Page 12 of Freshman

Glen shook his head. “Nothing, I swear. I just asked for his name. He even gave it to me and then…this.”

Alfie sighed through his nose and pressed his face into the bars. “I’ll go up, see if I can get them to shut it.”

“Fish,” Henry scoffed. “You don’t stand a chance.”

Alfie shrugged, then tugged his keys up from his belt to unlock the gate. The metal walkways shook ten times worse than the floor. Alfie slid his hand along the rail to steady himself, and when he finally got to Nate’s cell, he pushed his mouth against the gap around the door.

“Okay, stop this.”

Nate struck the door fast twice, and the prison fell silent.

Alfie cursed under his breath and shook his head. “What was that all about?” he asked.

“I told you. I like our conversations—”

“I ask for your name, you say freshman and I walk off. Not much of a conversation.”

Nate laughed lightly. “No matter how brief they may be, I enjoy them, and you tried to take them away.”

“You were acting inappropriately.”

Nate clacked his tongue, then hummed. “I haven’t acted inappropriately. All I’ve done is call you pretty. Is that really so bad?”

“Yes, it is.”

“So, if I stop calling you pretty, will you do my roll call again?”

Alfie huffed and narrowed his eyes at the hinge. “Fine.”

“Good night, Freshman.”

He heard Nate move away from the door and did the same.

Shocked expressions greeted him, and Henry rushed him into the office, telling the others to wait outside.

“You didn’t do anything dodgy, right?”

Alfie shrugged. “Depends on your definition of dodgy… Is waving your flaccid penis at Nate dodgy?”

Henry’s jaw dropped, and his eyes bugged from his face.

Alfie shook his head and pinched the top of his nose. “It was a joke.”

Henry reclaimed his jaw, but his eyes kept trying to escape his face. “Not funny, fish. And how did you get them to shut it?”

Alfie swallowed awkwardly, then the computer screen caught his eye. Nate’s face was gone, but the memory of him and his file remained.

“I said I’d cancel his next call to Doris.”

Henry smacked his lips together, then stretched them into a grin. “That’s clever. I should have thought of that. Nice one.”

Alfie fidgeted at the undeserved praise, then scratched the back of his head.

“Coffee?” he said loudly, and Marie, Glen and the twins joined them in the office.

4

Alfie didn’t work weekends.

---