Chapter 21 Solitary

“Well, Mr. Jenkins, you’ve done it now,” said Mr. Abbot. He put Ryan in a small beige cell. “You’ll be here briefly, then it’s adult prison for you, mister. You’ll be there till kingdom come. Lucky I arrived, or I’d have missed the pleasure of seeing you where you belong.”

He slammed the clear-plastic door shut, leaving Ryan standing next to a cot and a toilet with no lid. Ryan’s legs gave way, and he sat on the edge of the cot. He put his head in his hands and stared at the cell floor.

He heard Dan and two guards enter the solitary unit.

“I’ll get you for this, you bastard,” Dan yelled, as he passed Ryan’s cell.

“Shut up, Mr. Main,” said one of the guards as they put him in the cell two down from Ryan’s. But Dan wouldn’t shut up. He continued to scream, yell, and bang on the walls of the small cell.

“I’m an idiot,” muttered Ryan. “All I had to do was sit there and do nothing, and I ruined it.” But somewhere deep inside, he knew he couldn’t have just watched.

Now I’ll never get out of this place, Ryan thought. The plans, school, a job, a place of my own. Who was I kidding? Just a lot of disappointment. Nothing ever turns out right. It’s over.

It was the worst twenty-four hours of his life. Ryan’s mind spun in black circles, everything swirling downward into a bottomless pit. Life didn’t seem worth it. He tried to think of Pete and the road trip, but that made it worse. There was no way out, no hope, just darkness in an endless night.

In the morning, Mr. Abbot came for Ryan. His eye was twitching. “The warden wants to see you,” he said, unlocking the door.

Ryan sat up. His feet hit the ground beside his cot, and he shoved them into his shoes. His whole body ached. He stunk of sweat. He stepped out of the small room. Escorted by Mr. Abbot, Ryan walked to the warden’s office.

As he entered the office, Ryan was surprised to see Mr. Chen. The guard’s nose was bandaged, and his eyes looked like a raccoon’s.

The warden, a short man, sat behind an oversized desk. He asked Ryan to sit down. “Mr. Chen saw me early this morning,” the warden said. “He went to the hospital after yesterday’s incident, and I was off sick. Neither of us knew you were in solitary. If I had known, it wouldn’t have happened. You stopped Mr. Chen from getting hurt further and allowed him to call for back up.”

Ryan was surprised by what he was hearing. His mouth couldn’t move, so he nodded.

“You’ll be moving to another pod,” said the warden.

“Thank you, sir.”

Ryan stood up and left with Mr. Chen. As they walked down the hall, Mr. Chen stopped. “I’d like to thank you, Ryan,” he said. “If there is anything I can do when you get out — an ear to listen, or whatever — please let me know.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you okay, Ryan?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ryan suddenly realized that he believed it.

When they arrived at the new pod, Nathan and Connor had already moved in. Ryan joined them for a breakfast of pancakes and bacon.

“Good to see you guys,” Ryan said. “How did you get here?”

“Mr. Abbot wanted to know what went on,” explained Connor. “We told him. Then he moved us.” Connor smiled. “Thanks for helping me stand up to Dan.”

“That goes double for me,” said Nathan.

Ryan smiled. “Man, this food tastes good,” he said.

“Yeah,” said Connor. “Best meal I’ve tasted in a long time.”

Nathan nodded and smiled. It was the first time Ryan had seen Nathan smile.

Ryan thought about how scared he had been in solitary. He wondered how he would have felt if he hadn’t helped Nathan, Connor, and Mr. Chen. The word, “lousy” popped into his mind.

With Dan out of his life, Ryan figured there would be peace in the pod. It would not be long until Christmas. And on New Year’s Day he’d be out.

***

Ryan studied and wrote his final math exam. While waiting for the results, he worked with Connor and saw Raj.

Raj helped Ryan with his job searches, discussed life skills, and advised him on how to find a place to stay. Ryan had applied for housing through social services and had an interview with the youth housing society, but he hadn’t heard back from either.

As he entered the classroom on December 11, Ms. Standish smiled at him and said, “Mr. Jenkins, please come to the front of the room.”

Ryan walked forward and stood beside the teacher.

“I am very pleased, Mr. Jenkins, to announce that you have graduated.” She handed Ryan a rolled-up certificate with a ribbon around it. Everyone clapped. “This is a well-earned graduation. Something you can be very proud about.”

Ms. Standish shook his hand and turned to the rest of the students. “I believe every one of you can earn this certificate. You can do it. I know you can, and Mr. Jenkins is proof of that.” Ms. Standish smiled at Ryan. “Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

A huge smile crossed Ryan’s face. He threw the certificate up in the air and yelled, “Finally, Yahoo!”

The students laughed and hooted.

Ryan was still smiling when he went to bed that night. He didn’t care that there was no grad dance, hugs, or photographs. It didn’t matter. He was congratulating himself.

The next morning, Ryan sat with Connor and Nathan as they ate their cereal. He still felt pumped. It was such a high. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this good.