When a swivel of events land Jaslene Romero in jail, it's up to Aarirai to get her out. Desperate to release her sister-by-heart from the concrete block she's been thrown into, Aarirai Andal gets help from Lysias Efah, the only man in New York City...
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I can adapt easily. No one has told me that before as a compliment, but I knew it in myself. Throw me to the wolves, I become the leader. Throw me to the goats, I become the Judas. That’s why three weeks in Peyford Correctional Facility feels like three years.
I tapped my foot as I waited for my turn to receive Antonette’s shitty lunch of the day. I believe that the woman is a great cook, but the funds limit her with the ingredients available. The breakfast eggs are always cooked nicely, but in Satan’s agony, they don’t even have salt.
I laid my tray on the metal table and flashed a timid smile at Little O, a three-foot lesbian who’s serving extra kitchen work time for being caught in the showers with a newbie. I glanced down at the pile of shit they call macaroni salad. Putangina, kadiri (fuck, disgusting).
I sat beside Bernardora, as stealthy as I always am. The woman didn’t notice me until I intentionally brushed my arm against hers. Not a while later, we were joined by Miriam. Ever since the woodworking session when Sin Heizer fucking winked at me, Miriam and I have gotten closer due to her constant teasing. It seems that at the lack of her free-life romance novel pastimes, she’s pouring the frustration onto my little jail life.
Sin. Sin Heizer. I doubt that Sin is his real name. He probably chose it because it makes him seem all big a scary. I snorted. Spare me. I’ve taken down men like him. They might look like the part, but they’re softies on the inside who’ll bargain loyalty once you get them cornered.
Sin Heizer, twenty-nine, and the reason why one man lost four teeth with a drill. He isn’t the one who killed in the fight that broke out, but he is the person who started it, or at least according to the gossip that Miriam caught in the air. The males have been sharing the station with us for three days, today being the third. The guards assigned to the Heizer dude have been called off, but no one really talks to Sin. It’s fine. This isn’t high school. I doubt that the man minds.
“… call for you?”
My eyes snapped to Berna who’s been blabbering for the past minute. “Excuse me, what?” I asked, having not heard her question for me.
“I said,” she began again, “That my boyfriend will call me today and I’m fucking excited. How about your folks, Jas?”
I shrugged, “Soon, probably. My best friend,” I spoke before putting a spoonful of macaroni into my mouth.
Lunch wasn’t eventful which is a good thing when you’re in prison. After our meals, we were given thirty free minutes like always, facilitators expecting us at work in the end of the half an hour. I spent my time walking the halls of Peyford, being as subtle as I can be. If I’m to escape, I need to know the insides and outs. I need to know the people, the routines, the paths, and most importantly, the possible problems. Alongside that was gathering information about the past unfortunates who tried to escape only to fail. One can learn a lot about humans’ past mistakes.
