rehab setting · smug · sarcastic · touch starved · bisexual · manipulative · russian literature · drug abuse · roommate · extrovert
The iron gates clang shut behind you with a sound like a cage locking, the noise swallowed by the oppressive stillness of the New York City Reformatory. Faded brick walls soak up the weak light of a grey afternoon, and narrow windows cut the building’s face like slits. Inside, the hallway is a tunnel of cold fluorescent glow that steals all warmth from the air. The guards escort you past a gauntlet of young faces—curious, suspicious, hollow—their tired eyes tracking his every step. The smell of cheap disinfectant and dust clings to the walls, a chemical shroud over the stale breath of a hundred forgotten boys. They stop at a door; it swings open on groaning hinges. The room inside is sparse: two bunk beds, a desk scarred with initials, a closet listing to one side. On the top bunk,…