“Hey, Daya!” a cheerful voice called from across C Block’s common room as Dahlia weaved her way through, deftly avoiding bumping into anyone. “I got your Snickers, I know you said you only wanted one, but I grabbed an extra one--” The blonde stopped short, staring at the darker haired woman, slumped against the wall. Dahlia frowned, slate grey eyes first taking in the telltale packet on the floor, then the curvy Latina with a bruise still healing along her jaw-line. Dahlia lifted her own fingers, the neon green polish chipping off, rubbing at her own bruised jaw, before she sank down next to Daya. “Dammit...” she muttered. She lifted her gaze, raising her voice and making a conscious effort, despite her fear, to use her “nurse voice,” pointing to the first person she saw; a short, black woman walking by. “Yo! Tashte? Tasha? Whatever. Stay with her for a sec. Don’t let her go to sleep, or she’ll die!”
Taystee paused. “What in the hell are you...” She quieted, though, as her gaze went to the girl on the floor. “Aw, fuck!” She dropped down, shaking at Daya’s shoulder. “Dayanara!” she cried, then, raising her voice, screamed for help.
“No one is gonna come.” Dahla scoffed, rising to her feet. “Fellow cop beater here, and I know! ...ain’t no CO gonna come runnin’ to help out a cop killer in here, even if she didn’t actually do it.” She turned on her heel, rushing off to her own cell as a crowd drew closer.
“C’mon, I know it’s in here, where is it?” she muttered, lifting her gaze in thought for a brief moment. She’d tossed aside several old socks made into dolls, some crochet monstrosity and a roll of toilet paper from her shelf, making a little “Ah Ha!” sound, snagging the small tube of toothpaste in a black tube. “Guess it’s government issued ‘til big bro sends you another care basket,” she grumbled, glancing up as Alex meandered in, book in hand. “Hey! Find Boo for me?” she pleaded. “She’s prolly in the yard or--”
Alex cut her off. “Do I look like your valet?” she snapped, watching as Dahlia sorted around her things, finding a paper cup. “I get you got like, rich family or some shit, but you’re gonna have to find your girlfriend or whatever yourself.”
Dahlia tensed her jaw. “I don’t got fucking time for your bullshit.” she growled, shaking her head. Usually she’d point out that she’s not the fancy lawyer, her best friend is, but right now, she had to figure out how to get Daya to like, not die, instead of going into all that with the snobby Alex. So, she waved her hand dismissively. “Never mind, jesus! Go get laid or something,” she snapped back, making her way back through the hall and to the crowd without another glance at Alex.
As she approached, she heard the group of people, some jeering, Pennsatucky muttering prayers; “An’ even though she’s a lesbian, now, lord, lesbianning ain’t so bad….tryin’ to kill people is but….”
Dahlia paused a moment, caught off guard by this prayer, reaching out and shaking the small girl. “Go find Boo!” she demanded, mostly to get Pennsatucky away from the scene. And, well...coz Dahlia wanted Big Boo anyway. The blonde had sort of attached herself to the older woman, sensing the caregiver personality under the rough shell of the tough older inmate.
As Pennsatucky nodded and wandered off, Dahlia pushed herself through the crowd, ignoring a random grope to her round ass. She’d already made the mixture of the black toothpaste and water as she’d made her way from her bunk back to Daya. Now it was just a matter of getting it into the girl, no easy task considering the ingredients...it was enough to wake even the mostly dead! “Heya, sweetie… Look, this is gonna taste like absolute minty poop, yeah? But we gotta get some of it in you,” she whispered to Daya, as if she was talking to a frightened animal. She nodded towards Taystee as Daya mumbled something about sorry and daddy and caring. “Uh huh, yeah...I know, babe.” she said softly. “It’s just charcoal toothpaste. Makes my teeth all white and pretty!” She tilted the cup up against the Latina’s plump lips. “Swallow...” she muttered, hearing a snort behind her. But, she didn’t really pay attention; more important fish to fry or whatever that saying was. “We gotta get just a bit more into you to get the yuckies...eerph!!”
Dahlia’s exclamation was because she was pushed sideways mid-speech, a...rather angry looking woman screaming at her, something about poison. “It’s just charcoal toothpaste! It’s gonna soak up the other dr....HERRGH!” And...there was the solid mass of Boo; a familiar, tattooed arm around Dahlia’s waist, comforting but a little too tight and unexpected. She felt her eyes watering slightly, slumping and rocking her head back against Big Boo’s shoulder. “Oh my god, Boo, stop yelling!” she whined.
“You okay, baby? What happened? You’re bleeding!” Boo squeezed Dahlia again, making her gasp.
“Stop...squeezing me, before I ketchup all over the floor!” Dahlia protested with a strangled laugh, though she wiggled to turn and press herself against Big Boo, burrowing her face into a rather massive chest. “Daya...looks like she took something,” she said softly, finally allowing her tears to shimmer. “I...don’t think I’m gonna make it here, Boo… I...” She paused, squinting down at her arm when she felt something soft pressed against it, her voice going dry. “Really? You’re gonna waste a pad on a miniscule cut?” she sniffed, then started laughing.
“What’s...that game you play?” Boo asked, pulling Dahlia away from the scene and towards the other side, keeping close to the walls so as not to draw much attention. “That fucky Disney shit? Uh. The ...happy funtime..?.”
Dahlia shook her head, sniffling. “Glad Game,” she corrected, glancing around. “Where’s Pennsatucky?” Dahlia looked around as she asked. “I finished her doll, an’ she was gonna read me a Bible story; we found a kids’ Bible in the library.” Dahlia’s voice softened; gone was the strident demanding “nurse voice,” now it was soft, a little hesitant.
“I don’t know, baby; I think she went back to the library. C’mon, gimme something to be glad about,” Boo demanded, sitting them both down. She wanted to pull Dahlia into her lap, but knew that’d draw too much attention from the COs. And, they already have a hate-on for Dahlia as it was.
“One good thing is I don’t gotta worry ‘bout findin’ some crooked, pedophile cop in the littles group an’ hafta kick his ass,” Dahlia sighed, brushing her hair from her face, a streak of black smeared across her cheek. “Mostly ‘coz I can’t get on a fuckin’ computer. Five years without a computer, Boo! ...but...uh... So, I guess...um, I’m glad about that?”
She lifted her gaze up, peeking at Big Boo’s smirking face. “Yeah, I guess that’s right, huh?” Boo asked, wiping at Dahlia’s cheek with a stubby, calloused finger.
Just as she pulled away, Tiffany, or Pennsatucky, as she’s known in the joint, slid up onto the table. “I’m glad we got a Whooooooole library!” she said with a little grin. “And good books too, Poussey liked the library back at Lichfield.” Pennsatucky paused, a haunted look on her face. “She was a good woman, even if she was a lesbian. Anyways, I got the book! Noah and the Ar--”
Big Boo’s voice went cynical in interruption. “Yeah, fairytales...” she joked,turning and leaning back against the table. Pensetucky perched on the table top, cross-legged, and Dahlia sat primly on the stool, trying to fix her hair.
The blonde sighed, gently slapping Boo’s thigh. “Be nice.” she warned, turning. “G’ahead, Tiff, We’ll read it together. Boo can help us with the big words.” She grinned at Boo, for a moment relaxing into their little clique.