Bang Up: Prison walls don't just keep criminals in, the keep the outside world at bay by Karen Woods

likes a grass you know. You need to remember that, especially inside the jail. Keep what you know to yourself and you’ll be fine.” Mikey started to hum a tune, he was bored now. His eyes were closing and he started to nod off.
    *
    Day turned into night and the new inmates were led to the induction wing. Each of them had their kit folded in a neat bundle in front of them. Potter could barely see over his pile and every now and then he was dropping things. Brendan Mellor had tried to get a double pad with Mikey but the screw told him straight he was going where he put him. What a slap in the mouth that was for him. Brendan was devastated and hated that Mikey had never said a word about it. Mikey stepped inside the pad with Potter not far behind him. His eyes shot about the small room and he sucked in a deep breath of air. So, this was it. This was his home for the next few years. Potter sat down on his bed and folded his arms tightly in front of him. His bottom lip trembled and his eyes clouded over. This was the real deal now. No more waiting, no more not knowing how things would turn out, their sentences had begun. Mikey jumped onto his bed and looped his arms behind his head. He was taking ages to get comfortable and his hand was slamming hard at the mattress trying to get rid of any lumps. That would have to do, he gave up trying. Mikey turned his head and gripped the pillow folding it in half ramming it back behind him. He could see his pad mate was struggling and remembered his very first night being locked up away from the people that he loved. Prison was a daunting place when you didn’t know the script. The noises throughout the night; crying, screaming, inmates shouting... Yes, this place was enough to break even the strongest of men.
    “For fucks sake Potter, are you going to sit like that all night long, get your head down? Listen, I’ll tell you straight, the first few weeks are going to be hard but once you get used to the swing of it you’ll be sorted. I’ve told you already I’ve got your back, so you’ve got fuck all to worry about. Just keep your head down and this sentence will be like a walk in the park for you. How long did you get slammed for anyway?”
    Potter lifted his legs up onto the bed and lay back slowly. His eyes were wide open and reality was hitting home. “I got twelve months. I’m lucky really I could have got three years my solicitor said.”
    Mikey dragged the thin grey blanket over his body and tucked it under his chin. “That’s a baby sentence, you’ll only do half of that anyway so six months you’re in for. If you’re lucky you might even get out before that date on a tag, you know, an electronic device?”
    Christian flexed his fingers on his chest and turned to face Mikey. “Thanks for helping me out. I don’t know what I’d have done if they would have put me in a pad with someone else. I’m not very good at mixing with other people. I’m a loner really.”
    Mikey turned on his side and faced the wall. His eyes were still wide open. He was ready for some shut eye and any second now he would be dead to the world in a deep sleep. “No worries. Now, get your head down and get some sleep, you fucking fairy. Tomorrow is another day. Let’s see what these bastards have planned for us.”
    “Night Mikey,” Christian whispered.
    “Shut up and get to sleep, “Mikey sniggered back over to him.
    *
    Brendan Mellor sat alone in his cell. The cold brick walls seemed like they were closing in on him. Shivering at the small window he sucked in the night air from outside. He wasn’t coping well and hated being alone at night. He was weak and full of anxiety. Brendan ran to his cell door and he banged his clenched fist into it desperately. “I can’t do this, please, somebody help me. I’m dying here, I can’t breathe.” He was hysterical, he was having a panic attack. The screws on duty that night could hear the inmate from behind his door. It was something normal