Cell Mates

I was walking through the dark grimy hallways of the prison, with cold metal cuffs wrapped around my ankles and wrists, rubbing my skin raw. The orange jumpsuit had an unbearable stench; Some would probably say it smelled like death. But to me, it made want to throw up, this jumpsuit smelled like someone had defecated in it.

I was startled and lost my train of thought from all the shouting that had echoed all around and every prisoner we had walked by either had glared or whistled at me, making me uncomfortable.

“Oi Vincent you cut your hair,” I heard a prisoner say.

“ You losing weight, Vincent, need to eat more,” another prisoner said spitting towards the ground.

I didn’t say a word as we walked. The noise started to get quiet as we walked farther down the hall to the last cell. We stopped right in front. The guard then had pulled out his baton and whacked it against the steel gate, stirring up the prisoner inside. He was lean and tall, that his feet stuck out from underneath the thin blanket that was given.

“Wake up! You got a new cellmate!”

“Whoever it is can’t stay the fuck away, so get lost!” the prisoner said shifting around, half-asleep.

“Too bad you can’t have a cell to yourself, Vincent.”

The guard had uncuffed my wrist and ankles, he then slides the cell open and roughly shoved me inside locking it back up.

“Now, I don't want to hear anything from you two or your asses are going to solitary,” the guard said smirking and began to whistle as he walked off.

I stood still and quiet trying not to cause a fight on my first day. I saw that the bottom bunk was opened so I crept next to the bed not trying to wake him, but with my luck, my foot accidentally hit the corner of the steel bed stirring the prisoner. He sat up and looked around, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight that seeped through from a small window that was high up, then his eyes landed on me. He looked pissed. He jumped down standing right in front of me, he was an inch taller than me and a little bit buffer but not by a lot, he wore a sleeve of tattoos on his right arm. He grabbed me by the neck and forced me to the wall cutting my circulation.

“I give,” I said tapping his forearm.

He dropped his hand from my trachea and I had fallen limply to the ground. Hands quivering, my cough quickening, I thought the grim reaper was in front of me ready to send me straight to hell.

“Listen here, Gaesekiya. Rule one, I don’t like to be woken up at night! Rule two, if I catch you snoring you gettin’ smothered! Rule three, stay outta my way and don’t call out for me when you are in trouble! And rule four, always stay in your area or you won’t live to see another day.”

I nodded as he finished talking, fear slowly creeping up to my chest and my brain was pounding against my skull, making me feel nauseous and my vision started to cloud. Then the darkness took over. I lost consciousness.

I woke up from hearing the guard shout in a raspy voice telling all the prisoners that it was breakfast and to get our lazy asses up or we would be put into the “hole” for being late. I slowly rise up holding my head, looking around, not remembering how I got into the bed. Then I saw my cellmate standing at the door, arms crossed.

“You finally woke up byeong-shin. Next time you faint I will leave you on the floor.” He said, not looking at me.

“Can you please not call me that rude word I am not a retard?”

“Why you are such a byeong-shin getting scared like a gang-aji.”

“See you did it again. I do not like you calling me that.”

“Well stop acting like a scared puppy, then”

“You know what? I had it with your ji-ral.” I said, getting up from the bed and standing in front of him.

“Oh, I see that you can speak Korean, byeong-shin,”

“Dakcho!!!” I said, punching him in the jaw, my heart beating rapidly.

His head was tilted to the side, his long hair covering his face.

Realizing what I had just done I started to panic.

“I am so so-”

He grabbed my shirt and slammed me into the wall knocking the wind out of me. I saw him cock his right arm back and swung it towards my abdomen but then stop midway.

“Vincent and Vonn Yoon you’re going to the hole,” The guard said handcuffing and dragging us down a lower level.

We got to the first solitary room were Vincent was thrown inside, then he took me to the second room right across and threw me harshly inside.

“Next time, you guys will think twice before fighting,”

I looked around the dark cell which had no light except a tiny hole that was at the corner of the ceiling that the sunlight was peeking through, the toilet had a foul odor that made me gag every time I walk near it. There was a stained mattress on the floor with a really thin pale blue blanket that wouldn’t even cover half of me. I walked towards the mattress and sat down having a bunch of dust particles fly around having me choke, my back had touched the cold gray bricks, sending me chills. I sat there thinking and staring at the steel handcuffs, wondering how I even got myself in such a mess and that my mother would be so disappointed, and I was having such a good time on campus. I laid down closing my eyes trying not to think negatively.

No, no, no, who did this to you? please, tell me? did you see who it was? please, stay with me, don’t fall asleep. I am calling for somebody, Help, please Help me, my friend is dying. Anyone please, help me, he is dying. (BANG!!!) what no, what do you think you are doing, who are you, people? you have the wrong guy, unhand me. Please, stop and let me go, I am not the one who killed him. No, no, I didn’t do it, he was already bleeding, blood was everywhere his body was so cold and he wouldn’t open his eyes. Please don’t send me to prison, I didn’t kill him. Please find the real person who did this, NOW right NOW. Let me go no, no, no.

“Vonn time to get up you been in long enough,” the guard said opening the cell door I had saw that my cell mate Vincent was right behind him.

“Okay”

I got up from the mattress wiping the bead of sweat making my hair stick to my forehead, the guard roughly pulled me to the front right next to Vincent and he took us outside to the courtyard where all the other prisoners were. The guard took the handcuffs off and pushed us outside, the sun hit my face blinding me I threw my arms up to cover my eyes so they can properly adjust. Finally being able to see, I saw that everyone outside were in their own groups Black was with Black, Asian was with Asian, and so on. Then I had seen Vincent sitting at a picnic table with a bunch other dudes that weren’t Asian. Vincent was now looking at me along with his “Friends” they were pointing, then one had waved at me.

I pointed to myself looking behind me to make sure there was nobody else that he was looking for, he nodded and I slowly started to walk to the table deciding not to stand too close feeling very nervous.

“Hey what’s your name,” a Hispanic dude asked.

“My name is Vonn Yoon,”

“Oh, and did you punch this guy,” A white dude said pointing to Vincent.

“I-It was an accident he kept making me mad and I swung at him,”

“Wow,” an Asian dude said whistling.

“Please, I am very sorry, just whatever you do don’t hit me,” I said bowing

“Hey, cal-"

“Look what we got here a new piece of meat,” I heard then I felt a hand roughly grab my wrist turning me around.

I saw that it was a really tall African-American male he was fit and wasn't wearing a shirt, which showed off that he had a tattoo on his left pectoral and was wearing a white durag.