SPLIT BETWEEN THREE WORLDS

Life in the Juvenile Correctional Facility

Gravity only took control over my body for a split second before someone grabbed my right arm. I opened my eyes snappily as I was pulled back into my room.

“ What the hell is wrong with you? Were you planning to kill yourself?” a voice scolded.

The window was closed and my curtains drawn shut. This was followed by the blinding light of my room’s bulb.

“ I have warned you numerous times Ethan about sitting on the window late at night, you could have died horribly had I been a second later”

I silently stood up from the cold floor then made for my bed, it was a bed made from steel with a thin brown mattress. My mattress that has been used for three long years, so used that it was now more of a carpet or a door mat. I picked my drape from the rusty sink next to my bed.

I curled myself on my bed then used the patchy drape to cover whatever it could on my body.

“ I have warned you about ignoring your supervisors but nothing can get through past your thick skull, can it?”

My drape was roughly pulled from my body.

I averted my gaze to the woman who has been the supervisor for our wing. She was about my height and I was pretty tall, not that tall, it was a height that was taller than the average sized man. The woman was fat, really fat to her face… and strong too. Her hugeness was one of the main reasons that she became the only woman who worked in the juvenile facility for boys. Her face was petrifying as always, bold purple make up and really fierce eyes. She was in her mid-ages , forty or fifty, mid-age was a respectful term but I liked to refer to her as old…in my head. I once saw her beat a full grown man senseless because of a single joke about her physique.

“ Why would you want to destroy that pretty face of yours?” she asked as she sat on the edge of my bed. It squealed in protest then sank towards her side.

“ Look at me” she snapped

I ignored and stared away from her.

“ I said…” her tone rose but she stopped mid-way. I heard her heave a deep sigh before I felt her hand settle on my thigh, softly.

“ I’m sorry” I said in a frail voice still not looking at her.

“ Sit up” she ordered

I didn’t waste a second to do as I was informed. I sat close to the headrest of my bed…further away from her, my knees close to my chest and my arms around it.

“ Did you take supper?”

I hesitated. I remember I missed it because I overspent my time in the art room.

“ You missed it again?” she shot

“ You know very well that you need the energy” she sighed then took out an energy drink “ good thing I came prepared”

I cautiously darted my eyes to the bottle.

“ Drink it” she commanded

I was planning on giving a pass but then my stomach grumbled loudly. The last time I remember eating was in the morning and it was just a cup of porridge.

The supervisor sighed then took out two protein bars. She handed me both of them.

I hesitated for a moment before I devoured everything in a record of thirty seconds. That meal wasn’t enough to make me full but at least it satisfied the hunger pangs in my stomach, I felt a little bit better after consuming it.

“ Thank you” I more of whispered

“ I have two sets of news for you, one is the bad news and the other good news” She said sitting more comfortably on my bed “ Which should I start with?”

Everything that comes out of your mouth is always bad news, might as well start with the bad, I thought to myself.

“ I’ll start with the bad news” she said “ Are you ready?”

I stared at her blankly

“ Tomorrow morning you will get out of this place, you are eighteen right?”

My eyes brightened up but I didn’t smile. Was she kidding me or being serious?

“ Legally, when you reach eighteen we are not supposed to hold you in here anymore so…”

That is the greatest news I’ve ever heard, the greatest birthday gift, my wish to get out of this forsaken place was granted. I have never felt happier.

“ That’s a bummer because we won’t spend time together anymore, you’ll miss me, won’t you?”

“ No” I said

“ Meh, I’ll miss your silent company” she shrugged “ The good news is that…”

I sighed

“ Cheer up Ethan, at least smile a bit” the supervisor bumped me on my shoulder roughly

“ The good news is that we have this night to ourselves, five hours till morning to ourselves. And since you are legally an adult, I won’t have to muffle my screams anymore during our activity….”

“ Not tonight” I said

“ What? Excuse me?” her expression becoming stern

“ I said not tonight, I’m not feeling well” I replied my heart picking up pace

“ Well, you don’t have a choice honey” she scoffed then proceeded to rip my trouser from my body

“ Please…” I pleaded

“ Didn’t you just eat my protein bars and drink my energy drink, nothing’s free so you gotta pay up…and since I don’t need your money because you don’t got any , Imma take another of your services”

You are probably wondering why I’m not fighting back at all. I have three particularly simple answers for you. In this specific juvenile correction facility, they break you both physically and emotionally. The abuse you get here makes you fear and respect your superiors without a second thought. The second reason is that everything that happens here always remains here, no other person from outside or the government gets to know. If you ever try to fight they might as well kill you and no one will miss you afterwards, we simply have no voice. The third reason is that silence and cowering is the only mode of survival, you try to be brave and the next thing you know, you are dying of hunger or thirst or in most cases, thorough beatings.

I had an extra reason for today though, I wanted to live another day so that I see the outside of this damned place. And thus, just as I have done numerous uncountable nights before, I laid back and let the supervisor exploit my body as she thought fit.