"F...!" That's the first word on his mind.

The worst part was, he didn't remember what happened? Not knowing what happened, meant he didn't know what kind of retribution to expect.

He sat up, stretching his aching body, the movement made the cot squeak loudly. It looked like a cot in a military barrack, dark green metal frame with worn out rusty wires, that were in dire need of some lubricant.

Looking around all he saw were dirty white walls, someone had scratched a name, or a profanity here and there...it smelled moldy.

He felt uncomfortable.

He heard muffled voices behind the heavy metal door, unable to make out any of the words, it just sounded like white noise! Ghosts whispering...it gave him the chills.

He felt somewhat claustrophobic all of a sudden. It hit him like a ton of bricks! He wouldn't be able to stand up, open the door and just leave. He no longer had that prerogative! His fate was no longer in his own hands...someone else would decide for him now.

All his actions led him here.

"Don't drink and drive", you hear that all the time...it seemed like an awesome idea yesterday, but today...NOT so much! The aftertaste of last night's selection of drinks, still lingered on his breath, giving away his massive mistake.

The door opened, and his parole officer Dave walked inside reluctantly. Apparently this place gave him the chills too? Ryder noticed he looked a bit queasy. His face said it all, a mixture of disgust, and bad deja vu's.

He didn't look pleased.

His mouth was clammed up, but not for long.

"I told you this was gonna happen dude!" Dave sat next to him on the rock hard bed. He struggled to find a comfortable position, but eventually stopped moving.

Ryder sat next to him, lightly slouching, as to indicate he wasn't that proud of himself.

"So you remember what happened?" Dave asked sighing.

"Na...Not really" Ryder hesitated.

He didn't.

Well, he remembered the race, he remembered winning. The celebration afterwards was somewhat blurry.

"Well, I'll fill in the blanks then...you smashed your precious ride into a store window, and on the way you just lightly bumped the statue of our town mayor...nice touch though, I commend you on that little detail!" Dave said in a sarcastic tone. He always had a way to tear down Ryder's walls, and he managed to do that just now. Once again pointing out how incredibly careless Ryder was being, this wasn't a first for him, regretfully.

"Crap" Ryder blurted out freely.

"You stink like an old brewery!" Dave said, furthermore wanting to rub Ryder's nose in it, that's just the way Dave was. Ryder took no offence. Dave always called it like he saw it, and he was spot on...

No use fighting it. No use denying it.

"So what's going to happen to me?" Ryder asked with an ominous suspicion.

"Well...a DUI of course, and a massive fine!" Dave declared.

"I don't have any money!" Ryder retorted. Apart from the $1000 he won yesterday, he was pretty much broke. Doing odd jobs here and there doesn't make you rich. He needed to pay rent, he needed to eat, and keep some booze in stock; other than that, he had no needs!

"Well, do the time then" Dave said, looking straight ahead.

"That's not going to be juvie this time!" Ryder said.

"Na...you are a man now, and real men go to real prison" Dave told him. His voice gave him away, he was beyond annoyed.

"My mom is going to kill me, not that I care what she thinks". Ryder sighed loudly. He didn't care, she knew nothing about him, it had been months since he last saw her.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't blame her. You are an idiot dude, what have I told you all these years? Juvie...you can recover from, but you are an adult now, you smock little p.o.s!"

"F... I know, this is bad, really bad".

"That's why I cut you a deal, this is your second chance" Dave proclaimed.

He got up to face him.

"What do you mean?" Ryder wondered, still sitting down.

"I arranged for you to do some community service!...800 hours my friend".

"Are you joking?" Ryder yelled out in dismay.

"No, there is absolutely nothing to joke about, and if you have any brains left in that pretty boy skull, you'll take this offer!" Dave yelled back.

It seemed like there was a lot of yelling going on?

"This is going to be do or die for you...every guy has a defining moment in their life, this IS yours, right now...If you continue doing what you do, it is going to be a downward spiral, nothing less. Don't you get that?" Dave knew what he was talking about, he had been through it. He wanted to spare Ryder the agony of getting caught in a merciless system, that only views you as a case number, and stops looking at you as a human being!

"What am I going to be doing? Clean the highway or something?"

"Well that would be an ironic well proposed, and fitting punishment for you my friend...but no, I got you another gig" Dave said in a softer tone of voice.

"Tell me, enlighten me?" Ryder said, looking straight at him.

"You are going to go to the local hospital, and read to this girl I know" Dave said...continuing on.

"You are going to be with her from 2-6 hours a day, and the rest of the time you'll be cleaning the hospital toilets, or whatever they need you to do! Sounds great, right? If that doesn't sound appealing, you can pay off the full amount which you owe the state...amounting to almost $18.000...which will it be?"

Ryder shook his head.

Dave didn't look pleased, he looked pissed.

"I have no choice then. I'll read to the little girl...fairy tales or horror stories, what ever!" Ryder let out a heavy sigh, as Dave moved towards the door, knocking twice to signal he was done.

"Get your clothes, you are out of here, and I'll come pick you up tomorrow at 8 am, be in front of your building - on time!"

Ryder nodded.

Anything would be better than jail!

Anything.