Henry laughed and nodded. “If she continues to think like that, she’s going to work out just fine. Let’s go get some breakfast to get ready for this time around.”
“Yes, sir.” Elijah grinned.
Jayden and the other two counselors waited on the dining hall porch benches that morning for the girls to arrive. Parents, drivers, pilots, or whatever means the parents sent the girls to Alpine by would bring the girls to the airport. Henry and Elijah had driven the two vans to bring them to the camp.
“Have you got your agenda lined out?” Novalene asked.
“Yep, and extra copies printed so that each member of my team gets one in their hands, plus I taped one to the top of each of their footlockers, since I assigned them different individual jobs like y’all suggested at supper last night,” Jayden answered.
“May I look at it?” Novalene asked.
Jayden passed three papers over to her. “Teamwork in the morning, individual work in the afternoons, an hour of counseling before supper, and one hour of free time before bedtime. They can use the hour to catch up on their journals or read a book or visit with the girls from the other two cabins. Think that will keep them busy?”
“Oh, they’ll find time to get into trouble,” Novalene told her. “They always do, but after a couple of times doing something they hate for whatever rule they break, they won’t want to do it again. When I started teaching, my old mentor used to say that I should make the punishment hard enough that they remembered it every time they wanted to do something wrong. I followed her advice, and it worked.”
In some measure, Jayden had figured that out from her years in the classroom and then as a guidance counselor. As they waited on the porch of the dining room that morning for the girls to arrive, she gave some thought to what she’d read in the handbook. Smoking in any form was against the rules. What would she do to promote leadership and bring down trouble on the heads of her girls if she caught one with a cigarette, a vape pen, or even a joint?
She was thinking about that when the two company vans pulled up, not far from the dining hall. A group of girls got out of each vehicle, and it was plain from their expressions and their body language that they would rather be shoveling coal in hell than be in this desolate place.
“Drop all of your baggage and line up,” Elijah yelled.
Some of them set their fancy suitcases down. Others stared at him like he was something between a lizard and a bumblebee. Jayden could see disgust written on their faces at the very idea of putting their monogrammed leather luggage on the ground in the dirt.
“I said drop your baggage and line up. Anyone who still has a hand on a suitcase, purse, or backpack in the next five seconds can get back in the van they arrived in. You will be taken straight to the Brewster County Jail, in Alpine, to wait for a ride back to talk to the judge that gave you permission to come here rather than go to juvie.” Elijah raised his voice. “Your choice, ladies. You’ve got until I count to three to make it. One, two . . .”
Purses, backpacks, and suitcases all hit the ground so hard and fast that it sounded a little like distant thunder. The girls lined up in something that roughly resembled a line, but most of them had their arms crossed and shot extrasharp daggers at Elijah.
“I want six inches between each of your shoulders, and your toes touching the edge of the sidewalk in front of you,” Elijah said. “This is the way you will line up each day before mealtimes for inspection.”
“God!” one girl muttered. “We’re not in the military.”
Elijah took a step forward until his nose was inches from hers, looked her in the eyes, and yelled so they could all hear him loud and clear. “No, you are not. This is going to be tougher than any military boot camp out there, and when you leave here, you won’t ever even think of shoplifting, cyberbullying, driving under the influence, grand theft auto, assault, drug dealing, or any other way to break the law.” His voice had gotten louder with each word—now it dropped to barely a whisper. “Young lady, since you have not read the handbook, you get a pass on that smart-ass remark, but next time you speak while in formation without being asked a question, you will get a demerit. Three of those will get you kicked out of this program that your parents have paid big bucks for. Now, toes touching the line, arms to your sides, eyes forward, and six inches between shoulders, and then we’ll march inside.”
Jayden could tell by their attitudes that they didn’t like to submit to that kind of authority, but not one of them even batted an eye, so evidently Elijah had gotten through to them on some level. Either that or they had a touch of fear for what the judge would do.
“This line is not perfect, but it will be by the end of eight weeks,” Elijah said. “Now follow me single file into the dining room, where you will each meet your counselor and learn which cabin you will call home for the next eight weeks.”
As they passed by Jayden, every one of them looked like they could chew up scrub oak trees and spit out toothpicks. They were all wearing jeans—some that probably cost more than a hundred bucks a pair and others with a Wrangler or Levi’s brand on the pocket. Most of them had pierced ears and wore other jewelry, and a few had a tattoo or two peeking out from around their bra straps and their expensive tank tops. Poor little darlings, their worlds were about to be turned upside down and inside out.
Jayden could sympathize with them. Her own world had crumbled the day that she found out Skyler was in charge of everything after their mother’s death, including the house where they’d both grown up.
“Good morning, ladies,” Mary said. “Welcome to Piney Wood Academy.”
Elijah and Henry both stepped out of the dining hall and closed the door behind them. The girls relaxed and began to look around the room, and then their eyes came to rest on the tables.
“I see that you’ve noticed you each have a name card on one of the tables for three.” Mary made a sweeping motion with her hand. “This is where you will sit for every meal while you are here.” Her tone held as much authority as Elijah’s had. “Right now, beside that card, you will find a set of clothing and a brown paper bag with your name on it. You will put everything you are wearing into the bag. That includes jewelry and underwear, and if you are still holding your cell phones, then they go in the bag also. We will see to it all your things are put into your luggage. That will go in storage and be returned to you when you leave.”
Several of the girls gasped, and Jayden could tell that they were weighing the idea of pleading with the judge or even their parents about having to stay in this horrible place with no phones for eight whole weeks. They’d just gotten the first shock of their stay at Piney Wood. Every one of them looked like they were about to bolt.
“All of your new clothing is marked with your name and cabin. You have one set on your table, and the other two are in the footlocker at the end of your cot in your bedroom. For the next eight weeks, this is what you will wear, and if you are caught outside without your cap on, it will be one demerit,” Mary said. “Now get dressed, ladies, so we can have some lunch, and then your counselors will go over the handbook this afternoon.”
When she was fifteen or sixteen, Jayden sure wouldn’t have wanted to strip down to her bare skin in front of complete strangers, even if some of them were also teens. Looking back, she was glad that her folks and the police never knew about that pair of sunglasses she shoplifted when she was thirteen, or that drunken weekend binge she’d had in college. She had felt so guilty, she took the sunglasses back the next day and put them back on the rack. Then there was the time she went joyriding with her two best friends in a car one of them boosted from a parking lot. She had lived in fear for weeks that Skyler would find out and tattle on her.
Not a single girl said a word, but their groans left no doubt that they hated the white cotton granny panties and the generic white bras. When they picked up the tan elastic-waist pants with wide legs and the matching shirts that buttoned down the front, Jayden almost felt sorry for them. A few
wiped away tears as they traded expensive sandals for lace-up boots and white tube socks that came halfway to their knees.
Jayden was glad she could wear her own clothing, and she appreciated Skyler a little for telling her to take along hiking boots. She’d read a list of her responsibilities and, although she didn’t have to join them in a mile-long walk before breakfast, she planned to do so. She would have been miserable in sandals or flip-flops.
The last thing they did was put their caps on. When they did that, Novalene nodded at Jayden and Diana and they all three removed theirs from their hip pockets and crammed them down on their heads. Jayden scanned the room for the Daydream Cabin girls and found Carmella, Tiffany, and Ashlyn—wearing hats embroidered with clouds above the words Daydream Cabin. Ashlyn was about five and a half feet tall, had platinum hair with a pink streak on one side, and green eyes outlined with heavy black liner. Carmella looked to be the toughest of the three. Her jet-black ponytail stuck out the back of her cap, and her jaw worked like she was chewing bubblegum. Jayden knew that gesture well. If she could spew out what was on her mind, it would blister the paint right off the stucco. Tiffany dropped gold and diamond earrings and a sparkling diamond pendant into the sack like they were nothing more than dime-store jewelry. She was almost as tall as Jayden, with red hair that flowed to her shoulders and big blue eyes. Freckles shone across her nose in the places where she’d already sweated off a ton of makeup.
Mary crossed the room, opened the door, and motioned for Elijah and Henry to come back into the dining room. “Elijah will take all your belongings to storage. Henry will help me serve dinner. That is what we call the noon meal here. Get a tray and line up. You have an hour to eat, and then you will report to your cabin, where your counselor will explain the rules in your handbook and assign your individual work schedules.”
No matter how Jayden played out the scenarios in her head, she could not imagine Skyler, in all her prissiness, tackling this job. Maybe they made a habit of giving her the girls who weren’t as tough as Jayden expected Carmella, Ashlyn, and Tiffany to be.
Elijah took his place at the end of the buffet and dished up the salad and spaghetti that Mary had made for dinner. Henry worked the far end and gave them each a couple of hot yeast rolls and a glass of either sweet tea or water, whichever they preferred. When the girls had all been served, then the counselors came through the line.
“So, what do y’all think of your girls?” Henry asked when the adults were all seated at the table set to the side for them.
“Looks like I’ve got a couple of tough ones,” Jayden answered, “but not one of the three can compare to some of the kids I’ve had in class. I didn’t see any of them pulling guns or knives from their pockets and putting those into their paper bags.”
“No, but it’s a good thing that looks don’t kill,” Novalene said.
“If they did, we’d all be dead,” Diana chuckled. “I doubt they’d even bury us. They’d probably just throw our dead carcasses out for the coyotes to feast upon.”
“They don’t seem any better or worse than what we’ve started with before,” Novalene said as she bit into her bread. “It’s not what we get today that matters anyway. It’s what we send home in eight weeks that tells the tale of our success or failure.”
“Amen.” Mary nodded.
Elijah leaned over slightly and asked Jayden, “Do I need to keep the keys to the vans under lock and key?”
“Not for me, but you should keep them in a fireproof safe for a while. If two of mine were to team up and talk the platinum blonde with the pink streak into making a break for it, you might lose a van,” she said.
“The pink streak has to go. I’ve got some color remover to take care of it, or she can cut it off,” Mary said. “That kind of thing is against the rules.”
“She’s a natural brunette. You can tell by her eyebrows and that tiny little bit of root beginning to show in her part,” Novalene said. “She’s going to have a hissy fit when she looks like a reverse skunk.”
“Will she cut it or dye it? I’m taking bets.” Jayden grinned.
“My money is on cutting it,” Elijah said. “She’ll do it with fire in her eyes just to show how tough she is.”
“Don’t y’all feel just a little bit sorry for them?” Henry asked. “They’re all just craving attention and walls.”
“Walls?” Jayden asked.
“They’ve been acting out, most likely to get some kind of attention,” Henry answered. “All kids need walls that let them know where their boundaries are. If they go too far, they hit the wall, get into trouble, and readjust their thinking. Chances are these girls haven’t had any walls in their lives, so now they have to be taught responsibility, respect, and teamwork all in a crash course.”
“Boot camp taught me,” Elijah said. “And when I began to forget it, Henry came to teach me all over again.”
“You needed it just as bad as these girls do.” Henry chuckled.
“Yep, I did.” Elijah grinned. “I just hope these girls come out with a different attitude at the end of their stay, like I did after my first session here at the camp.” He nodded toward the first girl to stand up and walk away from the table. “I get to say I told you so, Mary.”
“What for?” Mary asked.
“I told you to just use those frozen lasagnas today rather than making spaghetti from scratch. I knew this first day that they would all test us,” he said. “That girl is about to create a mess. I can see it in her eyes.”
Jayden looked up to see Tiffany, one of her girls, give the adults at the table a go-to-hell look. Jayden pushed her chair back, stood, and caught up to Tiffany about halfway across the floor. “You won’t get a demerit since I haven’t gone over the rules with you yet, but you will bus your own spot. You don’t have to eat what you are served, but you do have to scrape it into the trash can to feed to the hogs later. So, turn around, go back, and take care of your tray.”
“The hired help takes care of that at our house,” Tiffany said in a loud voice.
“You are not at your house, young lady, and when I tell you something, the answer is ‘yes, ma’am.’ If Henry or Elijah gives you instructions, it is ‘yes, sir.’ Is that understood?”
“Whatever.” Tiffany shrugged and started back toward the table. She glared at Jayden, picked up her tray, and dropped it on the floor. Food scattered all the way to the door and splashed up on her pant legs. “Whoops,” she said with a cocky little tilt to her head.
Jayden picked up a metal chair and carried it to the back of the dining room. “You will sit, facing the wall, until everyone else finishes their meal.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said with a head wiggle.
“You are part of a team here, so your teammates will clean up the mess you made. When everyone gets finished eating, you will pick up the slop bucket, and I will show you where to carry it to feed the hogs. And every meal for the rest of this week, your responsibility, in addition to the ones that are on your list, will be to take that bucket to the hog pen. Do you have another whatever or whoops to say to me?”
“No, ma’am.” Tiffany plopped down in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Also, you will wear those pants until bedtime. You only get one uniform a day, so if you mess it up, that’s too bad,” Jayden told her.
Tiffany set her mouth in a firm line and stared at the wall.
“I’m waiting,” Jayden said.
“For?” Tiffany hissed.
“Think about it,” Jayden answered. “You’ve got five seconds.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tiffany finally whispered as she looked down at the legs of her pants. “Are you really going to make me wear these pants all day?”
“I am, and you can deal with your teammates when they get done cleaning up your mess.” Jayden turned around to find the other two members of her team giving Tiffany the stink eye. “The three of you are responsible for each other’s actions as well as your own. You are a t
eam for the next eight weeks. If you don’t want to clean up after each other, I suggest you make sure that your teammates don’t make messes.”
If Elijah had ever had a doubt in his mind about Jayden, he didn’t anymore. He’d seen female drill sergeants who didn’t have that kind of spunk. When she sat back down, he leaned over and said, “Good job, there. You want my job?”
“No, thank you.” She nodded and went back to eating as if nothing had happened, but when the other two Daydream girls started trying to clean up the mess, she tapped her metal tray with a fork. “No!” she yelled across the room. “I said when everyone else has finished eating, you may clean that up. It will lay right there, leaving greasy spots and red stains until the dining room is cleared out. Then you may begin your job, and there will not be even the slightest sign of a stain when you are finished. Mary will give you some cleaning supplies, and when Tiffany and I finish feeding the hogs and washing out the bucket, she will drop down on her knees and help you.”
Carmella and Ashlyn sat back down.
“I’m waiting,” Jayden said.
“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.
Novalene chuckled under her breath. “Thank you. That set the precedent for all of us. I bet there’s not a girl in the place who doesn’t know to say yes, ma’am now.”
“Good job, Jayden,” Elijah whispered.
“Respect is the first thing they should learn, and they’ll be glad they did,” Jayden said out of the side of her mouth.
“I agree wholeheartedly.” Elijah finished off his dinner, picked up his tray, and made a wide sweep around all the food on the floor. He went outside and leaned against the porch post, like he always did on the first day of camp.
When Diana brought her girls out, she stopped and nodded to them. “Would you please introduce yourselves to Elijah, our drill instructor, so he can put faces with names?”
“Quinley McAdams.” A short girl took a step forward. She had dark curly hair that lay in ringlets to her shoulders and a tattoo on her shoulder of a sword with a rose on the end of the blade. According to what Elijah had read in the report, she was half-black. Her eyes were green with yellow flecks in them.
The Daydream Cabin Page 5
