I was not in class yesterday because I was involved in a near hostage situation between myself and an old friend from high school. This old friend, "Justin" was on the bus when I boarded it. I noticed he was dressed in a sweat suit and clutching a plastic grocery bag full of clothes. Apparently after high school Justin was arrested and had been serving time. It just so happened that yesterday was his release date and he was back in town, Justin and I are completely opposite in appearance. Normally Justin insisted on dressing in insanely expensive "gangster" clothes featuring Tupac (always stolen or it wasn't "gangster" enough) where as I like to dress like someone in the band T-rex had a free for all with The Cramps and made a badly dressed love child that appears in the form of me. We chatted it up and shot the shit back and forth, I even gave him a dollar for his first grape swisher sweet (A cigar) out of prison. Things seemed to be going fine but as the bus rounded the corner and started toward the bridge I told Justin my stop was coming up he said "You ain't gonna chill with an ol' homie straight outta prison, I didn't know you turned chump." His lips curled up exposing his cavity infested teeth, "A chump killa who turned chump are all you is, I am still a chump killa."

I had no idea what he was talking about.

In high school Justin was always up for a night of senseless vandalism and destruction but it seemed that prison had thrown him over the edge into that deep kind of crazy there is no way out of.The experience was simply an expression of my nihilistic adolescent angst for me, I would drive down from the suburbs in a car my dad bought me and "vacation" in the madness of poverty. I didn't know if he was threatening me and that left me feeling very vulnerable. I could almost sense he was rearing up to reach across the bus and stab me with a sharpened toothbrush he made in prison.

"Yeah," I replied with the fear most likely obvious in my voice "what was I thinking man? It's been forever, we should hang out."

The day went exactly as I expected, his mothers house was a run down pit that seemed to be infested with cats. We walked in and Justin yelled nonchalantly "Mom I'm home" as if he had just gotten back from the store, not a three year prison sentence.

He made me buy the cigarettes and Old English forties which he insisted I drink.

He sat back on the couch on his porch and got comfortable. "Have a seat Joel" he said pointing me towards a rickety old beach chair made for toddlers. I unfolded it and sat down trying to get as comfortable as possible. We sat on the porch and smoked an entire pack of cigarettes drinking malt liquor as he explained prison and it's secrets to me.

I sat there for about five hours through several dramatized stories about Justin beating up the biggest guy there and Justin taking over other people's congenial visits when the women would see his attractive 350 pound 5 foot six body "My first stay in prison, by Justin ****". I was told over and over I wouldn't last a day and each time I would reply the honest truth "I don't intend to." Finally Justin noticed I was out of money and allowed me to talk my way out of there. He made sure to get my number and I made sure to give him the wrong one, I doubt very much I will be seeing Justin by choice ever again.