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After the torture disguised as a friendly introduction that I've had to endure for way longer than is considered healthy, Oliver notices my pleading eyes.
"Ryan," he turns towards my father as he continues, "Is it alright if I show her around the place?"
"Reed," my dad turns around to face us again, his hand lingering on the waist of a female that is yet unknown to me, "I thought it would be nice if Kimberly showed her around. You know, as one of the few women in this place, I think that'd make sense."
Oliver falls silent and my eyes fall upon the woman, who seems to be much younger than my father. She seems nice, honestly, I don't really want to judge her right away. But seriously though, she could get way better than my dad and I'm not just talking about his age. This man is difficult, that's all I can say to sum it up.
"Oh, I would love to." Kimberly immediately replies, her eyes becoming slightly smaller as a smile is plastered on her face. She seems like she's quite genuine, once again making me wonder what exactly she sees in my dad to get closer to him.
"Thanks Kimberly," I reply, remaining friendly, "But I think it would be nice if Oliver showed me around, so you two can continue chatting."
Without giving them the time to reply, I already start walking towards the door after glancing back with another forced smile. Oliver still remains silent as he catches my pace and we start walking.
"How did you even do that?" He slightly grins as his curious, warm brown eyes look down to meet mine. I hadn't noticed his height before, but he's not that much taller than me and has a firm build. He looks like a guard that's not that experienced, which makes sense since he looks like the youngest one in here. Realizing that I'm not the only one that's still young and learning, I motivate myself to not let the nerves get to me.
"Do what?" I ask while breaking eye contact and letting my eyes wander around the corridor we're currently walking in. "Remain friendly while blowing people off you mean?"
He lets out a chuckle as we enter the entrance once again, "Teach me your ways." he says as his hand wanders down his belt, taking his keys and keycard into his hand.
"If—" I hold up a finger and turn around to look at him, "you teach me how the hell I'm going to survive months in this place. Months."
"Deal." He gives my shoulder a friendly yet quite awkward pat as he leads me into the main hall after opening it with his keycard.
"Most of the time a guard will guide you through the day and your sessions, but I will try to get you a keycard too. That way it'll be easier for you." He reassures without me having to ask him.
As we walk into the main hall, I look around me and try to memorize the things Oliver is telling me. I hear lots of noises coming from above and look up, noticing all the cells. It looks like there are about six floors in this area and the cells on each floor are placed in a circle. As expected, there's barely any color to find between the greyness of the bars, walls and floors. I didn't expect it to be colorful, but I'd be depressed too in such a grey environment.
