Watershed: A Memoir - Chapter Five

CHAPTER 5

“JAIL”
The next day had arrived and everyone was awakened, about fifty other inmates were in the same section of the jail that I was in. There were two stories and a clear glass outside room in the middle of the cell block which I was told was for smoking but now the law had changed recently so that you weren't allowed to smoke in jail anymore. Everything in the common area was bolted down... the chairs and tables, the television encased in hard plastic and even a microwave. There was a desk and a phone in the corner of the cell block where a guard would sit.
Breakfast had now come and everyone lined up to get theirs. I figured I would be released after court so I skipped the humble meal. While sitting there I noticed the others eating their meals feverishly like they were starving. I decided to just go back into my cell and wait for the court to call for me. A couple hours passed and then the guards called names and I was among those who were called. We all filed up in line and went out the steel door through the hallways with intermittent stops between areas at which the guard pushed an intercom to request clearance for the door be unlocked. There we went down the halls seeing the other cell blocks that surrounded the central guard room where they sat watching the cameras behind tinted glass and the visible glow of computers. Eventually we got to the vans that were parked outside and all got in. They really crammed a lot of people into those vans and it was very uncomfortable. A short trip later we all arrived at the courthouse.
All the inmates had to sit in a hall outside of the courtroom and were called in by groups that were determined by the first letter of their last name. After a few hours my name had been called and my group shuffled in and sat on the wooden benches. As time passed it became apparent that most people plead 'not guilty' but there were a few 'guilty' or 'no contest' pleas. There was someone from the Prosecutor's office going around to the inmates with a clip board and file folder in hand. She came up to me and introduced herself as being from the Prosecutor's office and wanted to ask me some questions. I simply told her that I didn't want to talk to her which brought some people around me into shock because of my boldness. The lady then scoffed and said 'suit yourself' as she walked over to the others in the room.

“You shouldn't have done that man.” said a guy next to me.
“I don't care fuck them, they are not on my side.” I replied.
“Yeah, but now they really gonna' throw the book at ya.” he chuckled.
My name had been called and they received my plea: Not Guilty. And then as soon as it started my arraignment was over, I was surprised at the briefness of it all. The thought had crossed my mind to indicate to the judge that my rights had been violated and that the Police Officers deserved an earful of insults for their demeanor and disregard of my rights. But, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. Some of the people that were in the courthouse with me got news that they would be going home later that day. My next day in court was two weeks from then and I wondered if they were going to keep me in jail for that long. My bail was only 10% of $1000 which amounted to just a hundred dollars. I was homeless and had no relatives near or none that would care to pay the measly hundred dollars for my freedom and that thought alone made me feel like shit.
The trip back to the jail was as equally or if not more unpleasant than the trip to the courthouse. Inmates beside me were either happy that they were getting out soon or hopeful and speculated about how much time they would get. Two black guys in the back of the van talked about people they knew or things they did or for lack of a better term; bullshit. This fat guy that was sitting across from me was talking about how he was gonna be in jail for a few months and was hoping that he could be a 'trustee' so he could get out sooner on good behavior. Apparently a trustee was an inmate who worked for the jail by cleaning, or working in the kitchen. That wasn't exactly my cup of tea; if I was deprived of my freedom I wasn't going to give them free labor under any circumstance.
We arrived back at the jail some short time later and was guided through the corridors to our respective cell blocks. It was about mid afternoon and everyone was out of their cells sitting at the tables or just milling around. I walked in and went straight to my cell and just sat down on my cot which was on the bottom of the bunk. My cell mate walked in, he
was a short black guy with dreads about shoulder length. He was about my age maybe a few years older.

“What's up man?” I said to him. “Just doin' time dude, what you in here for?” He asked.
“Obstructing official business.. yeah I cussed out some cops,” I laughed.
“It's a pretty bull shit charge if you ask me!” I added.
He walked over and sat on the top bunk with his paperback book folded in his hands he pulled up his wool blanket and made a makeshift pillow to put between him and the wall.

“Yeah, that's shitty', you should probably be out of here soon. I'm surprised you didn't just get an 'O.R.' bond.” he said while flipping through his book.
“What's an O.R. bond?” I asked curiously.
“Oh, you don't know what that is? Its just like a signature bond, you agree to come back on your 'own recognizance' or something like that.” He answered.
“That's what I need! Hey my name is Stefan whats yours?” I asked.
“Trevor.” he answered.
“If you don't mind me asking, what are you in here for man?” I inquired.
“Well, I got felony possession of cocaine. I was a dealer. It's messed up cause my lawyer, she a coke head for real!” Trevor said laughing.
“Damn, well I used to deal pot when I was fifteen years old, never sold the hard stuff though; didn't want to catch a felony.” I said to him laughing.
“Yeah I knew some people that got busted in the sting also they were dealing smack, and you wouldn't believe how much money is in that shit. I heard people cooking crack making some serious dough but fuck these guys slingin' smack make some serious change.” Trevor said while lowering his voice.

“I can imagine. I just couldn't do that sort of thing, I'm reformed” I reasoned with a halfhearted chuckle, thinking to myself I could never be the cause of someone else's addiction, considering the torment and hell I went through myself.

Looking up at the ceiling of our cell I noticed that there was toilet paper that had been crudely pasted over the vents, I turned to Trevor.
“Hey whats that all about?” I asked pointing to the vents. “Yeah.. uh, people do that because they keep this place pretty cold so germs won't spread.” he answered.

“Damn, it still is pretty cold in here, plus this blanket is tiny.” I said.
“Where'd you get that book? Do they have some in this block?” I inquired.
“Oh yeah, they are downstairs on a rolling bookcase down near the desk the deputy sits at.” he replied as he found his marker in his book and resumed reading.
“Thanks.” I said to him while walking out of the cell.
I walked down the metal staircase to the open area down below. I was relieved that my cell mate wasn't a serial killer. Other inmates were talking, some playing cards, some playing checkers and chess. A few looked up at me as I came down and then looked away back to their conversations. I saw the book case over by the deputy who was sitting at the desk watching the inmates. I took a few minutes and browsed through the books that were there. They were pretty worn and most had ripped pages, or missing backs to the cover. I found one about an English murder mystery it was about 200 pages and decided to go with that one.

“This should keep me occupied for awhile.” I mumbled to myself.
There were people standing in the center of the cell block which was an open area that didn't have a roof overhead. There was this light skinned black guy who smiled revealing that he had gold plated fangs. The other inmates commented on how cool that was. I just walked past the groups of people and back up the stairs to my cell. I decided it would be best if I just stayed in my cell and not talk to many other people so I can stay out of trouble and not get into fights. There were many people that had on red colored inmate uniforms, was like the pair I had but instead of black stripes they were red. I went inside of my cell as Trevor walked out with a piece of paper in his hand and sat on my cot.
Flipping through the pages past the foreword and onto the first page. I sat there beside the small window that was encased in a black steel frame with thick glass. Outside, I noticed a woman standing in the parking lot by herself. In the cell beside me I could hear an inmate banging on his window, apparently the woman who was outside was his girlfriend. The woman then began to do erotic dances out in the parking lot running her hands down her hips and bending over smacking herself. I chuckled at the whole thing, I guess a guy gets lonely in here. Sitting back down and away from the window eventually the sound of the guy banging on the window diminished so I got back to the book. After about thirty pages or so I drifted into a sleep.
I was dreaming about an experience I had a few years before at my parent's house in Cincinnati. It was at night, in the middle of a summer. My mother was the only one who was awake at the time and was downstairs on the computer. I shared a room with my little brother and he was sound asleep in his bed on the other side of the room. There was no door and the hallway that was upstairs ended at our room. The light was off but the hallway cast in a lot of light on my side, enough for me to sit and read despite the other half of the room being dark. It was about 11pm and I was wide awake reading a piece of a newspaper that was an issue from the morning before.
I turned my head and looked out into the hallway and noticed some movement on the carpeted floor. A silhouette of something was rising up incrementally through the floor, it was clear but had a lining of a figure. I sat there in disbelief and completely stunned not knowing if this was real or not. The figure kept rising up as if he were walking up an imaginary staircase from under the floor. Looking at the lining around the figure I could see that it was tall and wearing a hat. Whatever it was finished climbing up the stairs that weren't there, or at least that I couldn't see, and started walking towards me then paused. It suddenly turned and was about to walk into my sisters room that was in the middle of the hallway. I immedediately yelled “Hey!” at the figure, then suddenly I could see its head jerk and turn straight to my direction. There was a bright flash and then everything got dark.
There I was lying on my back, but in the middle of the room now facing the wall. Although my head was laying flat on the floor, I turned my eyes to what was in front of me. And there he was standing there. This time he wasn't just a silhouette, I could see him clearly. It was a tall man, wearing a khaki colored suit with a black tie and white starched dress shirt underneath. He had on some fancy dress shoes that were a light brown and had on white gloves on. The hat he wore was crimped on the top and short brimmed with a black sash around the top I believe its called a fedora. It reminded me of the hats the gangsters in the thirties wore from the old photos I had seen about prohibition. The thing that stands out most to me was the fact that he had no face. The room was dark around him and where his face would be it was just a darker of the darkness. He stood there motionless, still with just his hands at his side. I stared into the void of this being with horror. I started to struggle and to no avail; I was paralyzed. Then amid my struggle, my spirit seemed to be now separating from my body. I was slowly floating upwards and as I drifted further, the room got darker and I could see the presence of what looked like flames emitting from around this being. The higher I went, the more flames could be seen. The struggle I was making was futile, I then gave up fighting. Then the thought came into my head that I am going to Hell and that this thing is taking me. Once the thought that eternal damnation was my ultimate destiny I made a plea to God.

“Please! Jesus, save me!” I pleaded. And with that, I instantly sank back into my body followed by another flash of light. I was back to normal and was still laying in the middle of the room where somehow I had returned. I immediately ran downstairs and went straight to my mother who was walking away from the computer in the den, over to the kitchen.

“Mom!” I said excitedly.
“Shhh.. people are sleeping, what?” she said looking at me with concern.
“You would not believe what had just happened to me.. There was this thing I saw and I floated out of my body and..” I said to her with a shaky voice.
I went on to tell the story and my Mom just gave me a strange look as if I was high or was hallucinating on something. She dismissed the whole thing as if I was maybe even crazy. I went back upstairs reluctantly and sat back down and couldn't sleep the rest of the night.

“Hello faceless..” I whispered.
I could hear a loud thud of something slamming above me and a nudge on my shoulder and then again.
“Hello who?” Trevor asked.
I suddenly woke up and saw Trevor standing in the doorway looking at me funny.
“It's time to eat. Dinnertime man.” He said as he turned back out the cell.
“Thanks.” I replied.
On down the stairs there was the line of inmates forming once again. A trustee could be seen wheeling in the drink mix that they normally made which was really diluted. I caught a glimpse of what was being served, it looked like a piece of bologna with some kind of pale yellowish sauce on it with chunks like vomit. There was also a square of corn bread and a few tablespoons of mixed vegetables.

“Wow, its not much at all.” I thought to myself observing the vomit looking concoction.
After getting my tray and coffee cup of juice I sat down at a table near the right stairs that led up to my cell. Most of the white inmates ate upstairs or in the center of the cell block; an arrangement I didn't notice at first. Two black inmates about my age sat down at the table I was at and then followed by this really tall and built black guy. There was a seat empty beside me
but nonetheless he insisted:

“Your in my seat man.” said the tall black guy.
Looking around I noticed that people were starting to look over, waiting to see what my reaction would be. I glanced around then at the back of my chair I was sitting in and replied:

“Well. I don't see your name on it.”
His nostrils flared and he grimaced.
“Get out of my seat muthafucka'!” He said angrily to which a couple more people stopped eating and looked over at us.
I knew I probably didn't stand a chance at winning a fight with him and thought it would be best to just give him the seat. Also, I didn't want to catch another charge either so I stood up and he sat down. Another black guy sat next to him taking the last spot at the table. I then walked over to another table, grabbed a vacant chair with a grin on my face pulled up and sat down at the table the tall guy was at and starting eating. For a minute they all just sat there and looked stunned at my audacity. After some silence he then banged his fist on the table and got up and walked away; I burst into laughter and took my seat back.

“This is my seat.” I said looking around the table with a smile.