Rachel's Jail Time Part 4
Rachel's New Year in Jail.
This is a fictional story where all characters are fictional and all involved in sexual acts are over 18 years of age. The names, dialogue, incidents and plot are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.
I have been asked to explain the wristbands worn by inmates so I will explain below.
Yellow: Someone arrested on a minor offence that would normally result in a sentence of one less than one year in jail but has not been convicted yet and awaiting bail or on remand.
Orange: Someone charged but not convicted of a felony that can result in going to prison for over a year awaiting bail or on remand.
Red: Someone charged with a serious offence but not convicted resulting in a long sentence in prison awaiting bail or on remand.
Green/Blue: Someone convicted of a minor crime and has been sentenced to serve it in the county jail.
Pink: Someone convicted of a felony awaiting transfer to prison normally after their court case.
I woke at the usual time as my body clock was well programmed to jail time by now still enjoying the memory of our encounter during the night. I could hear Ruby still sleeping above me. I needed a shower after our night time rendezvous but that would not be possible until after morning lock down at about ten A.M. I had slept naked so I got my toiletries and went over to the sink toilet unit and sat on the toilet facing the sink. I had learned the skill of pouring cups of water over my body to wash with most of it ending up in the toilet. This I did with my right hand trying to keep my cast dry. As I did this I heard.
"Let me do that for you."
Ruby had woken up and saw me struggling to wash and was hopping down in an instant from her bunk to help. I let her wash me as I sat over the toilet enjoying the pleasure of her touch. Ruby also needed to shower so she followed my example.
The day itself followed a typical Saturday pattern with a visit from my siblings Emily and John in the morning. They said our grandparents were hoping to visit the next day. I noticed John seemed to be bothered about something but would not tell me but I knew him well enough that there was something on his mind. Emily was not saying anything either but I am not sure if she knew. They wanted to know the full story about how I ended up with both my arms in slings so that took most of our time together and I told them about Ruby helping me. I asked John how he was getting on at his new course on cyber and internet security which he was adding to his existing degree in software development. He said he was enjoying it but it was challenging in parts and because of his existing degree he should be able to complete it in two years.
The rest of the day went off as normal other than Ruby and I planning a special way to celebrate the arrival of twenty twenty three. That idea got firmly knocked on the head as the night wore on we realised the revellers outside the jail were finding themselves in jail. There was a constant influx of new arrivals with doors being opened and closed the lights outside were on full rather than being dimmed as would normally happen at night. I felt it was only a matter of time before we would have extra company in our cell. I decided to pull on my large T-shirt over my naked body in case we had visitors while Ruby opted for a regular T-shirt and underwear not having anything more suitable to wear.
It was well into Sunday morning when the lights in our cell came on and our door was opened. A young woman was ushered in by two officers in her orange jump suit with a yellow wrist band. There was a strong smell of alcohol and she seemed subdued and tired with all the fight gone out of her. She rolled out the mattress with no regard to her cell mates and promptly fell asleep soon after the cell lights went out but those outside still lit up the cell more than normal. Any hope of Ruby and I getting together was probably gone for a few nights.
New Year's morning started as normal except we had a solid sleeping body on floor leaving access to the toilet awkward. Basically her head was where you would normally put your feet and I had no strength to help Ruby drag the new arrival away mattress and all. An announcement came through to say we were going to be locked down for most of the day and there would be no visiting. How was I going to be able to tell my grandparents not to come as I had no phone access? Three breakfast trays arrived through the hatch so Ruby and I had our breakfast. An announcement came through for those expecting visitors out to make phone calls in turn to cancel.
Ruby and I sat on opposite ends of my bunk and began to read. Ruby was reading the erotic novel from the other night and it was not long before I noticed her hand had disappeared inside the crotch area of her jump suit. She spotted me looking and we both had a good laugh as our 'guest' started to show signs of life but it was short lived and she turned over into a deep sleep.
I started to think about what had happened to me over the last while. It was exactly one hundred days since I was first arrested on September the twenty third and I knew I was facing at least another hundred. I began to think about how my incarceration might affect the rest of my life assuming I could get out of jail sometime this year not guilty which I knew was possible but by no means certain. I did not want to think about the effects of a long sentence. I knew my being in jail had consequences for my family all of which I did not know. I knew my incarceration had affected some of those I had taught in the past, what would potential future pupils know about my time inside?
I wondered whether I still had my job as a teacher and if was gone would I be able to get another one, would my six years of college all be worth nothing. At this stage I knew I had lost a years teaching experience which in the early years of a career is vital. How would all the publicity around my case affect my future career, while in here I had no way of knowing and there was no point on dwelling on it now? I miss having all those young children around as they thank you so openly for helping them. That is something I miss a lot the reward of helping the younger generation who are so open about their feelings it's lovely to see all those smiling faces every day.
I have very little control over my life in here, everything is regulated, when I eat, what I eat, when I go to bed, how much of the limited freedoms I have is all controlled by others. My dignity has gone months ago and I have to face the daily humiliation of strip searches. At least those who are sentenced can see an end, I can't as I have no idea how long I will be incarcerated for siting here on remand awaiting a trial that seems further away as every day passes. As if all that is not enough humiliation when I have visitors my hands are cuffed and my ankles shackled just to rub it in and I have never been convicted of any crime. I then have to deal with the constant strip searches some I know are coming others are random. I have found a way of mentally dealing with them but it is always there humiliation every time I am searched a constant reminder I have no control over my life. At least I am lucky so far not to have experienced the horrors of the 'Hole' otherwise known as solitary which just drives you insane if you are in there for any length of time. Then there is the psycho cell where you are stripped naked and dumped in a padded cell if you admit to feeling mentally unwell so that you physically cannot harm yourself.
You have to be careful what you say as you don't really know who you are talking to yet it is good to talk to your fellow inmates as that way you hopefully understand where they are coming from and can build some sort of a relationship with them. There are some in here that have mental health problems often mixed with drugs and alcohol who are very difficult to communicate with. One thing that I might learn in here is dealing with difficult people that might help if I ever get back to teaching.
I haven't seen a blade of grass in over a hundred days, or a tree, a living flower, even a weed. I miss the sound of bird song in the mornings or proper sunlight. I haven't seen the sun since last September all that nature is alien to this place where I am now all I have around me is grey concrete and steel doors, barred up tiny windows. There is no wood to be seen in here the only natural material to be found in here is cotton in our clothes everything else is hard and unforgiving.
Our new cell mate started to move taking me away from my thoughts about jail. She looked to be nursing a hangover as she sat up.
"Where's the toilet?"
"Beside you."
She looked around and saw the toilet that she had slept beside.
"Is there a private one?"
"No if you need one that's it we are all locked in here together so you have no choice."
"Can you look away while I go?"
"We didn't see you turning away when we had to use it earlier and anyway its ladies only in here."
She then realised she had to take down her jump suit exposing the upper half of her body and she had not been given a bra.
"Is there any privacy round here?"
