Chapter 50: Jonas' Backstory: Jail Cell
Jonas groaned as he opened his eyes. The light fixture directly above him didn't help his hangover any. The light was too bright, even though it was the same brightness it had always been. Except when the lightbulb burned out of course, which generally got promptly replaced, since this was a county jail.
Jonas ran over what he could remember overall. He had been in a bar the night before… or was it earlier in the night? He had no idea what time it was or even how long he'd been here.
Jonas glanced around the holding cell he was in. There wasn't anything remarkable about the cell, but he still recognized it from the layout and shape of the room. Even if he went to the door, he wouldn't be able to see what time it was. And of course, the deputies on duty wouldn't bother telling him what time it was if he asked, so he was stuck not knowing when he'd be processed to be sent to one of the regular units for those waiting for their case to be decided.
Jonas shook his head. He thought again to what happened at the bar. He was minding his own business, drinking enough to get a good buzz, but not plastered. He didn't really care for the really strong booze, but at the same time, he couldn't really afford it either.
It was all he could do to pay for the drinks he did drink from what he was able to earn doing day labor jobs. There wasn't much he could do about it, but at the same time, he wished he could get his life more stable. Living this way wasn't really a long-term solution, but he also didn't really have the motivation to do much else.
Was he as much of a loser as his family said he was? He really didn't have an answer to that. Not that his family was ever that supportive of him in any meaningful way. As by the time he finished High School, he was burned out and his family's response was along the lines of that if he wasn't willing to put in the work, then he'd get what he desrved.
For him, it hadn't been about the work, it was the fact that he no longer cared. Yet, because he didn't have the drive to go into some college, then he was a dead beat to them. Of course, the more prestigious the college, the higher his status in his family would have been, but that didn't matter to him. Why should he care when they obviously didn't truly care about him? All he was to them was another potential bragging point. One that they could ignore and milk for pity since he clearly wasn't going to 'amount to anything.'
He forcefully pulled his thoughts away from that. Thinking about all that only made him angrier and he couldn't really afford to let himself go down that road. Especially since whenever he let himself get worked up about that, that generally didn't end well for him.
He sighed as he finished his beer. He remained at the bar, debating on whether he should get another one. Part of him was telling himself to just head out. Nothing had happened that night and he was sure he'd be able to find a good alley or place to sleep that wouldn't get him disturbed by the police or anything.
Before he could decide anything, however, a man sat down next to him. That wasn't uncommon, since he was sitting up at the bar instead of a table, however, the man seemed to be interested in Jonas for some reason.
While it wasn't a gay bar, it wasn't that uncommon for guys to hook up here with each other either. At the moment, Jonas didn't care. If the guy was interested in Jonas for that reason, then he might be able to get somewhere to stay other than the streets. After all, it wouldn't be that bad of a price to pay for a place to stay, if only for the night.
"I noticed you doing day labor," the man said.
Jonas glanced at the man. He looked like he might be in his thirties, dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, and maybe around 5 foot ten to six foot 4. Jonas' blurry vision didn't help get a better estimate of the man's height.
"Yeah, so what? A lot of people do that," Jonas replied, aware some of his words were slurring, not that he knew which ones.
"Yeah, a lot of people do, do that," the man replied friendly. "But not all of them could do more."
Jonas glanced at the man again. This certainly wasn't a pick up. This man wanted something. "What about it?" he asked, feigning disinterest to hide his true interest.
The man slid a business card over to him. "Ever thought of learning a trade?" the man asked.
Jonas looked at the card. It was for a labor union. From the looks of it, the carpenter's union. "Why would I want to do that?" Jonas never really thought about it, so he couldn't say if it would be worthwhile for him to or not.
"Many kids learn a trade instead of going to college. Many of them eventually are able to get comparable pay to those who do," the man replied. "Look, if you're not interested, just toss the card and forget about it. I merely came by to see if you might be interested."
Jonas sighed. Did he really look that pathetic? He wasn't sure the last time he looked at himself through a clean mirror, so he wasn't really sure. He was twenty-eight already, so wouldn't that mean that ship had sailed for him?
"What if it's too late for me?" Jonas asked, not sure if he wanted the man to confirm that or not.
"It's only too late if you decide it is yourself," came the reply. "I've known guys, and a few women, who started when they were around forty. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis that brought them there or maybe they just hadn't had any luck themselves, but they still started and began making a good life for themselves."
Jonas sighed again and this time picked up the card. "So, if I wanted to join, what would that entail?" he asked. Even if he decided not to do it, what could it hurt to learn a little more about it?
"Just show up, let them know you'd like to join our apprentice program. You'll fill out a few forms, pay a small fee, and come back later for a test," the man said.
"What kind of grade would I need to get on the test to be accepted?" Jonas asked, already certain he wasn't going to make it. He wasn't concerned about the fee. Most places charged something, so it would feel weird to Jonas if they didn't.
"It's not so much about the grade, but rather a place for us to know where you're at. We can teach what you would need to know. Though, remember, the better you do on the test, the better you'll be," the man answered. "I don't know how much room in the program they have for new people, so if you don't score high enough, you could end up getting cut because we didn't have enough room right then."
Jonas nodded. "I'll think about it," he said, already considering going straight there in the morning.
"Guess that's all I can ask," the man said as the bartender came and gave him a beer. Then to the bartender, he said, "Oh, and two for my friend here. On me."
"Thanks," Jonas said. He never turned down free beer if he could help it.
While the man still sat next to Jonas, he didn't say anything more to him, and Jonas didn't care to speak more either. They both just drank in silence. When the man finished his beer, he left without a word and Jonas sat there nursing the first of the two free beers.
When he finished the first one, he noticed a young man come in and sit at the bar a few seat down from Jonas. If Jonas was the kind to try and pick people up, he might try his luck with this guy. Though, he acknowledged that he'd likely strike out anyway, so he turned his attention back to his beer.
Part way through, he vaguely became aware of a fight breaking out. He didn't pay it much mind. He'd been in his fair share of fights and they typically didn't get out of hand. Though, when the young man was hit in the back of his head by a thrown bottle, Jonas quickly moved over to check to see if he was alright.
In retrospect, that might have been a mistake, since the moment he touched the man's neck and found a pulse, he felt a chair slam down on his back.
Jonas shook his head as he started to stand up. He turned to see what the fight was about and with whom, when he saw one of the combatants swing a bottle at their opponent, miss and hit Jonas in the head with it.
Briefly, Jonas saw bright lights all around him before darkness. The darkness only went away when he came to inside the holding cell he was now currently in.
He wasn't sure why he had been arrested, but maybe with his past record of being involved in fights and the fact that he was unconscious as a result of a fight, he considered that the police probably decided to bring him in to be on the safe side.
Not that he was complaining. After all, the county jail was nice to be in during the winter. While it wasn't that well insulated, he would be able to escape the worst of the winter weather and cold in here. Though, since it was late spring, that didn't really apply here.
Jonas leaned back and closed his eyes. Even though it was incredibly difficult to get comfortable in the holding cell, he had learned a few tricks to get to sleep over the times he'd found himself inside one. So, he closed his eyes and worked at falling asleep.
It was only when he realized something was off did he open his eyes. Around him he was shocked to find that he wasn't in the holding cell anymore. Not only that, but his clothing had disappeared, leaving him without a stitch on. Though, it wasn't long before he learned about him having been pulled into whatever competition this was.
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