The cuffs bit into Jayden's wrists, metal cold and heavy as they dragged him down the corridor. Every step echoed against the cinderblock walls, each one pulling him closer to a fate he didn't deserve.
He tried to breathe steady, but the fire inside rattled against its cage. Spider had set him up clean. Rico laughed as the guards hauled Jayden past, and the whispers in the block followed like a curse. Max. Max. Max.
---
The Office
The director's office reeked of stale coffee and disinfectant. A single fluorescent light hummed overhead, casting shadows that carved his face into stone. Jayden was shoved into a chair, cuffs still tight.
The director tapped a pen against the thick file on his desk — Jayden's life, reduced to paper. Arrests, fights, incidents. Every page a nail in his coffin.
"Contraband weapon," the director said flatly. "Do you have any idea how serious this is?"
"It wasn't mine," Jayden said. His voice came out harder than he intended, but he didn't look away. "Spider planted it."
The director leaned back, eyes narrowing. "Always an excuse. Always someone else's fault. You were warned. More than once." He flipped a page. "You think this system is against you? You've given us every reason to put you away."
Jayden's chest burned. The fire roared to be unleashed. Tell him he's lying. Tell him to shove it. Smash the desk, scream the truth.
But Dre's voice slid into his head like gravel: Control isn't weakness. It's survival.
Jayden clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms until they nearly bled. "Check the cameras," he said evenly. "Check the shifts. Ask who had access to my bunk. I didn't put that blade there."
The director studied him, pen still tapping. The silence stretched until it hurt. Finally, he leaned forward.
"You've burned every bridge you had, Carter. Even if this wasn't yours, it doesn't change who you are. But…" He paused, voice sharp as glass. "…if you can prove restraint, maybe—maybe—I'll reconsider transfer. One more slip, though? You're gone. Do you understand me?"
Jayden forced himself to nod. "Yes, sir."
---
Aftermath
They uncuffed him back in the block. The stares that met him weren't the same as before. Some kids looked at him with pity, others with fear. Spider, though, leaned against the far wall, grin curling like smoke. He tapped his temple, then his heart, mouthing the words: You can't beat me.
Rico's laugh followed like an echo.
Dre's voice came through the wall later that night, steady but grim. "You're still breathing. That's your win. But you can't keep letting Spider set the terms. You need a move he won't see coming."
Jayden stared at his sketchbook, hand shaking as he drew. A shiv. A chain. A torch. Three images overlapping. Underneath he scrawled: I won't play his game. I'll build my own.
The fire inside him burned steady, no longer wild. The system wanted him to break. Spider wanted him to snap. Rico wanted blood.
But Jayden was learning. And when the time came, he'd burn smarter than all of them.