AFTERBIRTH OF A NATION

five.

-Soundtrack: "Prison Sex" by Tool.

•PRESENT

"I want to meet this girl." Cell mate has red wild hair and sunken green eyes, wickedly bloodshot, so he must be flying cloud-level on something really good. He's wearing a black leather jacket with a white tank top underneath, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. He's also wearing a blue bandana on his head.

"No, you don't," I huff bitterly. "That girl is poison. Besides, I don't think I'm getting out of here for a while."

After all, I did supposedly blow up my condo.

"I don't know. . . we might get out sooner than you think." he says slyly, as though he's in on a secret that I'm not.

As I'm listening to my cell mate talk, I notice the guy in the cell across from ours is shaking his head and staring at us with a look of shock on his face and I'm pretty sure my cell mate must be crazy.

I don't ask him what he's in for. From the looks of it, probably drugs.

"I don't even know you."

He holds out his hand, skin smudged, dirt around his nails. "Axl."

I don't tell him my last name either.

"Kurt."

💢

He springs us both in less than an hour.

Bats his eyes at the female cop behind the desk and promises to fuck her later if she'll just unlock the cell doors for us. She's probably too young and inexperienced to work here.

This guy is so far out of her realm that she's punching numbers before she's even nodding yes.

I wait out front and smoke two cigarettes while he fucks her in the back wall of the closet where they keep all the confiscated drugs.

He comes out smelling like cigarettes and sex.