BURNED - A Chicago Fire Fanfiction

Chapter Forty Six

My attorney came and went, but there wasn't much for her to say. The evidence was stacked against me. She told me that my first court date was in a few days and that I should take a plea deal if offered one. She's hopeful that she can get my sentence down to two years because it's my first offense, but I'm not holding my breath.

My first night was absolutely miserable. Chef was a large woman who smelled like candy and snored like a wildebeest. I tried my best to sleep, hoping that I was so used to Mouch snoring that I could ignore it, but it was impossible. Between the snoring and the absolute fear of something happening to me in the middle of the night, I was too afraid to close my eyes. I missed 51, I missed K'eon, Boromir, I missed my house, my shower, my bed, my privacy. Jail was a living hell. I silently prayed that Boden would pull through.

"Roll call!" A woman called out as the lights turned on. Chef let out a loud groan as she climbed out of bed.

"Best get up, bunkie," Chef suggested. "They'll drag your ass out if you don't." I quietly sighed and sat up in bed. I grabbed my shoes, which I had wedged between the wall and my mattress, slipped them on, and made my way downstairs for roll call. I took the first empty place I saw, but I was instantly pushed away. "Bunkie, with me!" I walked over to Chef and stood beside her in silence.

One of the corrections officers made their way down the line, checking her list of inmates and calling out our numbers. I was 2417. Great, I was officially a number in the system. "Breakfast will be here within the hour," the corrections officer informed. "Behave yourselves until then. Afterwards, it's work time." As everyone dispersed, I made my way over to Cheryl.

"Work time?" I asked.

"We all have jobs in here," Cheryl explained. "Kim will find you after breakfast and assign one to you."

"And the guards are okay with this?"

"It keeps the place clean, so they don't give a shit."

"Everyone gather up!" A woman shouted.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Every morning, we do group stretches," Cheryl answered.

"Why?"

"It wakes us all up." I joined Cheryl on the ground and stretched with everyone. Cheryl was right, it did make me feel more awake, but I was still dragging from the lack of sleep. My mind went to Otis. I wish I could've woken up in his bed this morning. I wish I could wake up in his arms and smell his cologne as he kissed the top of my head and told me good morning.

"What the fuck are you smiling at?" One woman asked.

"Huh?" I said with confusion as I snapped back into reality.

"You think this shit is fucking fun, bitch?"

"N-No, I didn't—"

"Then why the fuck are you smiling?"

"Jennifer!" Kim snapped. "Do you need your chin checked?" Jennifer glared at me and stormed away. "Zahra, while that smirk off your face!" I quickly looked to the floor.

"That's not good," Cheryl grunted as she stretched.

"I didn't do anything." I argued.

"Exactly. And now they think you're weak. You better be prepared for a hoe check soon."

"A hoe check?" I nervously swallowed.

"Relax, it's not like that."

"Then what is it?"

"It's their way of seeing if you'll stand up for yourself."

"Chow time!" A guard shouted. We all slowly lined up and grabbed our bully plastic trays and sat at the tables. I looked down at my tray and sighed. Fake scrambled eggs, a single piece of white bread, a medium sized square of hash browns, beans, and a squishy orange, all to be downed with a small carton of white milk. I piled the eggs and potatoes onto my bread, folded it, and dove right in. The taste was horrible. No seasoning whatsoever. I forced myself to swallow every last bite before taking a small drink of my milk. After finishing my beans, I turned to my orange and peeled it, but opted not to eat it when I saw black inside it.