Catalyst

III

Dinah Jane is way too fine to be in prison.

She knows it, everyone else knows it, but she's still in prison.

As she walks down the hallway with the bland, vanilla walls towards the cafeteria, waving in greeting or blowing small kisses at other inmates, she reminds herself that in situations like these, she must remain humble. Being this beautiful is a gift, and she must treat it as such.

"Good afternoon, hoes! Your queen has arrived!" She yells as she enters the cafeteria for lunch. Her loud voice garners the attention of several tables of inmates, as well as a loud greeting from Taystee and the other black girls. Dinah decided to give them a show, flicking her hair over her shoulder and twirling once, popping out her hip and showing off her assets.

"Honey, sit your conceited ass down and eat this slop," Sophia commands playfully, and Dinah smiles sheepishly as she sits down beside her.

When Dinah first arrived at Litchfield, she was terrified and incredibly self-loathing. It took everything in her to be able to fall asleep at night, and even then she barely could, because every time she closed her eyes, she couldn't get the image of the bloody and mangled body out of her head. By the end of the first week she was a wreck, and no one even spared her a second glance. But by some grace of God, Sophia took pity on her, and she has been Dinah's mentor and motherly figure ever since.

"So what's the scoop on new girl?" Dinah asks as she starts to poke at the questionable food on her tray. She knows she needs to eat, but Red has to do something about this 'night of the living lunch meat' situation.

"You seem to know more than I do," Sophia points at Dinah with her fork matter-of-factly. "I heard your little BFF Jauregui defended her at breakfast today. It's the talk of Litchfield."

"That's the most I've heard Lauren talk in one sitting since she punched out Chapman," Dinah laughs, eating her mystery sandwich with a slight grimace, the aftertaste on her tongue slightly revolting.

"So what's on the agenda today, miss boss lady?" Dinah asks Sophia after a couple minutes of content silence, the taller woman scoping out the cafeteria discretely.

"We got a few new clients coming in today, so I need my shop to be spotless. Think you can handle it?" Sophia asks her with a teasing smirk.

"Keeping your shit clean keeps me sane, so you know I'll be fine," Dinah winks with a laugh, and the two begin discussing the anatomy of the prison pudding for the duration of lunch.

-

"Get that shit off my counter space," Sophia motions to the magazine resting on her counter as the two women enter her shop. Dinah gasps dramatically, clutching the magazine close to her chest.

"You take that back!" She shouts defiantly.

"It was in my way, Hansen!" Sophia rolls her eyes, continuing to organize her tools and dye.

"Beyoncé is never to be referred to as 'shit' unless she is being called 'the shit'!" Dinah says finitely, kissing the picture of Queen B on the magazine cover, and Sophia can feel herself aging faster the more she deals with Dinah.

"I swear I'm gonna die in here because of you," Sophia shakes her head playfully. Dinah purses her lips sassily, waving the taller woman off, before grabbing a broom and sweeping the floor.

"Is this Sophia's salon?" A voice from the door asks, and Dinah is answering immediately as she turns around.

"Yeah, come on-"

Dinah's eyes widen at the sight of the woman who just entered the shop. The Polynesian girl ultimately decides that she must have died because there is no way someone this gorgeous is in Litchfield.

"-down on me," Dinah mumbles to herself, praying that no one heard her. Sophia snorts slightly, and Dinah automatically groans because she knows she failed the subtle approach.

The woman before is nothing short of stunning; long, wavy black hair, perfect dark skin, thick legs, and a face that had to have been sculpted by God himself. Dinah shuts her mouth immediately when the woman enters so that she can avoid either saying something stupid or drooling on the floor.

Why the fuck has she never seen this girl before?

"Ah yes, Kordei, right on time. Have a seat over here," Sophia greets her with her usual sassy tone, and the girl Dinah now knows as Kordei flashes the Polynesian a small smile before sitting in Sophia's chair.

Holy fuck her smile shines brighter than the sun, Dinah decides.

"What are you feeling today, honey?" Sophia asks as she plays with Kordei's hair.

"I'm feeling cornrow braids," Kordei smirks at Sophia in the mirror, and Sophia's eyebrows lift as well as the corner of her mouth.

"A woman that knows what she wants, I like it," the taller woman laughs as she begins to brush out Kordei's hair and Dinah can't help but think, 'Shit, me too.'

"I always get what I want," Kordei says with a mischievous glint in her brown eyes as they roam Dinah's body in the mirror against the wall.

-

After work, Dinah finds herself speed walking down to the Spanish Harlem block. Ignoring the bewildered looks the Spanish inmates give her as she passes by, she speeds around the corner and immediately into Lauren's block.

Lauren's roommate, Ally, is sitting on her bed, mumbling what sounds like spells and incantations under breath in Spanish while hugging her knees, rocking back and forth on the mattress. Dinah laughs lightly at the sight, giving Lauren a mini salute in greeting, before saying, "You can quit with the crazy act, Hernandez, it's just me."

Ally stops rocking immediately, looking up to see who the fuck this person thinks they're talking to. When her eyes land on Dinah, a blush creeps onto her cheeks as she smiles shyly.

"H-hey there, DJ," Ally tucks her hair behind her ear as sends a small wave to the taller girl in greeting, who flashes her a bright smile and waves in return. Dinah turns to Lauren way too quickly for her own feet and stumbles slightly, the green eyed girl stifling a laugh at her best friend. Dinah flips off Lauren once she regains her footing, and stares directly into her best friend's emerald eyes.

"Lauren," Dinah says, and Lauren raises her eyebrows impatiently for Dinah to continue. "I swear to god I saw the most beautiful specimen today, and I'm finna smash."

While Dinah is standing there, her head in the clouds thinking about Kordei, she misses the look that Lauren gives Ally, and the sad smile that the shorter Latina gives in return. Lauren pouts slightly in return, before coughing loudly to earn Dinah's attention.

"Shit, sorry," Dinah smiled sheepishly, "but yeah, she's like.. stunning, like holy shit Lauren you have no idea."

"What's her name?" Ally asks for Lauren, because she knows that the green eyed girl is going to keep close tabs on whoever is involved with her best friend.

"Kordei," Dinah all but sighs out dreamily, and Lauren makes a gagging noise that earns another middle finger from the Polynesian. "She's so strong minded and opinionated, and she knows just what she wants. I feel like you and her would get along, Laur."

Lauren raises her eyebrow at Dinah, because to her it sounds like Dinah just defined a bitch with nicer vocabulary. But of course, she won't say anything to the Polynesian inmate, because she wants her best friend to be happy no matter what. If this 'Kordei' person hurts Dinah's feelings, however, she's gonna catch these hands.

"Let's go get some dinner, yeah?" Ally asks the girl, and Dinah immediately agrees despite being terrified of the food. Lauren nods at the shorter girl with a smile, wrapping her arm around her shoulders as the three of them walk down to the cafeteria.