The 10

40

Sherman hurries out of Bushmount Prison, clutching the notebook to his chest as he treads to his car. Sinking into the driver's seat, he locks the doors and breathes. Holding the notebook in front of him, he reads the name sloppily written on the front, Christopher Samuels. Setting it on the passenger seat, Sherman speeds off to his office to copy everything. But more importantly, read everything.

    Storming into his office, ignoring Lillian along the way, Sherman tosses the notebook on his desk while sinking into his chair. Lillian peeks in from her desk but returns to her desk shortly after. Leaning his elbows on his desk, he eyes the notebook, resting his chin on his linked hands, before taking a breath and flipping the cover, revealing the first page of Christopher Samuels thoughts.

March 12th
    I heard I'm going to have to deal with some whiny teenage kid for some assignment- like I'm some fucking guinea pig or something- needless to say, I don't give a shit about these kids or their assignment.

March 13th

    Maybe I overreacted to this situation. It turns out I got lucky and didn't get stuck with some whiny teenage brat. That's what I assumed at first, anyway, but I was wrong. Her name's Kate. There's no denying she's attractive, I mean, I've been in prison surrounded by dudes, so at this point, I would've taken any student as long as they weren't a dude. It definitely seems that I got lucky here.

March 14th

This Kate girl, she's interesting, absorbing. She seems actually to be interested in me. In my life, for that matter. I think I'm starting to enjoy her company. I haven't really gotten visitors in a while, so this is a nice change for me.

March 15th

    Kate's sincere. She truly cares about my life. I know it. It's like everything I say, she writes, and then she throws another question at me. If she doesn't understand, she thinks about it, proving that she's actually listening. It's hard to find that nowadays I suppose. Her showing up is probably one of the best things to happen to me since I've been here.

March 16th

    Kate didn't show today. Pretty disappointing. Today seemed different, and not just because of Daniels dying, but because she was missing.

March 17th

    Tomorrow's my last day with Kate. I'm not sure how to feel about it- a part of me knows that she was only here for an assignment, but another part of me knows that this has become much more than an assignment, and I know that she knows it too. I know she knows it too. I hope she aces her assignment, but it doesn't change the fact that I want her to stay- to visit me, to still care about me, be with me.
Her assignment gives her a choice to stay in contact with me- I wonder if she will. Who am I kidding? I want her to write to me. I need her to write to me.

March 18th

    Today was my last day with Kate. When we had to say goodbye, it took everything in me not to hug her. I saw it in her face that she wanted to hug me too. I'm going to miss her coming 'round here. How can I not? Someone visit's you for a while and then stops- shit hurts.

March 18th

Kate's gone. She left. The other inmates have gone on with their lives as if the students never came. I'm the only one who returned to their cell. Some stayed in the cafeteria to eat, others went outside to lift weights and all that, and then there's me- longing for my student to come back. I wonder if Kate's missing me too? I'm sure she is.