To be honest, this was the first time Luke had worn a uniform in all his life. Yeah... indeed, Luke dreams of becoming a flight attendant in the future. According to him, people who wear their uniforms are fashionable and cool. So, Luke wants to wear the uniform, at least once.
Luke's dream has come true. However, Luke doesn't like it. This is because the uniform that Luke is wearing is orange with a top and bottom suit, like pajamas. Yep, that's right. Prison uniform. Called a prisoner because Luke is still in the investigation stage.
But… Oh, my goodness. Luke should have prayed to God in more detail at that time. Luke wanted a stewardess uniform, not a prison uniform like that. But, well, just enjoy it. After all, this uniform is quite cold. Not too bad.
But, what is rather bad is the standard of eating. Luke doesn't believe this. It's called nutrileaf, uh… no. Nutrisari? I don't think so. Or nutraloaf, well, this seems to be the right one. So it is food made from leftover foods such as rice, bread, side dishes and vegetables. All the ingredients are then mixed together to look like trash. Makes him want to vomit.
Even though it looks bad, but the food doesn't appear every day. Sometimes, too, dry bread or dry wet bread or… dry bread. OK, that's a bad joke. Just forget it.
So after that interrogation session, they made Luke have to wait even longer for no reason. Then, they gave him the uniform he had to wear, told him to pose against a background of height marking lines, and brought a personal data board. Predictably, Luke was secured in custody.
That's what they told Ulfa; 'Managed'.
Luke didn't know what he was being guarded against. Oh, maybe from Mrs. Bowleans who like to come suddenly and always throw tantrums? It could be. At least positive thinking at a time like this is a must.
Talking about Mrs. Bowleans, Luke only met him again on the second day Luke was incarcerated here. He was sudden, as usual, and they sat facing each other by the safety glass. His face was still as angry as the last time Luke had seen him at home that morning. His lips were still trembling every time he spoke.
"It's very delicious, isn't it," he said, "You can still live even in prison, while my son he must live in torment forever. Don't you have anything to say my pepper, dammit?"
In fact, he had mixed feelings at the time. Luke was angry with himself, annoyed with Adam Bowleans, but felt guilty for Mrs. Bowles. His gaze really showed the inner pain that he felt. Maybe it was because she was a mother that Luke really understood why she was angry. Yeah, though still for Luke Mrs. Bowleans are annoying women.
So there was nothing Luke could say other than, "From the bottom of my heart I'm sorry, Mrs. Bowleans. I—"
"Foul," he said in a whisper. "You're going to rot in jail, kid. Even if you say you want to take Adam's place, you won't be able to. You won't be able to. I don't know how you were raised, but I raised my children with all the love I have and that's what makes they became good children. Unlike you. I heard that even your father ran away after killing your mother, right? Indeed, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. This is what a child who isn't raised well by his parents looks like. Ah, I misspoke. I mean , do you have parents, son? You just—"
Luke , who had been trying to be patient and understand what Mrs. Bowleans, can't hold it anymore. Luke punched the mirror, stopping his sentence and Luke pressed his face against the glass. You can see how surprised and horrified Mrs. looked. Bowles. He also backed up a few inches.
"Heh, listen carefully, you old curmudgeon. I'm glad because your kids are so much like you. I mean, totally alike even down to the bitch."
"Hey, what are you doing?!" shouted a guard. Because of Luke 's impact on the glass earlier, the guard immediately approached and tried to keep Luke away from the glass.
"This kid is crazy! Really crazy!" Mrs. Bowleans exclaimed, pointing at Luke .
"You and your kids are crazy, Ma'am! "
Ah, finally Luke was scolded by the warden and returned to the holding cell. It's a cube room with four teenage girls, including Luke. Then like Luke said before, life here isn't so bad. A cellmate who, although annoying at times, doesn't bother much. Unlike in the movies Luke had seen where the new prisoner would usually be bullied by the old prisoner in inhumane ways, but here it wasn't nearly so.
For example, the first time Luke was forced inside, a female warden who accompanied him pushed Luke's back as soon as the bars opened, causing Luke to fall to the floor of the detention cell.
"All right, all of you," said the warden, very curt.
" Well, thank you, Ladyy ! Luke exclaimed sarcastically.
Luke was rubbing his slightly scratched knee when he heard a voice from one of the occupants of the cell speaking.
"Shut up. I was trying to sleep."
Quickly, Luke turned and found three boys. Two of them are playing tic tac toe using rocks and chalk lines on the floor, while one sleeps on a bed. But don't imagine that it's a mattress that is used by free people to sleep. But only a thin feather bed that is placed haphazardly on the floor. Although it looks more like a dull carpet than a mattress, though.
Well, it's the guy who spoke that is currently lying on the bed with one arm across his head. You could see his irritated face and wrinkled forehead before turning his head. Meanwhile, another boy who was playing tic tac toe , nodded at Luke .
"Don't worry about him. All it does is poop and eat like a guinea pig.”
“You shut your mouth too, Fish.”
The boy who was called Fish raised his middle finger at the sleeping boy and nothing happened like an argument or an argument. So, Luke sat in a corner close to the bars. Didn't intend to get along with any of them. After all, they also don't seem to care too much about Luke's arrival as a new occupant in the cell.
they did sleep and stay in the same room for twenty-two hours per day, but hardly any meaningful conversation occurred. But from what little Luke knew, the names of the three of them were Fish, Nad, and the Bronx. Occasionally, Fish and the Bronx would fight and slap each other over the slightest issue, to the extent that the warden had to come to their cell and beat the bars to get them to stop. Luke, though, doesn't care. More precisely, Luke didn't want to get too involved. Nad also applies the same. He just kept quiet, not even looking at each time Fish and the Bronx fought. Because, after all, separating them also seems like a pointless thing, because if they fight at three o'clock then it is certain that by five o'clock the two of them will get along again as if nothing had happened.
A little clarification, the reason Luke doesn't want to separate Fish and the Bronx every time they fight is because he reflects on what happened before. On what got him to be where he is now. Well, Luke doesn't regret defending Rei at all. Even though it's strange—that's what Amy said—but for Luke, Rei is worth defending. Quick to help. He's a victim.
So here's another matter. They are probably almost the same age as Luke . But Luke didn't know what brought Fish, the Bronx and Nad into being here. Don't know what the matter is. It could be that one of them is a child who has killed his parents like the news that appeared at the beginning of the year, or the perpetrator who kidnapped a street dog, tortured him and then recorded the scene on a video website, or maybe a teenager who was caught planning a mass shooting at a high school in three months ago. Everything is possible. So, Luke tried to be vigilant by not trying to get into their sphere. Living alone is better this way. Safer.
But that afternoon was different. Luke never thought that the tight-lipped Nad would talk to Luke when they were ordered to clean the toilet which was super noisy. The reason is, there is no wind and no storm, Nad said this;
“I was accused of stabbing my aunt's child. If you?"
Luke, who was scrubbing the floor, immediately frowned. Convinced himself that it was Nad who had spoken and not the ghost of the bathroom. So, the only response is, " Huh ?"
***