Teddy was a top notch student- he did his own laundry,
called his mom every now and then, and he was about to graduate from MIT with a
degree in Economics. As he sat in the seat used by thousands of convicts, he
thought back as to how he got into this situation. It was the Saturday after
finals, he was at the bar with a couple of friends as the designated driver- he
didn’t drink. Somehow one of his friends got into an argument, and he went to
try to break it up. Next thing he knew, fists were flying and he found himself
getting into the back of the police car as if he was a criminal. The memory
flashed before his eyes as he sat in the dimly light cell alone. Nobody was
answering their phone, nobody was answering his questions. He was left pondering
what was to come of him- he’s heard stories of what it was like to be in jail,
stories of dropping the soap, stories that made him believe that this would be
the end of him. He believed that all the hard work would be gone as soon as
that rusted down jail cell opened and he would meet the person that would end
him. After all, they were actually criminals- he wasn’t. He was just a friend
who tried to stop a bar fight, that’s all. Perhaps they’d put him in the same
room in with a murderer, or a drug dealer. In the midst of his imaginations, he
heard the dreaded sound of the creaking jail door opening, followed by the
echoing of several footsteps. “A full gang” Teddy immediately thought to
himself. He quickly thought of what he would say when he was begging for mercy,
maybe they would even let him join. His wild imaginations were abruptly ended
at the sight of a boy and girl no older than the age of 12. Teddy wasn’t fooled
by their innocence, after all they were in jail, they must be filled with evil
and malice. As they both took a seat on the bench, their feet didn’t touch the
ground- they were so young. Nonetheless, he continued to ignore them and sat in
his own dark corner that smelled like pee. Maybe ten minutes passed when he
began to sob and drown in his self-pity. He had no idea what would happen to
him from now- this could be the end of him. The university would kick him out,
he wouldn’t have a job, he would have to go back and live with his parents. He
hadn’t realized that one of the kids had crept closer to him and the small
concerned voice sent shivers down his spinal cord. When he finally realized
that the small child was concerned for him, he let out a long sigh and thus
began their conversation. The two children explained why they were sitting in
that cell- they tried to steal prescription for their sick mother because their
family couldn’t afford it. Suddenly, all of the sorrow in Teddy’s heart was
lifted. He was touched by their story and their selflessness- they didn’t
deserve to be sitting in that cell. He quickly befriended the two and shared
endless stories until one of his friends came to bail him out. However, rather
than following his friend out towards his freedom, Teddy turned around, bailed
out his two new friends, and went over to the store to purchase the medicine
for their family.
