The Hate Collective by James Powell (top young adult novels .txt) 📖

to paint him as the ringleader, some kind of criminal mastermind, and as all the stolen stuff was at his house, the police were willing to believe this story. The judge, taking into account Steve’s existing criminal record (nothing serious, just consistent minor offences) decided to make an example and sentenced him to three months in prison. So, at the ripe old age of eighteen, his life already appeared to be over.
Being betrayed by his so called friends really hit home, as these were people he had known for years, people he had grown up with for God’s sake. They had skipped school together, got drunk together, stolen vodka from the supermarket together, yet none of that mattered in the adult world. It was every man for himself, and if that meant selling out your closest friends, then so be it. It’s a dog eat dog world right?
But maybe Steve was lucky. His friends would go on to bigger and better crimes, and would eventually end up in prison for years instead of months. Maybe he got out at just the right time, avoiding a very long sentence further down the line. He still had to do three months though, which was not something to look forward to. In fact, he was full of dread, terrified of what would happen to him while inside, scared of how much it would change him and worried that he would never be the same again. But this was all in Steve’s head, exaggerated and embellished thanks to film and television portrayal of prison life. In reality, it wasn’t actually that bad.
Unlike a lot of his fellow inmates Steve was not happy to be there. He didn’t see it as a badge of honour, he didn’t like the reputation that came with being a convicted criminal, and he didn’t like the environment (despite it only being a minimum security prison and therefore not too mentally traumatizing). He was ashamed to be there and felt sorry for his mother, who had to suffer the embarrassment of having a son in prison, unaware that it didn’t bother her in the slightest. In fact, it gave her yet another reason to be angry at the world, a world which locked up her innocent boy. She was never happy unless she was miserable, and this situation suited her just fine. She liked having the house to herself for a change.
What Steve found strangest of all though, was the fact that some people seemed genuinely happy to be there. No responsibilities, a fixed routine and three meals a day was enough to keep most of them satisfied. He wondered if this was just a coping mechanism or if some inmates really did prefer life on the inside to the real world. He suspected the latter. The outside, with its unpredictable nature was just too much to deal with. In prison, you know where you stand. You know your place. Strange as it may sound, life for Steve wasn’t that unbearable, as there was a real camaraderie among the inmates and even some of the wardens, possibly because most people there were serving relatively short sentences for minor crimes so there was still some hope for the future. There was still an outside chance of a good life on release, so spirits were fairly high.
Most of the prisoners were chancers just like Steve, hoping to make a quick buck but careless enough to get caught. He made a couple of good friends during his time inside, people he still kept in touch with even now. Decent people who were just victims of circumstance, in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong crowd. These friendships helped Steve get through the sentence because at times, he really did find it tough going.
The media like to portray prison as some kind of holiday camp where the criminals are treated like royalty, their every wish catered for, and to some extent, Steve found this to be true. He had his own TV and during the day he was pretty much free to do as he pleased. Mealtimes were enjoyable, a great opportunity to meet and socialise with other inmates, and a much needed chance to moan about prison life and share stories about what they did to end up inside, each person trying to outdo the next with exaggerated claims of criminal activity, trying hard to enhance their reputations. It was all quite amusing, but nothing could make up for the lack of freedom. It was the little things which hurt the most. He had to eat his meals at a fixed time, and be in his cell at night at a fixed time. There was no choice. Trivialities, really, but Steve found this routine difficult. People told him what to do, and he had to obey, which was especially hard as throughout his life, nobody had ever done this. And even if they did, Steve had never listened. But he had to listen in prison and this took several weeks to adjust to. Not to mention the fact that all life’s simple pleasures were unavailable. He couldn’t stay up late, he couldn’t go for a walk, he couldn’t spend a quiet afternoon in the pub. All these little luxuries which help a man get through the day and which people take for granted were absent, and this had a profound impact on Steve’s mental state, as he made a promise to himself never to end up in such a position again. Never again.
He also missed out on one of the only other perks available in prison, which was the chance to receive visitors. Steve soon realised that he didn’t have a friend in the world, and that the life he had been living was futile. Nobody cared about him. There was no loyalty from anyone he had known. Throughout his stay, not a single person came to visit him, which was heartbreaking because he was desperate to see a familiar and friendly face. He just wanted to be reminded of the outside world, that’s all. But nobody came. Not even his own mother. She would later tell Steve that the reason she stayed away was because it would have been too upsetting to see her son locked up. A good excuse, but it wasn’t the truth. She just couldn’t be bothered.
This lack of visitors made him feel absolutely worthless and forced him to re-evaluate things. He made a promise to himself that when the sentence was finally over, he would start again and build a new life, do something that he could be proud of which would earn the respect of his peers and make him feel valued. He was prepared to work hard for this and nothing would get in the way.
This, of course, is how things would play out in an ideal world, but such a world is sadly nonexistent and Steve soon realised that a positive attitude would only get him so far, massively underestimating how difficult it would be for a teenage criminal with no qualifications to find a job. A lack of skills combined with a dubious personal history meant that he was virtually unemployable, despite his new found work ethic.
Subsequently, two months after being released (a month early for good behaviour) he had still been unable to find work although not for lack of trying. He had applied for every job going, no matter how inconveniently located, badly paid and undesirable, but people just weren’t interested. During the interviews, Steve was dealt with politely, but he could tell exactly what his potential future employers were thinking. They were silently judging him, but Steve begrudgingly had to accept that if he were the boss, he would have great difficulty choosing the candidate with the record ahead of everyone else.
Occasionally however, just very occasionally, you meet someone who goes against the conventions of modern life and does things their own way. Andy was one of those mavericks. Like Steve, his upbringing had been less than perfect, but that hadn’t stopped him making the most of life. Thanks to a lot of hard work and determination, he was now general manager of a box packing company, with nearly thirty people working underneath him. He even had a mortgage, which those who knew him as a young man would have found difficult to believe. It was Andy who interviewed Steve for a job working nights.
They got on well together straight away, and even though Andy was ten years older, they were both on the same wavelength, destined to eventually become good friends. The criminal record was not an obstacle, in fact, Andy saw it as evidence of a strong character and Steve was offered work the next day. Or night as it turned out. Andy was also impressed that despite limited job prospects and countless rejections, Steve hadn’t just given up and resigned himself to a life on the dole, or turned to crime again as a means of paying the bills, but had persevered, determined not to let his past hold him back. This was just the kind of person Andy was looking for.
The work was boring and the shifts seemed to last an eternity, but it was honest work which Steve threw himself into enthusiastically, feeling totally elated when he received his very first paycheque. Six months later, he was given the chance to drive one of the small delivery vans- the money was better, the work more interesting and there were extra hours available, which was an opportunity Steve grabbed with both hands. Since then, he had never looked back.
This was several years ago and he had come a long way in that time. He was now living in his own house. It was small, but he didn’t care because it was a symbol of independence and self sufficiency, which meant more to him than any material possessions. He was even proud of his status as a taxpayer, especially when complaining about the government with his mates at the pub. Now he could rant with authority as it was his money they were wasting. And it was in the pub where he met Jenny a few years back.
She was working behind the bar and they struck up a conversation one afternoon when it was quiet. Years of drunk punters trying to chat her up had given her a feisty streak which Steve found very appealing. She also had her own flat and car, proof that she was an independent woman and someone that Steve could respect as well as love. It took a while for them to start going out, but they got together eventually, which made Steve happier than he ever thought possible.
Three months later she was pregnant. It wasn’t planned of course, but Jenny wanted the baby, and she usually got what she wanted. This presented Steve with a dilemma, because he wasn’t sure if he truly loved her or not. In fact, he knew he didn’t love her, but had to convince himself otherwise, especially now he was going to father a child. This in itself was a major concern, as he already had enough on his plate, working long hours with very little time left over for anything else. Not to mention the fact that he was only just capable of looking after himself, never mind another human being. He didn’t have the money to raise a child and the extra responsibility scared him, but he was determined to do the right thing, remembering the promise he had made while in prison that one day he would build a life for himself. And this was his chance. So, he asked Jenny to move in with him, determined to make it work. He was so determined in fact, that he decided to get a second job and do whatever it took