Never The End

Chapter 24 - Too Late

The cold stool beneath me provided me with a little bit of comfort. I sat in the cold room, chewing on a stale piece of bread. The crumbs got stuck in my teeth. I struggled to swallow the dry lumps of starchy bread. My throat had a large lump in it from crying continuously for two hours. I washed it down with my mug of warm water. Even that numbed me more. How did it get to this? It was a bit of fun... just a bit of fun. I shouldn't be here.

Each creak made my heart pound, hoping it was someone telling me I could go home and it would all be forgotten about. No one came.

The monotonous dripping from the toilet in the corner kept me awake. Only 18 hours and 37 minutes until I can go home. It won't be the same at school... at home. Everyone knows what I've done. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I imagined what my mum would say when she found out.

They hadn't even offered me a phone call. Jason swore at the officer that bought him in so they wouldn't grant us any messages either.

I grunted as I shifted on the seat. I'd never felt so alone, it was ridiculous really. It was only one night, there was plently of people at school who'd spent the night in jail. I just never expected myself to be one of them.

I know Jason is next door but the walls are too thick for him to hear me. "Jason?" I tried to call. My voice was cracked and shaky. He didn't reply but I didn't really expect him to, to be honest.

Spending a night in jail wasn't how I planned my Saturday evening. I'd never even been in trouble before. In the past two months that all changed - two detentions, nearly having my stomach pumped because of alcohol poisoning, getting banned from the shopping centre; spending a night in prison. There was no turning back; it'd gone too far this time.

It kind of made me wonder whether it was Jason's fault... no. I was the one who stole the CD, he just.... told me to. There was no excuse for what I'd done. I leant back against the iron bars of the bed. As I looked around, I saw the names of a number of people graffittied on the wall along with an assortment of drawings and messages. There was a disconcerting stain on the grey sheets I perched on. The smell of damp and urine lingered in the air.

The sound of jingling keys made me sit bolt upright. It sounded like a security guard from what I could hear. At this point, I was pleased to see any sign of life other than my own dismal presence. The footsteps gradually got closer. I felt my heart flutter at the idea of seeing someone, anyone. A key pressed into the lock and another gangling sound echoed round the room.

The door swung open revealing a tall figure.