Chapter Two

Suddenly everything was frenzied action.

“Out, everyone out!” a screw yelled. “At the double, out of there, stand to attention when you’re down!” The girls got up and began filing out of the van. “Fast! Move yourselves!” the screw cried. They shuffled forward with little quick movements, but it wasn’t enough for the screw. “You’ve ten more seconds!” she yelled. “Anyone not out will be disciplined!”

Jenny had got in first, so had to be last out. She pushed at the girls in front, got to the doors and jumped, for there wasn’t time to climb down. She stumbled and fell to the ground. She might have landed on her feet if she hadn’t been so flustered.

The screw leaned over and yelled at her, “Up!” Jenny rolled over. “Are you malingering, Prisoner?”

“For God’s sake!” Jenny gasped, getting up. “I’m doing my best! What’s the matter with you?”

“Don’t you answer me like that!” The screw’s voice became a roar. She turned and cried: “Senior, this Prisoner is insolent!”

Another screw came up to Jenny. Jenny saw that her uniform was slightly different, in a way suggesting a senior officer.

“Stand to one side!” the senior officer commanded. “Over there!” She shoved Jenny towards the side of the van. “Now stand to attention. Attention I said! All of you, attention!”

Jenny stood to attention, while the other three girls did the same, a few yards away. The first screw resumed shouting. “Reception is through that door! When I tell you to Proceed, you three will proceed, at the double, through the door. On the other side you will pause in the middle of Reception, and stand to attention again. You will be in the same order as you are now. The other Prisoner – “ she meant Jenny – “will remain where she is. Everyone understand?”

Everyone presumably did – at least no one said they didn’t. “Left, turn!” They turned to the left. “Proceed, at the double!”

Alison Cal and Frankie ran through the door, squeezing through one at a time, doing their best to still be running. The screws egged them on and followed them in, including the noisy one giving the orders. A frightened Jenny was left with the senior officer and one other screw.

The senior officer demanded, “Name?”

“Jennifer Tillot, Officer.”

“You malingered, Prisoner Tillot, then addressed the officer in a way we won’t tolerate.”

“I only – “

“Silence! When an officer tells you to move at the double you move at the double and you don’t answer back! Understood? No arguing, yes or no?”

“Yes Officer.”

“If you’re insolent again, you will be caned! Understood?”

“Yes Officer.”

“Proceed to Reception. Attention! Left, turn! Proceed at the double!”

Well that was a bloody good start, Jenny said to herself as she ran through the door. That was good that was! She’d been in the place a couple of minutes, and nearly been caned already.

She was in a big room with a lot of people milling around, most of them naked. She looked round and spotted Cal and Frankie at a table at the far end, removing their last garments. They must have undressed with great speed.

“Attention!” a screw commanded. “Stand before the table.” Jenny found herself in front of one of the tables. “Take all your clothes off and lay them on the table. At the double!”

Jenny pulled at her clothes. She saw that her hands were trembling. “Fast!” the screw commanded. Jenny dragged off the prison uniform, was down to underwear, lifted her slip over her head, and as the screw shouted again, pulled off her bra and got her pants down over her feet.

“Left, turn!” She turned to left and stood to attention, incongruously nude. “Proceed to the queue. You are waiting for the shower and will proceed when it’s your turn. You will be one minute in the shower, then come out, at the double!” Now she could make a little sense of her surroundings she saw that most of the naked girls were in queues. She joined the nearest one.

At last she could pause, though still trembling, awaiting her turn in the shower – her second in an hour, come to think of it, but of course what this was about was humiliation and obedience. Already there was that near miss with the cane. So much for the hope that she could stay out of trouble here, unlike the remand centre. But how could she have helped it? That fall could have happened to anyone.

The queue for the shower moved quickly. As one girl came out the next girl went in, and it was soon Jenny’s turn. She showered in a communal shower with half a dozen others, watched by a screw, turned under the water a couple of times, and stepped outside again. She was given a towel by what seemed to be a prisoner – she learnt later that serving prisoners were working here under supervision – and dried herself roughly. She waited in another queue, which proceeded to a table. There she was given a number and told her wing and cell. She didn’t remember the reference at first, but was glad to be told she’d continue to share a cell with Cal – the familiar point was a comfort at the moment. A prisoner handed her a uniform, a skirt with a zip running completely up one side, a blouse and a vest to go under it. She was told to retrieve the bra and pants she’d worn coming in.

The screw at the table said, “We’ve noted that you’ve a bad reputation. You’d better behave yourself here!”

“It was all nonsense! I never – “

“Don’t answer back!”

A screw shouted, “All prisoners have one minute to dress. The governor’s coming to talk to you.”

Jenny just managed to dress in time. The new inmates, about thirty now Jenny could take it in, lined up in three rows facing a platform at the front of the room.

The governor was a well built handsome woman of about forty, resplendent in the uniform of whatever company it was that was running the place. She strode in, and the screws as well as prisoners stood to attention. She stood on the platform and addressed the assembly.

“You all know why you’re here,” she said. “A court has decided you must spend six months in custody and that you need to learn some discipline. When you leave us in six months’ time, you will have learnt to obey orders, to work hard, and, we hope, to take your place in a competitive society and play by the rules.

“You’ll find that we run a firm but fair regime here. Do as you’re told, show respect for the officers, obey the rules and get down to things and show application, and you’ll be all right. If you step out of line, you’ll find the response is stern. Senior officers are empowered to administer the cane, which the bottoms of many of you will grow painfully familiar with! Canings can range from six of the best, up to a public flogging. I hope there will be none of those while you are here, but it happens sometimes. We don’t like it, but we don’t hesitate to impose it if necessary for individual or unit discipline.

“There are other penalties as well as corporal punishment, if necessary. At the moment there are two girls in solitary confinement, and one has had an extra sentence as well. Don’t think that’s an alternative to the cane though! Both girls were very severely caned, in front of a large audience, before they were sent to Solitary.

“I hope this warning will be enough for most of you. I suggest you take a positive attitude to your time here, and if you do you’ll find it’s not as bad as it’s cracked up to be. All girls will receive training suitable to their educational history, and there are many opportunities for self-improvement. Last year we had a girl do an external course of study, and she’s now doing a degree at a university. Those of you who aren’t up to that will still find that the exercise and training you are given will improve you and make you fitter and better. Our aim is to change failure into success. Regard this as your second chance to make something of yourselves.

“You will be given every chance to prepare yourselves for the outside world again. Everyone who’s suitable will be given a day outside on parole. It’s called your Parole Day, and is about a month before you leave. We believe this gives you further motivation to turn your time here to good effect.

“For the moment your priority must be to get familiar with life in the unit. You’ll have a special programme for your first day, and won’t take part in the general routine of the unit till tomorrow. You will next be shown your cells and you will make your bunks. You will then do some physical exercise, and then go to Class for educational assessment. You’ll be busy till tonight, because you’re not here to hang around, but you’ll be allowed an hour of free association this evening.”

The governor turned to the screw who was standing by the side of the platform. It was the same screw who’d given Jenny her warning just a few minutes ago. “Carry on Duty Senior.” The governor left.

“You heard what the governor said, and I hope all of you will take it to heart,” the senior screw said. She glanced at Jenny. “Proceed to the tables at the far end, to receive your bedding. Stand in line waiting.”

Prisoners attended them again, checking their cell numbers and giving them their bedding. The prisoner who handed Jenny hers remarked,

“This governor’s better than the last one I can tell you. The last one always had two girls caned at the end of her speech, just to let the others know the score.”

“You mean she just picked on two girls at random?”

“Two girls on any excuse. They hadn’t stood still enough while she was talking, any excuse like that. It was to let everyone know the score.”

“Get on with it,” a screw called out.

They were sorted into lines corresponding to the wings they’d be on, then marched off. Outside, they stood to attention in front of their blocks, modern three story structures in bright brick, and were shown two at a time to their cells. Jenny and Cal’s was a standard cell, very similar to what they’d had in the previous prison, though more recently built.

“Fucking hell!” Cal dropped her bedding to the floor as soon as they were locked in, and threw herself on a bunk. “Fucking hell, she sure means it that this place isn’t a fucking rest cure!”

Jenny was also exhausted, nervously as much as physically. She sat down and wiped her brow. “I’ve been threatened with the cane already!” she said.

“Fucking hell!” Cal said again. She reached into a pocket of the prison skirt and took out a roll-up cigarette and a box of matches. She lit it and Jenny recognised a familiar smell.

Jenny stared. “How did you get that in with you?”

“Transferred it didn’t I, when we got back our flimsies. Phew, I need this!”

It wasn’t the first time Jenny had noticed Cal could show some wits about her when she wanted to. It was a pity it wasn’t put to better purpose.

“For Christ’s sake!” Jenny exclaimed. “Do you want to get done for that straight away?”

“I won’t get any more. I just need this at the moment.”

“I’ll get into trouble as well, probably, if you’re caught!” Even as Jenny said that there were footsteps outside.

“Fucking hell!” Cal breathed. “Throw it in the corner!” She handed the joint to Jenny, who took it – stupidly, as she realised almost immediately.

The door opened and a screw came in. Jenny dropped the joint to the floor and stamped her foot on it.

The screw said, “Why have you thrown your bedding on the floor?”