Free Prison Nation by Jenni Merritt

jail-bird.”
    Jude was a few years older than me. He had been working night shift at the jail three years now, ever since they had allowed him to don the vest and boots. I had never seen him work day. And to be honest, I was happy about it. Jude didn’t seem like a guard to me. He always stopped near the cells where people cried inside, and asked if everything was alright. His smile was real, never full of a hidden agenda.
    He was, in my own twisted, strange way, a friend.
    “ Where have you been?” I asked.
    He settled himself on the ground outside my cell, looking in both directions first to make sure no one was approaching. “Vacation.” He smiled and winked. “Just wait ‘till you get to discover that perk.”
    I felt a laugh escape my lips. It felt good to feel it tickle my throat and chest. “Where did you go?”
    “ Absolutely nowhere. I sat in my house, slept when I wanted to, ate when I wanted to, and read way too many books. It was awesome.” I didn’t admit it to Jude, but that sounded too much like heaven to me to believe it could be real. “So, you ready for the big day?”
    I rolled my eyes. “I am ready for everyone to stop asking me that.”
    “ Well, you better bite the bullet and stay good. I want to see you outside these walls, not locked in a cell of your own.”
    I chuckled again. “Hey, Jude…” I stopped when I heard him laugh. “Okay, really, why do you laugh every time I say that?”
    “ Right, I guess you don’t get the joke. Here.” I could hear Jude roll to his side for a moment, wrestling something from a pocket. Flipping on his flashlight, I could suddenly see his face clearly. His eyes were big, always seeming to smile, his face smooth and clean. Shaggy light brown hair hung on his forehead, moving back and forth as he fidgeted with something in his hands. With a smile on his face, he held a small ball out to me, a thin spike of metal sticking from its side.
    I looked at it doubtfully.
    “ You put it in your ear, Millie. It’s called a headphone.” Taking it delicately between my thumb and index finger, I pulled it up and placed it in my ear. It felt strange to lie so close to the opening of the door, the earphone in my ear, Jude’s face only inches away. I watched as he shoved the other small headphone into his ear, then fiddled with a little box that he held in his hands. I started to giggle at the sight of the metal spike sticking out from his ear, but stopped as my own ear suddenly vibrated.
    Something crackled in my ear. I heard Jude mumble something, the crackling getting louder as he fiddled with the small box. “Scoot closer, Millie. Reception in here sucks.”
    I inched forward, my head pressing against the bottom of the door.
    Snips of music suddenly vibrated in my ear. A few seconds of a song played, then Jude hit a button and it skipped to another melody. My eyes shot open, my mouth watering for the music to continue. Finally a song started and Jude smiled, letting his thumb rest on the side of the little box.
    “ Hey Jude, don’t make it bad. Sing this sad song and make it better...”
    I could hear the sound of a man’s voice softly singing. About Jude. Amazed, I shoved the headphone deeper into my ear, taking in the words, the strum of music, the gentle rolling rhythms. Rolling onto my back, I let the music envelope me and carry me away. It was beautiful.
    Jude didn’t move. I could see him smiling, his eyes closed as he listened to the song. It finally came to an end, the music fading out into nothingness. Jude hit a button on the box and let his eyes open to look at me.
    “ The group is called The Beatles. They were real big, popular, way back in the day. My mom still loves them. I guess her mom listened to them a whole heck of ton. So when I was born… she named me Jude.”
    I smiled. “I like it.” Catching myself, I licked my lips. “The song. I like the song.”
    “ Me too.” Jude rolled to his side, part of his face disappearing into the