Six boys sat scattered in the mess hall. Andy sat in the corner of the room at a couch with his back to the wall. Zach leaned against a wall nearby. If it turned into a fight, at least Andy wouldn't need to worry about him. He still made a plan just in case Zach turned against him.
As Andy was analyzing the other guys, Paul walked it. With his fake smile, he said, "Thank you for coming out so quickly."
"It's not like there's anything else to do here," one of the other guys said. He had a scarf; Andy labeled him scarfy in his mental notes.
Paul ignored the comment. "As you can see, we are in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't recommend running away. It would take days to find civilization again by foot. You'd have to go through the forest, because we'd catch you if you took the road. With that out of the way, let's introduce ourselves. Give your name, why you ended up here, and a goal you have. Let's begin with with you, Scott."
The guy with the scarf spoke up. "Like he said, my name's Scott. I ended up here because I was in a political rally and things went sidewards. I maybe sort of hit somebody with a crowbar and smashed some windows of local stores. I'm pretty good with computers, so my goal is to join a hacker group. This place is hell for me since there's no electronics whatsoever."
Andy marked Scott as useful, but be wary of. He wasn't shy talking about the violence he's done. He might be easily manipulated due to getting entrenched in a radical political movement.
"Thank you," Paul said. He motioned for the next guy to introduce himself, the overweight suck up to the braggart.
"My name is Terrance. The reason I'm here is because I drink. A lot. I'm still underage, so my goal is to grow up fast to be able to drink to my heart's content with no need to worry."
Andy categorized Terrance as useless and a liability for whoever he was allied with.
The braggart spoke up next. "Name's Brock. I'm here because I formed a gang with a bunch of buddies and always got into fights. My goal is to create a group so powerful nobody can take it down." Brock was already on Andy's list of people to break; he'd make a good example.
Andy was next. "Andy. I'm here because whoever messes with me always ends up in the hospital with therapy. My goal is to be left alone." Andy pointedly stared at Brock.
"I'm Zach. I'm here because I always seem to end up with other people's stuff. It's kind of funny, really."
"Give me back my watch!" Brock said.
Zach shrugged and tossed him back the watch. His aim was off and the watch landed on the ground with a loud crack. Brock picked up the broken watch. He looked at Zach with rage. "I'm going to-"
"Enough," Paul said. "Continue."
Zach went on. "My goal is to be so unnoticeable, people won't see me when I'm standing next to them."
The last person introduced himself; he was tall with black hair that went passed his ears. He felt kind of greasy. "I'm Randy. I ran an underground gambling ring. A guy who lost a bunch of money reported me. My goal is to get back to my business."
"Very good," Paul said. "Now to lay down some ground rules. No fighting. I can see tempers flaring, but you will be punished if it comes to blows again."
"What about self defense?" Andy asked.
"I'll decide when it happens," Paul replied. "Provoking fights will be taken into account. Next, every day, you will have a chore. Complete it. If you do a poor job, you will get punished. Finally, my word is law. Break it, and-"
"We'll be punished," Scott said. "We get it."
"Yes, you are correct," Paul said. "Breakfast is at 8, lunch at noon, and dinner at 5. Miss it and you go hungry. Last, take these and open it."
Paul handed out fortune cookies to everyone. Andy opened his. It read 'Be a man, or at least more manly than those around you.' Andy read over it again but remained confused.
Brock spoke up and recited his fortune. 'You want the big D.' Can't want what I already have." He laughed, motioning at his loins.
"I was about to say," Paul said. "Don't reveal your fortune to others or it might be used against you." Everybody laughed as Brock's face turned red. Paul continued, "Curfew is at 9. Get settled and rest well. It'll be a tough day tomorrow."
