Bean Shots

Born

September 28, 1998
Moscow, Russia

It was dark in the small and simple prison cell. Dim light from the hallway streamed in through the window on the locked door, casting a small square on the floor.

In the bunk above, Sasha slept soundly.

But on the bottom bunk, Anya Petrova was wide awake.

She was lying on her side with one arm bent under her head and the other resting on her round, pregnant belly. She laid still and soundless, breathing slowly and steadily, waiting for what she knew was coming again any second now.

She'd been at this for four hours.

And then, there it was.

Anya gripped a handful of her pillow and concentrated on breathing evenly as her abdomen tightened in another contraction. Scrunching her eyes, she turned her face into her pillow and tucked her lips in to keep a moan from escaping them.

Only a few more seconds...

Anya bit her lip and arched her back.

This was a big one, and it lasted nearly a full minute.

And then, almost in an instant, it subsided. Panting quietly, Anya lifted her slender, blue eyes and read the digital clock on the wall.

4:21a.m.

5 minutes apart.

Groaning softly, she rolled over onto her back and flopped her arms out beside her with her palms facing upward. She closed her eyes and just laid there, taking in these last few moments of peaceful silence.

Above her, Sasha started to snore loudly.

Anya scowled in annoyance and lifted her foot to kick the bunk above her, but her rather rotund figure kept that from being successful. Instead, she lifted an arm and thrust herself up just enough to punch the wooden bunk before falling back into the mattress.

Her cellmate stirred and mumbled in irritable disapproval, "What, Anya?"

"You sound like a lawn mower!" Anya hissed from below.

The two girls, both 21, had become friends over the past eight months. While Sasha was a little more on the rougher and harsher side than Anya, both had come from similar backgrounds and shared much in common.

"Why are you even awake?" Sasha asked groggily.

Anya sighed. "I... I can't sleep," she whispered loudly, hoping that her friend would just shut up so it could be quiet again for just a few more blessed minutes.

But Sasha whispered back, "Is everything okay?"

Rolling her eyes back in exasperation, Anya groaned. "Ughh, Sasha! I'm fi- ahh ah ow!" Another contraction gripped her abdomen, and Anya quickly brought one hand to her lower stomach, scrunching her eyes tightly.

Sasha's upside-down face appeared next to her. "Uh... you don't look fine," she quipped.

Anya tried to wave a hand dismissively, but suddenly, the contraction intensified. She dropped her head back and let out a sharp cry.

Both of Sasha's feet landed on the floor next to the bunk. She knelt down and folded her arms on the mattress.

"Yeahh, you're not fine," she said bluntly.

The contraction eased, and Anya relaxed, breathing heavily. She turned to look at her friend with the long, blonde dreadlocks and grey-blue eyes that sparked like the sky before a storm.