Excerpt from Name and Number

Nick Wood sat with his back pressed hard against the seat of the van. He rolled his neck and tried to ease his shoulders. Even though he was small, the cage he was locked into was a tight fit and with little ventilation the heat was stifling. Perspiration trickled down his back. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Now he knew why it was called a 'sweat box'.
Along with three other prisoners Nick was being transported from court to Her Majesty's Prison Blackthorpe. He turned his head towards the window and gazed out at the passing view. Rain had given way to a clear sky and the sun was now shimmering on the autumn leaves that covered the wayside. In other circumstances he would have appreciated the scenery, but not now. He closed his eyes tight and tried to blot out memories of his morning in court, but nightmare images kept flashing through his mind; the stern face of the judge, the surly guards, his mother and sister both looking tense and scared. He wondered how his mother was coping. 'You'll be the death of me!' she'd yelled at him the night he was arrested, but she'd soon calmed down and sorted out the practical side of things; like talking to his tutors at college and finding him a decent lawyer.
She'd been really brave, even when the barrister had warned them that he might get six months. But today in court when the judge had read out his sentence, Nick couldn't help but glance up to where she sat. Her face was deathly pale and he could tell she was trying not to cry. It was moments later that he heard her break down. It had taken a few seconds for the judge's words to sink in.
'Two years,' rang through Nick's head. Two years for doing what a dozen others at his college were doing... but they hadn't had his rotten luck. He immediately thought of Jessica and what had happened to her. No doubt her parents would consider his sentence not nearly long enough.