Annihilation

Riot

I clicked the remote to turn my TV off, tuning out from the news that was focused on yet another virus that was on the rise in France, reporting that the first case of infection had been diagnosed in New York City. I was tired of it, the world barely getting through the first pandemic of my lifetime before there was talk of another to come.

The sun wasn't up yet since I always woke early on days when my nerves were higher than normal, already dressed and plopping onto my couch with a bowl of cereal while I dialed Shelby from my recent call log.

"Hi!" I smiled at her cheery greeting. Though it was a little too early for that level of energy, I'd become used to talking to her first thing in the morning over the past six years.

"Good morning, what time do you start teaching today?" I asked between chewing.

I could hear her shuffling around as she got ready for the day, taking a minute to respond. "Not until ten, but I've got an early meeting and then my office hours before class, but that doesn't matter. How are you feeling about your first day?"

"Nervous, you know how I am with new things." I replied.

"As you should be. You know how I feel about you going to work at a prison." She brought up her earlier protests to my new job quest, and I imagined the way her mouth would curve from a hard-pressed line into a small smile as she tried to remain positive, amending her response. "But either way, I know you'll be amazing at it. You've got this."

I chuckled at the sudden change in her attitude. We'd been supporting each other since we met, when we moved into the same apartment during graduate school, together through every competency exam and excessively long paper until we'd both received our doctoral degrees.

We finished up our call so I could start the thirty minute drive into the secluded area where the Powhatan Correctional Center was located. I parked in an empty spot and headed through the initial security area of the prison, more anxious about interacting with my new coworkers than meeting the inmates I would serve.

After a short meeting with the warden I was introduced to a senior officer who would facilitate my introduction to the inmates, giving a tour of the facility and leading me down to my office. I expected it to be bland, the grey walls leaving the space dull with only a desk, small bookshelf and two chairs filling the room. I would have to get creative with decorating but was glad there was a small window, the open blinds giving a view of the far side of the lawn and barbed fence.

"Are you ready to meet the inmates?" Carla, the senior officer, a woman with broad enough shoulders to intimidate any man, sharp cheekbones, and soft eyes asked as we walked toward the first unit.

"I am, is there anything important I should know?" I replied, sure that she'd have some insight with many years of working her way through the ranks.

She chuckled. "It's important to establish authority and respect with them immediately, especially as a woman. You'll learn how to recognize when someone is trying to get over on you because we have some crazies in here." The term she used made me cringe, though I didn't correct her. If there were "crazies" as she called them, they would surely need me for support. Most of all, I wanted the opportunity to see them as people. "We'll do this introduction a few times today in the different units." She swiped her badge before using a key to unlock the door that led into the first unit, the crowd of men dressed in beige jumpsuits ignoring our entrance.

"Inmates!" Her voice thundered through the room, demanding the attention of everyone in sight, and I watched as their heads turned, a few whoops being called out as they set eyes on me for the first time. "Come on, I don't want to hear that disrespect."