Goldfish Bowl

Chapter 4

August didn't make a habit of saving distressed albino girls with wide eyes, in fact he didn't make an habit out of saving any kind of girl but to be fair, the last girl he had seen that wasn't the prison's cook was his sister, staring at him in the cold courtroom, tears running her cheeks and when he had met her gaze, she had flinched and turned away as if he would kill her with his stare alone. At least that was how everyone looked at him in this hell, like he would kill them with his blank stare and because of this, everyone tended to stay away from him. Well, everybody but one but Gabriel was foolish so he didn't count.

He saw the exact moment she recognized him, wide eyes parting even further and then schooling her face into something blank, she didn't even look the least bit afraid, she was either brave or too stupid. He knew he'd be afraid if he were, even as he were himself, he was afraid of himself.

The shorter boy was staring wide at August, the girl log forgotten. August had learnt that there were three kinds of people in Mary Slessor Juvenile Prison, the ones who stayed away from others, keeping to themselves and those kinds were either the ones who had committed the worst kinds of crimes or the ones who had committed the littlest and kept to themselves out of fear of the bigger boys.

The second kind of boys were the ones who bullied the weaker ones, asserting dominance to hide their own weakness, they always took the bigger portion of food, and always guilty of stealing the clothes and items of others, Ifeanyi -- this short boy fell under this category. There was the last kind; the rich boys who had fallen into some kind of trouble that daddy's money couldn't bail them out of, still they wouldn't be standing trial, they'd only stay for a few months in juvie and after that be released into the world again to wreak havoc.

August thought he fell under the first two categories. Although, Ifeanyi was definitely under the second, he was still a spineless coward who cowered at the sight of anyone bigger than him, August didn't even have to be bigger to scare anyone, his reputation preceded him.

"Leave her alone, and aren't you supposed to be on toilet duty." August said, crossing his arms. The girl; Alisha shot him a thankful glance. He gave her a subtle nod after Ifeanyi scurried away, shooting one last venomous glare over his shoulder.

Alisha was picking up up the two fallen cartons and the boys on the field had resumed their game, a sweaty Gabriel waved at August as he ran, August ignored it.

"You need a hand with that?" He asked her.

"No hello? So we're acting like we weren't friends," August was surprised that she actually sounded hurt, he wanted to tell her that it wasn't exactly easy to keep friends while inside this hell and that keeping in touch was the last thing on his mind. He had half forgotten everything about his life before prison, he had let himself forget and now she was making him remember, and he hated it.

"No one likes to stay friends with a murderer." He said, he didn't say it angrily, he said it like he had simply come to terms with it, the prison was a place to reflect, reality had hit him hard the first week had been sent to this place.

In the first few days he had been telling himself; I did it for the greater good, it was me or him.

Now he was saying; I am a murderer, simple.

He watched as she flinched, fear clouding her gaze as she balanced her knitted white bag on the cartons of detergent soap and he wondered what she was doing here, was she visiting somebody? He shook his head, he knew her older brother and it was unlikely he were here, Toyosi was nothing like him.

"You've changed, Forest." She said, clucking her tongue.

He let the smallest smile grace his lips as he shook his head. Alisha was the only one who called him that, it wasn't even his real name, she only called him that because his eyes were a forest green, she had liked it. Here it only attracted whispers and slurs, mulatto.