Part2
Augustus: "They say everyone has some kind of skeleton in their closet; some kind of deep dark secret that would blow their world to shit if anyone ever found out. I say it's those kinds of secrets that shouldn't be held inside. The only way to make them less dangerous is to reveal them, to *purge* them, as soon as possible and make them not secrets anymore. Because keeping them bottled up in you, is as good a way to drive you crazy as anything else. Maybe it's the best way."
Hill and Manning entered the cafeteria with Hill leading the way. Todd's eyes strode restlessly over the scene. It was something he both was and wasn't used to. It's not like he'd never been in prison before, but that had been his old life. He'd been a different person then. But somehow, he managed to end up in the same place. He noticed that life was full of little ironies like that. It made you want to laugh out loud. Or cry. He didn't know which.
In line, Todd collected his food wordlessly and followed Hill to semi-full table. Hill parked his wheelchair at the head of it, while Todd parked himself in the seat next to him. He started in on his food, not in any particular hurry to dig into the unappetizing fare, but using it as an excuse to not have to speak first. Hill took the hint and started to introduce him around to his group.
"Tobias Beecher, Agamemnon Busmalis and Bob Rebadow, my podmate and new best friend, Todd Manning."
"Hi," Todd greeted gruffly, eyes still glued to his tray.
"Hi," Said Beecher, politely, "Um, so what did you do on the outside?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well, I was just curious, that's all."
Todd shrugged. "I owned a newspaper, called "The Sun". My pig of an old man left it to me, along with a hefty fortune. My ex-wife", he practically spat the word, "got hold of it when I was sent here. I wanted to give it to my kid. Maybe she'll honor that as my dying wish. I know I'm going to die here, no matter what Tea says. 350 years."
"You got 350 years?" Busmalis gasped.
"I've never heard of anything like that," Rebadow said. "That's incredible that you got that kind of sentence."
Todd smirked. "I guess I'm just special."
"Hey, you know, I have a daughter too." Beecher interjected, "How old is yours?"
"Six. Her name's Starr."
"Mine's five. Starr's a unique name. Very pretty though."
Todd's expression softened and he gave them a rather sorrowful grin. "Yeah, she's a really great kid. I miss her already."
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Beecher commiserated.
They chatted through the rest of their dinner, Todd learning a little bit more about the group for which he now belonged, and into which he had been instantly accepted. They liked him already, he could feel it, but he was sure it wouldn't last long. He had a knack for rubbing people the wrong way. *All part of my charm,* he thought wryly.
He finished his dinner long before the others, having gobbled it down in a few mouthfuls. Maybe he'd call Tea. He promised his wife he would talk to her as soon as he could. He got up to leave, saying his see-you-laters to his new friends, and left his empty tray sitting on the table.
"Hey Manning," Mineo called irritably out to him, "I don't know what your mommy taught you at home, but in OZ we take our trays back to the kitchen when we're done, got that?"
Todd turned back and picked up his tray. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." As he walked back to dispose of his tray, he thought of how appalled Tea was when she first discovered his lack of table manners. She even bought him a book on etiquette, which he'd honestly tried to read. But he was just too Todd for it to have any effect. He didn't tell her that his bad manners were a way of rebelling against the life his father had taught him to live. The life he rejected when his father had hurt him for the last time.
He dropped his tray off, not looking at any of the cafeteria workers, and felt a hand on his arm. He almost leaped right out of his skin. He whirled on the owner of the hand, a middle-aged, bald man of heavier build. "Hey, don't touch me, alright?"
"Jesus, you're jumpy aren't you?
Todd eyed the man, suspiciously. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"I'm Vern Schillinger. I saw you when you came in. I thought I might offer my hand in friendship." He moved closer to Todd, who instinctively backed up. "Hey, I don't want to hurt you or anything. I just thought we could use someone like you in our ranks. You look like good Aryan stock."
"Good Aryan stock?" Todd rolled his eyes dismissively and started to walk away. "Whatever."
"Hey," Schillinger grabbed his arm again, apparently not getting the hint the first time. Todd pulled away from him, violently.
"What the hell did I just tell you!" Todd snapped.
Schillinger could see the C.O.'s watching them, waiting to move in and escort them both to the hole if need be, with a couple of cracks to the head with their batons for good measure. He took a step backward, holding both hands up in supplication.
"You don't want to turn your back on me so soon, Manning. In OZ, you need all the friends you can get."
"I don't need anybody. I can take care of myself."
"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you get that pretty little ass of yours cornholed."
Todd flinched. "Nobody's going to do that to me, you got that? Now, leave me alone!" he said, his voice trembling slightly, and made a quick exit.
Shillinger stared after him. The look on the kid's face, he saw fear and that was good. But did he also see, deja vu, some kind of nostalgia? Yes, he thought he did, and that was better. He could use that, he *would* use that, to his advantage.
Hill, watching the scene, had noticed the look too, but he didn't know what to make of it. His new podmate, he was beginning to see, was mystery itself.
In their pod that night, Todd paced restlessly. Being caged, again, was both something he was familiar with, and something he could never get used to. Four hours since he'd arrived and he was already losing it. Talking to Tea on the telephone had made it a little better. He tried to hear her voice in his head and replayed the words of love that she said to him over and over. It gave him comfort. It was hard being away from her, but at least he knew that she still loved him and was fighting hard to get his conviction overturned. Being married to a lawyer, the lawyer who defended him, definitely had its perks.
He closed his eyes and pictured her lovely face, her cinnamon-colored hair so much like his own, her warm smile. He pictured her beautiful body, supple skin over a tight, athletic figure. How he wanted her. Just to be able to touch her for a second would be heaven. He found that he was becoming very turned on just thinking about her.
His podmate called to him, pulling him out of his reverie. "You okay, Manning?"
Todd stared at him blankly for a second, before his eyes filled with life. A sensual smirk played over his lips. He waltzed slowly over to Augustus and bent down in front of him. He placed a strong hand on the man's neck and started to massage it. Augustus was too surprised to protest.
"Si. I am fine. Just, how you say, gathering the wool."*
Hill gaped at him. What the fuck, he thought, since when did he get an Italian accent? "Oh," he said, letting out a laugh. "I get it. You're just messing with me right? Just a joke. Ha ha ha! Funny."
The man before him shook his head, still smiling roguishly, "Is no joke," He cupped a hand under Hill's chin, lifting it up gently, "You have the most beautiful eyes, Augustus." It came out sounding like Ow-goost-us.
"Uh, thanks man," he replied cautiously, noting that things were starting to take a decidedly weird turn.
"You know, we' are a-going to be spending the lots of time together. Here. We should get to know each other.better."
Hill blinked. Did his podmate mean what he thought he meant? "Hey man, I don't do that. I'm straight, remember? Besides, I'm married. So are you."
"Si. I know this, but my wife, she's-a no here. No is yours."
"I know but."
"My beautiful Tea, I miss here. But man, he has the needs." He leaned closer to the other man who looked petrified.
"Todd."
"No! I am Rod."
"What?"
"My name is Rod. Todd no is the lover that I am. I am a good lover, Augustus. Do I even say, excellent." He leaned toward him, clearly intending to put a passionate kiss on the man's mouth, which was hanging open in shock." Augustus backpedaled into his bunk so hard he almost tipped himself over.
"Hey man, don't!" he cried, "I told you, I don't swing that way. I'm strictly ladies only."
"Rod" sighed. "Si. Is too bad. You are missing a lot."
Augustus just shook his head, his confusion turning to anger. "Well, I'm telling you one thing. If you ever do that to me again, I am going to throw you out of this pod bodily. My legs may not work, but my arms are still pretty strong."
His podmate paused for a moment before he spoke.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, don't do that again, do you hear me, Manning?"
"Don't do *what* again?" Todd asked, looking genuinely confused. "What the hell did I do now?"
"What do you mean what did you do? You know."
Todd put a hand to his temple, trying to rub the beginnings of a headache away. "No. I don't. Why don't you tell me?"
"You.you hit on me!"
"What?!"
"Yeah. You tried to kiss me, for god's sake!"
Todd just stared at him incredulously. "I don't know what you're on, Hill, but you better lay off of it. It's doing something to your brain." He started to get undressed for bed.
"Are you trying to say I imagined it?"
"You must have. I have a beautiful wife on the outside, and I would never, *ever*, cheat on her. And especially not with another guy! He shuddered at the thought.
"What kind of shit are you trying to pull, Manning? You know what you did, and I'm just asking you not to do it again."
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about okay? And I'm really tired, so let's just drop it."
Hill just gaped at him. He knew his mouth was still hanging open, but he couldn't seem to summon up the will to close it. Some freaky shit was going on, and he'd be damned if he could figure out what it was. He gave up and started to pull himself into bed. *First Beecher and now him,* he thought, *Why do I always get stuck with the crazies?*
Augustus: "They say everyone has some kind of skeleton in their closet; some kind of deep dark secret that would blow their world to shit if anyone ever found out. I say it's those kinds of secrets that shouldn't be held inside. The only way to make them less dangerous is to reveal them, to *purge* them, as soon as possible and make them not secrets anymore. Because keeping them bottled up in you, is as good a way to drive you crazy as anything else. Maybe it's the best way."
Hill and Manning entered the cafeteria with Hill leading the way. Todd's eyes strode restlessly over the scene. It was something he both was and wasn't used to. It's not like he'd never been in prison before, but that had been his old life. He'd been a different person then. But somehow, he managed to end up in the same place. He noticed that life was full of little ironies like that. It made you want to laugh out loud. Or cry. He didn't know which.
In line, Todd collected his food wordlessly and followed Hill to semi-full table. Hill parked his wheelchair at the head of it, while Todd parked himself in the seat next to him. He started in on his food, not in any particular hurry to dig into the unappetizing fare, but using it as an excuse to not have to speak first. Hill took the hint and started to introduce him around to his group.
"Tobias Beecher, Agamemnon Busmalis and Bob Rebadow, my podmate and new best friend, Todd Manning."
"Hi," Todd greeted gruffly, eyes still glued to his tray.
"Hi," Said Beecher, politely, "Um, so what did you do on the outside?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well, I was just curious, that's all."
Todd shrugged. "I owned a newspaper, called "The Sun". My pig of an old man left it to me, along with a hefty fortune. My ex-wife", he practically spat the word, "got hold of it when I was sent here. I wanted to give it to my kid. Maybe she'll honor that as my dying wish. I know I'm going to die here, no matter what Tea says. 350 years."
"You got 350 years?" Busmalis gasped.
"I've never heard of anything like that," Rebadow said. "That's incredible that you got that kind of sentence."
Todd smirked. "I guess I'm just special."
"Hey, you know, I have a daughter too." Beecher interjected, "How old is yours?"
"Six. Her name's Starr."
"Mine's five. Starr's a unique name. Very pretty though."
Todd's expression softened and he gave them a rather sorrowful grin. "Yeah, she's a really great kid. I miss her already."
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Beecher commiserated.
They chatted through the rest of their dinner, Todd learning a little bit more about the group for which he now belonged, and into which he had been instantly accepted. They liked him already, he could feel it, but he was sure it wouldn't last long. He had a knack for rubbing people the wrong way. *All part of my charm,* he thought wryly.
He finished his dinner long before the others, having gobbled it down in a few mouthfuls. Maybe he'd call Tea. He promised his wife he would talk to her as soon as he could. He got up to leave, saying his see-you-laters to his new friends, and left his empty tray sitting on the table.
"Hey Manning," Mineo called irritably out to him, "I don't know what your mommy taught you at home, but in OZ we take our trays back to the kitchen when we're done, got that?"
Todd turned back and picked up his tray. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." As he walked back to dispose of his tray, he thought of how appalled Tea was when she first discovered his lack of table manners. She even bought him a book on etiquette, which he'd honestly tried to read. But he was just too Todd for it to have any effect. He didn't tell her that his bad manners were a way of rebelling against the life his father had taught him to live. The life he rejected when his father had hurt him for the last time.
He dropped his tray off, not looking at any of the cafeteria workers, and felt a hand on his arm. He almost leaped right out of his skin. He whirled on the owner of the hand, a middle-aged, bald man of heavier build. "Hey, don't touch me, alright?"
"Jesus, you're jumpy aren't you?
Todd eyed the man, suspiciously. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"I'm Vern Schillinger. I saw you when you came in. I thought I might offer my hand in friendship." He moved closer to Todd, who instinctively backed up. "Hey, I don't want to hurt you or anything. I just thought we could use someone like you in our ranks. You look like good Aryan stock."
"Good Aryan stock?" Todd rolled his eyes dismissively and started to walk away. "Whatever."
"Hey," Schillinger grabbed his arm again, apparently not getting the hint the first time. Todd pulled away from him, violently.
"What the hell did I just tell you!" Todd snapped.
Schillinger could see the C.O.'s watching them, waiting to move in and escort them both to the hole if need be, with a couple of cracks to the head with their batons for good measure. He took a step backward, holding both hands up in supplication.
"You don't want to turn your back on me so soon, Manning. In OZ, you need all the friends you can get."
"I don't need anybody. I can take care of myself."
"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you get that pretty little ass of yours cornholed."
Todd flinched. "Nobody's going to do that to me, you got that? Now, leave me alone!" he said, his voice trembling slightly, and made a quick exit.
Shillinger stared after him. The look on the kid's face, he saw fear and that was good. But did he also see, deja vu, some kind of nostalgia? Yes, he thought he did, and that was better. He could use that, he *would* use that, to his advantage.
Hill, watching the scene, had noticed the look too, but he didn't know what to make of it. His new podmate, he was beginning to see, was mystery itself.
In their pod that night, Todd paced restlessly. Being caged, again, was both something he was familiar with, and something he could never get used to. Four hours since he'd arrived and he was already losing it. Talking to Tea on the telephone had made it a little better. He tried to hear her voice in his head and replayed the words of love that she said to him over and over. It gave him comfort. It was hard being away from her, but at least he knew that she still loved him and was fighting hard to get his conviction overturned. Being married to a lawyer, the lawyer who defended him, definitely had its perks.
He closed his eyes and pictured her lovely face, her cinnamon-colored hair so much like his own, her warm smile. He pictured her beautiful body, supple skin over a tight, athletic figure. How he wanted her. Just to be able to touch her for a second would be heaven. He found that he was becoming very turned on just thinking about her.
His podmate called to him, pulling him out of his reverie. "You okay, Manning?"
Todd stared at him blankly for a second, before his eyes filled with life. A sensual smirk played over his lips. He waltzed slowly over to Augustus and bent down in front of him. He placed a strong hand on the man's neck and started to massage it. Augustus was too surprised to protest.
"Si. I am fine. Just, how you say, gathering the wool."*
Hill gaped at him. What the fuck, he thought, since when did he get an Italian accent? "Oh," he said, letting out a laugh. "I get it. You're just messing with me right? Just a joke. Ha ha ha! Funny."
The man before him shook his head, still smiling roguishly, "Is no joke," He cupped a hand under Hill's chin, lifting it up gently, "You have the most beautiful eyes, Augustus." It came out sounding like Ow-goost-us.
"Uh, thanks man," he replied cautiously, noting that things were starting to take a decidedly weird turn.
"You know, we' are a-going to be spending the lots of time together. Here. We should get to know each other.better."
Hill blinked. Did his podmate mean what he thought he meant? "Hey man, I don't do that. I'm straight, remember? Besides, I'm married. So are you."
"Si. I know this, but my wife, she's-a no here. No is yours."
"I know but."
"My beautiful Tea, I miss here. But man, he has the needs." He leaned closer to the other man who looked petrified.
"Todd."
"No! I am Rod."
"What?"
"My name is Rod. Todd no is the lover that I am. I am a good lover, Augustus. Do I even say, excellent." He leaned toward him, clearly intending to put a passionate kiss on the man's mouth, which was hanging open in shock." Augustus backpedaled into his bunk so hard he almost tipped himself over.
"Hey man, don't!" he cried, "I told you, I don't swing that way. I'm strictly ladies only."
"Rod" sighed. "Si. Is too bad. You are missing a lot."
Augustus just shook his head, his confusion turning to anger. "Well, I'm telling you one thing. If you ever do that to me again, I am going to throw you out of this pod bodily. My legs may not work, but my arms are still pretty strong."
His podmate paused for a moment before he spoke.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, don't do that again, do you hear me, Manning?"
"Don't do *what* again?" Todd asked, looking genuinely confused. "What the hell did I do now?"
"What do you mean what did you do? You know."
Todd put a hand to his temple, trying to rub the beginnings of a headache away. "No. I don't. Why don't you tell me?"
"You.you hit on me!"
"What?!"
"Yeah. You tried to kiss me, for god's sake!"
Todd just stared at him incredulously. "I don't know what you're on, Hill, but you better lay off of it. It's doing something to your brain." He started to get undressed for bed.
"Are you trying to say I imagined it?"
"You must have. I have a beautiful wife on the outside, and I would never, *ever*, cheat on her. And especially not with another guy! He shuddered at the thought.
"What kind of shit are you trying to pull, Manning? You know what you did, and I'm just asking you not to do it again."
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about okay? And I'm really tired, so let's just drop it."
Hill just gaped at him. He knew his mouth was still hanging open, but he couldn't seem to summon up the will to close it. Some freaky shit was going on, and he'd be damned if he could figure out what it was. He gave up and started to pull himself into bed. *First Beecher and now him,* he thought, *Why do I always get stuck with the crazies?*