Read Online Rikers High by Paul Volponi - Free Book Online

dinner—that I wanted to pay the bill and bring her back and forth by cab, instead of the subway or bus.
    Right before Demarco’s class was over, there was fussing in the hall right outside the door. Kids ran over to the big plastic window to see what was happening.
    The COs had pulled some dude out of class and threw him on the wall. You could tell by the way they dragged him out that he must have really pissed them off.
    Demarco was already in the hallway talking to Miss Archer, the math teacher.
    Sanchez had told me all about her. She was a dime piece with straight brown hair, and she wore long skirts that showed off the curves of her hips.
    A kid from another room snuck over to ours, and he couldn’t stop laughing. He said the dude on the wall got caught jerking off to Miss Archer. And that he was really into it when she saw him and called for the COs.
    The classrooms are real small, and there’s only room for two rows of chairs. So he couldn’t have been more than ten feet away when she nailed him.
    Someone yelled, “Captain on deck!”
    Kids scrambled to get back in their seats, and everybody got silent.
    Captain Montenez walked into the trailer and just ripped into the dude. “You lowlife bastard!” he screamed. “You won’t be living in my Sprungs much longer!”
    By the time the COs were ready to send that dude back to the house to pack up, he was flat-out bawling.
    Captains wear white shirts to stand out from the COs, who dress in blue and report to them. I had seen Montenez operate in the building before. He always acted real cool in his captain’s duds, until he exploded on you. Montenez was tall and lean. He would wave his arms and scream at dudes until his shirt almost came out of his pants. Then he’d fix himself up and walk off like he owned the jail.
    The COs called the whole house into the hallway and we deuced it up.
    â€œKeep your dicks in your pants!” yelled Montenez. “If you masturbate in class, it’s a sexual assault on staff. That’s not just bing time. That’s a new charge. It means you get rearrested, right here on the Island.”
    Then he paced up and down the line looking for kids to crack a smile or suck their teeth, so he could run them out, too.
    The bing is the place they send you when you really fuck up. It’s like solitary, and you’re locked down twenty-three hours a day, with an hour outside for exercise. But they can’t just send you there. They have to write you up and serve you with the papers. Then the bing court captain hears your case, like a judge. It’s never fair because he could be good friends with the captain who wrote you up. They give you a chance to tell your side of it, too. But I never heard of an inmate beating his case. Once you’re there, you’re guilty. Plain and simple.
    We went back into the classroom, and Demarco came with us. It was Miss Archer’s time to rotate into our room and teach us math, but she was still in the hall with Montenez.
    â€œI don’t know what that dude was thinking,” some kid said. “She’s my girl.”
    A couple of us laughed low, and Demarco said, “Wait here, I’ll tell the captain she’s yours!”
    The kid begged him not to and nearly freaked when Demarco walked out the door. But Demarco only crossed over to teach his next class, shooting us all a big smile through the window when he got there.
    Miss Archer came in and put some math problems on the board. She didn’t look half as shook as I thought she would be.
    Right away, kids tried to make her feel better.
    â€œThat dude played you too dirty,” one kid told her. “He’s lucky that he got packed up or we woulda put a beating on him for you tonight.”
    â€œThat’s just stupid talk,” Miss Archer said. “Please, never hurt anyone over me. All right? He shouldn’t get rearrested for that either. And I’ll