Infirmary Victory

Light shone into the large white cinder block room from narrow windows near the ceiling on one side of the room. Buck could see no buildings or trees through the windows - only sky. Industrial metal ceiling fans spun, spreading the bleach and cafeteria food smell throughout the room. Everyone lined up with trays in hand while their fellow inmates served the meal. Aluminum picnic tables divided the floor of the cafeteria into a maze resembling a city map.

Little Jimmy, as his fellow inmates knew him, knew Buck liked to fight, and he decided to make a statement today at lunch so he yelled at Buck, "Hey pin dick!"

Why do they call him Little Jimmy? Little Jimmy was huge. Maybe it was like the character 'Little John' in Robin Hood and they called him Little Jimmy as a joke.

Buck knew he had to prepare for the impending doom, so he thought back to that night Ron beat the shit out of him and threw him to the floor for drinking one of his beers. Remembering moments that lead him to this incarceration helped him focus on moments like the fight that was about to occur between him and Little Jimmy.

Dreams of leaving home and finding a normal job, or attending college vanished from his future when he stepped in here. What kind of girl could a looser like him impress? Society categorized people, and he now occupied the scum category. Scum never achieved anything great or did anything important for anyone. Even his friends from school reinforced his newly found societal categorization by never visiting or writing.

What happened to my best friend, Nate? Did I ever have any real friends?

His mom only visited to fulfill Ron's needs. She helped Ron sue him for the replacement cost of his car and get a judgment against him, entitling Ron to one hundred percent of his jail wages - all seventeen cents per hour that he could earn. Ron's beating drove Buck to take his aggression out on Ron's car in a joy ride that left the Camaro smashed and burned.

Was it wrong? Sure. Does it still feel good? You bet! Buck thought. He resolved himself to the fact he had no home, no friends, and nothing else to lose in life.

Little Jimmy yelled again, "Hey pin dick! Can't you hear me? Got too much cum in your ears?"

Like Ron, Little Jimmy needed to be put in his place because he thought he could take what he wanted based on physical threat. Standing up to a bully often stopped problems with the current bully, but sometimes other bullies saw Buck as another challenge. Despite Buck's lack of fighting skills, size, and strength, he had become the gunfighter the young guns sought out. His heart was his only advantage in a fight. Rage for bullies pumped through his veins. Little Jimmy successfully earned Buck's scorn by beating and threatening the weak. Buck's great love in life seemed to be hating those who oppressed others for selfish gain or sport.

Buck continued to ignore Little Jimmy for now, but he knew a fight was going down.

Let the burn fester! Buck thought as the righteous anger built within his gut. The longer he let the burn grow inside him, the better he fought. As he approached the food selections, he looked back in the lunch line at the much larger Little Jimmy. He knew he was in for a beating today. He needed every advantage he could get.

Let me see… steamed greens - no thank you. Creamed chip beef on toast–um, maybe. Soup? You bet! Slices of chocolate cake!

One of Buck's few pleasures in the juvenile jail was the chocolate cake.

Maybe I can eat the cake and then take care of Little Jimmy? Probably not gonna happen.

After Buck filled his tray, he strode over to a table and selected a seat where he could keep his eye on Little Jimmy. As he sat down, Little Jimmy marched quickly between the tables - like a farmer walking through a field.

"Hey! you think you're better than me? Why you ignoring me?"

The boys in the lunch room knew a fight was about to happen, so they looked on with anticipation.

Maybe I can get a few bites of cake and stall this dumb-ass, Buck thought.

“Why do they call you Little Jimmy? Is it a play on the Robin Hood character Little John?” He took a bite of the cake.

“Who the fuck is Robin Hood?” Little Jimmy stopped at the table across from Buck.

“You never heard of Little John and Robin Hood? Buck jammed another bite of chocolate cake in his mouth.

The other boys in the lunchroom started to laugh and make comments. To keep Little Jimmy focused, Buck continued his dialog, “Like you, Little John was quite large. He was one of Robin Hood's merry men of Sherwood Forest. Ring a bell?” Buck popped his third bite of cake.

“No,” Little Jimmy liked the compliment he thought Buck gave him by comparing him to a large man, so he continued to listen.

“Huh. I figured everyone had heard the story since it had been around a while. Multiple movies were filmed too - even a cartoon version. The cartoon movie would probably be the best for you.” Half the cake slice was gone as Buck ate his fourth bite.

Little Jimmy looked around the room and realized Buck was messing with him and the boys were whispering and starting to laugh at him. He grabbed Buck's plate of cake and tossed it into the ceiling fan. The plate went flying across the room and the fan spun cake everywhere. The guards sounded an alarm and moved toward the two boys.

That angered Buck. “Dammit!” He stood up and picked up his bowl of soup.

"Eat this motherfucker!" Buck threw his bowl of soup at Little Jimmy's face and then he stepped up on the table and leaped on Little Jimmy in an attempt to tackle him as he wiped the soup off his face. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and Buck bounced off from Little Jimmy.

Punching this giant anywhere other than the face will do nothing. I need to damage his face as much as possible.

Buck picked himself up off the floor. Little Jimmy looked stunned, but he knew he finally hit a nerve. Game-on! Time to rumble and squash this little shit. I just need to fall on him. I might even break his scrawny little body!

Buck wound up for a big swing at Little Jimmy's face like he was going for the knockout, but not before Little Jimmy leaped on him and tackled him. Both boys fell to the floor with Little Jimmy on top of Buck.

Buck couldn't move anything but his arms. I need to grab something. A chair leg!

Little Jimmy tried to get control of Buck's hands when he saw him reaching for a nearby chair used by the guards.

Buck swung the chair at Little Jimmy's head, but lying on his back prevented him from swinging the chair hard and fast. Little Jimmy easily knocked the chair aside.

The guards reached the melee and started yelling. One guard pulled Little Jimmy off from Buck.

"Hope you enjoyed the soup, fuck wad!" Buck yelled as the other guard pulled him up from the floor.

"Eat me, pin dick!"

Buck felt a lot of pain with each breath he took. The guards took Little Jimmy to his cell, and they took Buck to the infirmary.

As Buck sat in a jail hospital bed, he considered his current fate. Did Little Jimmy break some ribs–maybe? Did I hurt him and make him look foolish–you bet!

A nurse who looked like he regretted his current career choice more than the patients disliked being in the infirmary wheeled in a food cart. He set the tray in front of Buck. Despite the pain Buck was feeling, a smile crept across his face. He couldn't believe his eyes - a slice of chocolate cake sat on the tray among the food selections!

“What's your problem?” the nurse asked with disdain in his voice.

Buck thought a moment, “Victory!”