JUNE 3, 2016: Although it was only ten in the morning, we were on lockdown. There was maintenance being done on the floor, and apparently the prison prefers not to have inmates out and about while there are tools around. I had decided to catch up on some sleep while my cell mate caught up on his reading. It was uncommonly quiet on the floor, and I was out like a light.
I was abruptly awakened by the clang of our cell door being unlocked, and a guard stuck his head in and said, "Apel, get dressed and come with me." I stumbled down from the top bunk, pulled off my shorts and T-shirt, and got into my dress khakis. I followed the guard to our floor's exit door where I found waiting for me a tall, chiseled and uniformed man whom I had never seen before.
He escorted me down the hall and into an office where a young woman sat busily working on her computer. We passed through this office to a back room. He closed the door behind us and leaned against a cabinet. "This is your first time in prison, heh?"