Four

Three

Two

16

Given my constitution, I never would have suspected that a wild source of entertainment in my new world would involve another person. And yet it was the unending capacity of big Marcus to tell stories that kept most of us entertained in times when we had nothing else to do, when nobody in our area had brought in anything interesting for us to poke at and play with. And even after a year of living in the same room, he had a myriad of stories to tell, from folklore to ghost stories to tales of his own past.

Typically, it was this last genre that was the most interesting. As time went on, we learned tales about specific events in Marcus’ childhood: When he was six years old, he got in his first fist fight. It was over a girl, he grinned wolfishly. Her name was Mary Lou and she lived three houses down and her mother was named Mary Lou and her grandmother was named Mary Lou and everyone in the goddamn family was named Mary Lou, but big Marcus couldn’t appreciate that that was bizarre until he was much older.

15

The outside world was not faring as well as was we insiders. We heard snippets of news from the newcomers, got newspapers every now and again. As time went on, they started permitting new inmates to fill up the bag we’d been given, to bring things with them. Occasionally we would get a studiously minded little thing that would bring us books, but not too often. I almost regretted not bringing my newspapers, though I made a point to never regret anything. Besides, I could still see every word firmly in my mind as though I were reading currently. Still, I would have liked to have some connection to knowledge. We could only surmise and wonder and predict what was happening in a world that was so very different from ours.

Yes, the government had saved money by turning criminals into kings, but what they had saved wasn’t nearly enough. Somehow the global economy was still floundering.

14

After that, my life changed in a clear and noticeable way. In the old jails, we had been governed by a very precise and careful set of rules. In response to these rules, you did not argue, you did not question, and you did not dare disobey, because in most cases (mine was a notable exception) you could be let out early and regain your freedom again.

In the mornings, we would get up and report to breakfast. We would eat our disgusting paltry meal and then we would wash our own dishes. We would put them away and then we would wash our hands, herded unceremoniously like a herd of unruly children. The men and the women did not eat together and they did not clean up together. Then we would be taken outside to the fenced in yard for a short recess period. We were not permitted to stand idle, and we were not permitted to stand and chat in groups, as the guards feared that congregations like these were potential uprisings or escapes. They would harass us and prod us and threaten us until we at least circuited the yard. Still, it was not advisable to stay in any large groups while walking, as the guards were still suspicious of these.

13

Somehow the new jail reminded me of the right side of my old high school. First there was the entryway, and then a large hall, just like the old cafeteria. The whole left side, with the classrooms and gyms and lockers weren’t there. There were more gates here, with heavier padlocks, than at my old high school , as well. As soon as they got me though the final set of gates, they unclasped my handcuffs. I rubbed my wrists; the right one had been chafed by all the tugging from the irritable guard.

I wasn’t certain if they chose not to check my bag because they knew I was coming from another jail or because they just didn’t care what was inside, but the two monitors at the door, a pair of tough looking old women with pursed lips, just indicated that the guards should bustle me on through, lock me in, and then go get the next prisoner. I was thrust unceremoniously into a large room half full of criminals, and the door clanked shut behind me. Everyone else stared at me with empty eyes, eyes that were used to seeing newcomers. Thus began my stint in the new jails.