MIRAGE

M1 "Inception"

7:40 pm - 4/2/17 - ATL,GA

Solace was no novice to working hard for what she wished to acquire. With working hard came a bit fighting, which is what she was currently doing. Day after day, she landed herself in the stickiest of situations, all in the name of living out her dreams. While it maybe wasn't the most ethical thing to do, fighting for what she wanted never failed her, which her lead to believe that this time wouldn't differ, despite the many bumps in the road that she faced. Ever since the music group she had with her sister and best friend split about 6 months ago, Solace hit the ground running with an attempt to jump start her solo career.

Solace had no choice but to turn away once the jail cell door closed in her face, close enough to grant the smell of metal to her nose. Upon turning around, she scanned the holding cell and observed everyone who was in there with her. Here she was, once again, back in a cold cell filled with other people that were there for various reasons. Solace wasn't a stranger to this predicament, she knew that it was her right to make a phone call. Per usual, she knew exactly who she would call when the opportunity was presented. Until then, Solace sat on the bench and watched everyone outside the metal bars do their jobs, bringing more people to the cell person by person until it was eventually full.

As the rusty old water fountain that adorned the corner dripped, it blended simultaneously with the sound of the clock that slowly ticked, yet quickly sent Solace crazy. She lifted her hand and softly massaged her temples, hoping for some type of relief from her odious headache. As time passed, she believed both sounds gradually got louder. Solace opened her eyes and tossed her head back, only for the pain the to remain steady.

"Reed!" The guard yelled out, making all of the noise surrounding her halt as she looked in his direction. "Come get your call." He announced, motioning his head to the phone. Solace got up from her spot on the hard concrete bench and made her way over to the pay phone. Solace hesitated for a moment, not certain if she wanted to use her one call on her mother. While she knew her mother would without a doubt come get her, she also knew she didn't have time to hear her mother's mouth. The car ride back home would be filled with Keri's southern drawl berating her about landing herself in jail once again and Solace didn't want to hear the same old song, only sung louder and louder each time.

Though she'd been in this same exact cell plenty of times, it wasn't her ideal place to stay. It was dirty, cold, and malodorous. As her warm bed and quiet room back home came to mind, Solace quickly put away her pride. After a quiet drawn out sigh, she lifted her hand and continued with her task. Her acrylic nails halted her from directly using her finger tips, so she used her knuckle to punch in mother's number.

Solace pursed her lips together as she listened to the call back sound, praying to soon hear her mother's voice from the other end of the phone. "Cmon Ma." Amil lowly spoke. She closed her eyes and listened to every ring, internally freaking out as she knew she was one ring closer to losing her phone privileges for the night and would have to wait until the morning to get ahold of one of her family members.

Solace pursed her lips together as she listened to the call back sound, praying to soon hear her mother's voice from the other end of the phone. "Cmon Ma." Amil lowly spoke. She closed her eyes and listened to every ring, internally freaking out as she knew she was one ring closer to losing her phone privileges.

"I know yo' ass ain't at that jail again, Solace." Her mother's voice sternly came through the phone, causing her sigh of relief to fall from her mouth, just before she opened her eyes. "Ma...please—can you just please come get me." Solace pleaded, though she wasn't very proud to.

"Girl—April fools was yesterday, stop playing on my phone." Keri lightly chuckled, choosing to stay in denial in hopes that her daughter was playing a joke on her. " I'm not playing." Solace replied, causing her mother to kiss her teeth before blowing a sigh into the air.