Malefactions

CHAPTER 1

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT

It's 9:42 P.M. and there I stood hands behind my back as the State Trooper placed the cuffs around my wrist telling me I'm under arrest for domestic battery. The officer leads me to the police cruiser and places me in the back. Insufferable is the first word that I would use to describe the cruiser's seat. I'm fairly certain it's made of hard plastic. No doubt so they can spray it out when a drunk or drug addict pisses or pukes all over the back. The ride to the detention center is a short ride. The irony of the whole situation is being arrested only two miles from the actual detention center.

Going through processing at the detention center was eerily akin to processing through the Army. You arrive and they check you in. Now by check in I mean that they put you in a room and you complete your statement. Followed up by then either removing your shoelaces from your shoes or wearing a pair of "jailhouse" slippers. They are just cheap imitations of the Toms you can buy at the mall for eighty bucks. I opted for the fake Toms, no way am I messing up my sweet lace job on my shoes. Also you get to lose your belt if you are wearing one. If your pants or what ever you are wearing won't stay up with out the belt, you get a stellar matching outfit to go with the shoes. Next comes the ever so lovely glamour shoot. You know how women go and pay lots of money to have those glamour photos done? This was every bit the opposite of that. Some how you look your absolute worst in these pictures. You get to wear this tan colored vest just like when you go to the dentist and have X-rays done. Turn to the left, turn to right; three shots, that's all you get. Although on the plus side they are free so I guess there is always that silver lining. Don't worry the fun doesn't stop there. Nurses are suppose to be nice aren't they? Isn't that in their oath or something? Well one of the job requirements for a detention center nurse must be that you be a giant raging bitch. You see you get to do this forty five minute health screening and that's if you are a fairly healthy adult with little to no medication. I can't begin to imagine how bad it would have been if I would have had some major illness. Yikes! Ok so after that fun, you get to hang out in a general room with some other random strangers while you wait for hours on end. No one tells you what's going on and none of the officers are friendly.

"BUZZZZ!" The alarm gets everyone's attention. An officer finally shows up to escort us to pods where we will be housed. "Line up single file, inside the yellow line, don't step out side the yellow line" the officer instructs. We reach our first stop. This is also where I exit the line. I must be special because I get my own cell. Entering and entirely different world is what it felt like when I stepped through the door. A loud clang of metal banging against metal lets me know I was officially cut off from the outside world. The officer opens the small rectangle opening in the door "place your hands outside the door". Removing the cuffs, I pull my hands back in and with that the small door slides shut. The only view I have from my cell is a small 4x4 square shatter proof window that I peek through by standing on my tippy toes. My new home is a small four wall grey concrete room. It houses a sink, cot, and small table and stool all made of stainless steel all of which is attached to the walls. It's all very cold and sterile. It's my first night and I have no idea how long I'm going to be here. I make the conscious decision that I plan to be here for the long haul.