Status: Still a work in progress.
Juvie in New Jersey
Keep Out of My Way, and I'll Try Not to Kill You
Cold, dim, abandoned, desolate, hopeless, angry, depressing, maddening, and oh-so-satisfying. These are the words I use to describe the people and the place which they inhabit. I smiled smugly on my walk to my cell, the same smile I gave the principal. It's the same smile I held when I looked Johnathan in the eye. The same I flashed the judge. The same I dealt to the jury when they gave my sentence, indefinite time in juvenile detention. A very satisfied smile.
I had every right to be satisfied with what I did. After all, I got in trouble. If you're going to do a job, do it right. If you're going to do it right, you'd better end up in trouble. Otherwise, it wasn't worth doing.
My cell was completely empty. Bleak and empty. I lay down on the bed after I made it and waited. I watched the hours tick by. 8:00 PM. Dinner. Who cares? I sat still in my bed then slowly, surely, I began to smile.
I walked to the door and smiled at everyone I saw. Then she came by. The first of many to challenge me. The first of many to lose. She was skinny in a sickly way, pale in a deathly way, and pretty in a horrible way. She looked almost how I want to look. Dead.
I smiled at her as well, but all she did was glare. In a thick Valley-girl accent, she asked me, "What do you have to be so happy about? You're in prison!"
"No," I responded coolly. "I'm in juvee." I chuckled and leaned against the door. Juvee in New Jersey. Has a nice ring. Rolls off the tongue like milk and honey.
She stared at me in disbelief before rolling her eyes. "Well you'd better fix that crooked smile or someone's gonna do it for you!"
My smile vanished and I clenched my fist at my side. "Is that a threat?"
"Maybe it is. What'cha gonna do, Miss Sunshine?"
I reached my fist for her, opening it at the last second so I had her by her neck, suspended in the air. I slammed her into the wall hard enough for her to lose her breath. "Listen, you little," I cut myself off before I said something I'd regret. "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Too bad for you, I just became a nightmare. Keep out of my way, and I'll try not to kill you." I threw her down to my left and ducked back into my cell before the guards saw me.
I smiled when I saw a little blood on my fingertips. She'd hit her head on the wall, I guess. I laid down and my eyes slipped closed with a peaceful smile.
I had every right to be satisfied with what I did. After all, I got in trouble. If you're going to do a job, do it right. If you're going to do it right, you'd better end up in trouble. Otherwise, it wasn't worth doing.
My cell was completely empty. Bleak and empty. I lay down on the bed after I made it and waited. I watched the hours tick by. 8:00 PM. Dinner. Who cares? I sat still in my bed then slowly, surely, I began to smile.
I walked to the door and smiled at everyone I saw. Then she came by. The first of many to challenge me. The first of many to lose. She was skinny in a sickly way, pale in a deathly way, and pretty in a horrible way. She looked almost how I want to look. Dead.
I smiled at her as well, but all she did was glare. In a thick Valley-girl accent, she asked me, "What do you have to be so happy about? You're in prison!"
"No," I responded coolly. "I'm in juvee." I chuckled and leaned against the door. Juvee in New Jersey. Has a nice ring. Rolls off the tongue like milk and honey.
She stared at me in disbelief before rolling her eyes. "Well you'd better fix that crooked smile or someone's gonna do it for you!"
My smile vanished and I clenched my fist at my side. "Is that a threat?"
"Maybe it is. What'cha gonna do, Miss Sunshine?"
I reached my fist for her, opening it at the last second so I had her by her neck, suspended in the air. I slammed her into the wall hard enough for her to lose her breath. "Listen, you little," I cut myself off before I said something I'd regret. "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Too bad for you, I just became a nightmare. Keep out of my way, and I'll try not to kill you." I threw her down to my left and ducked back into my cell before the guards saw me.
I smiled when I saw a little blood on my fingertips. She'd hit her head on the wall, I guess. I laid down and my eyes slipped closed with a peaceful smile.