Neal was sitting in the break room, still wanting to cry. He had no duties yet, so he was waiting, but he wasn’t sure what for. Vanessa Acardi came into the small room and got herself coffee as stiff as she always was, but that didn’t stop Neal, or the words that tumbled out of his mouth desperately, almost tearfully.
“How do you do it?” Acardi turned towards him and raised her eyebrows.
“Do what?” she asked.
“What you just did. When that guy just…” he shook his head, “and you just stood there.” The guard thought about it as she stirred half-and-half into a small styrofoam coffee cup.
“Just like you did,” she answered.
“What?”
“Like you did,” she repeated. “Stand still, say nothing, do nothing.” Neal shook his head.
“But how do you just let that happen, right in front of you?” Acardi opened her mouth, about to answer, but changed her mind. She paused with her eyes on this new guard, scared and desperate, and she looked almost sorry. She apologized with a sad smile.
“You learn,” she said, and left.
Nihilistic Porcupine 