"Well," he said, and I glanced up at him, "you'll be going to school here,"
"What?" I said. School? With all the shit I had to deal with now, I didn't think school would be a part of it. I just didn't think they had school here, although I knew, I guess. I mean, Curly and Dal had told us there was school. I guess I forgot. I was thinking this was more like prison, and there ain't no school in prison.
"School. It's a state requirement that you continue to be enrolled in school,"
I sighed. Great. Now I'd feel stupid, struggling with all that reading and the stupid math.
"In fact," he was going on, and I kicked my feet against the floor, "we will administer to you the Slosson Oral Reading Test. This will assist us to place you in the right program,"
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. A test? A reading test? This was awful. This just kept getting worse and worse. Pony would do great. He was really smart. I knew he read books that they read in college. They'd think how did this smart kid get all caught up in all this shit? But with me, I'd flunk this test like I flunked every test, and it would just go with all their thoughts about it. They'd think, no wonder this kid is so violent. He can barely read, his parents beat him, all this stuff. Maybe they were right. What kind of future did I even have before I killed this soc? Not much of one.
"Now we are going to go over your rights, the rules of conduct, and your responsibilities while you're here,"
I licked my lips. I wanted to bite my nails but I didn't. I was tired. I was tired of answering questions and getting all this information. I wanted to go back home, smoke in the lot, play pinball, hang out with Dally. Anything. Anything but being here.
"You have the right to make two phone calls a week. You have the right to call your lawyer and to see your lawyer. Food, and the withholding of food will not be used as a punishment. Physical force and restraining will not be used as a punishment. Staff has the right to restrain you for your safety and the safety of others. Staff has the right to use the force necessary for your safety and the safety of others. This means basically that they can use the force necessary to break up fights or to stop you from hurting yourself or someone else,"
I was looking at the gray rug between my sneakers. I'd heard the horror stories of all of this, mostly from Curly, but Dal talked about it, too. They had told me about being tied to their bed for hours, not eating, not getting to talk to anyone. Maybe they were exaggerating, but I didn't think so. I knew I'd be at the mercy of the staff here. Authority. I didn't do that well with it, even though I ain't never really been in trouble before.
"You can have visitors, two at a time, once a week for half an hour. These visits have to be approved visitors, 21 years of age and older and they can not have been involved in your crime. These approved visitors must call for an appointment to visit,"
Visitors. 21 and older? That ruled out Dally, Two-bit, Steve, Darry, and Soda. They were all younger. And I didn't want my parents to visit. Not really. They wouldn't be all worried and concerned and trying to help me. They'd yell at me about all the trouble I was causing. So I guessed no visitors.
"Now we'll go over the rules of conduct. Once a day you will take a shower, and you are expected to maintain personal hygiene, your clothes need to be clean, shirt tucked in, hair neat, and we have a barber here," I could feel him looking at my hair. It was long and greasy, it was so long it curled behind my ears and fell across my forehead. It was cool, though. Our hair was cool. Mine was so black, jet black and all shiny with the grease. I knew what would happen. They'd wash the grease out and chop it off and I'd look like a pansy. I knew that would happen. Curly's hair was never very long since he was in and out of these places.
"You are expected to make your bed and keep your room neat and clean, this involves sweeping and vacuuming and dusting. You are expected to clean the shower area and the dining area. As far as food goes, there are three meals a day, two of which are hot meals. There is a snack at 8 P.M. As far as behavior goes, you are not allowed to damage any of the property on the premises or in your room, you are not allowed to damage the clothes you are given. You are not allowed to physically harm anyone else, resident or staff. This means no pinching, kicking, hitting, punching, hair pulling. Nothing like that. You are not allowed to swear. You are to be respectful to other residents and to staff. You are not to taunt, ridicule, name call, incite fights or riots, no gang activity is permitted. You can receive mail, but staff has the right to open and inspect all mail you receive. Weapons are not allowed to be sent to you. Money is not allowed to be sent to you. Gang paraphernalia is not allowed to be sent to you. Johnny, are you in a gang?"
I was surprised at hearing my name suddenly. All these rules and shit were making me tired and I was kind of drifting off. But my name snapped me back to this guy and what he was saying.
"A gang?" I said, thinking about Dally and the stuff he's done, thinking of how all of us would defend each other. It was a gang, I knew that. But I wasn't about to tell this guy that. He wouldn't get it. He wouldn't understand that my parents were alcoholics and so violent and fighting all the time and that I needed my friends to survive. I needed them. I didn't have anybody else.
"Uh, no,"
"No? Because the information we got was that you come from an area of Tulsa that is known for gang activity, and that some of your associates are kids who have extensive criminal records. So let me ask you again, are you in a gang?"
He knew. I looked down again and started biting my nails. Shit. This wouldn't look good, and he'd think me and Pony were gang members and crazy and violent. I guess it would seem that way, knifing a kid to death in cold blood like that. So there was no choice now. He thought it anyway.
"Yeah," I said in a whisper.
"Look at me," he said, his voice harder now. I looked up, my breathing getting faster and more shallow. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to leave so so bad.
"There will be no gang related actions here. That is absolute. We do not tolerate it. No violence. Do you hear me? There is a behavior point system we use here and you will lose everything, all privileges, all rights, you will be separated from the general population. Do you understand this?" He was glaring at me. I kept looking at him even though I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut. I thought he'd yell at me again if I didn't keep looking at him. I swallowed hard.
"Yeah,"
"Okay, then. We understand each other,"