"This is mia, she just completed her training. " supervisor Lori said. "Hello, I am Katie. You will be training with me!" She said. "I will let you two get started. " Lori said. Mia thanked Lori. Let's disperse.
"Nervous?" Kassie asked. "A little," she said. "I was nervous when I started. You will be fine." Kassie said.
They went to a cell. There was abby. She wore a pink scrub and was barefoot. She was in bed." you ok ab?"Kassie asked. "I am not feeling well mam," she said.
"Are you able to stand up?" Kassie asked, "yes mam!" She said. She got up. She was handcuffed through the food slot. She went to the wall and stood at attention. The technician opened the door. "You may lay down!" Kassie said. She lay down. She checked her stomach.
Kassie decided to make a call to the infirmary. Several orders picked her up and took her to the infirmary. The doctor checked her out. It turns out that she had an atomic virus. She was treated with antibiotics and returned to her cell.
"Abby seems sweet. What is she in for?" Mia asked. "Fraud. She fell on hard times and wrote bad checks. She has been a mode prisoner. My feeling is if you tweet me with respect I do the same. " Kassie said.
"Good morning. I just got my report card. I am maintaining my g.p.a" Janey said. "That's great I knew you would. Janey is taking classes through a college that partners with us. Janey is studying psychology. She was here for drug-related offenses. She went through the drug treatment program. You would not recognize her when you see her intake pic. " Kassie said.
"I wish that they would burn that pic," Janey said. "I understand. I hate my official roster pic. " Kass said. "Hi, I am officer mia." She said. "She is replacing Evie. " Kasie said. Evie went on maternity leave.
"Ellie the new ninjas in the space book is here. I made sure Sarah reserved it for you." Kasie said. They came to a 40-year woman. "I talked to my daughter last night. I am going to be a grandma," she said. "I a. So excited for you. " kassie said.."i am too. Annie has a great head on her shoulder. She is going to be a great mom. "Sarah said.
They went to another cell. " look who.is back?" Kassie asked."i learned my lesson." she said. "She failed room to check and she got a little passionate with officer Erica," Kassie said.
"It was all a misunderstanding!" Tiffany said. "You made a disparaging comment about her mom. " Cassie said. "Is she going to be a problem inmate?" Mia asked. "Me no!" She said.

"That one, Shayla, she's is a biter. we never go on to her cell without backup. She kicks too. " kassie said. "I will watch out for her," Mid said. "Good idea. " kas said.
"Cell four c, you are not to go inside without backup. The prisoner is under total segregation. She is not to interact with other inmates. When she is out of her cell she is to be with two guards and a nurse. You can't deviate from this. Do you understand? Am I crystal clear?" Kass asked. "Yes, mam. You are," she said. "Good." She said.
Mia was curious. Who was in that cell? Why was kass so adamant about the rules of that cell? She seemed pretty lac except for that cell. She had no idea why. It was weird.
She just met Kass. Kass summed willing to bend some of the rules. She was jovial with the inmates. Not with this one. They had a break together. "So, do you want to make a carer of being a corrections officer, or is this a tide over?" Kassie asked.
"Not sure yet. I went to school to be a social worker. I have been out of the workforce. I was raising my son and daughter. My son is in kindergarten and my daughter is in nursery school. I decided to get back into the workforce. I don't have the certification to be a social worker. I want to get out there. I figured I would try this out and see. " I said.
"I think you will be a good fit here," Kassie said. "Well thank you. I hope so. " mia said. "This is a good floor. Our floor has one of the best reputations," she said.
The day went well. The shift was almost over. "Kass, could I meet the prisoner in cell four c?" She asked. "We try to avoid interaction with her. " Kass said. "I would like to meet her," she said. "Only senior officers usually interact with her," she said.
"Why the secrecy?" She asked. "It's complicated. It's politically hot. potatoes. we follow the law. The courts make determinations and we comply with the judgment of juries and judges. They follow legislation. We have to put our personal opinions aside. We are doing a job. We clock in, do our job, follow procedures then clock out and go home and hug our kids. " she said.
"Now I am really curious. "Mia said. "I will take you to see her. you must promise to not discuss this with anyone outside this floor. Not even with other officers. Don't even discuss this with your husband. Do you understand ?" Kass said. "Yes I do mam," mia said.
"Ok. Follow me." She said. Mia was nervous. She did want to know. They came to the cell. The cell was closed up. No one could see inside or out. "Hello, Chrissy. It's kass. I would like to introduce a new officer to you " she said. "I would like that." She said.
Mia was stunned. She sounded young. She sounded sweet. Mia knew that on occasion teens were tried as adults. Even 12 years old could be tried as adults although it was rare. Mia had no idea what was going on.
Kassie opened the hatch. She saw into the self. contained cell. The cell was built similarly to the skiffs used by the government to discuss classified documents. She looked into a cell.
The girl looked to be 14. She had long hair in a ponytail. She did not look like a hardened criminal. Many female child killers did not.
"Chrissy this is mia. She just completed her training. This is her first day. " kass said. "How do you like it? " Chrissy asked."so far so good. "Mia said. In the room was a cot. She had a Scooby doo pillow and blanket. She had a prison-issue tablet and a small tv. She had a Bible and a few books. There was a desk.
She had a poster of her favorite band. It looked like a submarine and a college dorm. " you like music?" Mia asked. "Yes. I can download music on my tablet. There is a radio app on my tablet. "She said. "She has their local channels. She can watch cartoons. She can download movies on her app." She said.
"I have classes. I am a straight student," she said. Mia had no idea why she was there. She was sweet. She liked talking to her.
Afterward, she talked to kass. "What did she do?" Mia asked. "I don't know. We were not told. The d.o.c is pretty cryptic about it. " she said. "What is her sentence?" Mia asked. "Life?" she said. " is there a possibility of parole?" She asked. "She will be reviewed when we turn 18. Then again every ten years after that. "Kass said. "You don't seem too confident?" Mia asked.
"Was she that sweet? Was she just making nice for the new girl?" She asked."no. she is really sweet. She is only a few years older than my oldest daughter. I would let her hang out with my kids. "She said.
One day, Mia got permission to visit her. " hi Chrissy." she said. she was coloring." that is beautiful. You talented," she said.
"Thank you. Do you have kids?" She asked. "A son and a daughter." Mia said."i have never been. Around kids. Not that I remember. "She said. " how long have you been here?" She asked."i don't know. I don't remember not being here. I feel like a prisoner in the cave. The one who discovers that the cave is not the whole world. "She said.
" you read Plato?" She asked. "Just the excerpt in my textbooks. I read a lot. I like to learn. " she said. "My son is really smart. He is smarter than many as well. My daughter is still a little bit she is bright too. Her brother likes to teach her. She eats it all up. " mia said.
"That's sweet. I am told I have brothers and sisters. I have never met my family." She said. "You don't get visitors?" Mid asked."no. I don't. I get mail They screen it. They won't let me see the ones from the crazies. I get some from none profit groups, I get gifts from angel tree at Christmas time. Pro bono lawyers offer to file habitus corpus briefs on my beneath." she said. "You probably have a case. " mia said. "Where would i go? I would be in the foster system. I would have a scarlet letter. I am comfortable here." She said.
"You know the cave is not the whole world? Is that enough?" She asked. "For now." She said.
Mia loved to spend time with Crissy. Chrissy looked forward to seeing mia. Mia became curious. She decided to ask the warden. "Chrisy is here for murder!" The warden said. "Murder!" She asked. "Murder!" Mia remarked.
"She killed her parents. She was two years old. she found her parent's gun. She thought it was a toy. Both her parents died. It was a brutal crime scene. " the warden said.
"She was two. She did not understand what she was doing." mia said." Usually, they would charge the parents. There was no one to blame. The grandparents lived out of sate. They wanted someone to blame. She was blamed. She was put on trial. "The warden said.
" how could she participate in her own defence?" She asked. "They found a work around. " the warden said. "They must have had to contort themselves three ways from.sunday. they found a way. She was convicted and sent here. She had a nurse who's job was to be with her. Now she can have more autonomy. Her entire childhood was here. It was four wardens a go. " she said
"She is hardly a threat to society. If she were in the outside world she would belong to Mensa. She would probably have a degree by now and be in a doctoral program. She does not deserve to be here." Mia said. "That's not our call. " the warden said. "I know that. " mia said.
Mia held her kids close that night.she felt for Chrissy.
Notes
This would not happen in real life. The constitution and existing laws preclude this from happening.this is a work of fantasy. In fantasy, you don't have to explain everything. This is kind of social commentary.
My inspiration is "a man without a country" the story of a man who was involved with aaron burr who renounced his citizenship and lived on a ship. Plato's allegory of the cave and scarlet letter.