“Get me out of here!” I screamed at the scrawny guard. I had just returned back from my latest appeal. It failed. Why won’t they just believe me?
I was in jail for murder, and I didn’t do it. Just because I was there when it happened, doesn’t mean I had anything to do with it. If they had any sense, they would know I was innocent.
“Shut up, Teresa!” that evil guard screamed back to me. I have screamed at him so many times, so I don’t even feel the need to scream back.
I hated when he called me Teresa. I went by Terry for a reason; I wanted to completely forget my family. They were cruel Muslims who live in Florida. They were deep into the religion, but I thought it was nonsense. One day, I asked my mom why she believed the nonsense of Islam. She just slapped me and said to never ask it again, and I didn’t. When I was old enough, I hightailed it out of there.
Soon after I was imprisoned, Houston, Texas became my least favorite city. When I got there, I got tons of weird looks. My fat roommate said it was because of my pink and black hair. When my friend Rebecca graduated cosmetology school, she dyed both my and her hair weird colors. Her hair was purple. Not only is it bad being in jail, but being with her makes it terrible.
“Oh, you’re back,” Angelina said rudely. Angelina was not an angel like her name suggested. She was the shortest and fattest one that I knew there. And of course, I got to sleep under her rude, fat self every night. However, Angelina hated the guards even more than me, so maybe she’ll help me break out.
“Yeah, I don’t need you to make fun of me now,” I replied.
Angelina replied, laughing, “So, did your appeal fail?”
“Yes,” I said. Then she stopped talking. Angelina has had a few failed appeals, too. She gave up after her fourth, but now I was done with appeals too. I was getting out my own way, whether it was legal or not.
My husband, Elliot, came to visit, and that just made me miss him even more. He is the best thing in my life. After I left my home in Florida, I met him at a roller skating place and we hit it off. After five months, we got married. We always liked to hang out at the roller skating rink because that’s where we met, and it was special. That is until the night I was arrested there.
I thought Rebecca was my friend, but she hasn’t come to visit. Elliot said it’s because she’s been at work more due to a promotion.
I had to get out of jail before I went absolutely crazy. I had no friends there because the prisoners all scared me. I just looked at them and wondered what they did to get in here. Like Angelina, she told me all she did was rob a bank, but something about her made me think she was a murderer too.
The cell got me so lonely, too. All I had was a bed, sink, and toilet. I had dust, lots and lots of dust. I got claustrophobic every time I got in that terribly tiny bunk bed. The room was as big as my closet at our place. I’m not even exaggerating.
I had started planning my escape. At recreation, I would gradually build a tunnel under the fence. To make sure no one finds it, I would cover the hole with a picnic table. I had been thinking about attacking the guard, with Angelina’s help. Since he was scrawny and had absolutely no muscle, that step wouldn’t be too hard. I am also scrawny, but I definitely had muscle.
Then, we would break into a supply closet to find something to break through the wall. I was thinking a sledgehammer. Angelina would guard our cell, and I would crawl through my already made tunnel. Then, I would be free at last! Well, my freedom depended on someone I hate most in life. That was scary.
It was recreation time. I had part of my tunnel eaten out, and I was almost under the fence. Only a few more days of eating, and I would be on the other side of the road. I couldn’t wait to get out of here. I had to slide my tiny body under the table to start digging my tunnel. If I didn’t, everyone will see me.
Two days later, I finished my tunnel. Today I would ask Angelina.
I asked her today. She told me she would think about it. I just wanted to know right then!
A couple hours later, I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I had to ask. “Have you decided Angelina?” I asked her.
“Not yet. What is your plan anyway?” she said.
I said, “I have some bobby pins and know how to pick a lock to get out of our cell. With your help, we’ll take out the guard. After we take out the guard, I will get his keys. I have navigated a nearby supply closet on our way to lunch. In it, I will look for a sledgehammer. We will have to break through the concrete of the cell wall. We will crawl through the tunnel I have been making during recreation. Questions?”
“After we get the keys, why don’t you just leave? I may not want to escape. First, I like it here with my homies. I think I might be too big to escape so slyly anyway,” she replied.
“There will be other guards I want to avoid. If we leave through another hall,  we will have to deal with them. If you don’t want to escape, you don’t have to. I just need your help,” I replied.
“Ok, I guess I’ll help,” she said.
All day I had been tense just thinking of what she could do. She could tell people I was planning on escaping or worse, tell the guards. She could not even help me, and then I would never be able to succeed. She could quit mid-escape and tell everyone where to get me. The worst of all, after we got ahold of a sledgehammer, she could kill me.
It was time for me to get out of here, and I had started to pick the lock as the guard was all the way down the hallway. I was successful, and we were running toward the guard. Angelina would fight and I had to get the keys. She took the guard down and knocked him unconscious quickly. I looked hard and found the keys. After I found the keys, I ran toward the supply closet. As I unlocked the door, I spotted a sledgehammer. Making my way back to our cell, I noticed Angelina was waiting for me.
“Where’s my sledgehammer?” Angelina said.
“There was only one. You can have this one if you want,” I said.
Then, she went to work. Boom! Crash! The concrete was breaking as Angelina repeatedly hit it. At last, the concrete destruction was done. It was time to run. I had to be stealthy.
As I exited the building, I saw a few guards. Hopefully, they wouldn’t see me. One guard looked directly at me, but I didn’t think he saw me because he didn’t move a muscle.
I thought I was sick from eating dirt at recreation, or maybe I was just worried Angelina wouldn’t hold up her end of the bargain. I just kept going. The only valuable lesson my parents taught me as a child was to never give up.
“I am so tired,” I said, talking to myself. I don’t know exactly how far, but I had run down many roads, in many different backyards.
The other side of my brain said, “You can’t stop now. You have escaped.”
All I could think of was how I would prove to the cops I am innocent. My plan was to get to my house as soon as possible. They probably wouldn’t believe whatever I said because they all thought I murdered someone. It was worth a try though, I guess.
I’d awoken, but I didn’t remember when I went to sleep. I definitely was not in my house yet either.
“She’s awake!” the nurse exclaimed. I am in a hospital?
I shrieked, “Why am I in a hospital?”
The nurse said, “A kind fellow brought you here. He told us he found you passed out in his yard and quickly rushed you here.” Her name tag read Sarah.
“When will I get out of here?” I asked.
“After we figure out what’s wrong with you,” Sarah, the nurse said.
They took my weight and height. I weighed 140 pounds. I have never weighed over 120, and how could I have gained this much with disgusting jail food?
Before I went to bed, they told me the test results. They had found dirt in my digestive system, and that was the reason I gained weight. The dirt wasn’t the reason I passed out, but the doctors thought it was because I was dehydrated.
When I awoke, two people were at my bedside, but I couldn’t identify them. After I saw hair dyed deep purple, I knew it was Rebecca. I couldn’t quite make out who the other one was due to the fogginess in my brain. This really stunk. I thought getting out of jail would be my greatest achievement. It isn’t, at least not when I was in a hospital bed instead.
“Terry, Terry. Nurse she’s awake!” Elliot exclaimed. It was Elliot, my handsome husband, his hand holding mine.
Rebecca gave me her phone. She had the evidence I needed to prove my innocence on a video, so I clicked play. I watched the video in amazement. In the corner of the screen you could see everything, but I was in the front. When the murderer pulled the knife on her victim, I had to look away.
“Okay visiting hours are up. You have a police interrogation now, Terry,” the nurse said, leading my friends out of the room.
I was going into a private conference room in the hospital, Rebecca’s video in hand. The cops give me angry stares. They didn’t yet know the truth, though. We sat in silence.
“We are waiting for my secretary to show up,” the policeman said, breaking the silence.
Just then, a girl with big brown eyes and a hooked nose burst through the door with a stack of papers.
They asked me a few questions. Then I showed them the video. They looked at it in amazement. He told me I was innocent, but might have to appear in court when they find the murderer.
I was ecstatic. They finally believed me! I was so happy I was crying.
I got back to my hospital room, without handcuffs. I felt so free.
When I walked into the room with a grin on my face, Elliot said, “They believe you?!”
“Yes!”
Without any more words, I was in a strong embrace. It felt so strange. He hadn’t held me like this since before I went to jail, which was three weeks ago. It was just us now because Rebecca had left for the night.
Elliot and I talked for a while.
After an hour, I went to sleep. I needed rest. My brain was tired from thinking so much.
I awoke to a hustle and bustle around my hospital room. The nurse finished my dismissal. I was free to go. He and I were both ready to get back to our normal lives at home.
When we got there, I just took a deep breath. It was a smell I missed. It was the smell of home. I first went to our room and put some new clothes on. These clothes didn’t smell like hospital.
Elliot said, “It’s good to have you back. It was getting very lonely here.”
“It’s good to be back,” I replied. He just nodded.
I hoped they catch the actual murderer soon. It was scary enough in jail where the prisoners were securely in their cells, but a murderer, on the loose. That screams scary.
I got the call four days later. They caught her. The court date was a week from today, and I must be present for questioning. This is the kind of thing I had been waiting for. I was very excited, so Elliot and I went to the roller rink.
I went to visit Angelina to thank her. She was doing the same as when I left, bullying the other criminals and the guards, not surprising. She was probably the only person in the entire jail who enjoyed life.
Two days later, it was the day of court. I was tingling inside. I didn’t know why I was so nervous, but I was most definitely nervous.
The judge said, “We call Teresa Smith to the stand.”
I walked up to the stand. They only ask me a few questions, and nothing was too major. The weight was finally off my shoulders.
“Free at last!” I exclaimed as I threw my hands in the hair.