Chapter 3

By the time our court date arrived everyone had agreed to take the plea deal. We sat in the front row of the courtroom, guarded by Officer Bowers, as Judge Fahey took his seat.

"Alright, we'll begin calling the defendants in alphabetical order by last name." That meant I was first, and Officer Bowers led me to the stand.

"State your name please."

"Jacob Bailey."

"Mr. Bailey, you are charged with one count of underage drinking and one count of conspiracy to furnish alcohol to a minor. How do you plead?"

"Guilty, your honor."

"On both counts?"

"Yes sir."

"In that case, I sentence you to 90 days in the county jail followed by nine months of home confinement and 2500 hours of community service on the first count and an additional 500 hours of community service on the second count. I further stipulate that you are not to wear any shoes or socks for the duration of the sentence. The sentence is to begin immediately."

He banged the gavel and I was allowed to hug my parents before being handcuffed by the bailiff. Unlike Officer Bowers, she made the cuffs as tight as they would go and shoved me into the back of the paddy wagon. Once the wagon filled up we were driven back to the jail, booked, and led into a shower room. I was relieved to see that Officer Bowers was back in charge of us.

"Ok, guys, go ahead and strip off and then line up by the wall with your hands behind your heads."

I took of my shoes, socks, suit, and underwear and stood next to Jesse. It felt kind of strange knowing I wouldn't have anything on my feet for the next year, on top of everything else. Since I was facing the wall, I couldn't see what was going on around me until Officer Bowers pulled me out of line for the search.

"What's your name again?"

"Jake."

"Alright Jake, I need you to open your mouth for me." After inspecting my mouth he ran his fingers behind my ears and then had me bend over and cough.

"Ok, now pick your left foot up and spread your toes." He ran his finger down the sole of my foot and between each toe. It tickled a little bit, and I almost lost my balance.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to that. Now the right one."

When he'd finished searching me, Officer Bowers gave me an orange prison uniform and a pair of boxers to change into and led me to my cell. It looked like the jail was trying to keep all of us together and away from the other inmates, which I was glad for. I ended up back in a cell with Sean, Jesse, and Joel.

Joel was the last one in the cell. He immediately lay down on the remaining bunk with his feet, which had turned grey from the dirt of the cell floor, crossed over one another.

"Well that was probably the most fun anyone's ever had getting put in jail," he joked, "does anyone mind if I beat off?"

I had decided in the run-up to being sentenced that I was going to use this experience as an opportunity for sexual experimentation. "Actually, would you like a hand?"

"Sure, we can do each other."

We stripped and lay down next to each other. As Joel got to work, I realized that I definitely enjoyed doing it with a guy. After we finished, Joel and I washed up as best we could in the cell's sink and settled into our first day of incarceration.