Undercover

40. JAMILA + MAYA

Jamila's P.O.V.

March 13th, 2018

I held the courtroom doors open as my mother and the rest of the crew came walking in behind me in silence. Today was a day I never thought would occur in a million years. Maya was arrested back in December on murder charges and other pending offenses.

She'd missed Christmas, New Year's, and plenty of other memorable events. Since December, life had been really rocky and edgy for almost everyone.

Adriana was rushed to the hospital the night of the winter formal because she had a miscarriage. Dakota was distraught about the entire ordeal, it was a shocking surprise for all of us seeing as she never told any of us she was pregnant to begin with. She's been depressed and locked in her apartment since that night and hasn't been in school, if we saw her by chance, she'd keep walking as if she was in a daze.

Dakota, on the other hand, was going hard to get his body back on track by himself seeing as Adriana wasn't in the right spirits. He wasn't mad at her or anything, it's just that the news of her miscarriage took a toll on their relationships.

Mama successfully divorced dad and got everything she wanted out of the arrangements, this is the happiest she's ever been from my knowledge. Between work and home, she became content with her marital decision and has started a new chapter in her life.

Maya's mom and aunt are closer than ever seeing as their baby girl has been incarcerated since last year, leaving them both heartbroken and upset. Maya's mother got another job to help pay for Maya's lawyer and other fees.

As for me, outside of school work and stress, I was saddened than most that Maya got arrested and wasn't set free the night of the winter formal. The way that they treated her became a big outrage on social media thus creating multiple protests throughout these past months, protests in which I was always a part of, including the others.

Speaking of others, Nia was taking this the absolute hardest. She has been leading all of the protests alongside her uncle as well as starting fundraisers and other events to raise awareness on police brutality and to prove that Maya was innocent - of course, Ryan was beside her every step of the way.

Was Maya innocent? I believe so. Is Maya a violent person? Sometimes. But I don't think she could ever kill someone. She's more than an angry teenager with pinned-up aggression, she's a loyal and protective friend.

Today would determine how she would plead and the judge would give us his ruling on her case. Prayerfully, they realize that they were wrong and send her home by tomorrow.

Maya's P.O.V.

"Inmate, let's go. You know the drill." I stood up, fixing my button-up shirt as I put my wrists through the opening in the cell door so I could be cuffed.

Once the guard placed the handcuffs on my wrists, he opened the cell and grabbed my shoulder leading me down the all too familiar corridor. Many inmates yelled and screamed as we walked by, but I was used to it now. Nothing frightened me anymore.

I was numb. As hurt as I may have been in all of my years of living, this was my breaking point. I had been locked in here with promises of a quick and speedy court casing all while being kept in this same cell since December.

A lot of the younger inmates knew me from school or me playing basketball, they knew I was good people and never bothered me. But from time to time I'd catch the eye of an angered inmate and had to squash some beef here and there, but I never got caught.

I spend every day reading and exercising in my cell. Since I was charged with murder, they don't let me out as much as others are allowed. My cellmate was released back in January, but they never gave me another cellmate so I've been in here alone since then.