Imprisoned (5 page)

He walked over to us and looked at Kiera. “Thanks for bringing her. We can use the help.”

“No problem. I’ll see you around.”

“See ya,” he said.

Kiera left and this time I was okay with it.

“So, Morgan. Welcome to our little cleaning crew. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Duh, I thought. Cleaning wasn’t hard, just boring.

“As you may know, there are four bathrooms on this floor.”

I vaguely remembered Kiera mentioning that the night before, but in any case I had a feeling I’d get familiar with them soon.

“Each one has four showers, four toilet stalls and four sinks. You’ll be responsible to clean all of them.”

“That’s sixteen toilets, showers, and sinks.”

“And she can do math,” he said to the ceiling.

Suddenly I was beginning to revise my earlier assessment that I might like this job. “I’m the only one who works on this floor?”

“For now, yes. We had another girl but she was promoted to kitchen duty.”

Kitchen duty was a promotion? This was really going to suck.

“Don’t worry. Chances are that we’ll have someone new come in this week. Then you’ll have help.”

Of course someone new would be coming. They probably hauled in new “campers” all the time.

“Now, I’m responsible for all four floors of residents,” Kyle continued. “So you’ll be on your own, more or less. I will be checking up on you though.”

“What if I have a question and I can’t find you?”

“Look. This job isn’t rocket science. If you have a question, save it for when you see me and ask it then. In the meantime, scrub. It’s not that hard.”

His condescending attitude rubbed me the wrong way. He was treating me like I was a lowlife, like I didn’t deserve to be treated with respect. Then I remembered that even though they tried to pretty up the name of this place by calling it Camp Willowmoss, in reality I was a prisoner here. A criminal. At least in their eyes. I had no rights and apparently no expectation of being treated with respect.

He must have taken my silence to be agreement, because he turned away from me and picked up a sheet of paper from the desk.

“Here are the items you are expected to complete.”

I took the paper he held out, but didn’t read it. I figured I’d have plenty of time to get acquainted with it.

“All the supplies you need are in this room. Follow the instructions on the paper and you’ll do fine.”

“Okay,” I managed to say, although what I really wanted to do was wad up the paper and throw it at him.

“I understand you’ll be working from seven-thirty to eleven each morning and then from twelve-thirty to three each afternoon.”

“If you say so.”

“That’s what your schedule says, Morgan. You might want to get familiar with it.”

“The schedule doesn’t say which days I have off.”

He laughed. “Why would you think you get a day off? The work needs to be done every day. You’re only working six hours a day.”

I was growing to hate Kyle more and more as each second passed. Then I realized he didn’t make the rules. But he didn’t have to enjoy them so much.

“You’re already behind for today, so you’d better get started. If I’m not here in the supply room, your card will allow you to come in to get what you need.”

I looked at the sheet of paper he’d given me to see what I should do first.

Collect all used towels and place them in the large bin by elevator. Do this first so that the laundry crew can get started.

Replenish supply of towels in each bathroom.

I looked at Kyle. “I thought we only got fresh towels on Mondays.”

“It’s a rotating schedule, so you might be Mondays, but the other bathrooms are other days of the week.” He paused. “Since you weren’t here yet, I already collected the towels for today.”

I nodded and continued reading.

Clean all mirrors.

Wipe down the countertops.

Disinfect the sinks.

Clean the toilets, inside and out.

Scrub down the showers.

Fill toilet paper holders.

Fill soap dispensers.

Mop bathroom floors

Vacuum hallways and foyer.

“There’s a cart you can take with you to hold the supplies you need.” He pointed to a wheeled cart parked next to the supply shelf. “I suggest you complete an entire bathroom before moving on to the next one.”

As I considered all the work that I had to get done, I felt a bit panicky. Like I wouldn’t be able to get it done to his satisfaction, which would mean I would be stuck cleaning the bathrooms forever. “What if I run out of time and can’t get everything done?”

His expression softened slightly. “Do the best you can. We’ll see how it goes today, but I do expect you to get most of it done. Normally each floor has two people assigned to it, so I’ll cut you a little slack. But don’t take advantage of it.”

“How many girls are on this floor, anyway?”

“We have room for forty. But right now there are thirty-six.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll be here for a bit while you get started. I’ll check on you before I go to another floor.”

I nodded, then walked over to the cart. It seemed to be fully stocked, so I wheeled it out and headed down the hall to the nearest bathroom.

As I worked I wondered if there was any way I could take advantage of the fact that I would be on my own most of the time. Once Kyle left, I’d have to check out the supply room and see if there was something I could use to help me escape.

I had nearly finished the first bathroom and was deep in thought as I scrubbed one of the shower stalls when Kyle walked in, startling me.

“It’s looking good in here. Nice job.”

His praise lifted my spirits, even though what I was doing was difficult to mess up.

“Make sure to keep an eye on the clock.” He motioned with his head toward the clock on the wall. “At eleven you’re supposed to work on homework or go do a workout. It’s up to you.”

“I don’t even know where I’m supposed to go to work out.” Not that I wanted to. My arm muscles were already sore from cleaning. Wasn’t that enough of a workout?

“The gym’s on the third floor. Everything you need is there.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you after lunch.”

The mention of lunch made me realize how hungry I was. Breakfast hadn’t really filled me up and all of this scrubbing wasn’t helping. I watched him leave and wondered if they let you have snacks here. I doubted it.

Sighing, I got back to work and tried to ignore the gnawing in my stomach.

When eleven o’clock finally rolled around, I wheeled the cart to the supply room. The door was locked and I had to use my key card to get in. Once inside, I glanced around and noticed a security camera in the ceiling. It would be difficult to search knowing that someone could be watching me. Pretending to replenish my supply of toilet paper, I checked the other shelves to see what I could find. There was nothing that would be helpful in an escape. I wondered if anything in Kyle’s desk would be useful. There was no computer on the desk and he had taken his tablet computer with him, so I didn’t see any way to communicate with the outside world.

The outside world.
I suddenly remembered that Mom had brought some things for me. I left the supply room and hurried to my room. Using my card, I unlocked the door and went inside. Piled on my bed were the items Mom had brought for me. Scooping them up, I pressed them to my face, breathing in the smells of home. My heart swelled and tears filled my eyes as I thought about home and how much I missed it.

I went through each item, looking to see if Mom had put anything in there for me, but there was nothing but the clothes and a pair of sneakers. I figured she didn’t have time to do any more than gather my things and drop them off. Plus I was certain the people here at Camp Willowmoss inspected any items families brought for the campers.

 After folding each item, I placed them on the shelves in the closet, happy to have my own clothes to wear. Suddenly I felt the need to write Mom a letter. I didn’t have any paper of my own, so I went to Alyx’s desk and stood in front of it. I didn’t really feel comfortable digging through her things, but what else could I do?

Fortunately I found notebook paper and a pencil in the first drawer I looked in. Taking them with me to my bed, I set the paper on my leg and began writing.

Dear Mom,

I’m so sorry for being such a brat and for running away. After everything that’s happened, I realize now how much you guys mean to me. I miss you so much and I want to be home with you guys soooo bad. I just need help in figuring how to get out of here. If there’s anything you can do to help me, I’m begging you to do it.

Love,

Morgan

I reread what I had written and frowned, realizing that this letter was meant for my mom in the other world, not for my mom here. I hadn’t run away from home in this world and I hadn’t been a brat. I had just made a few mistakes that I hadn’t even known were mistakes—until I got dragged off to Camp Willowmoss.

I tore the paper into tiny pieces, put the pencil back in Alyx’s drawer, then went to the bathroom and flushed the letter down the toilet. It took three flushes before it all went down. Back in my room, I lay on my bed and closed my eyes, trying to rest a bit before lunch and work.

I woke up suddenly and looked at the clock on Alyx’s dresser. It was five minutes past twelve.

“Crap!” I was late for lunch.

Hurrying to the elevator, I waved my card in front of the reader and waited for the elevator to arrive. Five minutes later I was sliding my tray along the rails, wondering what I was allowed to eat. Famished after scrubbing bathrooms for hours that morning, I really hoped it would be something filling. I still had two and a half hours of work to do after lunch and I needed something to give me energy.

When the lady behind the counter handed me my food, I was sharply disappointed. A slab of liver, brown rice, canned vegetables and another power bar. I wondered if the power bars were served with every meal. At the end of the row I chose a container of skim milk, then turned toward the room, searching for Alyx.

“Over here, Morgan,” Alyx called out, waving to me from the table where we’d had breakfast.

Relieved to have someone to eat with, I wound my way through the tables. When I reached her, I saw it was the same group of people who had been there that morning. There was an empty seat next to Billy.

“I see you survived your first morning,” he said as he reached over to the chair next to him and pulled it out for me.

I set my tray on the table and sat down. “Barely. I don’t think my back has ever been so sore.”

“We’ve all been there,” Alyx said, smiling.

“What do you guys do for your work assignments?” I asked, curious.

“I work in the laundry,” one of the girls who had been there that morning said. I remembered her name was Cassidy.

“I was promoted to kitchen duty a couple of weeks ago,” the other girl said. “I got to help prepare that lovely meal you’re eating now.” She paused. “I’m Piper, by the way.”

“I’m Morgan.” I paused as I opened the utensil package and found a plastic knife and fork. “What’s your job, Alyx?”

“I work in the gym. I have to make sure there are clean towels available, stuff like that.”

I imagined that job and hated my job even more. “What about you, Billy?”

“I work outside. Pull weeds. Crap like that.”

“Oh.” That seemed like a good job for someone like me, someone who wanted a way to escape. “How did you get that job?”

“Why? Do you think it would be better than scrubbing toilets?”

“Well, I’ve always liked working in the yard,” I lied. In fact, I hated pulling weeds. It always made my back ache and my hands get dirty. But if it would help me get out of this place, it would be worth it.

“Huh. Well, you can request a job. But there’s no guarantee that you’ll get it. Especially if someone who’s been here longer is already waiting.”

That figures. “How do I request it?”

“You can talk to your supervisor and see if he’ll put in the request for you. You have to get a reference from him anyway. No one wants to take on a slacker.”

Suddenly glad I’d worked hard that morning, I decided even though I hated my job, I’d work my hardest to impress Kyle. Then he’d have to give me a good reference. As I ate my lunch, forcing down the liver, I half-listened to the others chatting and fantasized about working outside and slipping away when no one was looking. Then I glanced at the other people in the room, wondering who was there because of weight issues and who was there for punishment, like me. And what awful thing had they done to get them sent to Camp Willowmoss?

“Are you gonna eat that?” Billy pointed to my half-eaten liver.

I glanced at him and realized I must have been lost in thought. “Yes, as a matter of a fact, I am.” Stabbing my fork into the meat, I carved off a bite and put it in my mouth. Even though I didn’t really like it, I was hungry enough to eat it. When I looked back at Billy, he was smirking at me, but I noticed his plate was clean. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. “Do they give you extra food if you have a physically demanding job?”

He laughed and everyone at our table looked at us.

I felt my face redden and turned back to my meal, ignoring him.

“Morgan here wants to know if they give us extra food if we have a . . .” He turned toward me. “What did you call it? A ‘physically demanding job’?” He made air quotes as he spoke.

The others grinned or laughed and I felt foolish. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“The point is for us fatties to lose weight,” Alyx said. “If we burn more calories, all the better as far as they’re concerned.”

I looked at each person at my table. None of them seemed fat to me. Well, maybe Piper was a little pudgy, but the rest seemed like they were at a healthy weight. “How thin do they expect you guys to get?”

“What do you mean, ‘you guys’?” Billy said. “You’re here just like us. You have to lose weight too.”