The troublemaker

White eye

Charles couldn't help smiling despite the absurdity of his situation. He was gradually relaxing in this country setting, in this good-natured atmosphere with this smelly but friendly old man. Knowing that this place represented a tax-paying institution of the Republic and not a mafia den reassured him.

Without quite controlling it, this moment of relaxation triggered his uncontrolled laser scanner - the one all boys are equipped with, and which was particularly well-developed in him. He took a brief, piercing look at Fatima, who was walking beside them on the way home. She had just taken off her leather jacket and was holding it over her shoulder, her arm bent. In jeans and a white T-shirt, she showed off her curves. Charles was surprised by her Olympic swimmer's musculature. Above all, he noticed her firm breasts and the coppery hue of her skin, where a few drops of sweat were beading. However, the flash of his glance was too short to make out her face drowned in her abundant curly hair. In fact, she seemed to be ostentatiously turning her head to look off into the distance, towards the property's treetops.

- I demand that you explain today's events to me," insisted Charles, striving for a tone that was both polite and authoritative.

- Yes, yes, that's the plan, but we don't have time before dinner. You can stay and eat with us, and I'll tell you all about it afterwards. Everyone's on first-name terms with everyone else in this world of rehabilitation, Charles thought.

- Can't we talk now? I don't intend to have dinner here. I want to leave as soon as possible. I've got a normal life waiting for me in Paris. I don't even know how to get back.

The old man stopped walking, put his hands on his hips and looked at his visitor. With a thoughtful air, like someone recalling a good moment from the past, the old man replied: "Of course a normal life, of course, of course." Then, without reply: "Dinner is also an important educational moment. We can't put it off. We'll talk about all that afterwards.

Charles realized he'd have to wait until after dinner and didn't insist.

After a couple of steps, the old man stopped again and showed him a path to the left into the forest.

- See this path? It's also part of our teaching program, just like the wild boars. The property is surrounded by a high wall, and to get in you have to pass through the big gate you saw earlier. It's guarded and no one can enter without the whole establishment being informed. To get out, however, there are two possibilities: the large gate, of course, and a small unguarded door at the very end of this path. This narrow door does not lock. It has a single handle on the park side and can only be opened from the inside. It does, however, have a hydraulic door closer so that once you've turned the handle and passed through, it closes automatically. You can only re-enter the property through the large gate. Can you see the point?

- Not really, I don't see the point in forcing pedestrians to go around it.

- It's educational, as I said. My young hooligans arrive here, rough around the edges, full of resentment, under judicial constraint. I explain to them that they're not in prison here, that they can sneak out at any time. After the gate, the path and then the road continue for a few kilometers to the village. There's a small station with three departures a day, the first train being at 6.09 a.m., even on Sundays. An hour and a half later, they can disembark in the Paris region and resume their bullshit. They disappear without being asked. All they lose is the opportunity they have here to become good guys, complete, solid, reliable human beings, no longer wankers chasing easy money. Once they've gone through the back door, if they change their mind, whether they're just on the trail, on the train or already dealing narcotics in their neighborhoods, they'll have to come back through the front door and justify themselves. I assure you it's very educational, for those who run away and come back as well as for those who stay. Do you understand now?