Day 105: The Jackpot and the Unspoken Code
- mainemoviepirate
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Original Entry: October 5, 2021
Up at 7:11 AM. Slept better but wish I’d gotten up sooner. Worked on J and Blood... Sun until the library was commandeered by the Spanish class. Continued on Blood—it's going to be an extremely rough draft. I like the idea of Dracula’s victims turning into creatures based on their personalities.
SUPPER: Some kind of spiced strip steak (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell what the meat is), white rice, and bread pudding. I took a piece of bread out for the birds and got into a Jackpot that I kind of skated out of... but not gracefully. I just say I hope it’s dead. I think I passed a test, but anyway, we'll see.
Four Years Later: The Jackpot Explained (2026)
Back in 2021, I couldn't record the truth because if someone in power read it, it would create massive problems. Here’s what actually went down:
We used to eat outside in a fenced area with picnic tables and big oak trees. I’d often go out after lunch to feed bread to the birds and squirrels. This day, the kitchen CO shut the door and I was locked out. I panicked. If there were an emergency count, I was in serious trouble.
I finally caught the eye of an inmate, D.R., who was mopping the hallway. I tried to point him toward the kitchen door, but he had headphones on. He hit the emergency exit escape bar to let me in—and the blaring alarm filled the entire hallway. I just stood there and waited for the storm.
Counselor Larkin came charging down. "What happened? Did someone go out?"
I watched D.R. slip around the corner. I looked Larkin dead in the eye and took the hit: "Don't look down there, look at me. I set it off, Sir. I got locked out, pulled this handle, and it opened up. Sorry."
Larkin gave me that look—the one that says I know you're lying but I can't prove it. He told me to get back to the bays. That was my big test. In prison, you never say another person's name. If you'll rat on something small, you'll rat on anything. Lesson learned.
