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Mr. Wilson, and some other dude I didn’t know got me out and took me to the detention cell.
    The detention cell didn’t have anything in it except a toilet. You had to sit on the floor. Theybrought me some water and a bologna sandwich later on and I told them to keep it. But I ate it when I got hungry.
    I got another bologna sandwich for breakfast with a container of milk.
    It was a long day, and I sat in the cell by myself until Mr. Pugh came and got me and took me to Mr. Cintron’s office. I started to sit down but he made me stand up and face away from him. He got right behind my back and started talking to me real soft like any minute he might have offed me. I was thinking he was probably hard when he was on the streets.
    “Anderson, do you have to work on being stupid or does it just come natural to you?” Mr. Cintron said.
    “I ain’t got nothing to say,” I said. “I just did what I did.”
    “The guy you fought is going to be doing that same kind of fighting in some kind of institution for the rest of his life. And believe me, he’s going to be in some kind of institution for the rest of his life. What the hell do you need that for?”
    I tried to think of something to say, but I couldn’t.
    “Eddie said you were looking out for one of theyounger boys,” Mr. Cintron said. “But I don’t know if I believe him. All I know is that I stood up for you and you let me down. That’s all I know.”
    “I’m sorry, sir.”
    “This isn’t about sorry, Reese. You’re not on the street stepping on somebody’s sneakers. You’re behind bars. You’re with people who don’t mind seeing you throw your life away. You can’t figure that out?”
    “Sir…”
    “Shut up, Reese,” Mr. Cintron said. “Just shut up. I’m going home tonight. Home to my wife and children and my lovely apartment and I’m going to think about this. You know what freaking power I have over you now? Do you know what—”
    He just stopped talking like he was disgusted or something. I wanted to turn around to see his face, but I didn’t.
    When Mr. Pugh took me back to my quarters, he asked me if I was all right. I said, “Yeah.”
    “As soon as I turned my back you started acting up,” he said.
    “Yeah.”
    Dear Icy,
    It was nice getting your letter. You made me feel a lot better. Sometimes it gets pretty bad in here, but I feel good thinking about you and Willis and the good times we will have when I get out. Do you remember when we went to Coney Island and you went on all those rides? That’s the first thing we’ll do when I get home. Tell Willis to save up a lot of money.
    We have a real funny-looking boy in here. We call him Toon because he looks like a cartoon. He’s only a little older than you are. I told him about you and he asked if you had a boyfriend and I said yes, you did.
    Icy, I am going to try to get out of here as soon as I can so we can be a family again. I don’t know the exact date, but I hope it’s soon.
    Your favorite brother,
    Reese

CHAPTER 6
    I’ve felt bad in my life, but never so bad as when Mr. Cintron walked away. It was as if everything I had hoped for was gone. He had even put Icy on my mail list, and now I didn’t know if I could send her the letter I had written. I remembered what she had written, to think about her at nine o’clock and she would be thinking about me. But I couldn’t think about anything except that I had messed up again.
    I wanted to see what the rest of the guys were thinking. There wouldn’t be any talking at lunchtime, but maybe I could see something in their faces. That’s what I thought, but Mr. Wilson brought my lunch to me and I had to eat it in my cell.
    “Is that all you know?” he asked. “Settle everythingby fighting? Isn’t that the kind of low-life crap that got you in here?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “You know, all Mr. Cintron has to do is to write you up and they’ll send you right upstate with that kid you had the fight with. Then the two of you can