The Secret Life of Him

11. First day

At noon, Floyd and the other inmates were guided to the quadrangle. They are all seated on the pavement. Floyd was seeing how many they were on the field. There are still some inmates in the cells and they were just looking at them. 

“Hello!” a loud voice came out from the speakers in front. 

Floyd looks at the platform above the closed gate. There was a man wearing a white polo shirt that couldn’t conceal his bulging tummy. He was holding a megaphone and looking at them one by one. 

“All the new inmates stand up!” he ordered. They stand up one by one. “I am Marco Toledo. I am the prison consultant here. And this is Ramon Santiago. Our warden. We are the ones who will help you while you are here.” 

Floyd looks at them. He thought that these men would be their laws inside. He shook his head. He knows too well as a writer and reporter.

“The new inmates are not allowed to go out of their cells for a month. You will stay there and will only be allowed when going to the canteen. And with our guards. You can receive a visitor but with a time limit. After a month, you can go out and choose your job. Yes. Inside, you will have a job just like outside. We will use your talents here.”

“Wow! Will we make money while here?” Jude asked happily. 

“Don't get excited. We're not here to work,” said Floyd. 

“But he just said we will have a job.”

“We do. But they will not pay for us.” 

Jude winced. He was expecting he would make money while inside. 

There are a lot of explanations happening. They even have a schedule even for taking a bath. They will wake up every six in the morning for their exercise. Then they will go to the canteen for their breakfast. 

“This will kill me,” said Jude. 

Floyd smirks. “I thought you like it here?”

Jude shrugs. “Yes. At least I have a bed to sleep in.” 

“Stand up now and move to the canteen!” 

The inmates stand up and fall in line again. They are like students that need to be in line always. There are a lot of guards everywhere. Though, it’s not surprising. Floyd tried to be cool but the longer time that he is inside, it’s making him feel anxious. Besides, there are a lot of eyes looking at him.  

They entered a building again with an open area. There are long tables in line and chairs. In front, there are servers that give the inmates their food. They are also prisoners there but work as kitchen staff and servers. Floyd followed the line in front of him. There are inmates that are already eating. Floyd tried not to look at them as much as possible because he could see the tension in their eyes. He doesn’t want any trouble from here. 

When they reached the front. Floyd grabs a tray and utensils. It’s surprising that everything is clean. He could even use the tray as the mirror. Floyd grabs one banana and an apple. Then he went in front of the man, giving him a bowl of rice. The next one gave him a fried fish and then lastly a stir fry vegetable. Not bad for him because he is not a picky eater and he really doesn’t eat much unlike the other men. 

“Can I come back to ask for rice again?” Jude asked the server. He glared at him while nodding. Jude winced and immediately went to the next server. 

Floyd continues walking and gets a bottle of water and then looks at the place. Most of the tables are occupied already. But he saw the last table where no one was sitting. 

“Floyd! Wait for me!” 

“Just follow me.” 

Floyd continued and went to the table. He sat at the end where he could see all the inmates. They are eating while talking. But he noticed that there are some inmates that look at each other seriously. He sighs and grabs his spoon. He will stay here for a while. This is his life now. 

“Watch where you are walking!” 

Floyd was about to eat when he heard a commotion. When he looks at his front at the side of the tables. There is a man on the floor and another man looking down at him, glaring. Floyd frowns when he notices that it was their cellmate. Luke. He was the one occupying the bed under Jude. 

“What was it?” Jude asks as he puts his tray on the table. 

Luke stood up and bowed to the man. “I-I’m sorry, sir!” he said tensely. 

Floyd looks at the man glaring at Luke. He has long hair and the tattoos on his arms can be seen. He also has a piercing nose and ears. He is surprised that it is allowed here. 

“You are new here, right? Don’t you know me?!” the man asked. 

“I-I’m sorry, sir! I didn’t mean to!” 

“Of course, you did not!” 

The man grabs Luke's shirt. The inmates started to shout as if they were cheering. Floyd immediately stands up but Jude holds his arm. 

“What are you going to do?” 

“I can’t leave him there. He is our cellmate.” 

“You wouldn’t want to.” 

Both of them look at the man who just went near them. It was a bald old man that was already wearing eyeglasses. He sat at the table and started eating. The two looked at each other because they didn’t know who he was. 

“That is Maverick. He is the second command of the Axe gang.”

Jude pulls Floyd back to his seat. “Axe gang?” he asked. 

The man took a bite of his food and nodded. “Yes. It is the largest gang here now.” 

“Really? That’s cool,” Jude said smiling. Floyd gave him a WTF look. 

“And so what? He is bullying our friend,” Floyd protested.

“Don’t worry. He can’t do anything to your friend.” 

Floyd sniggers. “Bullshit! Who would save him if no one will help him?!” He stands up and moves his way to Luke. “Hey! Stop it!” he shouted. 

All the inmates went quiet as they looked at Floyd. He did not mind them and helped Luke to stand up. Maverick looked at him in amusement. 

“Whoa! Looks like we have our hero here!” Maverick said in a funny voice. 

“He already said sorry, okay? Leave him alone!” 

“Floyd. Stop it. You don’t know him,” Luke whispered in fear. 

“It’s okay, Luke. Let’s go.” 

Floyd helps Luke to go to their table. But he stops when Maverick touches his shoulder. 

“Not so fast, hero,” he said, smirking. Floyd lets go of Luke and looks at Maverick. “You know what? You look familiar. Does anyone know him?” 

Maverick looks at Floyd’s face, nearly. His eyes narrowed and examined Floyd’s face. Floyd stays still and looks at him. 

“What do you want? We didn’t do anything to you!” 

Maverick gasped and looked surprised at Floyd. “Aha! I know now! You are that rapist on the news!” 

Floyd clenched his fist and glared at Maverick. “I am not a rapist.” 

“Denying it, huh? Well boy, you are here. Stuck with us.” Maverick suddenly pulled Floyd’s collar. Floyd touches his hand and tries to remove it. The inmates went wild as they saw the happenings. 

“Let me go!” 

“We kill them!” Maverick shouted. 

Before Floyd could stop it. A hard punch went into his face and fell to the floor. Luke steps away in fear while Jude stands up from his seat. 

“Floyd!”

“Don’t,” said the old man. 

“But I can't leave him like that!” Jude protested. 

“Look around you.”

Jude looks at the inmates eating earlier. Some of them are standing up now and moving towards Floyd. 

“Fight!” someone shouted.  

Before they knew it, some inmates stood up and started to fight with each other. The place becomes noisy and messy. Floyd was standing but someone sits on his stomach and punches his face again. He tried to fight back but he received more punches. He doesn't know anymore as he felt everything on his body. His vision went dizzy and then he passed out. 

At the infirmary, Floyd wakes up. He groans in pain as he feels his body ache. 

Did I take that much?

Floyd sighs and opens his eyes. He almost shouted when he saw a woman standing at his side looking directly at him.

“What the f– ahh!” Floyd touches his stomach but it just gives him more pain. “W-Who are you?”

“I'm glad you're awake now, young master,” the woman said and smiled at Floyd. 

Floyd frowns and looks at the woman in confusion. “W-What did you say?”

“I am here to help you. We will move you now to a better hospital.” The woman bowed at him. 

“Wait! Are you on drugs? Who are you? How did you enter this place?” He looks around the room. There is no one inside but the two of them. He doesn’t know who the woman was and she is talking about something ridiculous. 

“No, young master. I will talk with the warden now.” The woman bowed at him once more and then walked towards the door. 

“W-Wait! Hey!”