Falling For An Inmate

Chapter 12: Carpe Diem

CHAPTER 12

Zachary Gonzalez

Carpe diem.

Seize the day. Enjoy the moment.

Especially when you're bored out of your fucking mind.

I am a strong believer of this philosophy.

And so when the bull said, "One of you dogs help Reynolds carry those damned tins to the Pysch Ward."

I was ready to be that dog. I was ready to carry those tins. I was ready to receive C's warning glares. All for a little bit of entertainment because as fate would have it, I was destined to die due to severe boredom.

So, I took matters into my own hands. I seized the moment. By helping C carry the tins, I would get to meet the intern who's been causing C to smile to himself more often than he blinks.

I had been watching C for the past few days. The tiny differences in his usual habits and attitude. He's always been a reserved guy. He's always got a sock down his throat because he doesn't talk much. And he never gives a shit about much. But yesterday during PI, I caught him watching two people talk on the other side of the Gen Pop fence. A girl and a guy. They were too far for us to hear but he was watching them so intently that I bet if I even farted in his face, he wouldn't notice. He was giving a shit. And that was new.

So the genius that I am, I obviously figured out that the girl he was watching yesterday had to have been his intern mentor. And for entertainment's sake I wanted to meet the girl who was messing with C's head.

I volunteered eagerly. C scowled at me, which only made me that much more excited. And it also gave me an excuse to be late to my session with that little shit, Toby.

I literally skipped the whole way to the Whack Shack, with C quietly trailing behind me probably cursing me in his head.

"Hurry your ass up, C. The Crazies are a waitin'!"

I heard him grunt like the old bag of bones he walked around pretending to be and I was gonna tell him off as we reached the end of the hall in the Mad House when I heard music coming from the common room up ahead.

We both stopped in our tracks and placed the paint tins on the ground.

"C, can you catch the crazy bug if you breathe the same air the Crazies breathe? Because I'm pretty sure I've gone bonkers and there isn't music playing in that room."

He didn't say anything as usual and I really thought I was going mad because there was no music in prison. Ever.

Just then, a bull walked out of the room with a scowl so big on his face I'd have to guess he had a bad case of constipation.

"Damn interns."

He was so annoyed he didn't even bother to look at us when he crossed and left the building.

C walked towards the door and glanced inside before turning around and stopping me in my tracks.

"Don't do anything stupid, Zack."

I had a feeling that right through those doors I would get to meet C's mentor. I stifled the surge of excitement that poured through my veins and grinned at C.

"I would never."

He narrowed his eyes at me before turning around and walking into the room. I followed suit but not even hearing music in a prison had prepared me for what I was about to witness in there.

C said it before I could. "Che diavolo?"

The two of us stood in the corner of the room, close to the door, looking at what I would describe as one of the funniest things I had ever seen in my life.