Imprisoned (14 page)

I glanced at him and was impressed that he didn’t seem intimidated.

“Sometimes, but sometimes not.”

“Explain, please.” When he hesitated, she said, “You know we value all opinions.”

That was news to me. When Chad had expressed his opinion, he’d been punished. And I was terrified to express mine. Maybe what she meant was, all opinions are valued as long as they were the
right
opinion.

“If someone you care about desperately needs something,” he said, “But you know if you get it for them then you could get in trouble, but you do it anyway, in that case there is value in putting the needs of someone else above your own.”

Mrs. Reynolds pursed her lips and sat quietly for a minute. “That’s an interesting idea, Billy, but what about the importance of keeping the rules of society?”

“Some rules have to be broken for the greater good.” He stared at her and I wondered if he wanted her to argue with him or to punish him.

The room was completely silent as we watched the exchange. I agreed with what Billy said and wished we could change the pledge to reflect his ideas—they made much more sense to me. The rules of this world were absurd and it would be better for everyone if they were changed.

Mrs. Reynolds stared right back at Billy—I guess she wanted to prove she was in charge—and eventually he looked away. I was glad when he did. As they’d engaged in their battle of wills, I was afraid of what punishment Mrs. Reynolds would come up with.

“Would anyone like to share their thoughts on Billy’s comments?” Mrs. Reynolds looked at each of us, but no one dared speak. Finally she locked gazes with a chubby girl with beautiful auburn hair. “Tracy, I haven’t heard much from you.”

Tracy’s eyes widened at the sudden attention.

“I’d like to hear your point of view on the value of putting the needs of others before your own.”

“Oh, well, uh, I guess we need to think about what is best for everyone and not just for one person?”

“And why is that?” Mrs. Reynolds said.

“Um, well, because it’s selfish to always do what you want? To not think about everyone else?”

Mrs. Reynolds frowned at Tracy. “Are you asking me or telling me?”

“Telling you?”

Sighing, Mrs. Reynolds turned to her next victim.

It wasn’t me and I hoped she would leave me alone.

Finally it was time to go back to our rooms. As we stood to leave I glanced at Billy, wanting to talk to him about what he’d said. Was he talking from personal experience? Is that why he was here? Had he done something to help a loved one and gotten in trouble? Intrigued by the possibility, I followed him out of the room, but with the other kids around I couldn’t easily talk to him.

We got on the elevator with several other kids and Billy got off on his floor. “See you tomorrow, Morgan.”

“Bye.”

Disappointed that I hadn’t gotten to talk to him, I headed to my room to get my homework done for tomorrow’s classes. When I got there, Alyx was absent. I sat at my desk and worked on my assignments until I was too tired to think.

I got ready for bed, set my alarm for five thirty, then tried to use the last little bit of time before lights out to complete my food journal. If I waited until morning I was sure to run out of time since I needed to get up extra early to begin my kitchen duties. Just as I finished, Alyx arrived. I noticed that even though she wore shorts and a tank top, she didn’t look like I did after my workouts—red-faced and coated with sweat. Maybe Austin was nicer to her—after all, they worked together.

As I pictured his face, I frowned, feeling angry just by thinking about him.

Alyx closed the door and turned to me, a puzzled look on her face. “Why’d you do it, Morgan? Why’d you have Madsen put my points back and dock yours instead? Are you crazy?”

So, she’d heard the details of what I’d done. I wondered who had told her. But then it didn’t really matter. The truth was, if I didn’t get some information to tell Madsen within a week, it would be reversed. “I guess I just felt bad that you were being punished for my stupidity, that’s all.”

She sighed. “You’d better hope you earn some points in the Challenge on Saturday to make up for it. If you lose, you’ll get docked more points and that means no family visits, and a longer stay.”

No family visits?
I hadn’t considered that aspect of having points deducted. I’d only been thinking about the extension of my stay here, which didn’t matter since I had no intention of being around that long. But short-term I would be less likely to see my family.
Crap.
I turned away from Alyx, suddenly upset.

I could hear Alyx opening her closet.

I pictured the faces of my little brothers who so recently had gotten on my nerves. I would give anything now to see them and listen to their racket. And Amy. I wondered how her friendship with the girl she’d mentioned the other night was working out. I hoped she was making lots of friends. Then I pictured Mom and the worry she must be feeling with both Dad and me locked up.

I had to push them out of my mind and stay focused on my goal of escaping this place and getting back to the tunnel—back to my real home, where I would never complain about my life again. Ever.

As I climbed into bed, a dark cloud hung over me as I doubted my ability to escape this place in time. In my heart of hearts, I believed I would need to get to the tunnel on November tenth—the same day I’d left the other world. That was less than two months away. What would happen if I missed that date? Would I be stuck here forever? What about if I got there too early? Would the tunnel still take me home?

In either case, I had to get out of this place and make my way to the tunnel. As I drifted off to sleep I fantasized about escaping Camp Willowmoss, making my way through the tunnel, and arriving back home to the arms of my family—my
whole
family, even Dad, who would be safe and sound at home, not locked up in some adult-version of this horrible camp.

Chapter Sixteen

When the alarm went off Alyx was just getting up. I groaned as I stretched, wishing I could stay in bed longer, but knowing I didn’t have a choice. Today I was starting my new job in the kitchen and I didn’t want my new supervisor, whoever that was, to hate me for being late. Throwing back the covers, I forced myself to get up.

“Oh, new job today,” Alyx said as she gathered her things. “I forgot.”

“Yeah.” I wasn’t much of a conversationalist when I first rolled out of bed.

“Well, good luck. See you at lunch.”

“’Kay.” I watched her leave the room and then I got ready—making sure to weigh myself in the bathroom—then I headed to the elevator. Piper was there too and I smiled, glad not to have to go on my own.

“Hey,” she said.

We made our way to the cafeteria on the fourth floor and I followed her through a door marked
staff-only
. She took me to an older woman who was wearing an apron.

“Mrs. Coleman, this is Morgan,” Piper said.

The woman smiled at me and, surprisingly, it didn’t seem fake. “Good morning, Morgan. Welcome to my kitchen.”

“Hi.”

“As you can see,” she waved her hand towards the large open space, “We’re quite busy getting breakfast ready. Today I’d like you to work on washing the dishes in the sink over there.”

I looked where she pointed and saw a number of large pots and pans stacked next to an industrial-size sink. “Okay.”

Someone called to her and she hurried off.

I looked at Piper, who shrugged. “Have fun.” Then she went to her work station.

As I walked to the sink, I reminded myself that this was better than scrubbing toilets. I had a feeling I’d be spending my whole shift washing dishes. Elbow deep in soap suds, I decided it really wasn’t too bad, even though the dishes seemed to multiply.

I was so focused on my task, I almost missed all the excitement. Evidently a new shipment of power bars had come early that morning and news spread that these ones had a more powerful appetite suppressant. Even more exciting to those of us on a reduced caloric intake, we were going to be given two at each meal, instead of one.

My stomach rumbled at the thought and I remembered I’d be eating breakfast an hour later than I had been, since my shift didn’t finish until eight. I’d found the appetite suppressant in the power bars we’d been eating to be less than satisfactory so I looked forward to these new ones and hoped they worked better.

When my shift ended, Piper found me and together we picked up our breakfast and went into the cafeteria seating area. With only those of us on kitchen duty using the space, the normally bustling room was subdued. Piper and I sat at a table with two other girls and we enthusiastically ate our meals.

“I’m surprised they’re giving us an extra power bar,” one of the girls said.

“I know, right?” Piper said. “Usually they take food away from us, not give us more.”

Suddenly the other girl’s eyes went wide. “You don’t think they’re going to take away any of our other food, do you?”

“I hope not,” Piper said as she unwrapped her first power bar. “That would really suck.”

I nodded, but didn’t speak, too busy eating the surprisingly tasty power bar. I swallowed, then said, “These taste better than the old ones.”

Piper nodded. “Yeah.”

We finished our meal, then dropped off our trays. I noticed other kids wiping down the tables and collecting the trays.

“What do you have now?” Piper asked as we waited for the elevator.

“I can work out or do homework until ten. Then I have to come back here.”

“Me, too.”

When I got to my room I decided to get part of my workout out of the way and changed into shorts, then headed to the gym. Dreading what might happen today, I walked into the office to check in and found a familiar face. “Hi, Alyx.” I’d forgotten she might be here.

“Hey, Morgan. How was kitchen duty?”

“It was okay. Lots of dishes to wash.”

She smiled. “I’ll bet.”

“Well, I’d better get started. I have to be back in the kitchen at ten.”

“’Kay. Have a good workout.”

Yeah, I thought. Like that ever happens. Instead I nodded, then went to get a towel.

When I was half-way through my time on the treadmill, Mr. Muscles materialized next to the machine and stood there, watching me. Not only was he a bully, but the way he stared at me really creeped me out.

He looked me up and down. “Looking good, Morgan.”

I suppressed a shudder as I glanced at him.
Go away, go away, go away
. I chanted the words in my mind, but he stood there, eyeing me.

“A few more weeks in my gym and you’ll look really good.”

Was he coming on to me?
Little did he know that I would be long gone from this place very soon.

Finally he walked away and I was able to finish my workout in peace. When I went back to the office to check out, Alyx immediately asked, “What was Austin saying to you?”

I remembered the way she’d defended him before and wondered if she had a crush on him—though how she could was beyond me. “You know, just telling me to go faster.”

She squinted at me, like she didn’t believe me and I wondered if he came on to a lot of the girls.

“I’ve gotta get back to the kitchen. I’ll see you at lunch.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Bye.”

Great, I thought. That’s all I need. Now she’s going to be mad at me because the creepy Mr. Muscles is a pervert.

When I got to the kitchen, boxes of food were stacked on the floor and one boy was putting them in a large walk-in refrigerator. Deciding it would be a nice break from doing dishes, I picked up a box and followed him into the cold space. I set the box on top of the one he’d carried in, then turned to go.

“Whoa, who do we have here?” Beth stood in the doorway, blocking my exit.

Great. Beth works this shift. The boy had already left and I anxiously glanced around, but no one was near.

Beth followed my gaze. “Who’re you looking for?”

Hoping the boy would be back with another load, I looked at Beth and pretended to be unafraid. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

“’If you’ll excuse me’,” Beth parroted, “’I need to get back to work.’ You’re such a loser, Morgan.”

The cold of the refrigerator, combined with my fear, made me shiver. Beth noticed.

“What’s wrong, Morgan? Are you cold?”

I pictured her closing the door and locking me in and a wave of claustrophobia swept over me. Suddenly desperate to get out of the refrigerator, I stepped toward her. The move must have been unexpected, because she took a step back, but not enough for me to get past her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked, a malicious look on her face.

Just then, the boy I’d followed earlier arrived, another box in his arms.

“Beth, I need to get by,” he said.

She stepped aside and he walked past me and set his box down. Seeing my opening, I hurried toward the doorway. Beth moved back into place, again blocking the doorway.

“What are you doing, Beth?” the boy asked as he approached her.

“Nothing, Josh. What are you doing?”

Josh glanced at me, then back at Beth. “I’m trying to do my job, unlike you.”

I looked at the boy as he stood in front of Beth. He was taller and bigger than her and obviously not intimidated one bit.

Sighing, Beth walked away.

Josh turned to me. “She doesn’t like you.”

You think?
I wanted to say, but just nodded.

“I’m Josh, by the way.”

“Morgan.”

He held his hand out, indicating that I should exit the walk-in refrigerator first.

“Thanks.” I went past him and headed to the sink, deciding that even though doing dishes was boring, at least it would be safe.

Halfway through my shift, someone bumped into me, hard. My stomach jammed against the edge of the sink and I dropped the pot I’d been scrubbing—making it land with a splash, soaking the front of my shirt.

Someone laughed behind me and I turned to see Beth, a grin on her face. “Oops.”