Dig It Up *A 'Holes' Fanfiction*

What a...Twich

Chapter 24

"So, do you think he's buzzard food by now?" Squid asked me as we sat down on the sofa in the wreck-room. Zigzag was gazing at the screen of the TV.

"I don't know. I hope he's ok. The place feels kind of… I don't know, lonely without him here." I stated, nervously playing with my hands.

It was three days after the incident, and Zero was gone. The strange thing was that Stanley was the most silent I’ve ever seen him. Even when I insulted him in the harshest way he just stared or glared. Most of the others just ignored him but I noticed that he once left the Wreck Room and shouted out Zero’s name into the distance. Zero and him were probably best friends so I could understand what he was feeling. I glanced at Charlie, she was sitting next to Zigzag trying to polish her goggles. (She brought them with her to go swimming but now strangely wore them oh her head when digging…I don’t know why but she said that it completed the ‘Smarts’ look?) I would be pretty upset if she ran away. After dinner our whole conversation was about Zero.

“Man, if he’s not back by tomorrow morning…he’s dead.” Armpit said.

“He’s dead either way, if he stays out there or comes back.” X-Ray said as he sat upright. Stanley stared at the ceiling in silence.

“I think we should all think positive, maybe he will come back and not get killed by The Warden?” Charlie sounded hopeful but it was obvious she thought it was pointless.

“Hey, when do you think they’re gonna find his body?” Zigzag said wide-eyed as usual.

“What body?” Squid said as he slouched on his cot. “Man, Zero’s buzzard food. Know what? They pick out the eyeballs first!” He started to make squelching noises with his mouth. We all laughed and told him to shut it, except Stanley of course who turned over and pulled his sheet up over him. We all got into bed ourselves and slept.

The next day after digging we saw the yellow school bus pull into the camp. I heard the chortles of fresh meat and ran over with Charlie, hoping to see if it was another girl. It wasn’t. Instead it was a small boy with a baby face and chestnut hair. He had a green and orange visor backwards around his head. He was looking around with darting eyes and his hands were twitching. He saw Charlie and me and started fixing his t-shirt and hair. I rolled my eyes and we walked back into the tent. This new guy joined us at dinner; he was our replacement for Zero. Boy, he was the most annoying thing on earth. X-Ray had christened him Twitch. But, I don’t think he was part of the family yet. He wouldn’t stop talking and twitching or doing both at the same time! He also was eyeing up Charlie and me; which was not so good with Squid and Zigzag.

“So what’cha in here for Twitch?” X-Ray asked gazing at the bread sitting on Twitch’s tray. Twitch’s eyes flicked to each of us on the table. He sat in between Charlie and me, much to our discomfort.

“Oh, uh, joyriding. I guess I didn’t plan to steal one or nothin’ but when I walked past a really nice car,” His fingers fidgeted, “Ooh, I just start twitching you know, you think I’m jumpy now? You should’a seen me behind the wheel of that Mustang Convertible!” He did a little jump that kinda startled me and I dropped my cutlery. I was about to get them when he suddenly started to apologize and then started to flirt. I laughed because he was really cute, but so annoyingly hilarious. Basically he was a Texan Justin Beiber...no comment. Squid grinded his teeth and wrapped an arm around me and spat;

“She’s taken. Sorry.” Which seemed to shut Twitch up for about five seconds until he started to rant about this girl from his school. No else on our table talked but him. I soon noticed that Twitch did nothing right, his popularity lasted a few seconds then it went straight to the bottom. After dinner, the boys except Stanley went to go fill up their canteens so Charlie and I offered to take Twitch to his cot. Zero’s cot. He found all the cardboard boxes of ours and stated to poke through them. The first one he attacked was Zigzag’s. We told him not to but he wouldn’t listen.

“March 22nd 1998, I think he can throw this away!” Twitch chucked Zigzag’s TV Guide on the floor. He then moved over onto Squid’s.

“Hey, whose octopus?”  He didn’t notice that the boys had walked in and the purple octopus flew across the room behind him and fell at Squid’s feet. Zigzag bent over and picked up his TV Guide and dusted it off quite calmly. He then rolled it up and followed Squid who was sneaking up behind Twitch who had moved onto Magnet’s stuff. Let’s just say that the ‘tent door slammed in his face…’ If you get what I mean. He went silent after that and only twitched. We thought we would have an hour of silence but after he put his sheets on he started up again.

“What’s your deal Zigzag? Anyone ever tell you, you look kinda weird? You should do something with your hair man, if you know what I mean.” Zigzag’s paranoia kicked in there and he started to fiddle with his hair. “So, what’s the worst crime anyone did here? Any murderers?”

“Oh, yes I murdered a couple of people when they abused other people by going through people’s private things and pissing people off in general.” Charlie hissed as she sat next to Zigzag who surprisingly didn’t notice till she slapped his hand away from his hair.

“Wow, really!” Twitch gasped, “I knew someone like that! He never would do anything right you know? Always went on about different things and-“

“Quit bumping your gums.” X-ray cut in. It was his way in telling twitch to shut up.

“Bumping my gums? That’s a good one I’ll have to remember that! So what happened to Zero?” Twitch ignored X-Ray, which he didn’t like.

“How about a change of topic shall we?” I cut in.

“See if you can sit still for 5 minutes. No moving.” Armpit challenged. Twitch sat on Zero’s cot and tried not to move a muscle. Nobody had a watch so Zigzag offered to count to five hundred. Which Charlie corrected that it was actually meant to be three hundred. They counted together.

“One-mississppi-two-mississppi-three-mississppi…” Twitch was holding his breath. “Twenty-two-mississppi-twenty-three-mississppi…” The muscles of Twitch’s face jumped and fluttered. His eyes blinked constantly. I swear his ear wiggled.

“I have a cousin in McGhee Arkansas.” He suddenly blurted out, “We’d go drive four wheelers down by the side of the Mississippi River.”

“Shhh!” Armpit whispered. Twitch really tried, but he just couldn’t do it. By the time Zig and Charlie were at seventy-three mississippi Twitch abruptly stood up and said he had enough.

“Dude, instead of blood you have coffee in your veins!” Magnet chortled.

“I guess I’m a little nervous.” Twitch admitted.

“Seventy three seconds, he didn’t even last a minute!” said Zigzag. Charlie put her head in her hands.