Boot Camp Read Online Free Page A

nose twitching rapidly. “You think you’re smart, don’t you?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œThe hell you don’t. Memorizing the whole bible in forty minutes.”
    Murmurs break out at the tables around us, only to be extinguished by harsh stares from “mothers” and “fathers.”
    â€œYou got some kind of photographic memory? Naw, you’re too stupid-looking.” Joe grins as if he finds this amusing. “You just got lucky on the test, right?”
    â€œUh, yes, sir.”
    â€œYes, sir, no, sir, yes, sir, no, sir. You think you can hide behind that ‘sir’ crap like it’s some kind of protective shield? Forget it, punk. Anyone can see what’s really going on. You think we’re stupid, right? Well, that crap doesn’t cut it here, understand?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
Crap,
it appears, is a catchword for all undesirable behavior at Lake Harmony.
    â€œYeah, you … ah-choo!” Joe suddenly sneezes.
    â€œBless you, sir.”
    Joe whips out a disgusting, yellowed handkerchief and blows his nose. “Damn allergies.” With watery, red-rimmed eyes he gives me a menacing look. “Didyou say ‘bless you’? What are you, my priest?”
    I don’t realize that he actually wants me to answer.
    â€œAnswer me, punk.”
    â€œNo, sir, I’m not your priest.”
    â€œIs that the way people talk where you come from? Please, and thank you, and bless you?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œEveryone’s all nice and civilized?”
    â€œOnly on the surface, sir.”
    My “father” scowls slightly, as if not certain what to make of this answer. “What does that mean?”
    â€œIt means that where I come from people pretend to act nice and civilized, sir. But they’ll stab you in the back just the same.”
    Joe’s eyebrows dip slightly. “So tell me something, Garrett Durrell—how in the world did you wind up here?”
    â€œI… I don’t know how to answer that, sir.”
    â€œWhy not? Everybody else in this room knows why they’re here.” Joe turns to our table. “Jon, tell Garrett why you’re here.”
    â€œYes, sir.” Jon, a thin blond kid with blinking eyes, pops out of his seat. He has a slight tremor, like a small animal perpetually in fear of larger prey. “I was disrespectful to my mom,” he says eagerly. “I sold drugs and stole bikes and skipped school.”
    â€œThank you, Jon.”
    Jon sits obediently. Joe looks up at me. “Tell us why you’re here, Garrett?”
    â€œI suppose I was disrespectful, too … sir.”
    â€œAnd
how
do you
suppose
you were disrespectful?”
    â€œI didn’t do what my parents wanted me to do, sir.”
    â€œAnd what did they want you to do?”
    My thoughts are racing like speed chess. What move can I make? What answer can I give? He can’t really expect me to talk about this in front of all these people.
    â€œI’ll be glad to tell you in private, sir.”
    Around the room murmurs sprout and vanish like puffs of smoke from firecrackers. Joe snorts with contempt. “I have news for you, Garrett. There is no ‘private’ here. No one gets through this program with their pride intact, understand? Your pride goes with the rest of the crap. We tear you down, then build you back the way you should be. And we start with you telling
all
of us why you’re here.”
    â€œSir, I’m sure that, given a little more time, I can find a way to explain it.”
    Joe’s face reddens, and he glares so fiercely, I can see the pulse in his forehead. I wish I knew what he’s so pissed off about. “You don’t get it, do you?” he snarls. “This is some kind of game with you. You think all you got to do is
pretend
to cooperate and you’ll be out of here?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œOh
yes,
sir. I see it clear as