“Okay, for you guys going off to dorm ‘B’ , follow me ,” shorty said , leading the eight dormitory ‘B’ boys aways while Clunky stayed with martins group.
“Ok, the rest of you form a queue and each one pick out a bag from that pile over there, ” Clunky instructed.
The boys each grabbed a duffel bag which contained thier working kits, martins searched through my bag while we waited to be led to their dorm.
The kit contained a pair of swimming goggles and trunks sealed in a plastic bag, there was also a headband with what looked like a torchlight mounted on it , as well as a pair of heavy duty gloves.
At the bottom of the bag was a funny looking pair of black plastic things that looked like oversized frog feet, he later learnt they were called flippers .
They were supposed to help swim better underwater, after Clunky had finished recording their names and some other information, he led the group off to join the other water-boys.
Dormitory ‘B’ was even bigger than he had expected and there were many more boys in there than in dorm ‘A’ almost twice the number, maetint figured.
It was noisy and less organized, he wondered who the dorm prefect was.
They also received a noisier welcome than they had gotten on our first night, there was a certain energy in this place that was absent in the other dorm . Martins could understand why many escape attempts had been made by boys from dorm’A’ . if you failed in your escape attempt , it wouldn’t be the lack of support from the other lads.
As soon as Clunky left , they were surrounded by boys of all ages who wanted news on what was happening outside ‘ELF ‘, this was going to be a long weekend , martins said to himself. Before any of the boys could say anything, the circle of boys parted as someone approached .
In front of them stood the shortest boys he had seen since we arrived . He was smaller than the eight years olds, something about him suggested he was way older than he looked.
” My name is Goliath , he said with eerily soft voice, “and i am the dorm prefect .”
There was some giggling among Martin’s group and he also almost burst into laughter, his next words however sent chills up their spines and everyone began to pay attention to him immediately.
“Your lives are in my hands during the night shift and if you want to be alive to see the next day, you should better listen very carefully to everything i say ” , Goliath said, pausing for effect .”And if you’re wondering about my age i’m eighteen years old, now follow me.”
They quietly followed the odd little guy to a corner of the dorm similar to Zel’s in the other dormitory, just that in this dorm , it was referred to as ‘the big man’s corner’.
A secretary of some sort asked the boys to relax and sit in a semi- circle around Goliath, Martins made a note to quickly learn what the chain of command was in this place.
” We are all brothers and it is our duty to look out for each other, so feel free to cut in to ask questions or make contributions”, Goliath said.
For the next hour, they listened to what they were to expect during their first shift, he began by explaining what the basic duties were. In group of three, the boys were supposed to work as a team, diving to the bottom of the lake and harvesting lobster that had been caught in traps.
Of each group, two would dive while the third person stayed at the edge of the lake to monitor the ropes.
What do you mean by monitoring the ropes?”a kid at martins left asked .
“Every one making a dive has a rope tied to his waist and the end of these ropes are then given to the lads at the surface who we call the ‘pullers, these ropes are your means of communicating with your puller who monitor’s the signals that come up the rope”.
“What kinds of signals are we talking about?” another lad inquired.
” We have developed a system of signals to ensure that we live to see another day,” Goliath explained.
“A single tug means you are fine and not in trouble of any sort, a double tug means your ropes is caught on something; you are untying the end around your waist and coming to the surface…”
“Are we supposed to know how all this works before our first shift on Monday night?” the lad who had asked the question interrupted again.
“If you want to be alive on tuesday Morning, you better listen and learn very quickly,” Goliath replied.