Free Imprisoned by Christine Kersey Page B

reminded myself that this whole thing was just a farce—a fake world that I would soon be leaving. I just had to pretend until I could find a way to escape. “Well, I guess it’s important to have rules so that you know what to expect.”
    She smiled, evidently pleased with my answer. “Very good, Morgan. Very good.”
    Her praise, though it was for an answer I had made up and didn’t mean, helped me to break my gaze. I felt the others looking at me, but I ignored them. Especially Billy, whose smirk I could see in my mind’s eye.
    For the rest of the session I was able to come up with answers I knew Mrs. Reynolds wanted to hear and got through it without any punishment. No one else got in trouble either. When we were done she told us we could go, but asked me to stay behind. As I watched everyone file out, worry coursed through me and I wondered what I had done wrong.
    Finally, the last person left the room and Mrs. Reynolds turned to me. “How are you settling in, Morgan?”
    “Okay, I guess.” I hoped she would get this over with quickly—my imagination was filling with all kinds of horrible punishments for what I may have done.
    “Good. I’m glad to hear it.” She paused. “Here at Camp Willowmoss we want our campers to develop good habits. Not just to lose weight, but to cultivate a healthy lifestyle—a lifelong way of caring for their bodies. Now, as you know, there are those who are here for other reasons. That’s what our counseling group is all about. Some people make poor choices and they need to be reminded why we have the rules that we have. Take you, for example. I’m sure what you did wasn’t done maliciously. Nevertheless, you broke an important rule.”
    As I sat silently, I wondered where she was going with her lecture.
    “Here at Camp Willowmoss we believe in second chances. Most people leave here with a new attitude and are ready to become productive members of society. There are some, however, who have no intention of changing their ways. Not only that, they want to bring down as many other people as they can.”
    Alarm bells rang in my mind. Did she somehow know of my desire to try to escape? Could she tell I hadn’t been sincere in my answers during the counseling session?
    “Morgan, I have a good feeling about you.”
    The alarm bells quieted as I listened to her. Plainly, she had no clue about what was going on in my mind.
    “As much as we want to, we can’t be everywhere so we rely on other campers to help us out.” She watched me for a moment, then said, “How would you like to shave some time off of your stay?”
    “Really?”
    She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes.”
    “I would like that.”
    “I thought you would.” She paused. “You can earn points which can go toward shortening your stay at Camp Willowmoss.”
    That’s great, I thought. Maybe I’d need to work extra hours in my job or something. “What do I need to do?” I couldn’t help it. My voice betrayed how eager I was to earn these points.
    “You just need to share information with me.”
    I felt my early release slipping away. “What kind of information?”
    “Anything that you think we would be interested in. I think you’ll know it when you hear it.” This time when she smiled, it seemed evil.
    “Okay.”
    “Can I count on you, Morgan?”
    What was I supposed to say? “Uh, I guess so.”
    “Good.” She stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Then she turned and left the room.
    I stayed in my seat, trying to process what I’d just been told. If I ratted people out, they’d let me go early. I had no idea how early, but any time I could take off of my “stay”, as Mrs. Reynolds called it, would be good. But could I do it? Could I be a snitch?
    I left the classroom and went to the elevator, my mind going a hundred miles an hour. Did I care enough about the people I’d met to keep their secrets? Not that they’d told me any, but what if they did? Would I be willing to risk