skin-tight underwear. With his welding equipment
strapped to his back. He is top heavy and must lie on his front. Go see for
yourself.’ The two officers left.
‘So, is the prisoner pleased to see me? Probably the
prisoner is very pleased. Almost as pleased as when those two officers came in
here, who knows when, and released without my consent the prisoner from
its floor bindings and gave it this tight outfit to wear, and those slippers to
go with it, which look very much like the administrator’s from the Color Coding
Office. I mean, the soon-to-be-renamed Office of Color Coding. For
interfering with the prisoner I will recommend to Officer JJ Jeffrey that the
officers lose half a promotion. Which is the same as recommending half a
demotion. It simply depends which way you look at it and what kind of person
you are. I am a very confident person these days and my optimism means I talk
in terms of promotion. The prisoner will take off its outfit!’
So this was it then, it was back. The application of
the System. To be inflicted again on Delilah, and again by this person whom she
most detested: Gentle. If she felt like she’d experienced a mildly comic
interlude, which wasn’t quite what she felt, then she thought now, knew, that
it was over, now that she’d gone back from plumber to prisoner. Now that she
was once more at this fundamentally unconfident officer’s mercy, despite what
he might believe his own confidence levels to be.
‘It is all very well that the prisoner go round in
clean clothes, while the rest of us must suffer along in filthy garments we
cannot wash!’ As Gentle spoke he again went fervently at his fur thighs with
the brush, the label of which had frayed since Delilah had last seen it, due to
much use, and gave the impression of great age, and in addition to saying Happy
Birthday, my dearest Gentle was signed, Delilah now saw, Your young
admirer . ‘There is only so much one can do with a brush,’ the officer
complained. ‘Look, for instance, at the state of my hat.’ He removed his yellow
synthetic fur hat, thrust it at Delilah and ran a hand through his hair –
which no longer was cut square on top. But nor was Delilah’s – as Gentle
now noticed, to his fury: ‘The prisoner! The prisoner! The prisoner has done it
again. Once more the prisoner mocks me with its matching hairstyle. This is bad
news for the prisoner. I heard from my friend the administrator who works in
the Office of Color Coding, which is why I recognised, but misidentified, the
prisoner’s slippers as his, about a fantastic new hairstyle he had come across.
He was too busy – I should say, too excited – to finish the
conversation, because he had just discovered yet another new hue of lilac,
leaving only one to go. He is a fastidious worker and dedicated to lilac. It
means everything to him, his job, and lilac. So I got onto the man at the boot
and hat shop who wanted us to knock heads together, though we had not yet got
round to doing so, in fact he had forgotten my name, calling me Mr Molly, and I
described this new hairstyle and asked if it would help my upcoming modelling
career. You know what he said? “It couldn’t hurt it, Mr Molly.” So I went for a
trim. Only to discover … only to discover that the prisoner once again
mocks me with its hairstyle. The prisoner remembers what happened last time? Perhaps
the prisoner has forgotten. Maybe to help it remember, the prisoner would like
to jump in front of the plumber and be showered first. Or maybe, now that the
prisoner knows what it has to look forward to, the prisoner will relish the
wait. Shower Unit 101: you’re next on the list.’ Gentle did the hand rub, the
clap, and stamped on a slipper, and looked for the fork to twist, and finding
it gone twisted Delilah’s finger instead, spiralling pain up her arm. Still
angry, he stamped on the warden’s eye, which though slightly squashed by
Delilah earlier had since popped back to shape and had been
strapped to his back. He is top heavy and must lie on his front. Go see for
yourself.’ The two officers left.
‘So, is the prisoner pleased to see me? Probably the
prisoner is very pleased. Almost as pleased as when those two officers came in
here, who knows when, and released without my consent the prisoner from
its floor bindings and gave it this tight outfit to wear, and those slippers to
go with it, which look very much like the administrator’s from the Color Coding
Office. I mean, the soon-to-be-renamed Office of Color Coding. For
interfering with the prisoner I will recommend to Officer JJ Jeffrey that the
officers lose half a promotion. Which is the same as recommending half a
demotion. It simply depends which way you look at it and what kind of person
you are. I am a very confident person these days and my optimism means I talk
in terms of promotion. The prisoner will take off its outfit!’
So this was it then, it was back. The application of
the System. To be inflicted again on Delilah, and again by this person whom she
most detested: Gentle. If she felt like she’d experienced a mildly comic
interlude, which wasn’t quite what she felt, then she thought now, knew, that
it was over, now that she’d gone back from plumber to prisoner. Now that she
was once more at this fundamentally unconfident officer’s mercy, despite what
he might believe his own confidence levels to be.
‘It is all very well that the prisoner go round in
clean clothes, while the rest of us must suffer along in filthy garments we
cannot wash!’ As Gentle spoke he again went fervently at his fur thighs with
the brush, the label of which had frayed since Delilah had last seen it, due to
much use, and gave the impression of great age, and in addition to saying Happy
Birthday, my dearest Gentle was signed, Delilah now saw, Your young
admirer . ‘There is only so much one can do with a brush,’ the officer
complained. ‘Look, for instance, at the state of my hat.’ He removed his yellow
synthetic fur hat, thrust it at Delilah and ran a hand through his hair –
which no longer was cut square on top. But nor was Delilah’s – as Gentle
now noticed, to his fury: ‘The prisoner! The prisoner! The prisoner has done it
again. Once more the prisoner mocks me with its matching hairstyle. This is bad
news for the prisoner. I heard from my friend the administrator who works in
the Office of Color Coding, which is why I recognised, but misidentified, the
prisoner’s slippers as his, about a fantastic new hairstyle he had come across.
He was too busy – I should say, too excited – to finish the
conversation, because he had just discovered yet another new hue of lilac,
leaving only one to go. He is a fastidious worker and dedicated to lilac. It
means everything to him, his job, and lilac. So I got onto the man at the boot
and hat shop who wanted us to knock heads together, though we had not yet got
round to doing so, in fact he had forgotten my name, calling me Mr Molly, and I
described this new hairstyle and asked if it would help my upcoming modelling
career. You know what he said? “It couldn’t hurt it, Mr Molly.” So I went for a
trim. Only to discover … only to discover that the prisoner once again
mocks me with its hairstyle. The prisoner remembers what happened last time? Perhaps
the prisoner has forgotten. Maybe to help it remember, the prisoner would like
to jump in front of the plumber and be showered first. Or maybe, now that the
prisoner knows what it has to look forward to, the prisoner will relish the
wait. Shower Unit 101: you’re next on the list.’ Gentle did the hand rub, the
clap, and stamped on a slipper, and looked for the fork to twist, and finding
it gone twisted Delilah’s finger instead, spiralling pain up her arm. Still
angry, he stamped on the warden’s eye, which though slightly squashed by
Delilah earlier had since popped back to shape and had been
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