Care to tell me why you were
screaming in your cell
the other day, Amal?
Cheryl-Ann Buford asks
Being in her office
is like going to see the
principal, the guidance counselor
the social worker, the teacher
all at once
Keep thinking this is a game
and you’ll be doubling your
sentence
Before you know it, you’ll
spend half your
life in the system
I know your type, Amal
You think the world owes you
something
You think you’re innocent
and you don’t deserve to be
here
But guess what?
You’re here now
and you’re not going
anywhere
anytime soon, so do what
you need to do—
She says those last words
like she’s my mother
She’s notShe’s not
I let her hear the sound of her own
voice echo for a second before I ask
What happened to Kadon?
Worry about yourself
she says
as she types on her
keyboard
and fills out another form
like it’s her actual job—
writing report cards for us
Who brought that man here—
Dr. Bennu?
I ask
He made us write our mistakes down
and then we had to read
somebody else’s mistake
That meant something, right?
We were doing something
that made us think differently—
at least I know I did
But you’re over here
being the judge and jury
when that’s not even your job—
Excuse me?
Who do you think you’re
talking to?
What are you gonna tell
Kadon’s mother and father
about what happened to him?
She folds her hands across
her desk and leans in
But before she can say anything
I get up to leave