~5
Michael's POV-11:33am
“Everyone, move to the cafeteria for lunch! Now! If you don't show up you won't be served until the next day! So move it!”

I look at Jerry.

“They can just not feed us?”

He nods. The cell gate opens and Jerry walks out. I follow him, because I don't know where the cafeteria is. Jerry notices that I'm following him and smiles. He turns his head.

“You could eat with me if you want.”

“I don't think I have a choice.”

He laughs and shakes his head. The big guy from the holding cell looked at me and smiled. He nudged another big dude and pointed at me. They both snicker. I grab Jerry's arm and pulls him next to me.

“How would I get someone to stop bothering me?”

“Well, in here, you fight. You have to really hurt them. Then, they'll leave you alone, because you beat them bad.”

Oh man. I can't fight him.

“There isn't any other way? I can't tell a guard? Or talk to the warden? I can't fight! ”

Jerry laughed.

“Unless you want to be known as a snitch and get beat everyday, you better start fighting. ”

“I can't fight. I've never had to before in my life.”

Jerry sighed. He pulled me in a corner, out of sight from any guards.

“Look, since he's like a fucking giant, you go for his knees. Like this.”

He swings his left leg toward my right knee and nearly strikes me. I flinch.

“See. Do it with me.”

He does it two more times. I do it, but he shakes his head.

“No no. You have to mean it. You have to put a lot of hmph in it. Use a lot of power, but not too much, because you still have to strike his face.”

I do it again, but this time with a lot of power. I really meant it. I could just see the guy fall in pain. It brought me joy.

“Great job! Now when you do this, he'll grab his knee in pain. You strike the other knee. Now, he's practically on the ground. While he's on the ground you strike him.”

He does a quick jab.

“Remember, keep your hand in a fist. A loose fist at first, but right before you make contact, you tighten your fist, OK?”

I nod. I didn't know there was so much to fighting. He looks around pats my back.

“C'mon, before we get caught.”

“Ok.”

Jerry is an okay guy. We get back into the sea of inmates. We make it to the cafeteria, where everyone is talking and acting like they aren't in prison. Mm.

Jerry points to where the line starts. We walk to the beginning of the line. Jerry is in front of me. I do whatever he does.

He grabs a tray, I grab a tray. He asks for a little more, I ask a for a little more. He picks up an orange juice, I pick up an orange juice.

When we leave the line, Jerry leads me to a table to the far corner. No one was sitting there. I noticed people staring at me until I sat down. They started laughing. Then they went on with their conversations.

“What was that about? ”

“This table use to belong to my brother and his gang. They were the toughest gang in the C block. Then they were swiped out by a even stronger gang that just showed up in C block. I sat here the first day I got here, so they'll know that I'm related to him. I'm pretty tough in here.”

“And why were they laughing? ”

“Since you sat here, you are apart of this gang. They don't think you're strong enough. They think you're puny. ”

My eyes bulged out of my head.

“I don't want to be apart of a gang! I'm not gang material! ”

“Calm down. No one will even mess with us. We aren't a big enough gang, yet. Now eat. People around here will steal all your shit.”

I look around and see people looking at me. I quickly shove my food in my mouth. It's not that good, but it's bearable. I slide it all down with some orange juice. As I push my tray away, a big shadow comes over my head.

Jerry looks up with anger in his eyes. I slowly turn around, knowing who it was. I look up and see his grinning face looking down at me. He pats his stomach.

“You know, I didn't get a lot to eat. From now on, you give me your lunch. Got that!”

I was to scared to argue. “O-ok.”

He laughs and walks away. I look at Jerry and he looks angry.

“You are not giving him your food! You're making this gang look weak!”

“I'm not ready to fight him yet.”

Jerry puts his head down in frustration.

“You better be glad you're a cutie. I swear I would of beat your ass!”

I take a deep breath.

“Ok, I'll do it it, but only because I sort of owe you.”

Jerry nods.

I slam my hands on the table, making the silverware jump. Everyone looks at me. I stand up and walk to the center of the aisle.

“I will not give you my lunch!”

The big guy stands up and looks at me.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me bitch!” OK that was a little much.

Anger fills the guy's eyes. He walks toward me. The guy he was with grabbed his arm.

“Dee, you can't fight him. His gang isn't big enough.”

Dee pulls away from his grip.

“I don't give a fuck!”

I look at Jerry, who points his head to Dee. I take a quick deep breath. I, with all my might, swing my leg and smash his knee.

He screams in pain. He grabs his knee and I kick the shit out of his other knee.

He falls to the ground.

“You little bitch!”

I look at Jerry who, punches the air.

I turn my attention back to Dee and swing a right jab, right in his jaw. His head swings to the right. I swing a left jab. Anger was feeling inside my body. When he fell back, I got on top of him and started wailing on his face.

I felt arms wrap around me and pull me up. Jerry, along with the entire cafeteria, (except Dee's friend) was cheering for me. I saw guards drag Dee away.

I was cuffed and brought to the medical center. Jessica was there and she smiled at me. I stare at her.

“What's the occasion? ”

The guard who was uncuffing me said, “He got in a fight. His hand is badly damaged.”

She nods. The guard leaves and she grabs my arm gently and leads me to a bed.

“Sit.”

I obey. I didn't realize how much I've missed her until I saw her. She pushes a silver table over to me and gently places my hand on it.

The table was cold. She pulls up a chair and sits in it in front of me.

“So, why were you fighting? ”

She poured some alcohol on a swab and started dabbing it on my knuckles. I winced at the pain.

“This guy name Dee has been messing with me since I've been in the holding cell at the Sheriff's department. ”

She nods.

“Well, I see you don't have any bruises or scratches on your face, so I'm guessing you won. ”

I blush and nod. She reaches for some bandages when I grabbed her arm and pulled her close to me.

I looked into her eyes and saw a spark of happiness. She was gazing into my eyes. She's so beautiful. I wanted to kiss her. We were close for about 3 seconds, when she pulled away.

Jessica's POV

I pull away from his grip. I clear my throat and fix my clothes.

“I'd appreciate if you don't do that again.”

He smiles at me. “Ok. Sure.”

I shake my head.

While I'm wrapping the bandage around his hand, he continues to look in my eyes. I can't help but blush.

“All done.”

He looks at his hand, then back at me.

“When can I see you again? ”

“Tomorrow. You might need painkillers. ”

He nods. He stands up and walks close to me. I back my chair up until I hit my desk. He leans down and grabs the armrests of the chair. He looks me directly in the eye. He looks at my lips, licks his lips, then back at my eyes.

My heart is racing. Do I want him to kiss me? Do I want to kiss him? I blush even harder than before.

He winks at me and says, “I'll see you later, Jessica.”

He stands up straight and walks out the door. I watch as the guard cuffs him and leads him back to the C cell block.