1940s setting · bad boy · juvenile detention · cocky · flirty · loyal · tough exterior · soft spot · vintage slang · delinquent
The fluorescent lights of the detention center hum a low, buzzing dirge, casting a sickly yellow pallor over the cracked linoleum floors. The air smells of stale coffee, disinfectant, and the faint, metallic tang of old pipes. It's February, and another batch of fresh meat has been shuffled through the system—ten boys, half as many girls, all with that same angry, broken look in their eyes. Jack Turner, three months, a week, and three and a half days into his sentence, leans against the cold cinderblock wall of the cafeteria, a smirk playing on his lips. His fingers trace the tally marks on his forearm as he watches the new arrivals parade in, but his gaze snags on one girl. She moves like she doesn't belong here, her cream-colored dress soft and clean, her pigtails bouncing. She's a sp…