There was a bit of a ruckus down the hall, with some prisoner getting out of line. Deidre brought her hands up to her ears and closed her eyes, blocking out the sounds of the guards beating the person once more. It was routine to cover her ears and close her eyes when she heard such things, and not just from her time in prison. [i]Keep your head down. You’ll be fine.[/i] She told herself. It had kept her safe as a child, and it would keep her safe now.

[i]You know, you can just change what you look like, walk right out of here.[/i]

[i]I would still need to hurt a guard to take their clothing.[/i]

[i]It doesn’t have to be permanent.[/i]

[i]What would be the point anyway?[/i]

[i]Freedom, you dolt.[/i]

[i]I have a roof over my head, clothing on my body, and food on my plate. Why, exactly should I go anywhere else?[/i]

That silenced the nagging voice in her head for a little while. She felt like it had to be totally normal to have doubts, and to wonder if her course of action was the right one. She still wondered, though, if the voice that made her ask questions was something that normal people had, too. Perhaps she was the only one who had such crippling doubts, because she was a freak. She held her hand over her ears long after the sounds ended, lost in her thoughts until she felt her roommate shake her arm. 

Deedee’s eyes snapped open and she turned towards the other woman in surprise. “What?” She asked. Rhonda looked at her for a few long moments, her eyes having a bit of a faraway look in them, but she didn’t speak right away. Instead, she shook her head a little, and sighed. “Nothing, Kid.” She said.

Rhonda rarely called her kid. It was only when she was trying to make some sort of point about Deedee being a bit young for a place like this. Perhaps she had regressed her age a bit when the sounds reminded her of being in the group home. She tumbled out of the bed and stumbled over a few steps to the mirror, the suddenness of the action surprising Rhonda enough to stay out of her way. 

[i]Now you’re just being paranoid, Deedee.[/i] She thought as she looked at herself again. Some people thought she was vain. She didn’t contradict them, because what alternative could she say? ‘Oh, no. I’m not vain. I just looked like a messed up science experiment, and don’t want anyone to see because I will be locked in a lab and poked and prodded until they can diagnose me.’ She didn’t think she was contagious, and had certainly never met anyone else like herself—at least, that she was aware of. She was [b]white[/b], Gods be Damned. It was the lowest of the markings that her skin could bear.

With her appearance confirmed, the pounding in her chest began to slow back to a steadier beat, and her grip on the small sink loosened. “Are you okay, kid?” Rhonda asked behind her. Deedee nodded, her face expressionless, and she began to pace around the room a little.

“It will be dinner time soon, right?” She asked, changing the subject before Rhonda could inquire again about her health—or mental sanity.

Rhonda looked down at her wrist, which was unfortunately bare, and sighed. “Yea, I think so.” She replied. Sure enough, about a half-hour later, the officers cleared out, and the path to the dining hall opened up. It made more sense, with so many inmates, for the guards to simply protect themselves and let the inmates work out their differences in transit. The other paths were blocked, and deviation led to rather unpleasant side effects. Few people tried anything squirrely, and even fewer tried something twice. 

Deidre sat with her roommate once they had gotten the food. It wasn’t great quality, because they didn’t rank highly enough in social status to get food with flavor. But it was sustenance, and would give them energy to work. That was the purpose of Deidre’s earlier meeting, actually. She was given the option of ‘applying’ for work positions around the prison. The benefit was more time out of her cell, and potential access to other things, if she proved competent. The more dangerous jobs had better benefits, but Deidre wasn’t interested in working herself to death—coincidentally those dangerous jobs had a high turnover rate. No, she applied for a few easy things, like laundry, filing, and cleaning. 

The pair were joined by a few others, most of whom Deidre knew. One of the women, however, was completely new, apparently to the prison system at all. Her roommate, Lola, introduced her as “Penny, in for robbing someone...Get it? For pennies!” She laughed at her own joke, and Penny turned bright red, staring down at her tray. 

“Lola, stop being such a bitch.” Rhonda replied, shaking her head.

Quiet fell over the table for a few moments, until the new girl spoke up. “So… what are the rest of you here for?” Her voice was a bit timid, and it reminded Rhonda at least of Deidre a couple months before. The look on her face was someone trying to be brave, and trying to find a sane soul to cling to, because Lola certainly wasn’t.

“That’s a dangerous question to ask, kid.” Rhonda grinned, and then opened her mouth again to begin her tale.