THE OUTCASTS

Chapter 1

"Prisoner D4125 step forward." the guard called. She was an ugly thing but respectful and calm whenever there was an emergency. She also hated me. It was a mutual feeling. Every week they would rally up us prisoners in medical center to check for any substances and at the same time they would check our cells. Usually it took an entire morning. But today it took until late afternoon to reach cell block D. 

Some girls were whispering about a fight that occurred in block B in which a seventeen year old girl was stabbed with a poisoned blade. There many versions of the story. Some said that she was disrespectful to older more dangerous inmates or that she even poisoned the blade herself so that she could get meds but her plan went wrong. It occurred to me that no one found it odd that that was the third seventeen-year girl in a matter of days that got stabbed. First there was a girl in block C who was stabbed in abdomen then there was a girl from block E – Lara Thomas. They came here at the same time and had a little chat. Lara was a thief but had a good sense of humor. She died from that wound. D4125 was pissed at the guards for taking them a third victim with same MO to start investigating. What bothered her the most was why would someone go after teenage girls. 

They had no place in the food chain. Most of the inmates waited for them to be fully adult before they would even notice them and approached them either about the substances or a place in their little crews. D4125 was here long enough to understand to keep to the shadows. Befriend one or two girls, don't talk too much about your personal life and don't argue. So when an older woman who stood behind her started talking to her she barely even cocked her head and continued to ignore her for a good quarter hour when it was her time to be tested for substances. She was clean of course but the female doctor told her to eat up in the canteen or else she would start to look like a stick. If only the food there had an actual taste then maybe she would eat more than half a plate each meal. 

On the way to her cell she was like always escorted by a guard who seemed far too young to be a prison guard. She stared at him. He was handsome, but not nearly enough to swoon over him. She wondered if he had noticed her staring at him, but stopped caring after ten seconds.The next morning D4125 was awaken by a notice on cell's holoscreen that she will be escorted to the warden's office in thirty minutes. So she relieved herself, brushed her teeth and put her red hair in a messy bun at the same time as the guards came for her and shackled her arms and legs. D4125 didn't know what to expect.

 Her release due was 75 days away. Maybe she had a visitor. But she doubted that since there was no one who would visit her except for her brother. And he wasn't able to because he was in the same crappy situation as she, only he was located 672 kilometers away in another prison. Although it was Thursday. She never stopped paying attention to days even though her holoscreen would show her month, year, day of the week. Hell those things even had an alarm clock and two TV shows from the first decade of the century for choosing. The only day it mattered to her was seventy-five days away. 

They stopped in front of the warden's office and that young guard that escorted her yesterday opened it and allowed them inside. There must have been a camera in front of the office. Catherine Bullock, our prized warden sat at her desk that took up at least one third of office space and was reading something on her holopad when she with a wave of her hand dismissed the guard escorting me and looked at me. She was no more than forty. Her blonde hair tightly pulled in a bun, glasses on her nose even though almost everybody got a laser surgery to fix their sight and was wearing a dark green business suit. There were wrinkles around her eyes as she eyed her. " D4125: Jane Jossalyn Evans" she briefly paused "A notice from Massachusetts State Office came yesterday evening about releasing all underage inmates with good behavior. You are one of them."

For I second I thought I heard wrong. "You mean I am getting an early release?"she took a deep breath, the young guard glaring at her but she didn't care at the moment because the warden confirmed it and told her to be ready to leave in a couple of hours with forty other girls who were also getting early release. When that young guard opened the door for him she glared back at him and told him with her eyes to go fuck himself. She didn't have many things to pack. 

Only a couple of books they let her lame attorney bring her and a comb. She put it all in a bright blue bag that matched her jumpsuit and said goodbye to her only friends in Arville prison. Becky Saunders who was ten years her senior still had two years until her release for a robbery and Jess Bucket who was barely twenty and had another five months for drug abuse both hugged her and wished her good luck. She told them to find her when they got out if they ever needed something. 

This time another guard came to escort her. He was old with greying hair and black prison guard uniform. He cuffed me for the last time and escorted me out as my two only friends waved. Outside, a group of teenagers who alongside me got an early release were being processed and their trackers removed. That young guard was checking the van as if he expected something to be wrong with it. I was the last in line. They took out my tracker and uncuffed me. Then they escorted me into the van where I had to sit in front because all the other kids were occupying the best seats. There was no point to argue over a seat for a two hour drive. The prison driver got in and the doors closed behind him. The young guard outside gave the driver a clear sign and he took off. Jane supposed that that would be the last time she saw Jefferson and the Arville prison, but for some reason she didn't feel relieved at all, she felt dread.