(un)Cuff me, Mister!

Pair of eyes

The double door of the prison hall was opened from the outside, putting a halt to the Head Warden's announcement.

Silence permeated inside the hall, and everyone turned around to look at the door.

Footsteps echoed inside the hall, breaking the silent atmosphere.

A man in a crisp uniform walked in, eyes on the front.

All eyes followed every step that the man took.

Jasmine stood among the inmates next to Mama V. Her sight was obstructed by the sea of people inside the hall.

When her eyes finally landed on the man that had made the grand entrance, she gasped with widened eyes.

Her gasp was loud, making the man stop in his tracks. He turned his head towards Jasmine's direction, and their eyes met.

Jasmine flinched when her sight met with the blue-grey eyed man.

Those eyes had haunted her sleep.

How can it not? She remembered looking at those dreamy eyes and begged to be uncuffed.

The man looked as gorgeous as always, and as usual, he released his imposing aura, making people stand frozen in their spot.

Switching his sight back to the front, Felix resumed his walk towards the front, where the Head Warden was.

"Can I help you?" the Head warden asked.

Felix pulled out an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to the Head Warden.

Taking the envelope from Felix's hand, the Head Warden opened the envelope and read its content.

His eyes widened in surprise and he glanced at Trent before he looked back at Felix.

*Cough

"I see," he said, and gestured for Felix to stand at the side.

The Head Warden cleared his throat and resumed talking to the microphone.

"Well, I introduce you to your next Head Warden, Superintendent..." he read the name that was written in the letter.

"...Felix He."

Noise broke the silence inside the prison hall.

"What's going on?"

"Who is that gorgeous man?"

"Is that handsome man the new Head Warden?"

"My eyes have been blessed!"

"Wait! Deputy Trent didn't get promoted?'

"Sad for him. But look at the bright side? We got another handsome man to feast our eyes on."

Murmurs of the inmates resounded inside the hall.

However, "D*mn! I should just proceed with taking bets!" The loudest voice came from the inmate who had suggested the bet before.

*Pak

She slapped the back of her friend's head who had previously hit her.

"Silence!" The Head Warden said to the microphone, and the sound boomed out from the speakers.

"With this, I announced my retirement and welcomed Superintendent Felix He to take my place," he said, and took a step back.

Felix walked towards the podium, replacing the previous Head Warden.

Adjusting the microphone's height, Felix opened his mouth to make a short speech.

"... I hope to get everyone's cooperation. Thank you," he ended his speech.

The inmates applause loudly, and shout their welcome to Felix.

Felix scanned the room, looking at the inmates, his eyes stopped in Jasmine's direction a second longer before it resumed back to look at others.

The previous Head Warden called Felix, asking him to come with him to Felix's new office to hand over the duties.

Walking side by side with the previous Head Warden, Felix glanced in Jasmine's direction one last time before he walked out the door, following the previous Head Warden.

A few eyes saw how Felix kept glancing in Jasmine's direction. They wondered what that was all about. They could tell that Jasmine also had held some amity towards the new Head Warden from the glint in her eyes.

"Did you know the new Head Warden?" an inmate came to Jasmine and asked.

Jasmine pursed her lip and huffed.

"Oi! Answer me," the inmate pushed Jasmine's head.

"What?!" Jasmine gnashed her teeth. The inmate was surprised. After the other had instilled how fighting back from being bullied was a futile attempt for Jasmine, Jasmine never tried to fight them back.

However, seeing how Jasmine's eyes were burning in a different kind of fire, the inmate toned down her voice and asked, "I asked if you know the new Head Warden," she asked again.

Glaring at the person, "he's the person who cuffed me, okay!" Jasmine answered with gritted teeth.

"Oh," the person said, and nodded her head.

Their interaction was seen by the others, thus they all dispersed to do their own thing after hearing Jasmine's answer.

Furrowing her brow, 'What's the man doing here? Wasn't he from the narcotics department?'

Jasmine gasped, and covered her mouth, 'did he come here to make sure I stayed in prison? Did he come here to keep an eye on me? Wait, did he find out about the rumours between me and Director Vince in Swift Corp?'

As usual, Jasmine conjectures nonsense theories in her head.

After having her own monologue in her mind, Jasmine looked at Mama V, who was still standing dazed beside her, "Mama V, would you like to get out of here?" she asked.

Jasmine didn't have the appetite to eat and enjoyed the celebration. There was nothing to be enjoyed in this place, and she preferred to keep out of the other inmates.

Mama V slowly turned towards Jasmine and smiled, "sure. Let's go," Mama V answered.

Don't know if it's Jasmine's imagination or not, Jasmine could detect a slight shake in Mama V's voice. The older woman was usually very calm and composed, regardless of the situation. Never Jasmine saw her fazed facing anything.

"I'm going to the library," Jasmine told Mama V. Jasmine's eyes twinkled, looking forward to resume reading the novel that she was reading yesterday.

"I'm going back to the cell. My old bone can't stand too long. I want to rest," she replied to Jasmine.

"Alright."

They parted ways. Jasmine headed towards the library while Mama V walked towards the cell.

The library was locked, however, since Jasmine was frequent to the library, she already knew where Warden Agnes kept the library key. She had accidentally seen Warden Agnes take it out one morning.

'Perfect! No one will disturb me reading!'

Checking her surroundings, Jasmine slowly unlocked the library door and, as silent as a mouse, entered the library.

"Success!" she whispered, looking at the empty library.

Rubbing her hands together, while licking her lips, Jasmine headed towards the rack where she had hidden the novel.

Little that Jasmine knew, a pair of eyes had seen her entering the library.