Day 4

Day 4 - Sunday

3:00 am

Again it felt like I had just closed my eyes when I was getting nudged to wake up for the morning goulash. I faintly remember this breakfast though.

Everything was starting to get routine in this lace. That kind of scared me. I walked down the stairs in silence, as did most everyone else. The banter of barter had begun even before people were starting to get their food. I wait my turn in the line of infinite losers just to satisfy my hunger. I hadn't shaved or done any of the sort since I had left my house those few years ago. Time was not being kind to me. Usually I pray that the day lasts longer because I had so much to enjoy. Now, I wanted those long days to end as quickly as humanly possible. I was given no such respite.

I grab my Styrofoam tray of whatever along with two slices of white bread and start to walk off. I get yelled at. I stop. Looking back around I see that the guard who was serving us was yelling at me to come back. I had no idea what was going on, so I just complied and stood there like a jackass. here's what he told me.

"Oh, you got the butt end of the bread. You get an extra slice."

REALLY?

I get an extra slice of bread, how kind of you mister! You made my day. /sarcasm

Ugh!

Just give me my crappy meal and shut up already. I hope he didn't think that extra piece of bread meant anything to me. I'm one of the few people who doesn't mind the butt of the bread. I think breakfast was some sort of potato stew thing or something. It didn't taste bad honestly.

Like it mattered. I ate my food, said a couple jokes about the cop and went back to my hole in the wall to hibernate as long as they would let me.

9:00 am

Cursing. That's what woke my up at first.

Lights. That's what kept me up afterwards.

Something had happened and all the lights in our block were on. Me being on the top bunk meant this sucked big time for me. I don't do sleep well with lights in my face and I can't sleep on my stomach sober. I would come to find out that one of the newer inmates was complaining to the cops that the lights in the shower were off and that he was paranoid or something and wanted them on. He asked enough to get on the smart ass side of the cops, so whoever was stationed to guard us that day felt the need to punish us all. They did turn on the lights in the shower, along with every other light in the damn holding cell.

UGH!!!!

So we all suffer. And the person responsible suffers as well. Not physically mind you, but verbally the dude got berated.

"Dude was fucking scared of getting raped in the dark."
"Fucking pussy."
"I'll give him something to be scared of."
"This shit head fucked all of our days up."

and so on...

They didn't do anything to the guy, but honestly I didn't even see who they were screaming at. This was the first day that I didn't get to sleep all the way to lunch. I figured today was going to suck.

The news was on. Batman was doing phenomenal as expected, but wow was it doing better then I anticipated. First thing I'd do when I got out of this joint was to watch this movie. My soul demanded it. Another thing I saw was news on Metrocon.

Metrocon? Damn! I was supposed to go to that with my friends. I had completed forgotten that it was this week. I hadn't seen AJ and the gang in some tie, those cons were always so childish and pure. They were a good source of jokes and it made me sad to know I would have to wait another year before enjoying that event again. The funny thing was, was as we watched the news on that anime convention every inmate yelled and joked about what kind of lame ass loser types would be caught dead dressing up like cartoons and going to those pansy ass meetings.

"Yeah..."

I didn't stand up and declare that I went to those cons. I kinda just nodded at the few jokes and let it be. Really, would you blame me? I was petrified in that place. I wasn't sure what any of these people were capable of if pushed or looked at the wrong way. Best just let them think of me as a cop beating inmate. One of the guys.

10:00 am

Lunch was actually not bad. Meat patty of some sort and with the bread they gave us, I made a hamburger of sorts. No ketchup or anything fancy, but the meat had enough sauce around it that I could sort of dip the burger and soak in all the juices. plus, there was a cookie for an added touch. How thoughtful. I ate and went back upstairs and read. The lights made it impossible to even think about sleeping.

Tony started to bother me as I laid in my bed trying to read some more of the SW book. Someone had busted out a chess board and he asked me if I wanted to play.

Chess? Haven't played since like High School. "Sure." I say nonchalantly, and I jumped down and we went downstairs to one of the tables and set up a game. My armpits smelled like rotten dead baby fungi. I figured it would be best to play with them at my side. No one had yet came to me and questioned it, so maybe I was doing a good job of hiding the funk?

Downstairs was like Def comedy jam. The blacks had set up a barber shop of sorts, equipped with a seat for hair cuts and everything! I was the whitest person downstairs as far as I could tell. Eyes darted to me and Tony as he set up the game. I was going to play chess in jail? I guess so. Whatever to pass the time.

First game was a warm up game. I got the best of him in like thirty minutes. The next game was over quickly, he lost his queen early and I just destroyed all his pieces systematically. The next game I did the same thing, but I got rid of all his pieces just playing around and he pulled a mulligan out on me for not mating him in five turns afterwards. Game four I was barely paying attention, lost my queen in a silly sacrifice by him and still managed to win.

Money.

Tony was starting to looked a little peeved off. So, I sandbagged the next two games and gave him some wins. I don't need someone sleeping in the same room as me mad at me and then stabbing me with a shank as I sleep. Let the poor soul get some wins to boost his ego, what did I care if I won or not? Was I going to come back and brag that I was a better chess player then some prisoner?

Of course I was! Nigga didn't have shit on me!

After the last two losses dude asked me if I played spades. now things were picking up. Somehow this reminded me of lunch period at Leto. I used to play spades all during lunch. Spades was my game, I dominated in that game. Cheating or not. tony found two other players and picked me, Cliff as his partner. Smart choice.

Ugh, that reminds me. One of the guys we played against was disgusting. Dude had pink eye or something going on his his left eye. It was beat red and ooze was coming out of it. It was nasty. Sadly no one else was down to play, so we had to get him.

...

I mean, when I'm telling you this guy's eye was ugly looking, I'm not even exaggerating. he said because he didn't have solution or a case to put his contacts in, that his eye had gotten infected. it looked like someone had poured hot sauce in his eye and then some antacid to make it ooze out like an eruption.

Enough? heh

Long game told shortly, we won every major game needed to win all three games by a huge margin. Afterwards I ran upstairs and washed my hands thoroughly a couple times. Tony followed suit. He had the same thoughts as me, dudes eye was sick with it.

4:00 pm

Dinner was fairly good on that day. Meatballs and mashed potatoes. best meal I had in that place.

I guess there was a board game frenzy going on this day. Monopoly was the next game of choice. Awesome, I hate Monopoly, but that game does a damn fine job at wasting time. Just what the doctored ordered.

The contestants were: Me, a crack head, Tony, some guy who looked to be a back Neo-Nazi from American History X, and some black dude who couldn't stay still. (crack head number 2?) I picked the boat as my piece.

I ended up owning the yellow blocks of the game and held my own till the end, but American History man was cheating or something. He dominated and after a couple of hours, I gave up. It was fun for what it was. there was plenty of crack headed moments, like people stealing property and smuggling money under the table. And they wonder why they are in this place?

I was in the game circle now. They asked me to play Risk next. Sweet another boring, long as hell board game. Sunday was flying by now. I accepted, but sadly I knew it would never be as glorious as the sessions me, Dan, Ravi, and Chris ever were a part of.

Risk is so gawd damn boring. I was like 3rd out out of five people. That was enough for me, I was board gamed out. I played stupid and thinned out all my armies which left me wide open for counter attacks. My cards came and went like the quickness.

I went back to my bed. Night had come back to greet me. I loved night time, it meant another day had come and gone. I won't lie, I had a blast on Sunday. I had finally gotten used to most of the people I was staying with and most of their comments were starting to actually strike me as comical. I was getting comfortable with my entrapment.

I stayed up the rest of the night watching Oceans Eleven. I want that outfit Brad Pitt wears at the end of the movie when he comes to pick up Billy Ocean. "Ted Nugent called he wants his shirt back."

I love that shirt!

With me getting more comfortable I had a feeling the next coupel of days weren't going to be so bad. I was meshing well with my convict compadres.