the Principal just ain’t gonna fly around here, brother.”
I backed away from him, towards the double doors. “Nothing. I
got nothing going on.”
Kenny shook his head. “Not wise, Sam. Not after all the
trouble I went to so we could be friends.” He gestured for Bobby, the
cooler guard, and the big kid stepped forward.
James had always told me that being aware of my environment was key to
surviving Quarantine. Home court advantage works, Sam. If you’re
in his territory, he’s got you dead to rights. If you get stuck all you
can do is try to change your circumstances. So I turned on my heel
and ran, tripping over and stepping on the moaning carpet of teenage life that
covered the floor like dozens of old rugs. I burst through the double
doors and pushed off the opposite wall to keep running down the hall towards
the stairs. The first flight took me past the chain-locked entrance to
the gymnasium itself, but the third would put me back on the Dorm Hall.
Inches away from the bar-handle that would open my path to freedom, a
hand caught hold of my shirt and yanked me back. I fell on my attacker
and we both tumbled down the stairs, me landing heavily on the other boy, who I
guessed was Bobby. The breath had been knocked out of him, but he still
held tight to my shirt, so I wriggled out of it and shoved roughly through the
doors to salvation.
“On the floor!” A guard was in my face, the night watchman, MP5 in
hand. I dropped instantly, feeling oddly safe, even as the barrel came
closer. The guard looked down the stairs and seemed to find no sight of
my assailant. He turned back to me. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying to go back to sleep, sir,” I muttered against the linoleum.
The guard sighed, as if mentally calculating how much trouble I was
worth. Not much, it seemed, because he motioned me to my feet and sent me
on my way.
I hit my bunk and all the air whistled out of me. Still a little
buzzed, still terrified of what I had just escaped.
“Got a taste of the Blind Hall, huh?” Dave called sleepily. “How
was it?”
I looked down at him. “You ever been?”
He opened his eyes and returned my look. “Once was all I needed.”
I lay back on my mattress. “You and me both, man.”
Blind Hall was a symptom of a much more subtle Quarantine sickness.
Remembering the bodies on the floor, the leering way Kenny had boozed me up, I
recognized another of my mother’s lessons about history. Kenny was the
strongman. Conyers was the real power. The Hall was a lanced boil
Conyers allowed to ooze to lower the pressure threatening to explode at any
moment. I would never go back there, even if Kenny didn’t have it in for
me. It would be too much like submission to our dear and benevolent
principal, and in spite of my recent servitude to the man, I had found there
was a line I didn’t want to cross.
Gail did stay in my thoughts the rest of the night though, and I
wondered: with five years left to me alone in this hellhole, would I be able to
stay away?
Rumors pass by osmosis in
Quarantine. Secrets no one should know seep from the cracks in the walls,
drip out through the bullet holes.Over three hundred volatile souls huddled
together in a large concrete prison forms a rumor mill gestalt where everyone
knows everything about everyone.It was naive of me to think my meetings with
Conyers wouldn't be noticed. Along with rumors and social hierarchy,
Quarantine is built on routine. A change in one kid's routine won't slide
under the radar for very long.In the two weeks since I began my furtive jaunts
to the Principal's office I started getting more accusing stares stares and
glowering looks. Kenny fueling it, no doubt. Guys would lunge at me in the hall, trying
to get me to flinch .
I'd like to say I never jumped, but I did. In class wads of paper and
spitballs were thrown. Before long it was clear my social status had
I backed away from him, towards the double doors. “Nothing. I
got nothing going on.”
Kenny shook his head. “Not wise, Sam. Not after all the
trouble I went to so we could be friends.” He gestured for Bobby, the
cooler guard, and the big kid stepped forward.
James had always told me that being aware of my environment was key to
surviving Quarantine. Home court advantage works, Sam. If you’re
in his territory, he’s got you dead to rights. If you get stuck all you
can do is try to change your circumstances. So I turned on my heel
and ran, tripping over and stepping on the moaning carpet of teenage life that
covered the floor like dozens of old rugs. I burst through the double
doors and pushed off the opposite wall to keep running down the hall towards
the stairs. The first flight took me past the chain-locked entrance to
the gymnasium itself, but the third would put me back on the Dorm Hall.
Inches away from the bar-handle that would open my path to freedom, a
hand caught hold of my shirt and yanked me back. I fell on my attacker
and we both tumbled down the stairs, me landing heavily on the other boy, who I
guessed was Bobby. The breath had been knocked out of him, but he still
held tight to my shirt, so I wriggled out of it and shoved roughly through the
doors to salvation.
“On the floor!” A guard was in my face, the night watchman, MP5 in
hand. I dropped instantly, feeling oddly safe, even as the barrel came
closer. The guard looked down the stairs and seemed to find no sight of
my assailant. He turned back to me. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying to go back to sleep, sir,” I muttered against the linoleum.
The guard sighed, as if mentally calculating how much trouble I was
worth. Not much, it seemed, because he motioned me to my feet and sent me
on my way.
I hit my bunk and all the air whistled out of me. Still a little
buzzed, still terrified of what I had just escaped.
“Got a taste of the Blind Hall, huh?” Dave called sleepily. “How
was it?”
I looked down at him. “You ever been?”
He opened his eyes and returned my look. “Once was all I needed.”
I lay back on my mattress. “You and me both, man.”
Blind Hall was a symptom of a much more subtle Quarantine sickness.
Remembering the bodies on the floor, the leering way Kenny had boozed me up, I
recognized another of my mother’s lessons about history. Kenny was the
strongman. Conyers was the real power. The Hall was a lanced boil
Conyers allowed to ooze to lower the pressure threatening to explode at any
moment. I would never go back there, even if Kenny didn’t have it in for
me. It would be too much like submission to our dear and benevolent
principal, and in spite of my recent servitude to the man, I had found there
was a line I didn’t want to cross.
Gail did stay in my thoughts the rest of the night though, and I
wondered: with five years left to me alone in this hellhole, would I be able to
stay away?
Rumors pass by osmosis in
Quarantine. Secrets no one should know seep from the cracks in the walls,
drip out through the bullet holes.Over three hundred volatile souls huddled
together in a large concrete prison forms a rumor mill gestalt where everyone
knows everything about everyone.It was naive of me to think my meetings with
Conyers wouldn't be noticed. Along with rumors and social hierarchy,
Quarantine is built on routine. A change in one kid's routine won't slide
under the radar for very long.In the two weeks since I began my furtive jaunts
to the Principal's office I started getting more accusing stares stares and
glowering looks. Kenny fueling it, no doubt. Guys would lunge at me in the hall, trying
to get me to flinch .
I'd like to say I never jumped, but I did. In class wads of paper and
spitballs were thrown. Before long it was clear my social status had
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