Finally we stopped outside cell B48, the door was ajar and without hesitation the officer pushed the door open wide and stepped back to allow me to enter through.

I quickly glanced around the cell as I walked inside. It was bigger than I had imagined it to be, enough space for two occupants judging by the two single beds in the room. There was also a toilet, a washbasin with mirror and shelving on either side along with two small cupboards at the foot of each bed. Immediately in front of me was a small narrow window with bars preventing any possible escape from within, to my surprise there were curtains on either side of the window.

For some reason I had thought curtains would not be permitted, I guess that shows how naive I was at that point! To my left I noticed a cork board with various photos pinned to it in the form of a collage, from what I could tell they appeared to be family photos judging by the facial similarity between the people in them.

It was at that point I heard a quiet rustling noise of pages being turned. Looking in the direction of the noise, which came from behind the open door, I saw the figure of a man (from the waist down) laying on the bed to my left. As the officer closed the cell door behind me the man was revealed in full. I would have put him in his fifties judging by his greying short cropped hair and wrinkled face.

He appeared to be well built verging on overweight and wore the regulation T-shirt and jogging bottoms. At that point he was reading a well worn paperback book until he heard the cell door click shut, with a quiet sigh he folded a corner of a page and closed the book. Placing it gently on the bed beside him he looked over in my direction and studied me with the same expression I had seen on some of the other inmate’s faces earlier.

Felling a little uncomfortable I smiled tentatively and said “Hi, I’m Rhys. I guess this is my bed?” as I placed my armful of belongings on the empty bed.

“You guessed right, quick aren’t you?” he replied in a tone that was just a little sarcastic.

Not quite sure how to respond I decided silence was the best policy so I focused on stowing my spare clothes in the cupboard before opening the polythene bag and shaking out my pillow and duvet. As I did so I heard movement behind me, glancing over my shoulder I saw the guy had sat up and was watching me with an amused expression on his face.

“This is your first time in prison, right?” he asked.

“Yeah” I replied, nodding as I smoothed down the duvet and sat down on it facing him.

“Ah that’s why they’ve put you in my cell. They always put the virgins in with me. I guess they figure I will show you guys how the place works, which of course being the nice guy that I am, I always do.”

“Oh I’m no virgin!” I replied a little indignantly.

“No you misunderstand me, I meant virgin as in first timer to prison life, that’s all. I’m Dennis by the way” he grinned offering his hand to be shook.

I reached across and grasped his hand firmly ready to shake it only to gasp in pain as his hand crushed mine in a vice-like grip.

“Jeez, you’ve got strong hands!” I said massaging my mangled hand much to his amusement.

“Yeah I guess I have” he said grinning “but in this place there’s little to do so I spend a lot of time in the gym keeping as fit as possible. Plus it helps keep trouble at bay if you know what I mean, not many guys will mess with me.”

To emphasise the point he clenched his fists and raised them in the air, displaying his hugely developed arms to great effect. Despite my bravado I was in awe and a little afraid of Dennis, I just hoped that we would be able to get along okay for the next couple of months until my release. Abruptly he stood up, towering over me like a giant before walking towards his cupboard and from inside retrieved a small kettle and two plastic cups. Filling the kettle from the wash basin he looked over at me and asked if I would like a cuppa.

“That’d be great” I replied relieved that things seemed to be going well “I er, um, don’t know how this all works. Where do you get the tea and stuff?”

“Don’t worry about it” he replied shrugging his broad shoulders “we’ll come to some arrangement and I’ll show you where everything is that you will need during your stay here.”

“Thanks” I said taking the offered cup of tea from him, strong and black for there was no milk (no fridge you see).

I sipped carefully at the hot fluid so as not to burn myself and to get used to its harsh taste. Dennis on the other hand drank deeply from it, downing it in four gulps before quietly belching and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Right young man” Dennis said as he stood casually looking out of the window before looking down at me “there are a few simple ground rules which need to be established. If you abide by them we’ll get on just fine, break them and I’ll break you. Understand?”

I nodded silently and continued sipping at my drink, using both hands to disguise the fact that they were shaking slightly.

“Rule number one, this is my patch and what I say goes. No questions. Don’t like it, ship on out. Rule number two, any guest of mine must be treated with respect. If you insult them it will cause me trouble and I don’t like trouble, it makes me angry and you will feel my fists. Rule number three, don’t bring trouble to my door, it will have the same result as rule number two. Rule number four, I like a clean and tidy cell, keep it that way.”

Again I nodded my understanding, having finished my drink I walked over to the wash basin and rinsed it off the best I could. Then on the spur of the moment I picked up his mug from the window sill and rinsed it off too.

“Good lad, you’re a quick learner, I think we’re going to get on just fine” he said as he lay back down on his bed with his hands behind his head.

Grinning I tidied away the kettle and cups before sitting down cross-legged on my bed with my back against the wall facing Dennis.

“Now before I give you a tour of the wing I should warn you about the three gangs which between them rule the majority of the wing. First there is the ‘Red Hand Gang’, they’re predominantly white guys with a liking for violence and using their fists. Then there’s ‘The Snakes’, predominantly black guys who can source whatever you’re after but at a price, oh and they can be violent too.

Finally ‘The Brotherhood’ a close-knit gang of mainly Arabic and Asian Muslims, of the three they’re the least violent but insult or cross them they will do you the most harm. It’s best if you try to avoid getting involved with any of them. That way you’re most likely to come out of here in one piece. Okay? Let’s show you the facilities and introduce you to some of the guys.”