Surviving Litchfield

Chapter One: Welcome To Litchfield Penitentiary

My name is Natalie Davidson. I was raised in church and I always had very good grades. My family thought I was some golden child because I never did anything wrong. When I was younger, I never would've expected to be in prison. It wasn't even something I had imagined. I had no reason to think about it. But now, as I'm loading into a white truck with another criminal, I'm wondering where I could've possibly gone wrong. The orange prison uniform that covered my body terrified me. 

An officer who was following behind me and another girl opened the side doors of the van, allowing us to climb inside. This was it, my freedom would finally be ripped out of my hands. I was officially a criminal. I took my seat quietly as the officer loaded in the front with what appeared to be an inmate. The inmate was in the front seat. This prison really let criminals drive? Isn't that dangerous?

Just as I tried to stop thinking about the idea of a dangerous criminal driving the van and deciding to kill us all, I was interrupted from my thoughts by none other than the driver herself. Before driving up to the prison, she turned to me and the girl next to me. She had short, dark hair and her lips were bright red. We were allowed makeup in prison? I never would've expected that.

"Welcome to Litchfield Penitentiary! My name is Morello. Who're you two?" She said in a very thick accent. She seemed very normal and nothing like a dangerous criminal. So far, things were off to a good start.

"Your name is Morello?" I asked, quite confused. I had honestly never heard that name before.

"We mostly go by last names or nicknames in here. Only mutuals usually use first names. You're new, so I wouldn't expect you to know that. But you seem awfully nice, so in that case, I'm Lorna Morello."

"I'm Natalie Davidson." I said before turning to the inmate beside me. She didn't say anything to either of us. I guess some people were just too scared to be in prison and remained quiet in the beginning. I had originally planned to be like her and not speak at all, but after meeting the driver, I decided that talking wouldn't hurt.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Natalie." Morello said before turning back into her seat in order to drive. And with that grand introduction, we were off to prison.

Once we were in front of my new home, Morello hopped out of the van to take us on a tour. After going through every important part of the prison, we were taken to our temporary bunk. Morello handed me a toothbrush and some toothpaste.

"Your life may not be the best while you're in here, but maybe you can keep your teeth nice and clean!"

I smiled, gladly accepting the free stuff. Maybe I didn't get any toilet paper with it, but that's a problem I would figure out once it came up. I gave Morello a nod of approval and she smiled before walking out. Not only was I now in a room with more strangers, but the only person I had talked to so far was going back to her van.

I had learned that I would get my beige prison uniform within the next few days as well as my money so I could buy things at commissary, my permanent bunk, and a job assignment. I just couldn't wait to get out of this orange outfit so everyone would know that I was one of them and not some outcast.

I was assigned to the bottom bunk on the right side, which would be extremely convenient. This meant I wouldn't have to climb up on someone's bed to get to mine. I quickly made my bed and sat down. Sitting turned to lying within seconds as I slumped down to face the wall. It was time to think again.

This was it, it was prison. I never expected to be here in my entire life. Of all the people in my family and group of friends, I was the only one to go to prison. I let that sink in as my mind wandered. I couldn't believe I killed somebody. It was an accident, but I still did it.