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A small, hairy, freckled hand crept over the side of his bunk and across his left hip, stopping at his crotch, where its fingers began tugging at his zipper. Mark blinked his eyes twice, then sat up, swung his legs over the bunk, and jumped to the floor all in one motion. His feet didn't stop moving till Jack Anderson's back was against the far cement-blocked wall, Mark's slight 5'9" frame towering over the diminutive, portly man. He glared down into Jack's eyes, which were wide with fear or lust - or both.

"What the fuck is your problem, dude?" said Mark.

"Um, I lost something, roomie-"

"Stop calling me roomie-"

"Okay-"

"You're so fucking stupid. I wasn't even asleep or anything. Dude, do you lack self-control that much?"

A buzzer sounded loudly through the prison, echoing in every cell. Jack blinked over at the tiny clock on the table. "The parade's starting," he said. And slipped out from under Mark and made his way to the barred door of their cell.

Mark followed, inching away from Jack as he took up his post next to him. Another line of black men carrying bed linens and toiletries made its way past, a conga line of the defeated and entrapped, like a scene from Roots. Mark watched, sighing, till his heart stopped beating with the sickening force of recognition as the last two black men approached. "Donte," he yelled, "Delonte."

Both men looked at him at the same time and grinned, throwing back their heads.

"What the fuck, dudes?"

"We get up witch you in the yard, a'ight?" Donte nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, man," said Mark. He looked to his shoe tops and could've sworn that his body was as empty as their soles.

"Who are those niggers?" came a voice from behind him.

Mark spun around, his eyes narrowing to where Jack had quietly backed up to pull out his cock - the head swollen and red - and masturbate, sweat coating his forehead. "Don't call my friends niggers again or I'll fucking gut you," said Mark. He pointed to Jack's short, fat cock in his short, fat fingers. "And if I see your dick one more time, I'm gonna cut it off. Got that?"

Jack nodded, popped his dick back in his pants without zipping them, and made his way to his bunk.

"Uh uh," said Mark, as he reached in front of Jack, tore the sheets, blanket, and pillow from the bottom bunk with both hands, and threw them to one of the dusty corners of the cell. "I got the bottom bunk now. You lost that privilege, bitch."