"What's your name?"
"Jimmy. Coleman."
"Starting now, you're number 070512. It's your new name, so don't forget it."
The bus started its way from the back of the court where a judge had sentenced me to one year in a reeducation center. The guy said I was lucky, and that because of his good mood today, I wasn't going to a real jail. A guy like you wouldn't stay pretty for long there, he said. I wondered what he meant by that.
We left the city and drove for an hour in the countryside, reaching an ominous building. Not a real jail? Well, it certainly looked like one. It was grey and tall with a serious lack of windows, and the whole property was encircled by barbed wire. We were in the middle of nowhere.
As the bus stopped, I felt afraid for the first time. For the past few days, I lived my arrest and my judgment with detachment, as if I was watching the whole thing on TV. Now that I was facing my future for the next year, reality fell on me like a weight on my shoulders. For fuck's sake, why did I do it? Well, no, why did I get caught? And now, what would happen to me in there? I was not exactly a physical guy, and the prospect of being surrounded by hardcore delinquents was terrifying. All the shit that made me end up here, I did alone. I was not in a gang, I didn't have any partner. And I had seriously no idea about what was awaiting me in this hellhole.
The guard—Perez according to his name tag—took me by my handcuffs and led me to the entrance of the building.
Aubercity Reeducation Center was written in golden letters above the massive double door. The judge had explained that this particular center was only for young men, between eighteen and twenty-one years old. To be eligible for it, you should be a first-offender, deemed not dangerous enough to go in jail. Funny how I saw myself as a hotshot criminal before being arrested—now I was glad to not be seen as one by people.
The guard unlocked the door, and we entered. Okay, so at least the hall was not as creepy as the outside. Big stairs in front of me, separating midway in two, some sofas on the right—surely a waiting area. On the left, was a guy, a fifty-something with grey hair who looked utterly jaded by his job. He was sitting behind a protective glass. As the guard from the bus explained to his colleague who I was, the receptionist snapped his fingers to catch my attention. "Hey, look at me when I talk to you. This is not a vacation club here. What's your number?" Okay, he was an asshole.
"Hum... 07... 05?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Barked Perez. "I told you to not forget it. It's 070512. It's the last time I tell you."
"Sorry."
"Sorry, what?"