“He’s the teacher for the business class,” Darren told Matt without taking his eyes off Aiden.
“The one from the rumors?” Matt outlined exaggerated boobs again and crossed his hands under his chin.
“Mhm.”
“Think he gets paid for both like warden Jefferson did?”
“How would I know?” Darren shot back, wondering himself.
“By putting that peculiar charm of yours to work?” At Darren’s roll of eyes, Matt snorted in that particular way he did when he wanted to let you know you were full of shit. “C’mon, Darren, ya think I won’t know when ya fancy someone?”
It was Darren’s turn to make a disapproving sound, though it was simply ignored by the other man and probably rightfully so, since Matt was indeed adept at picking up on certain things. Besides, Darrenwasinterested, and his mind was already thinking up ways to get closer to the new warden. He didn’t know why he’d reacted so sharply, but he couldn’t deny that those eyes and that attitude really did it for him.
“Gotta hand it to ya, though. You know how to aim high.”
Didn’t he know it. A teacher was tricky enough, but a teacher who was also the substitute warden was an even worse idea.
As Darren watched Aiden march across the mess hall to stand by the food counters, he wondered if Aiden even knew how to run things around here. Was he teacher first and warden second, or warden first and teacher second?
“Why’s he here anyway?” Matt sounded genuinely clueless.
“To introduce himself, why else?” Darren huffed out a chuckle.
Scrunching his nose, Matt angled his chin at the food counters. “He’s staring our way.”
Darren swiveled around, positioning himself so that he didn’t have to keep twisting his neck to see behind him. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Matt wasn’t joking and that two hazel eyes were staring him down with pointed intensity.Evaluating him,because that was what Aiden Kesley was doing, as if this had turned into a game of chess where every move counted.
Was the warden also interested in him then? Surely, that was too good to be true. Maybe he was here for a reason… Did he somehow know who Darren was? Even if everything had remained so hush-hush during his capture and trial?
Flustered anticipation roiled Darren’s stomach, heightening that sudden interest he had for the man and summoning a wave of enticing tingles all across his skin. He couldn’t look away, etching each and every golden fleck of Aiden’s eyes into memory along with that flicker of…
He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but it reminded him of the familiar sense of being lost, of something haunting your every step no matter how hard you tried to escape it or forget it.
And it took his breath away.
“You okay, bud?” Matt said in a voice that sounded far away.
Darren’s chest expanded, hungry for air. “Ye—yeah.”
Aiden held Darren’s gaze for a few seconds—studying his reactions, albeit non-apprehensively and without the authority from earlier—almost offering an unguarded smile. But to Darren’s disappointment, before it could properly form, Aiden’s eyes moved on, examining the rest of the men in the room.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Aiden Kesley, the new warden,” he said and crossed his hands behind his back. “I won’t be taking much of your time seeing as you are about to have lunch, which, after a discussion with the Board, will include real fruit every day, instead of everyone’s favorite jell-o.”
Enthusiastic cheers erupted all around and he let them settle before holding up his hand for silence. It came momentarily and without effort, whether because of the unbelievable news or because of the man’s undeniable charm.
“My second piece of news is that along with taking over as the warden starting today, I am also teaching the Business and Entrepreneurship class, which will stay open for another week to accommodate late sign-ups. I know that things have been a bit hectic in the past few months, but I assure you, I will do my best to improve the standard of living for everyone.”
“How?” an inmate named Peb yelled, here with a life sentence after blowing up a high school on Earth. Like Eddie, he was one of those who didn’t give a damn about kissing the staff’s asses, even if it meant getting shoved into Isolation more often than not. “By pocketing most of the funding like the previous warden? Some improvement!”
“Shut your trap, Peb!” another prisoner booed, this one evidently sporting more brain cells.
A few others agreed, reiterating their gratitude for the improvement of lunch. Remarks rang across the hall, ranging from suggestions about bigger meals, new mattresses or a quicker repair of the damaged yard, to ridiculous requests for Jacuzzis and weekly strippers. A nasty jibe at Aiden made it through occasionally, like how he woulduse the money to hire a porn actress for his personal secretary, but those were far fewer even if, ultimately, everyone here lacked trust in the system.
Unless, of course, there was an external inspection. Then the Board could indeed be very generous, if it meant the inmates improved behavior.
Once the excitement died down a notch, Aiden said, “Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated. As I said, I aim to make this place better for everyone.” When a new round of reactions threatened to rise up, he quickly continued, letting authority carry his voice. “And to start things off, intensive repairs of the game area and field will commence tomorrow, with an expected completion date by the end of the month. I know it’s been a while and you could use the space. All I ask is that you all behave and not give Management a reason to change their mind about expediting the process and installing an entertainment unit.”
Darren gawked at the warden, not believing his ears. A gym and a field, a library… that was one thing and fairly standard for prisons, but an entertainment unit? Was Horizons really getting one because of some stupid inspection?
