Adore you - A Zigzag and Holes story

2 - Bit

That same day, it was time for lunch. Before that, I had asked the nearest tent mate of mine where to fill my canteen.

"Hey Zero!" I called. He turns his head toward me and fully spins around. "You know where I can fill up my canteen before lunch?" I ask. He nods and points to the direction of a tiny looking wall where there are a few other boys filling up their canteen.

"There," He says. I look at him in surprise.

"You talked!" I remark. He nods again. I ruffle his hair before walking to the water wall thingy. "See ya, Zero." I smile.

At lunch, I'm standing confused. I look at my tent mates who are already sitting at their table with their food. I watch a boy as he gets his food, and I do the same.

"Ay, Y/N! Come here girl, you sit right here now." Zigzag says, scooting toward Magnet and making room between him and X - Ray.

After lunch

I walk back to my tent by myself in silence. I hear fast steps coming toward my direction. "Ay girl!" Zigzag says before putting his arm around me. "You lucky X ain't take your bread. He does that to newbies who haven't dug that day." He chuckles. We talk until we reach out tent.

"Night, Zig." I say, climbing into my cot. He chuckles at the nickname.

"Hey, where's out goodnight?" Squid calls out. Everyone except Zero talk over each other, agreeing with Squid's whiny statement.

"Night boys. I guess.." I say quietly. I can hear Magnet smack his lips as he mutters something about favorites.

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I started to get pretty comfortable with the boys in my tent. Armpit and Magnet were super funny, X - ray, Squid, and Zigzag were super comforting, and the rest were great friends. Even Zero. I can still vividly remember when I caught up with Zero and he actually spoke to me. It was like a fever dream. Ever since I got here, my only mission was to have Zero talk to me. Not to show off, but to make him feel like he shouldn't have to stay quiet for whatever reason.

I wake up from a somewhat good slumber with a tune I would assume is our alarm. It being like maybe 5 in the morning, I groan in annoyance and try to rest for an extra minute or two. I feel a hand on my head.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead. It ain't nighttime no more." I hear X - Ray tell me.

"Okay, fine. But get out." I say, still tired.

"Why should I?" I hear him ask. That question makes me sit up, the blanket falling off my chest and onto my lap which reveals me in a sports bra. This makes everyone that was still in the tent quickly leave, giving me time to change into the appropriate clothing.

I walk out and see everyone grabbing a tortilla that seems like it's drenched in honey, along with a shovel each, opened from some kind of closet. I skip the tortilla and grab a shovel that has red tape on there, not thinking anything of it. I see X - Ray catch up to me, grabbing the shovel out of my hands and throwing another one on the ground before running off.

"You grabbed X's shovel," Magnet tells me, who was confused at why he switched shovels with me.

"Smaller shovel, smaller hole." Squid says, pointing his tortilla to his head to make some kind of big brain move. This makes me realize that he's cheating his way from making the size that the holes are actually supposed to be.

"Dig here," Mr. Sir points at the ground. "Now if you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Pendanski. And if the Warden likes what you find, you can get the rest of the day off."

"So you're telling me I'm looking for treasures for the Warden to collect?" The boys laugh.

"You're not looking for anything. You're building character. You take a bad boy.. In this case girl, make her dig holes all day in the hot sun, there comes a good girl." He explains. I shudder at the thought. I'm doing this for 18 months?

"Start digging." He commands. I groan and step my foot on the shovel, digging it into the dirt. I don't use a lot of energy to dig the hole. It was pretty easy.

A month later

After 5 minutes, I look at my hands. Bloody, yellow, bruised and swollen. It still happens. I should be getting used to it, but they just keep going back to ugliness. I look up, catching Barf Bag walking toward a Rattlesnake.

"Hey, Barf, whatcha doing?" I ask nervously, catching the attention of everyone else. Everyone yells at him to come back and not let himself get bit. "Come back!" I yell.

He screams in pain as the snake bites his foot. I immediately jump from my hole with ease, running to him. I sit on my knees, holding him in my arms. "Barf! You idiot! Why..!" I yell. I held onto him tightly, devastated that one of my best friends put himself through hell to get out of camp.

Just then, Armpit rushes to my side. "It's gonna be okay. Just stay calm. We sent Squid to get Mom."

I shake my head, hiding it in Barf's neck. I feel tears brim my eyes, forcing them to stay in.

_________________________________

It wasn't the best day, having to keep digging in scorching heat while knowing that your friend just put himself through possible death. I sit on my cot, not bothering to strike up a conversation with Zero, the only one in the tent. I feel my cot shift to the left. I see Zero as he grabs my hand gently. "It's gonna be okay. He's gonna be okay." He whispers. I smile, looking down at the boy.

"Thanks kid." I whisper back. I look up, seeing Magnet stand on the steps, just barely outside of the tent.

"No way.." He breathes out.