The unexpected outpour outside had caused a change in schedule which meant recreation was spent indoors and we'd had dinner earlier than usual. I expected a guard on duty to be on his way to fetch me to my cell.
Hanging the dish cloth on the rack,I turn to a concentrated Arial,her brows knit,pages upon pages of books opened up in front of her with the only sound of keyboard clicks filling the kitchen.
I almost chuckle at how comical everything looks completed with the hair net on her head.
"Tsk tsk tsk,this,I say gesturing to the work top counter, is not proper work ethic"
"Aargh,she bangs her head on the keyboard ,don't make me feel worse"
"Late assignment?"
A groan answers my question.
My apron goes back on the hanging rack and I have to pause to hold in the yelp when the pain on my shoulder rocks me.
The painkiller did nothing to ease the pain and neither did the balm.
When I asked Betty earlier for some pain relief pills and ointment,she had given me a concerned look before cautioning me not to take past the required number of pills.
I had tried to look for a good hiding spot in the kitchen but apparently,I didn't try enough because I heard a gasp behind me when my hand got stuck midway trying to reach the bottom of my neck.
She grabbed the ointment from me before I could say anything silencing any protests on my tongue and began applying it to each bruise.
A tense silence had hung between us and it had been the same ever since then.
Turning my attention back to the apron,a thought struck me.
Who knew I'd come to feel a sense of responsibility for my punishment?
That I'd come to like my punishment.
I had only a week left here and it hurt me more than it should.
"I can do this"
Behind me Arial speaks to herself with a fierce determined look and I can't stop the chuckle this time.
Going round the counter to her side, I pick up the highlighted pens scattered on the countertop and place it back into the pencil case that has been discarded to the side.
"Just to make it clear,I did your dish duty so you'll be covering mine your next two shifts".
"That isn't fair",she says shooting a glare my way,her fingers still gliding nonstop over the keyboard.
"So is procrastinating your assignment"
Another glare.
I lift a brow at her
"Fine",she says through gritted teeth.
I end up picking up all her books scattered on the counter and wiping it clean. It had become a habit ever since meeting Betty. She required top notch cleanliness and she wouldn't hesitate to scold you when something looked out of place.
Out of curiosity,I leaf through a textbook whose front cover has an image of the The Statue of Liberty and Justice..r
"Your father wanted you to study law?"
"Yes",she says without taking her eyes off the screen.
"Are you happy with it?"
She pauses,this time thinking over the question.
"No one's ever asked me that. It's definitely interesting".
"But not a career you see yourself pursuing in the future?"
"How do I put it?.It wasn't something I ever saw myself doing and I faced it with dread when I made that deal with my dad .Gosh,I almost failed the semester thinking that would make him change his mind–it didn't and finally,I decided to give it a chance.
I've gradually grown to like it and this time,I can serve both the community and humanity but this time the main ingredient is law".
YOU ARE READING
Behind Bars
SpiritualBehind bars; the last place you'll want to ever find yourself but at twenty-three, that's where he sees himself. All he wants to do is survive because that's all he can do. But prison is more than a place filled with evil people facing punishments f...
