by Lauren Salem
Without a bed, sheets, or pillows, I had to fall asleep last night on a cold concrete floor trapped in a prison cell with a bunch of dogs. After an afternoon of panic, everyone calmed down by the evening as we all ran low on energy from no food. Yesterday was incredibly hot, and there was no water left by sundown. We didn’t know we had to conserve our water or that no one would be around to bring us anything. Did they forget we were in here? Not a soul walked by after the guards locked us up. The night was freezing cold, and I could have used a blanket…Instead, I got spooned by Collins. I don’t spoon for free, so he’s going to pay for that. When I woke up, Collins was still asleep, so it was easy for me to slip into his pockets for spare change. Unfortunately, a single dollar bill was the only money he had among a chewed wad of gum, lint balls, and pencil erasers. What a cheapskate. I slipped the dollar into my pocket and threw the rest of his crap on the ground. All of a sudden, cold water splashed against my back, and I froze in panic.
“I love doing that to the newcomers,” a guard laughed. He threw another bucket of water into the cell, and everyone woke up. “You lucky it ain’t pee.”
“All right, that’s enough,” a young Mexican woman said as she walked in with a tray of food in her hand.
The guard put the key in the lock and began to twist it. “Don’t think you can run away now. I still have electric volts on my belt, and you’re all wet, so it wouldn’t be wise of you to try anything smart.”
The door opened, and the short lady handed me a plate of eggs, toast, and mixed fruit with a pint of orange juice. I began to stuff my face, forgetting my ladylike manners.
“Hi, I’m Veronica,” she said.
I heard her, but I didn’t want to stop eating to respond. This was probably going to add an inch to my waistline. Speaking of waistlines, the orange jumpsuit didn’t do Veronica’s any justice. After a few seconds of silence, she moved on to Johnny.
“Thank you, Veronica, I’m Johnny.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she responded.
“We have a lot of questions. Do you think you can answer them for us?”
“I’m just the food server. Kenneth will be by soon to give you a tour. It’s better if he answers your questions. Sorry about Barley; he’s my stupid brother.”
“Hey, that’s not nice,” the guard responded as he locked the door.
“Enjoy your meal,” Veronica said as she and Barley walked away.
When every last bite of food was cleaned off my plate, I belched loudly—by accident, of course. Despite the fact that it was an accident, everyone turned to look my way.
“I’ve never seen one of you do that before,” Collins said.
I didn’t know what to say. Was it really that surprising that a lady could burp? We did it all the time in front of each other but usually not in front of the men, our lunch clients.
“Considering the circumstances, I’m not really myself right now,” I said.
At this point, there was nothing I wouldn’t do for a bubble bath and some alone time. My body ached, and I felt like everyone was judging me before they got to know me. Lunchtime was the only time I acted in that perfect way that turned men on: polite, silent, and sexy. I couldn’t imagine how much money I’d lose if I burped in a man’s face during a session.
