short story

    What’s the worst thing about a day in prison?  Probably the lottery you face on arrival. What’s your new cellmate going to be like?  Will he be a serial killer or an unpredictable psychopath or will he be some poor man suffering from some kind of mental illness who really should be in a hospital? And if you’re really unlucky, you could be bunking up with a square, bulldog-faced looking man with blazing eyes wishing for fresh meat.

I sat on the stone hard bench as my elbows plopped onto my knees and I slowly buried my face into my palms. I had never let out such a desperate sigh. I noticed the red rings around my wrists marked from the cuffs and the black ink on my thumbprints marking criminal. My mom is going to kill me I thought.                   “Company!” screamed the guard, interrupting my thoughts, as he let two other guys in. They gave me a sarcastic smile. Their slim fitting shirts outlined their muscles. They leaned on the wall and folded their arms, both of them staring at me. I didn't know what to do.

Suddenly one of them charged at me ending in position where I had never been so close to a man’s face before.  I took longer trying to take a step back then what he took pulling me back by the collar. I gulped as he raised a hand. I shut my eyes instantly but he then pat me on the shoulder,

“Hey man, how’s it going? I’m just messing with you, I’m Pete.”

Relief grew inside me as he let me go. “Alex,” said the other guy still leaned against the wall.

“What are you in here for?” Alex directed towards me.

“I haven’t paid my parking tickets,” I mumbled.

They began to laugh and assured me I would be out that night.

“How about you guys,” I curiously asked.

“Oh we killed a couple people,” Alex said.

Noticing my reaction they told me to relax, it was just a joke.

“It’s a long story,” Pete said taking a seat next to me.

“Well we have time you know.” I smiled.

Alex sat in front of us and began telling the story. It was amazing; they knew each other since 3^rd grade. They were the high school prank masters. The night before they attended a party and the next morning they end up in Mexico not remembering a single thing. They were telling me the troubles they went through. They had to come like immigrants since they couldn't prove their citizenship. It was at this point where the story started getting really good when the guard interrupted us.

“Tom! Tom!”

“SHHHH,” I barked back at him trying to hear the story.

“You’re free to go. Your mom is here.”

“Yeah, hold on a minute,” I said as Pete and Alex bobbed their heads back with a surprised look. I suddenly realized where I was and what I was doing. I jerked up remembering I was in a jail cell, I had gotten so into the story. I looked back and forth, at them and at the guard. They laughed as they said, “Get out of here kid. It was nice seeing you. Pay your tickets next time”

I walked out of the cell slouching, disappointed in not being able to finish the story. “Bye guys.”

I opened the door to the exit as the grey, depressing walls suddenly turned into pale, yellow, hopeful looking walls. My mom ran towards me and hugged me followed by a slap.

“Don’t scare me like this! Why the long face? You poor thing, God knows how they treated you in there” she kissed me on the forehead.

Little did she know that my long face was because of leaving and not being able to spend the night in jail.