Welcome To The: BUNK

17

       "It doesnt matter where i came from. I dont want to talk about it" i answered calmly disregarding her bait to interrogate more in this already heated conversation.

"You listen here girl, I dont care if you dont want to talk about it, new girl you have no say here-" The blond hissed with glaring eyes,

"Thats enough. lets just enjoy this meal and get back to our rooms alright?" Bruce spoke calmly then pulled his hand off the table to replace it back to holding a cup besides his meal tray. Sophias features morphed from shock to a twisted pitched expression of disapproval as she leaned even more in towards the center of the table.

"Brucy, this little girl pops up in the middle of a unregulated guard cycle, and your not even a little curious to know if she's a killer or some kind of psychopath?" Bruce looked up from his tray to meet the gaze of the girl leaning onto the table infront of him.

"Why does it matter Sophia, this isn't the first time something like this has happened" Bruce tilted his head to the side as he spoke, clearly showing his annonce thru physical movement.

"Yeah, but it's the first time a new kid sat at this table" Sophia snapped. Her glaring gaze flickered over to me then rolled her eyes to land her gaze back on Bruce. A short haired girl sitting besides Sophia began to pick at the other girls abounded tray. Bruce ignored the blond girl, and once again tried to return to his meal.

"I bet she's a dorky-twit, just like Maggie and her little followers" Sophia hissed like a broken pipe. The two girls sitting on either side if the blond snickered in sour  laughter, leaning over to the other to whisper to each other.

"Sophia. . ."

"Im just saying, she looks pretty psycho to me"

"Sophia." Bruce warned voice dropping low, just like it did in the hall. Sophia opened her mouth to speak once again, to add her childish remarks, before a hand slapped down on the metal claiming all attention at the round table. A few inmates eating, or not even caring to listen to the conversation at all jumped in there small seats.

"I said thats enough! Thats enough out of you Sophia we dont need fights right know got it?" he snarled quietly his words directed mostly towards her.  She clamped her jaw close and turned back to the tray of food infront of her. The other kids at this table and around returned to there conversations, or  eating tasks. I turned my head towards bruce no longer liking the thick tension filling the air.

"T-training?" I stuttered, not wanting to remain silent any longer. The dark haired boy glanced over towards me, a glint flashing in his eye, before h blinked and it dissapeared.

"Yes, what of it?"

"What, what is training?" i asked. I also couldnt help but eyeball the food before me. It didnt look like anything i'd ever seen before? Just to take my gaze away from his, the way he watched and observed me put me a little on edge, as if he could see something I couldn't.

". . .you didnt know about the training?" he asked turning his head to me. I felt my fist tighten around the already bent cup in my left hand. The same cup ive had since i arrived here a hour or two ago. Again he expected me to know things i had no idea about. Like the training, the first name basis, or this place! I shook my head to answer him, not trusting my voice or choice of words towards him right know.

"The reason your here. . .and at such an age i might add is becuase. . .from your former compound or facility the Doctors picked you to move on" he stated his voice fadding to a low almost whisper.  He doesnt know my age, he let that slip. Hes trying to snitch me out for my personal info, not happening. He thinks i was picked, ha! More like dragged away screaming!

"Move on? Move on to what?" i asked calmly. If i was going to stay in the shadows and slip to the back of the crowd, I'll need to not drawn attention to my self at least into this heat dies down, and for that i imagen it wont take long. I'll probably be a tan before i know it, no longer a Orange.

"Jane did ask you the questain right?" he questioned his face blank his dark eyes narrowed naturally down to me. Hes trying to rat me out...he left the question open to see if I'll answer the correct thing? Question? What questain, she asked me many things...but one was more important...

"This training this place, is all for the sake of our country..." i placed the missing puzzle pieces together. It was all starting to clear up, we all are still lab rats. Bruce leaned forward and grasped acup then tipped his head back and drank the contents quickly, a fowl stentch floated from his breath. A smell not as wretched as the burning smell of Drake pot. Drake...

"Welcome to the testing..." he stated dryly, staring into his empty cup as if what ever he just drank would magically appear again and make everything right feel right. The happy, clean, bright illusion was ripped away, pulled out from under me like a bunkmate would steal a extra blanket during the freezing winter, gone. I turned back to Bruce, my hand gripping his upper arm for his attention.

"This has to be a joke right. Isn't it, it has to be?" he placed down his empty cup and looked to me, face expressionless. Why wouldn't they kill me, why place me with other inmates that 'train'?

"I wish it was all a joke, but i assure you the adults here dont mess around"  I lifted my head up over the heads around me and looked around the Cafeteria, the pretty, inncent, clean illusion not only slipped away meantally but physically as well. I looked around to see bowed heads amoung the laughter.   The laughter now sounded pressed and fake in my own ears, the conversations where of daily items, bed sheets, hair styles, tempture, none had real meaning to it. The bright colored clouthes only seemed to hide the faint bruises and marks peeking out from underneath sleves, or high shirts, shorts, ripped pants.

    Faces looked sunken in, dark tear stained bags under down casted eyes. I noticed as i met a few eyes the same mysterious questionable gleam, the same gleam of Jane's and Dr. Greens eyes. The same gleam of Lacys and jimmies eyes. What was this gleam?... Did i really want to know...? For once i felt small and fragile. I felt chills rattle up my bones and repeat the process. I tried to swallow down a small breath obly to have it caught by the knife in my throught. I felt like if i moved i would crack and shatter, be left to sweep up from the white tiled floors below the dark blue tables.

"Better eat Tip, once those doors lock after dinner...they dont open until morning..." Bruce whispered dryly besides me. His voice slurred and his breath stunk, it flaoted around him like a cloud with no silver lining.

I watched as he leaned forward once again and take a large covered bottle from another older kid across the table a few seats away from Sophia. I witnessed as he tipped the plastic bag covered bottle back and drank, then wiped his jaw on his arm and passed the bottle along to another out strengthed arm a table behined us.  The invisible horrific cloud around his expained and darkened. I looked down to the tray before me, the strange food sat waiting winking, smiling at me. Just like this place and the inmates, i felt the food had another meaning burried deep underneath it, but what.   I reached with numb right hand and gripped the fork and took a hesitant bite of a green like vegetable. It was tastless, that was expected, the food in the bunk never had a taste it just felt like sand weighing down on yout toung, and drying your throught. Oh, how i longed for a whiff of Drakes famous pot right about know...just to take the edge away, maybe to replace the coil in my arching chest for a pleasent relaxed feeling. . . Drake, kids, bunk. . . your fault.