Sara and Michael in “Cell Test”

Sara

[Putting a sticking plaster on the fresh bandage] No redness or swelling, so it's no sign of infection. I’ll keep you on antibiotics for the next ten days. [Michael is looking at his foot, serious] You should be good. [She looks up to Michael and gets up walking to a desk next to the door] Michael, you understand by law I'm obligated to file a report if I feel there's been prisoner misconduct? [Sara looks at him. Michael's still serious. Putting his sock on, slowly] There's no way this injury happened by stepping on a blade in a garden shed.

Michael

If you fill a report things could get a lot worse for me.

Sara

They're not already?

Michael

Not compared to what they could be. [Sara looks down. He smiles] I've made some enemies.

Sara

Yeah... Scared?

Sara

Men. OK. Here’s what I think. I think you are scared and you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t scared in a place like this.

Michael

When I was young, I couldn’t sleep at night because I thought there was a monster in the closet. But my brother told me there wasn’t anything in the closet but fear. And fear wasn’t real. He said it wasn’t made of anything just…air. Not even that. He said you just have to face it. You just have to open that closet and the monster would disappear.

Sara

Brother sounds like a smart man.

Michael

He is. In here though, you face your fear, you open that door and there’s a hundred more doors behind it. And the monsters that are hiding behind them are all real.

Sara

If you want, I could recommend you be sent to Ad-Seg.

Michael

[Gets up] With the rape victims and the snitches.

Sara

[Still trying to convince him to take care of himself] It would keep you safe.

Michael

Thanks, but I think I'd like to face the monsters on my own.