The TV blared on and a few guys played cards, smoking. Once in a while, someone would wander over and use the toilet in the corner. If anything too provocative came on the TV, someone would jump up and change it. It was close in there, and dark.
The guys were kids, mostly. Some of them were serving out three month sentences, while some, like me and the two scarred guys, were more recently arrived and with luck, sooner to depart.
The guys were friendly and not very scary, but there were some raw nerves. One guy went pretty tense when he learned that his girlfriend had been tossed into the women's cell across the hall.
After a few hours I was invited to play a game of monopoly, and I accepted. The appointed banker started doling out the money. In a truly wistful tone he said, "If only this were money were real."
"Or even the Get Out of Jail Free card," I added.
© 1997,98 Henry Kingman