Under the shower stall’s base, a pair of yellow rubber sandals came into view.

“I told you no one leaves after lights out.”

The stall door rattled once.

“Come out.”

*

Theo hadn’t left the room since he was admitted. He skipped dinner and stayed in bed until there was only an hour left before lights out.

The cheap springs dug into Theo’s spine as he tried to get comfortable. The blanket barely reached his chest, carrying the faint smell of forgotten laundry left too long in storage.

He did the math. Four floors, twenty rooms each, two students to a room is about a hundred and sixty students. Small enough that everyone would know your name. Or worse, your history.

Theo could hear guys calling to each other outside the corridor, doors opening and banging shut like it was any other school night.

Muffled voices thinned near Theo’s door.

“New kid,” someone whispered as they passed.

A thin crack ran across the ceiling. The fan rattled overhead, doing little against the heat. Theo pulled off his hoodie, his shirt underneath damp with sweat.

Phones weren’t allowed, and neither were personal calls home. Miller had said something about outside contact being a distraction, but Theo hadn’t bothered listening to the rest of the crap.

Apparently having nothing to do was part of the correction.

His mind wandered home—Grandma dozing in front of the TV. Tabi probably curled up in Mom’s bed, still clutching that bunny plush.

Would Mom check on his room tonight? Turn off the lights like he was just out late?

Maybe she would be relieved.

Theo thought about smoking, he could still smell the tobacco on Miller’s clothes.

He had brought nothing with him. No photo. No book. Just the lighter he’d hidden in the lining of his duffel bag and three cigarettes wrapped in cling film tucked deep in his boxers.

He was naive to think only three would be enough.

Theo sat up on bed, unwrapping the cling film on one of the cigarettes.

“No one comes out,” Loren’s voice replayed.

Theo couldn't wait that long anyway, placing the cigarette between his lips. 

He almost lit up until the door opened. 

Theo slipped the cigarette into his pocket in one practiced motion, the way he'd done it a hundred times. 

A dark-skinned guy with a shaved head and glasses entered, carrying freshly ironed uniforms.

“You must be Theo,” he looked up from below the bunk.

Theo straightened his shirt. “Hey Brian.”

Brian hung his uniform in his wardrobe, organizing them in sleeve lengths. Then he moved to his desk, grabbing a worn-out book from the display. 

The title read ‘The Trial’.

“You read to pass time here?” Theo asked.

Brian kept his fingers on the cover.

“There isn’t much else to do."

Theo’s fingers brushed the cigarette in his pocket, trying to think of something else to say.

“Is the book good?”

Brian sighed, placing the book back on the display. Like he knew he wasn’t getting any reading done tonight.

Just when Theo thought the conversation was over, Brian replied.

“It’s not an easy read. The guy spends the whole book trying to figure out what he did wrong.”

“Does he?” 

“That’s…not really the point.”

“Oh.”

Brian opened the wardrobe like he was switching courses in real-time. When he took out a basket of toiletries, he turned to Theo.

“Did you bring your own shampoo?”

“I thought they were provided.”

“They don’t. You have to submit a form to request for items. If they approve it.”

“This place feels like a prison more than a school,” Theo muttered under his breath.

Someone ran past their room, laughing while their footsteps thumped against the floorboard. 

“Keep it down!” someone barked in the corridor.

Theo’s fingers tightened around the cigarette, recognising the voice.

“Lights out soon,” Brian said. “Too many guys with too much energy and nowhere to put it."

Theo managed a dry laugh.

“I’m heading for the showers,” Brian said, opening the door with his toiletry basket. “You can borrow my shampoo later.”

Theo lay back down after the door closed. For the first time since arriving, he didn’t feel the need to brace himself.

He hoped Brian wouldn't ever ask him why he was here.

At exactly 10:30, the lights were cut off.

Theo was about to climb out of bed when he heard doors opening and closing. He pretended to sleep when his door opened, a flashlight beam slicing across the room.

Five seconds later, the beam vanished and footsteps moved on.

Clangs of metal sounded later, like something was shutting in place. Silence settled into a dry cough somewhere above. 

Theo slipped out of bed after he made sure Brian was asleep.

Outside the room, his shadow stretched across the corridor in the light from the windows. He went to the stairwell and found the gates locked. Beyond them, another set of gates sealed off the East Wing.

The building kept the toilet and shower room lights on. He opened the door to the toilet, closing it immediately when he caught the smell of old piss.

In the shower room, there were only three sinks and three shower stalls for twenty students. Theo didn’t want to imagine what mornings would be like.

The shower room door wouldn’t lock. Of course it wouldn’t.

Under the harsh overhead light, his brown skin looked washed out in the mirror. He pushed a hand through his dark hair, fixing the strands flattened from his hoodie.

In the last shower stall, he hunched on the damp tiles with the door locked. 

He lit the cigarette and took a long drag. The smoke was familiar, comforting even.

“I love you,” Tanya’s voice resurfaced.

Theo hadn’t said it back to her. 

Just when he was about to take another drag, the bathroom door outside swung open.

Theo’s heart jumped. 

He stubbed the cigarette on the wet tiles quickly.

The gap under the stall’s base dimmed, a pair of yellow rubber sandals stepping into view.

“I told you no one leaves after lights out.”

The stall door rattled.

“Come out.”