One shot

Prison is so fun

Prison is hell but what makes it worse is the women in here are so hot. I mean they freak me out because some of them are here for some serious crimes. I saw just yesterday one of the women get beaten to a bloody pulp by the person they call Carla. I have been steering clear of all the ladies because I don't want to be next, I am just a reporter looking for a story. I heard that this was gonna be the story of a lifetime. 'Mother Wrongly convicted' it's a story that will be on the lips of everyone in America for a very long time. I mean I know there is so much going on in the world from the police issues, to the school shootings. But I was in a house once and my mother killed my father because he would abuse us. My mom tried to push back as it was self defense but the courts still made her seem like the villain. My sister,Ellie and I grew up to be very similar because of it. She became a lawyer to fight for the voices that aren't heard and I became a journalist to tell the story that people refuse to see. Ellie used to have such a soft spoken voice but after our mother was arrested she never let herself be small again. We grew up much too fast just because it was what we had to do.

I miss when all we had to do was play with our dolls and just keep our heads down. Now, We are in our mid 20's and are living very differently from how we were 9 years ago. To think we were just 16 hiding under the bed when my father would come home drunk on good nights he would pass out at the door but on the worst of nights he would beat us till we couldn't move. I usually had to take it twice as hard because I would protect Ellie from her beating by hiding her and lying. She was my twin who I cared so much about but that night he came home and well it was all downhill from the moment he opened the door hammered drunk.

I look around the Jail's yard as I think back on what actually got me here. It wasn't easy to get the warden to believe I wasn't a journalist just looking for a story. What made it easy was the male gaze of the guard. I mean all I had to do was put on a smile, flip my hair a few times and the guards saw me as bad news.

"You look like a little snack mami" I hear from the other side of the yard I glance but not making eye contact I hear footsteps get closer to me. All I could do was pray but just so happens the person walking towards me would be the client I came to interview anyway. Maybe fate is on my side. I keep my head lowered as the woman sits on the table next to me lighting a cigarette. I cringe a bit at the smell but glance under my eyelashes at Rhoda, she doesn't look like a killer but people could say the same thing about anyone here. "Did you come here to see if I did it? You aren't the first journalist to put a note on my pillow saying you wanted to talk. But I do admit you are the dumbest to put yourself in here just to have a conversation" she says as she blows the smoke in my face. I cough trying to get fresh air in my lungs but even though we are outside everything still smells moldy and stale.

"I'm not dumb for wanting to help get your truth out there" I say as I think back to my mom saying she loves us moments before they gave her the lethal injection. Back then the prisons were overflowing and they killed anyone just to free up space. My mom just so happened to be put on that list of random offenders. It just so happened she was proven innocent the next day. We got the money for her insurance that was owed to us after she died but what pissed me off was that the lawyer that we had was quiet about the new evidence because he knew we couldn't afford him. He found out that her life policy was what would help pay for his services. He lied, she died, and no one would take the story to tell the true story about what happened. I wish someone would have just seen our side, listened to our truth.

"I didn't kill my kids man, but not like it matters when no one will believe my words even though my alibi is so messy that how could it be true? I know I didn't do it, I just know it wasn't me." I could hear the sadness in her voice. But that could be a lie but those eyes I know so well after years of interviewing people I know eyes just can't lie. I sit back leaning my head back to look into her eyes, the wrong choice now that I think back on it. "Follow me to the showers after lunch and I will tell you my story one last time. I plan on spending time in the hole after" she smiles looking down at me. I nod and stand up to walk to the other side of the yard but Rhoda grabs my arm sitting me in her lap. It must be some type of dominance thing, I can't wait to get the hell out of jail back to my comfy bed and hot bath where it isn't terrifying to wash myself.