Inconsolable » Squid [Holes]

11: Mittens

Squid kept his teeth clamped down on the little piece of wood hanging out of his mouth. Months ago a cigarette sat in its place but they were confiscated when he arrived. He never saw them after that. He was sure Mr. Sir kept them hidden somewhere if they weren't already smoked. The withdrawal symptoms hit him hard in his first week at Camp Green Lake. His head pounded, he couldn't sleep, his anxiety sky-rocketed, and he barely kept anything down. In fact, he was almost bestowed with the nickname "Barf Bag" but he managed to get his stomach under control to save himself the fate (plus, the real Barf Bag leaked like a fire-hose over the smallest thing so he was thankful for that.)

He thought he'd needed a cigarette before but the past few weeks took him to the point where he'd give his left arm for one. Or at least some dip or low-grade chew. Anything. He'd tried to get some off campers in C-Tent but they were a stingy bunch and he didn't have a reason to strong-arm it out of them. Yet.

His hands shook as he tried to pick up the tokens he had won in poker. They felt cool against his slick palms and nearly slipped through his fingers. His leg bounced rapidly beneath the lopsided table, rattling the surface.

"Easy there, Squid," X-Ray commented with a little laugh. "You tweaking or something?"

"And if you are you should share that stuff, bro," Magnet added. "We could all use a bit of help around here."

"Shut up," Squid grumbled, brushing the back of his hand against his forehead. He opened his palm, briefly counting the tokens he'd received and then dumped them into his pocket. Tapping the cards in his hand against the tabletop, he allowed his eyes to scan around the room. They barely made a sweep across the room when his eyes rested on Caveman and Mickey sitting on the busted couch. His eyes narrowed as he watched them talking about...something. Their faces didn't give anything away regarding the subject of their conversation. He grunted and gathered up the cards, practically throwing them back at Magnet and X-Ray as he dealt.

"So what do you guys think of having Mouse around?" X-Ray asked. Squid didn't look up from his hand. He could feel X-Ray's eyes on him but didn't take the bait. Instead he slowly applied pressure to the toothpick in his mouth; it was soggy due to his saliva and he could feel the ends splintering between his teeth.

"Think she's an angel in a desert," Magnet said, laughing. "Best sight I've seen in a long time."

Squid finally lifted his eyes, regarding X-Ray. "Are we actually calling her that?"

X-Ray shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's fitting, don't you think?" Squid didn't reply, which only made a smirk rise on X-Ray's face. He nudged Magnet with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrows. Magnet chuckled and looked at the cards in his hands. "Speaking of fitting, did you ever hit that or...?" He kept a straight face when Squid spluttered at his question.

Squid, on the other hand, had a hard time concealing the disgust that seeped onto his face. "Don't be sick, man!" His lip curled and a sour taste filled the back of his throat. He grabbed his canteen from beneath the table and took a swig from it to rid himself of the bad taste. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then dropped his canteen down onto the floor by his foot. "Can we just get back to the game?"

"Now now, relax," X-Ray said with an easygoing smile. It only made Squid glare at him and flare his nostrils. "Damn, you're so wound up, s'almost like she's your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Squid all but growled. "She's not even my friend. I don't even know why the fuck she's here. It was better when she was back home living her prissy life away from here and away from me."

"What'd she even do to you? Comment on your teeny weenie?" Magnet cracked. X-Ray laughed and threw a shower token into the middle of the table. Magnet also threw a shower token onto the table, momentarily frowning at his dwindling pile.