Her day, day #3,154, had started like any other - earlier than she had liked, and with a loud sequence of knocks as the guard on rotation for that day dragged their club along the cell bars.
“Get up.”
Nadel waited for the accompanying groan from her cellmate that always followed, but it never came. Out of sheer surprise at this she was quicker to rise than normal, and rounded on the person that had been her cage companion for the previous six and a half years only to find her already awake, staring at the stained ceiling above.
“Aw, got up before me just to say goodbye, did ya?” Nadel teased, already relentless. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten soft all of a sudden.”
Her cellmate, a woman that towered Nadel and only ever went by the name Pilo, responded by throwing a quick, but light jab in her direction.
“Shuddup. Ayew’ll jus’ miss you s’all, Needle.” Pilo’s accent was thick, but Nadel had gotten plenty of time to get used it. Needle had been a gross mispronunciation turned nickname not long after she had first been incarcerated, and Nadel did all but accept it even now.
“Ayew’ll miss you too, Pilo.” She mimicked Pilo’s accent back to her, her usual riposte to the nickname. “Maybe I’ll see you out there. It wouldn’t be hard given how fucking huge you are.” She smirked as she outstretched her arm to Pilo, who responded with her own and they clasped each other’s forearms in an embrace.
The reality of it was that Pilo was only ten years into a thirty-two year bit. Nadel doubted she’d ever see her again, lest she got out on good behavior. She snorted at the idea. Once they let go, that was all the time they got with each other.
The thing they neglected to mention to Nadel about getting out was how goddamn slow the process was. After they came to collect her from her cell, she was escorted across the compound empty-handed. Usually, a convict for release would try to bring any personal effects that they had acquire with them, but she had had nothing of value for the eight plus years she had been in there.
She was eventually taken to an office where she was told to hand over her prison blues, and in exchange she was given two pairs of khaki pants and two black shirts. Her bedding they didn’t bother with, it would be stolen from her cell within the first half hour anyway, and work its way back into the system by itself.
After this, she was escorted through a myriad of locked doors and electronic gates, where finally she came to an officer behind a desk too large for him. He presented her with a fair amount of reading in the form of paperwork, and at the end of it all she was given an envelope that contained a check with the remainder of her commissary money and that was that. Another guard then began to escort her outside.
Nadel was tickled that they treated her like a convict until the very end, and was met with no response when she asked her escort if he’d make machine gun noises while she ran serpentine for the final gate. She was the only exit that day, so it wasn’t like he’d be going out of his way.
When she was finally out on the street, she took a moment to examine the check she had been given. The amount line held a numeral that was piss poor, so she sneered at it and crumpled it into a ball that she then placed into her pocket. She was annoyed, but she wasn’t about to litter like some fucking animal.
Once she had arrived at the pick-up wait station, she located the nearest seating available and parked it, then, she waited. And waited. Seconds ticked away into minutes, and then minutes dragged on into hours. Considering, however, she had spent the past eight and a half years waiting, this didn’t seem to bother her.
The thought that maybe her ride had been given the wrong date or time somehow crossed her mind, but vanquished itself just as quickly. She had been the direct line of communication and there’s no way she fucked up in letting them know when she was getting out. So, crossing her arms, she decided to keep waiting.
Back on the outside, she had all the time in the world.
“Get up.”
Nadel waited for the accompanying groan from her cellmate that always followed, but it never came. Out of sheer surprise at this she was quicker to rise than normal, and rounded on the person that had been her cage companion for the previous six and a half years only to find her already awake, staring at the stained ceiling above.
“Aw, got up before me just to say goodbye, did ya?” Nadel teased, already relentless. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten soft all of a sudden.”
Her cellmate, a woman that towered Nadel and only ever went by the name Pilo, responded by throwing a quick, but light jab in her direction.
“Shuddup. Ayew’ll jus’ miss you s’all, Needle.” Pilo’s accent was thick, but Nadel had gotten plenty of time to get used it. Needle had been a gross mispronunciation turned nickname not long after she had first been incarcerated, and Nadel did all but accept it even now.
“Ayew’ll miss you too, Pilo.” She mimicked Pilo’s accent back to her, her usual riposte to the nickname. “Maybe I’ll see you out there. It wouldn’t be hard given how fucking huge you are.” She smirked as she outstretched her arm to Pilo, who responded with her own and they clasped each other’s forearms in an embrace.
The reality of it was that Pilo was only ten years into a thirty-two year bit. Nadel doubted she’d ever see her again, lest she got out on good behavior. She snorted at the idea. Once they let go, that was all the time they got with each other.
The thing they neglected to mention to Nadel about getting out was how goddamn slow the process was. After they came to collect her from her cell, she was escorted across the compound empty-handed. Usually, a convict for release would try to bring any personal effects that they had acquire with them, but she had had nothing of value for the eight plus years she had been in there.
She was eventually taken to an office where she was told to hand over her prison blues, and in exchange she was given two pairs of khaki pants and two black shirts. Her bedding they didn’t bother with, it would be stolen from her cell within the first half hour anyway, and work its way back into the system by itself.
After this, she was escorted through a myriad of locked doors and electronic gates, where finally she came to an officer behind a desk too large for him. He presented her with a fair amount of reading in the form of paperwork, and at the end of it all she was given an envelope that contained a check with the remainder of her commissary money and that was that. Another guard then began to escort her outside.
Nadel was tickled that they treated her like a convict until the very end, and was met with no response when she asked her escort if he’d make machine gun noises while she ran serpentine for the final gate. She was the only exit that day, so it wasn’t like he’d be going out of his way.
When she was finally out on the street, she took a moment to examine the check she had been given. The amount line held a numeral that was piss poor, so she sneered at it and crumpled it into a ball that she then placed into her pocket. She was annoyed, but she wasn’t about to litter like some fucking animal.
Once she had arrived at the pick-up wait station, she located the nearest seating available and parked it, then, she waited. And waited. Seconds ticked away into minutes, and then minutes dragged on into hours. Considering, however, she had spent the past eight and a half years waiting, this didn’t seem to bother her.
The thought that maybe her ride had been given the wrong date or time somehow crossed her mind, but vanquished itself just as quickly. She had been the direct line of communication and there’s no way she fucked up in letting them know when she was getting out. So, crossing her arms, she decided to keep waiting.
Back on the outside, she had all the time in the world.
