A Night in the Prison

DATE: September 20, 2007 6:00PM to September 21, 2007 6:00AM

Dinner and Midnight Snack

1 and a half piece Lechon Manok (Roasted Chicken)- Php210.00

14cups of rice- Php70.00

Cigarettes- Php50.00

peanuts- Php20.00

Crackers, Biscuits, two 1.5Liters Coke- Php250.00

Coffee and Sugar- Php30.00

Transportation from the Jail to the Grocery and back again- Ph30.00

Morning (September 21)

Pan de Sal- Php40.00

Mentos- Php14.00

Videotape- Php150.00

Transportation Php32.00

Due to an incident, I have forgotten to blog about my stay inside the prison for our film documentary in Political Science, until I found our shopping list that night while cleaning my bag today (My CI dismissed us early).

I think I should start my story by dissecting our grocery first (uhm only the important ones). By 6PM the rest of our groupmates left us already and went to their own homes. Since Ray, Neil and I are the only boys in our group we have no choice but to stay, though we were really thankful to the girls who chose to be left behind with us; April and Richell. We continued the interviews until 8. We texted Julie, since she handles the fund, she promised to return just after she bathe and had her dinner at home. By ten she was still not there, we’re already dying. By 11 she came and went with April (and Jervell and Junessa who also promised to return) to buy the grocery.

1 and a half piece Lechon Manok (Roasted Chicken) and 14cups of rice- Php70.00

Jervell, Junessa and Julie did not join our sumptous dinner. April brought some utensils from their house, which is only 50 meters away from the jail (his father is a cop). Ray and Neil had three cups of rice each, while the rest of us ordered only two. We were really hungry so you can just imagine how happy we were.

Cigarettes

Ray and Neil are chronic smokers, they are the type who could not dump in the toilet without puffing a stick, while April only smokes when invited. After dinner they hurriedly went to a corner in the prison’s basketball court and smoked. Out of curiosity, well I haven’t tried to smoke in my whole entire life, I asked them if I could have a puff. I took a stick from April’s Marlboro Light (I expected that Light is lighter than the red Marlboro that Ray and Neil are smoking).

I lighted the cigarette between my lips until it was already red. I puffed a little and was surprised that I did not cough. Ray laughed. Neil was amused, then he said, “Higupin mo kasi sa baga mo, sa loob lang ng bibig mo yan ay.” (Inhale it into your lungs, you are just putting the smoke in your mouth.) So i puffed again and breathe in the smoke. I coughed out violently, they all rolled laughing. My gag reflex immediately moved, I was nauseated. I headed straight to the bathroom until I burped. It was funny, I have to drink 5 glasses of coke just to remove the scent from my mouth. I cant believe that many are addicted with it… cigarettes smell like the milder version of marijuana that the punks in my high school used to puff in the restroom.