Dog Pound

•4•

Dinner had just ended and Patrick had to clean up the cafeteria along with three other boys, Ryan, Jon, and Andy if he remembered correctly. They were all silently cleaning, Patrick and Ryan wiped down the tables while Andy and Jon mopped the floor. It was simple enough, much faster than painting walls or folding laundry, but the strong stench of cleaning supplies burned Patrick's nostrils.

He was cleaning off one of the tables when his head was suddenly slammed against it and held down, his cheek squished against the surface. Two voices speak, one telling the other three to back off and the other saying 'what the fuck, you'll leave marks'. Then someone bends down beside the table so Patrick can see their face, the kid who serves the food. Frank.

"There you go giving me the stink eye again." He smirks. "You should really have that corrected." Then he stands up straight and grabs a fistful of Patrick's hair, forcing him up from the table and looks at him. The second Patrick sees that disgusting smirk on Frank's lips, he spits right in his face.

"I'm not afraid of you."

Frank chuckles then brings his free arm up to wipe the saliva from his face. "You've got balls, I'll give you that."

Frank brings his free hand up then launches his fist into Patrick's nose, bruising the bridge. Frank tightens his grip on Patrick's hair and he hisses, his hands fly up to try and loosen his grip but Frank keeps a tight hold.

"No more dirty looks. If I see it directed at me again things will get worse. We bunk in the same dorm so don't think I can't get to you. Understand?"

Patrick doesn't answer and just glares at the boy in front of him. Frank grits his teeth then begins to pull Patrick's hair again and it feels like it may be ripped from his scalp. Patrick nods, not wanting to give Frank the words he didn't deserve. Satisfied, Frank lets Patrick go and him and his posse quickly leave, eyeing the other boys cleaning in the cafeteria.

"Hey," Andy approaches while still holding his mop. "dude, you okay?" He looks at Patrick's face and sees that his cheek is starting to bruise from where it was slammed against the table.

"Fine," Patrick mutters.

"Sorry that happened to you, Frank's been looking for a fight ever since you got here. If you want, I could help you out."

Patrick looks at Andy and gives him a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Andy looks back at the double doors and sees a guard's shadow in the hall coming their way. He leans toward Patrick's ear and answers, "Payback." then goes over to the opposite side of the room to continue mopping.

Patrick turns around and picks up the rag on the table, picking up where he left off just as the guard steps foot into the cafeteria.

Yeah, payback sounds so fucking good.

***

As the CO went down the line during morning inspection, examining the beds and the boys, he stops right when he gets to Patrick. He looks back at the bed and sees that it's spotless but looks directly at the boy in front of him, seeing that his face is bruised.

"What happened to you?" He asks.

"I fell." Patrick lies.

The CO eyes him suspiciously. "You fell?"

"I fell." Patrick repeats, confirming his answer. He can tell by the look on the man's face that he doesn't believe him but if he rats Frank out, things will just get worse and he'll be stuck getting his ass beat until he's nothing but blood and open wounds.

Then the CO says, "Hit the showers." and the boys all head toward the locker room. Patrick sees Pete watch the both of them out the corner of his eye then hesitantly follow the others. "You come with me."

Patrick begins to follow behind the CO then glances over, he sees Pete watching him from behind a wall, a worried expression taking over his features, and it makes Patrick a little uneasy. Not because Pete's watching him but because he looks genuinely scared for him. Pete knows something. He raises his hands up to where Patrick can see and makes a rectangle with his thumbs and forefingers, mouthing the word, "Box." then Patrick gets it.

Pete sees Patrick's eyes widen once he makes the gesture. He knows Patrick won't tell what actually happened and because of that, he'll spend the next three days in the fucking box.

He's given a chance to clear things up and explain how he had gotten bruises on his face but he isn't talking, insisting that he just fell and was caused by his own clumsiness. Of course the CO's know he's lying but they don't call him on it nor let him walk free. This is a matter that Patrick needs to take care of himself, he doesn't need to run and hide behind authority. Frank will get his, maybe not today or tomorrow but he'll get what's coming to him and Patrick is going to make sure he's there when it happens.

Then he's placed in solitary for refusal to cooperate and his time to start plotting begins to tick down.