March 2008: I looked around my surroundings and as shameful as it was became a little bit complacent. It didn't take me long to get into the swing of things, I had made some more friends and had my daily routine down. I already had my GED so I didn't have to attend any kind of educational classes but I wish that I had the intellectual stimulation in that place was non existent! I couldn't wait for the day they called our group to leave this recieving unit. "Sit your asses down and shut it up" was all I could hear Mrs. Franklin say when she entered the pod with the mail. I made my way to my bed hoping a praying for some kind of mail. I was really concerend because I hadn't heard anything from my grandmother and father in a few weeks and things like that always made me think the worst. My daddy was sick and I didn't know how I was gonna handle something happening to him why I was here, and my grandmother was my rock. Right, wrong or indifferent she always had my back and loved me inspite of all the madness.
I waited and waited and once I seen her leave without calling my name I cried inside and said a silent prayer that everything was ok.
The middle of March brought the day the correctional officer called our names to pack our things. I couldn't be more excited! I tried and tried to get in touch with my grandmother but because the last time I was in jail I ran the phone bill up calling collect and there was now a block on the phone. I understood, however frustrating it was.
"Where are we going?" I asked April, a two time vetern of the prison system.
She laughed and shook her head "Girl you know they try to be all secretive and shit, like they didn't tell us when they classified us".
That was true, they did recommend that I be sent to Central Virgina Correctional Unit #13 aka Pocahontas. So off there I went with Tia, Tihirah, Matessa, and Vanessa. Vanessa was my friend. She was an awesome person and through all the things we had been through when we were free and the things we were going through now, she stayed consistent.
They sent me and Vanessa to 'B' dorm and that made it seem a little less scary and everybody else went to 'D' dorm. I was glad me and Nessa were togather. She introduced me to some people she knew from her jail and traded a girl five stamps for two cigarettes. I was thankful for that roll up! It had been so long since I had smoked a cigarette I probably shouldn't have smoked that one at all.
The next morning I was sound asleep in my bed and woke up to Lt. Robinson aka Lt. Rob calling my last name to pack my stuff. I ran back to Nessa's bunk and woke her up to tell her what she told me.
"I don't know whats going on" I said to her scared to leave my best friend.
"I don't know either" she gave me a hug and helped me to pack my stuff.
They wound up moving me to D dorm and I had a new bunkmate who was in the hole for a 209 (an institutional charge for having sex with another inmate). When I got in the dorm the whole block was asleep that wasn't at work and school. The c.o. showed me to my bunk and I started to unpack my stuff and get settled in all over again. At least they didn't ship me all togather.
Once chow was done, six o'clock count was done, and mail call over I looked over at my 'neighbor' and couldn't help thinkin about what man in my life he looked like. It wasn't like she was a L.U.R.D. (lesbian until release date) she wore tons of makeup and had the darkest, thickest sideburns, beard and mustache I have ever seen. She thought she was the shit but in all actuality she won't shit. People would tell me what a bitch and how she was a snitch and I was like whatever. Nobody is gonna do shit to me for one and for two she won't have the oppurtunity to tell anything on me. She was a trouble maker who other than sleeping next to her I stayed the hell away from.
As the time kept moving I became more involoved in different activities. Just like every convict I became 'reformed' and found what's called jail house religon. I became active in the church choir and was in school five days a week. I worked at night time painting, waxing and buffing the floor. Really though I just wanted to work at night because I could take a shower in peace and it made my days not seem as long. Being in that place made my survival instincts become overactive with ways to keep my mind and spirit from erroding with depression and regret.
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