Juvy part 1

The van pulled up to a stop in front of what looked like a children’s camp. I watched as everyone was escorted off board by handlers the size of my huge older brother times five. When the handler that was in charge of my group stood up, I slowly followed him off the bus and onto the camp grounds. I hurried ahead of the rest of the group so that I could stand next to the handler as he led us to a cabin. “Um...this doesn’t look like Juvy,” I said to him. He didn’t look down at me as he said, “Its not.” I was confused. It wasn’t a juvy camp? Then why the heck was I here? Before I could say anything, he went on to say, “We ran out of space at the Juvy center so we bought a camp to keep you kids in. The kids that did the more minor crimes come here, and the real trouble makers are back at the Juvy center.” I felt like laughing out loud. They ran out of room so they bought a CHILDREN’S CAMP to keep their little criminals in? “Well this should be interesting,” I muttered as I let myself fall back to end of the crowd again. We walked up to a large cabin and the handler informed us that the girls were going to sleep on the bottom half and the boys would take the upper half. Then he told us to go find a bunk and to be in the cafeteria in ten minutes. Was he serious? Were they honestly punishing us for our crimes by keeping us in a camp where kids go on VACATION? I watched as the rest of the kids ran into the rooms laughing at how stupid it was to keep Juvy kids in a CAMP. I stood outside and just stared at the cabin for a minute. I decided I didn’t want to be involved with the wrestlings that would come over fighting over top bunks, so I turned around to look at the camp. It was surrounded by a fence that had obviously been put up when the Juvy center decided to buy the place. There was a lake and a ropes course and a pool. As I looked around at my punishment, I decided I was definitely dreaming.

The next few days passed by slowly and boringly. Although they were keeping us in a camp, they didn’t allow us to use any of the camp facilities. I wasn’t surprised,it would be really weird if we were rewarded for breaking the law. Every night a group of girls would sneak out and go skinny-dipping in the lake. I joined them one night, and the water felt amazing. It was a relief to do something different than waking up, going to breakfast, washing the dishes, cleaning the cafeteria, and carrying on with the rest of the day’s chores. I joined the girls quite a few nights after that, shocked that no one caught us.But after a couple weeks, the night swims seemed just as scheduled and boring as the rest of the day. I was starting to think that I’d rather be at the real Juvy when I saw him. I was with twenty other kids plowing the ground behind A, B, and C cabins to plant a garden, (I know, a garden in Juvy? What is this?) when I saw a desperate boy about my age attempting to climb the fence. I stopped my work to watch him, glad to see something different than the blazing sun and the pattern the plow made when it scratched through the hard dirt. I expected a handler to yell at me to get back to work, but every handler near us had run over to the fence to stop the kid. I was just thinking how it was pointless to have eight handlers going after one kid when I realized that they were all necessary. As the first handler grabbed the kids feet, the kid swung over backwards and started punching his back. He gave the guard a head butt and the man dropped him to the ground. Another handler ran up and the kid socked him in the stomach. I watched as the handlers all grabbed a part of him to keep him from flailing at one of them. “You’re just making this harder on yourself. The more times you try to escape, the more time you spend here,” one of the handlers said to the boy. “I don’t care! I already have a life sentence!” the boy yelled back in anger. He had short brown hair that was a mess from not being brushed in three weeks. He eventually stopped trying to wriggle out of their grip and as they carried him closer to me I saw his beautiful sea foam green eyes. I had to catch my breath. A handler noticed me staring and yelled, “Get back to work.” Embarrassed, I started plowing again, but not before I saw the boy realize I was staring at him and smile at me. Who knew Juvy could be so...not a punishment?

© 2009