Wrongfully convicted |ON HOLD|

2

"Do you all know your assignments for today?" My boss. Eric brown. Dick head.

We nod quickly just so we can get him to shut the hell up and leave. Everyone jumps from the desk chairs collecting their paper and pagers and rushes out of the meeting room.

I'm a journalist here in New York. Sounds cool right? Wrong. I'm making the bare minimum living in a small apartment. A shitty boss. Shitty pretty much everything.

At least my co-workers are tolerable.

I hate men.

They think they can sit around here and run the place and nobody has any say in any of it.

My goal is to build my own journalism company. I doubt I can make it happen though. Too many sexist middle age white men in the way.

"Excuse me sir Mr. Brown?" I say strongly as he turns around.

"What do you need Ms. Hart? I have work to do." I can see his nose hair sticking out of his nose.

"I was wondering if I would be assigned to the  image 276 case once more and possibly stick with it for a while. I can get an amazing story out of it sir." I just need some time. Maybe when Mr. Inmate starts talking about things besides asking me questions like he's the journalist.

"No can do sweetheart, you got absolutely nothing out of him yesterday. Why would I send you to waste our time and money on someone who doesn't give us anything?" He organizes his papers in his folder fixing his tie.

"I guess you're right about that part. But that was yesterday. Just give me a few weeks with him and I guarantee you I can get something." Should be easy, right?.

"No." He says in a final tone. I don't like No.

"Are you sure sir? I bet I could be a better use to the company there in that prison than I would be out doing real stories. Don't you think so?" I say leaning forward slightly to show some of my cleavage.

If these dumb men fall for whatever a woman will say with the power she holds above them in these situations. I will use it to my advantage. Twisting it and forming it for my benefit.

The tips of his ears go red. I want to Stab myself.

"I suppose you are correct. I will make those changes. But not for today, next Monday you will be re-assigned to the inmate 276 case." He takes a sip of his coffee.

"Sounds good." I smile bright and fake, twirling a piece of my hair between my fingers as I walk away. My heels click on the hardwood floor.

I open my office door and shut it behind me plopping down onto my office chair. I kick my feet up onto my desk and grab my mug of coffee from this morning taking a sip as I scroll through my phone.

I don't know what Mr. Brown wants me to do till Monday with no assignment considering today is only Thursday. At least I'm getting paid.

I set down the mug back onto the desk and open the drawer and pull out my sketch pad and pencil.

Drawing is a hobby of mine I've had since I was a teenager. I'm not crazy good at it but I would say I am fairly decent.

Just as the tip of the pencil makes contact with the paper the raging sound of my ringtone goes off.

I groan, slamming my pencil onto the wood causing the other object on the table to shake slightly. I pick up my phone to see who's bothering me.

It's a random number. Fun. Those are always fun to respond to. I swipe right, answering the call and pressing the phone to my ear.

"Hello? Ms. Hart speaking." I respond in the same voice any time I pick up the phone. Like a robot, my voice rises into the higher octave to seem more "friendly."

"Hey Lib-"

"It's Ms. Hart." I correct the man.

"Yes of course my apologies. I was the um- the man you slept with last weekend and was wondering if you-" I hang up the phone before he can continue any further.

Let's just say the divorce was rough.

Does this guy not understand the point of a "one night stand" my god people are stupid. Idiot.

I grab my pencil once more ready to sketch out what I was at the prison a few evenings ago.

That place was very creepy and odd. Something was off about it.

I was just doing my job though. I will continue to do so as well.

That officer was not playing around. She was rude.

I wonder what they did to him for those 10-15 minutes. Nothing good I bet.

I sketch out the room the inmate was being held in along with the dark hallway and the reception desk.

I add some color here and there to emphasize some of the key details. Like the blood, cracking walls and a few other things.

I spend what feels to be about thirty minutes doing my sketches of the place.

I still remember the way the thunder crackled and the lights flickered.

The horrendous stench of urine and mold.

That's what you get in a prison.

Though I do not support crime. Nobody deserves to live in those conditions. That's just against humanity, it's truly horrid.

I add the last few details making sure to include inmate 276 sections of the room thoroughly detailed.

I'm not sure how I'm going to get him to talk to me more and more.

I guess it will just take time and build trust.

No matter what he's done I still see him as a man who is just going about life paying his price for his crimes. He didn't seem like the other inmates though, he had a calmer presence about it.

So calm to the point it was concerning.

I need to know more.

............

That's pretty much it! I'm not sure what direction I'm going to take this yet but we shall see

Lmk any thoughts or ideas love to see em!!

Bye love y'all!!!