly did seem to suppress my appetite—and finished my breakfast.

Anxious to talk to Kyle and see if he’d arranged for me to work outside, I pushed back from the table and stood, then looked in the direction of my old table and saw Billy and Piper looking my way. Alyx and Cassidy seemed to be deep in conversation, their backs to me.

Were they all mad at me? I had no way to tell. Sighing, I took my tray and dropped it off, then headed to the elevator, my mind on getting on the crew that worked outside and the opportunity that that would give me to escape this place.

The moment I reached my floor, I hurried to the supply closet/office to talk to Kyle. He wasn’t there and disappointment shot through me. I gathered my supplies and headed to one of the bathrooms, knowing I had to keep doing my best if I had any hope of Kyle recommending me for another job.

I’d been cleaning for an hour when Kyle came in to the bathroom. Next to him stood a heavyset girl who looked shell-shocked.  I wondered if I looked as scared as she did when I’d arrived. It was weird how I felt more like a veteran now after such a short period of time.

“Morgan,” Kyle said. “This is Nicole. She’s joining our little crew.”

I wanted to say
what about my transfer,
but decided I should talk to him privately. “Hi, Nicole,” I said instead.

“Hi.” Her voice was just above a whisper.

“I’ll leave her to you,” Kyle said, then turned and walked away.

“You can put on a pair of these gloves.” I handed her the box of disposable gloves. “I already finished the mirrors and sinks, but the toilet stalls need to be cleaned.”

She held the box as if it contained poisonous snakes, but then she reached in and pulled out a pair and handed the box back to me. I set the box on the cart, then went back to scrubbing the shower stalls. I turned to see how she was doing and saw her just standing there. Irritation at her lack of help made my voice sharper than I’d meant it to be. “Are you just going to watch me work or are you going to do your share?”

She burst into tears.

I felt like a monster for being so mean—after all, I knew how she must be feeling. Still, on my first day I’d kept it together and done what needed to be done. Of course I knew I would get out of this world soon. She was stuck here. Sighing, I grabbed some toilet tissue and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” she said as she wiped her eyes and nose.

“I know this place sucks, but you’ll be okay.”

“Really?”

I knew no such thing, but if it would get her to stop crying so we could get our job done, then I could pretend. “Yeah.”

“I’ve just heard so many horror stories about places like this.”

After what I’d experienced the last two days, I was sure they were all true. Though curious about what she’d heard, I decided it would be best if I didn’t know what other horrific things could happen to me. I was scared enough as it was. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the lie that what she’d heard couldn’t be true, so instead I said, “We have a lot of work to do still. We’d better get busy.”

“Okay.” She threw her tissue away and took out the toilet cleaning supplies.

Relieved that she was going to be a help and not a hindrance, I went back to my scrubbing. When we’d finished that bathroom, we wheeled the cart to the next one. I got her started, then told her I had to go talk to Kyle for a minute.

Hurrying to the supply closet/office, I hoped he would be there. He was.

“Morgan, how’s Nicole working out?”

“Fine.”

“Great. I’ll bet you’re glad to have the help.”

“Yeah.” I paused, wondering if he’d forgotten about my request. “Yesterday you said you’d put in a request for a job change?”

“I remember.”

“I was just wondering if you heard anything.”

“Even though I’d prefer to keep you on my crew, I did as you asked.” He paused, then smiled. “I was able to get you on kitchen duty.”

The look on his face made it clear he thought this was a great win, but my heart sank. Kitchen duty wouldn’t get me outside. I smiled back, pretending to be happy. “That’s great. Thanks.”

“You’ll start tomorrow morning at six.”

“Six in the morning?” This was just getting better and better.

“That’s right.” A look of irritation crossed his face. “Is that a problem?”

Forcing away my unhappiness, I smiled. “No. It’s great.”

“Good. Today I need you to get Nicole up to speed because she’ll be on her own tomorrow.”

Sucks for her, I thought, but was less than thrilled about my own job.

He held out a sheet of paper. “Here’s your new daily schedule. The only difference will be your mornings. You’ll have some extra time for homework after breakfast since your job starts early and you’ll eat breakfast an hour later.

I took the paper from him and looked it over.

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR MORGAN CAMPBELL

6:00 – 8:00 Kitchen duty

8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast

8:30 – 10:00 Exercise or homework

10:00 – 12:00 Kitchen duty

12:00 – 12:30 Lunch

12:30 – 2:30 Kitchen duty

2:30 – 3:00 Homework

3:00 – 5:00 Classes

5:00 – 5:30 Dinner

5:30 – 8:00 Exercise or work on homework

8:00 – 9:00 Meet with counseling group

9:00 – 10:00 Exercise or work on homework

10:00 Lights out

  At least I wouldn’t have to avoid Alyx and the rest of her group for one meal a day. Then I remembered my idea that maybe Mr. Madsen could do something about Alyx having her points docked. “Kyle, how can I set up an appointment with my caseworker?”

“Why?” He looked angry about my request. “Are you going to complain about this change?”

“No, no,” I hurried to assure him. “This has nothing to do with work.”

The angry look smoothed out. “Okay. I’ll email him and let him know you’d like to talk to him.”

I smiled, genuinely happy this time. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now back to work.”

I left the office and found Nicole busily cleaning the bathroom where I’d left her. I felt kind of sorry for her that she would be on her own the next day, but not enough to stay with her. Maybe I could work my way up the chain. Kitchen duty was a step up from bathroom duty, but what came after that?

Chapter Thirteen

At the end of my shift I went to my room and worked on my English homework. I thought about how the teacher—the Gray Witch according to Billy—had hit me with a book when I’d fallen asleep. I didn’t know what she would do if I didn’t have my homework done.

When it was time for lunch a feeling of dread washed over me as I thought about facing a room full of unfriendly faces. But what could I do? I grabbed my card and left my room.

Once I’d picked up my meal—tofu mixed with vegetables—I turned to the room and saw Billy, Alyx, Piper, and Cassidy at their usual table. Gathering my courage, I wound my way through the tables and stopped next to Piper. “Can I sit with you guys?”

Everyone’s eyes shifted to Alyx. Obviously this would be her decision. She looked at me, a scowl on her face. I held my breath, waiting for her response. She looked me up and down, her jaw clenched, then glanced around the room. “I have to stay in this hell-hole another week because of you.” She narrowed her eyes as she looked at me. “No.”

My shoulders slumped. I’d really thought she would say yes, then I looked at Cassidy, Piper, and Billy, but they wouldn’t meet my gaze. I turned away, loneliness pulsing through me, then walked away, looking for a place to sit. A few tables away from Alyx I saw Nicole, my new cleaning companion, sitting with another girl.

I stopped next to their table. “Mind if I join you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Nicole said.

I set my tray on the table and sat down, feeling a mixture of gratitude and self-pity.

“Morgan and I work together,” Nicole said to the girl sitting next to her.

The girl nodded, then looked at me. “I’m Susan.”

“Hi.” I picked up my spork and began eating my one large meal of the day. Even though I’d been getting hungry between meals, I thought the appetite suppressant in the power bars helped.

“I’m glad I don’t have to clean those bathrooms by myself,” Nicole said.

The earnest look on her face made me feel guilty because she would be on her own the next day. I decided not to say anything yet—we still had to work together after lunch. Instead I just nodded and continued eating.

Just as I finished, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Kiera there.

“You requested to see Mr. Madsen and he has some time now.”

“Oh. Okay.” I dropped off my tray and followed Kiera to the elevator. She didn’t ask what I wanted to talk to him about and I didn’t tell her. We just went to the second floor in silence.

When we entered the office, the same Enforcer who had been there when I’d met with Mr. Madsen the day after my arrival was sitting behind the desk. He held out his hand and said one word. “Card.”

I handed him my card and he scanned it in to his computer, then he handed it back to me and told me to sit.

“I’ll come back for you when you’re done,” Kiera said, then she left.

I wondered where Hansen was. He had shown up pretty quickly to help with my “discipline” in the gym the day before, so evidently he was here at Camp Willowmoss sometimes. I dreaded running in to him again.

A few minutes later Mr. Madsen walked into the reception area and I followed him back to his office. I sat in the same chair I’d sat in before and he sat across from me—closer than I would have liked, but since I was here to ask for his help, I thought it was best if I didn’t complain.

He glanced at the card in the plastic sleeve hanging around my neck. “Looks like you’ve had a little trouble, Morgan.”

I nodded, thinking about all the things that had happened since I’d last sat in this chair.

“I reviewed your record and it looks like you’re having some issues with following the rules.”

If your rules weren’t so ludicrous, I wanted to say, I wouldn’t have any trouble at all. Instead I said, “I guess I just didn’t understand what I was supposed to do.”

He sat back in his chair and sighed. “We went over the rules two days ago. Was I unclear?”

This conversation wasn’t going where I had hoped and I tried to get it back on track. “I guess I was just overwhelmed by everything. I promise to do better. But I want to talk about something else. About my roommate, Alyx.”

His eyebrows went up. “So you’ve considered Mrs. Reynolds’ offer?”

He thought I was here to share some juicy information on Alyx
. “Well, of course I’ve considered it.”

He suddenly seemed very interested in what I had to say. “Have you now?”

“But that’s not why I’m here.”

The look of anticipation on his face was replaced by disappointment. “Oh?”

“No. I want to see what I can do to fix Alyx’s punishment for my mistake.”

“You mean that.” He pointed to the card hanging around my neck. “You feel bad that she was docked points too.”

Relieved that he understood, I nodded. “Yes.”

Tapping one finger against his mouth, he seemed to be considering the situation. Finally he looked at me, a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ll tell you what I can do. I can give Alyx her points back and instead dock them from you, which will mean an extra week will be added to your stay here.”

I felt my heart sink at his offer.