CHAPTER 6

Sophie

I went to bed pissed. Darius flirted with Sophie and totally ignored me.

I tried to get comfortable in the so-called bed. But as Darius sat at the desk, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He flipped through papers and checked his phone every couple of minutes.

Listening to thirty-six girls sleeping was eerie. I wondered if any were pretending to sleep. I’d been warned about what happens in prison when you’re off guard.

I barely slept a wink.

We got up at six the following morning. Darius wasn’t around. Good thing. I looked like a hag who hadn’t slept in days. Still, I felt like I was just stood up for the school dance.

We were told to shower, dress, and line up for breakfast. We had twenty minutes.

Sophie was waiting for me in the shower room. A white towel barely covered her melon breasts.

“I’m watching you, bitch,” she said.

I wanted to slug her. But I managed to retract my fists before they shot out.

Instead, I said, “If you call me that again, your blue eyes will be black and blue.”

“I’m really scared,” she said. She aimed her finger, as if pulling a trigger.

My hair was still wet on our way to breakfast. The morning air chilled my scalp. I chose a table near the window and sat. From my seat I could check out the girls as they came into the cafeteria.

I also had a view of the parking lot. Genie might be brought in.

That’s when I saw some chick carrying an electric fan. She looked like she was still in college. Darius came sprinting out of the building to meet her. He about fell all over himself trying to help.

Cherry plunked down next to me.

“Do you know who that chick with the fan is?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Cherry pinched a sausage link, swiped it in syrup, and took a bite. “This food isn’t too bad.”

“I’ve lost my appetite,” I said, thinking about Darius and whoever she was.

Jantell stopped by on her way to empty her tray. “You two are in my English class. Follow me if you want.”

“Sure,” I said. “We’re about done.”

Cherry nodded. Her mouth was full of the rubbery-looking scrambled eggs.

I was surprised to see the chick from the parking lot was our teacher. “My name is Ms. Di Genta. But you can call me Ms. D,” she said.

The fan Darius helped carry in was blowing a breeze around the room.

The teacher handed everyone a notebook and a pencil. “This is your journal. Be as creative as you’d like. It won’t be graded. Write about a memorable time.” She smiled. “I won’t share unless you want me to.”

My mind was blank.

Di Genta also taught social studies. I suffered through a lesson about Russia and czars. We moved to the classroom next door for science and math. I heard all about the discovery of penicillin. Then I whipped through my algebra worksheets.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the dorm to see if Darius was there. I was the first one to burst through the door. He was. I headed toward him.

Jantell came up behind me. “Are you gonna play pool with me or not?” she said.

Sophie probably put her up to it. “Do I have a choice?” I asked, shrugging.

Sophie stood in front of the pool table. She elbowed me as I passed by. I let it go, for now. I couldn’t let her keep getting away with crap.

Jantell grabbed a cue. “You can break.”

I lined up the ball and took my shot. One solid and one striped ball rolled into a pocket. “I call stripes.” I cleared my throat, hoping Darius was watching.

He was.

So was Sophie. Her eyes shifted from me to him and back again. I wanted to show off and needed to keep my mind in the game. I set up for a bank shot into the corner pocket.

“You couldn’t make that in a thousand tries,” Jantell said.

It spun in, surprising us all. Jantell and Cherry’s jaws dropped. I hoped Sophie was peeing in her pants.

“Lucky shot,” Jantell said.

I got two more in before I missed. “Let’s see what you got.”

It was a long shot, but doable. She put it in, then missed the next one. “Darn!” she said.

It was not a close game. I easily hit the eight ball into the left side pocket to win—an impressive shot.

I hoped Sophie would challenge me. I could practically feel the heat from her jealous body.

“Two out of three.” Jantell pounded the cue on the floor.

I noticed a stranger out of the corner of my eye. Who was that? Why was she here?