Juvenile Detention

By: Rick Masters
(© 2015-2016 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 29
The Duration

Being the type of guy he was, Josh did not take advantage of his new standing in the Academy. Most of the inmates wanted to show him friendship even if they could not spend a lot of time with him. Josh returned their kindness by showing an interest in what they had to say and helping the ones in his classes who were struggling. Over the time he spent there he gave some help to every member of each of his classes. Certainly he was generally ahead of the classes, and being able to grasp things easily he quickly picked up on what he had not already covered in his previous schooling. But once again he did not flaunt his superiority over the others, choosing to quietly help them where he saw a need or was asked to. His fellow inmates began coming to him for help, because he never made them feel like they were less than him.

The officers likewise knew they did not have to worry about Josh, and once Clive Phelps had been sentenced and moved to a different facility, the threat against Josh seemed to die almost overnight. Neither was Josh forced into any sexual activity by the officers, although Mr. Succum and a few others knew that if they asked him for some help in that respect he more than likely would not refuse them.

Josh did such a good job setting up Bravo block's spreadsheet and teaching Stuart and Mr. Succum how to work with it that he was asked to help set up the spreadsheets for the other three blocks too. This gave rise to another first for Josh, as the only male inmate to go into the female cell block without being there to do some chore as punishment. Admittedly he did not get through the lobby into the cell area, but he was in the office for several hours setting up the same spreadsheet he had set up for Bravo, which really was just a copy and paste job, and then making a few tweaks. There were some differences to cover, things like sanitary wear and the pill, to name two. And he had to teach the officers in that block how to work with the spreadsheet. During this time Josh had the pleasure of seeing a couple new inmates brought in for an interview with the officer on day duty. As he sat there working these girls were stood practically in front of him, naked and shaved as the boys were. Josh was a bit alarmed the first time, when he realized that he did not get any excitement from seeing a naked teenage girl in front of him. Then he reckoned that this was because he preferred boys, and it helped Josh to admit to himself that he was indeed gay. Of course the expressions on the girls' faces when they went to their first meal and saw Josh sitting opposite their cell leaders were fun to see.

By the end of his second month there Josh was seen as one of those who were to be listened to, even though he was not a cell leader. Although to all intents and purposes he was practically an Academy leader, because without threats of violence or any other form of retribution he was obeyed by anyone he asked something of.

One afternoon about two weeks into his third month Josh was with the rest of his cell block enjoying the escape of the library recreation area when he was called out by Officer Steven. Steven took him along corridors now familiar to him until he came to a section he vaguely remembered. "There is someone who wants to see you." Steven told him as he opened a door and ushered Josh through. As soon as Josh saw the giant of a man standing before him he realised where he was.

"Ah, Mr. Tolmers. We meet again, and I have to admit I never expected to do so. There is someone here who wants a word with you. Step through that door and turn left," the big officer said.
As Josh stepped through the doorway he saw a teen about his own age standing in the circle and knew that a new inmate had arrived. Turning left he saw the window to the gate room and through it a face he recognised. "Officer Karl!" He quickly moved up to the door, which opened for him, and he stepped through. "How are you doing?"

"We are doing good, thank you, Joshua." Karl held out a hand to shake, and Joe, who had accompanied him when they brought Josh to the Academy, stepped over with a hand extended to shake Josh's as well.

"And Joe. This is a surprise. I didn't expect to see you guys until after I got out."

"We had to bring that young man here, so we thought we would try and get to see you. Thank you for keeping our words true," Joe said.

"I'm sorry, you lost me on that one."

"When we brought you here we told the officer behind that door that you would be no trouble, and we hear that is the case. So thank you," Karl explained.

"Well if you don't call time in hospital and the infirmary and hearings and a court case trouble then yeah, okay."

"Now you have lost us!" Joe replied.

Josh spent a few minutes telling them about the attack and the aftermath. "But I am alright now and fully recovered. Just a bit of a scar and some slight tightness at times to remind me of it."

"Shit, that is bloody awful. And being here when innocent in the first place just makes it doubly worse. I am sorry for you, Josh. But that is one reason why we have asked to see you. We have managed to get some statements from the guy and girls you were at the movies with that night and I have handed them over to a lawyer who is going to see if he can get a case opened up for negligence on the part of the judge and gross dereliction of duty against your so called defence attorney. Unfortunately that will still take time and they will not be able to get your sentence quashed until those charges have been made and proved. So I am afraid the chances are you will be out of here before much else happens on that score," Karl explained.

"Yeah, well we all kind of expected that the day I came in here. And actually now it is not that bad. I get treated alright and am still doing my school studies. So really it is just not having friends you can go out and swing in the park with. I have friends in here, only we don't have a lot to talk about."

"I can promise you one thing. The day you are released from here I will be here to collect you and take you back to my home. If you still want to, you can still stay with me. I kind of hope you will and can show my son how to behave," Karl confirmed to him. "So hang in there. We will get some justice one day."

"Thank you, guys. I wish I could have the same kindness from my parents, but it's just not there."

"Look, I have been in contact with Officer Steven and his wife. I will keep you informed through them if anything new comes up, and they will keep me posted on your release date. But we have to get on our way now. We'll see you later." Karl pulled Josh into a quick hug and then Joe gave him a hug and the two officers moved over to their car.

Josh waved good bye to them and then turned and went back through the door; he knew that door had to be closed and locked before it would be considered safe for the officer to open the doors to let Karl and Joe out. The new inmate was still standing there looking rather sad and bewildered. Josh did not know if he was allowed to speak to him and so just moved through the other door to where the admitting officer was.

"You'll have to wait here until Officer Steven comes back for you," Josh was told. He moved to the side to be out of the way and waited less than a minute for Steven to come for him.

Steven ushered him out and then asked, "Do you mind coming with me with this new inmate? It means you will have to spend some time while we process him but I am guessing you will not mind seeing him get naked and shaved."

"No problem. Where is the other officer?"

"We are a bit short staffed today. We have a couple on leave and two others have called in sick, so I am looking after this one by myself. Perhaps you could help him to settle in. He is going to be in your cell with you three lover boys," Steven explained, doing a little teasing at the same time.

"Okay, I will be acting Officer Ogle The New Boy." And Josh laughed a little. "Am I allowed to talk to him?"

"Right, Officer Ogle, shall we go and get our new inmate? Normally I would say you can't talk to him, but I think you might be a help to him; he seems pretty close to crying."

Steven and Josh moved down the corridor that Josh had last seen when he arrived. Steven unlocked the door, and they went in to find the new inmate still standing in his circle. "Mr. Samuel Carruthers, I presume?" Steven asked.

The boy looked up and nodded. Josh could see he was close to tears and clearly very frightened. "You'll be alright. Just do as you are asked," Josh reassured him.

"Follow behind me, Mr. Carruthers. Mr. Tolmers, you come behind him and make sure he doesn't get lost."

The single file line of three set off down the corridor that is probably the longest walk any of the inmates make, because it is a walk into the unknown. This time instead of the officer at the back locking doors after they had passed through, Steven had to stop Sam and Josh while he locked the door before moving on to the next. As they entered the prep room, Josh gave an involuntary shudder as his thoughts went back to the last time he had been there, the day he arrived. Fortunately Sam was facing away from him and did not see the shudder to make him even more afraid.

"Officer Steven tells me that you are going to be in the same cell as me and Andy and Chris. I can tell you that you are probably not going to like this next bit, but actually it is not that bad and you get used to it after a while. If you need a piss wait until you are in the shower and then turn to face the wall and let it rip while the water is flowing. Otherwise it will be more embarrassing. What is about to happen is something way off the mark but just do as you are asked and you will find it works out best. I can tell you that if you try to rock the system you will come off worse, of that there is no doubt. It is best to go with the flow. I will be your friend if you will let me, and so will Andy and Chris. Just remember that Andy is the guy in charge of the cell block, and Chris is his second."

"That is good advice. I have seen your reports and I think you are going to need his help more than you might think. So my advice is to listen to what he says and learn from him and your other two cell mates," Steven told him.

To be continued...

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Posted: 05/06/16