Here I am with my first Chicago multi-chapter! Yaay
The idea came to me out of nowhere, it was just a plot bunny that got interesting and evolved :D I guess this is what I get from watching too much Orange Is The New Black hehehe
Contains high doses of femmlash (not on this chapter, but it will in future ones!) And also some implied LizxAnnie because I think they are adorable together ^^
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this fic!
Annie puffed on her cigarette, trying to calm her nerves before facing the girl on the other side of the table.
"That's a full house, which means I win, Mona"
"That ain't a full house! And even if it was, I'd still win, I've got a sequence"
"It is a full house, you nitwit; see? A pair and a three of a kind… That makes a full house. And you ain't got a sequence, which is called a straight; you'd need five cards to make that, and you only got four… June, pass me those ciggies before I lose my mind"
The red haired woman sighed as June pushed the amount of six cigarettes in her direction, beside her, Liz laughed while shaking her head in a pretty smug gesture. Mona still looked at her with suspicion in her eyes, probably still trying to figure out why she didn't have that straight. If Annie was anybody else but herself, she would probably have punched the newbie girl in her face for even questioning her about her win.
"Okay, June, it's your turn to shuffle… And for fucks sake, people, let's place better bets in this table! Six cigarettes for a full house? If Velma was here I'd probably be with the double by now!"
The four women in the table laughed loudly while June shuffled the worn out deck; all of them knew Velma was just a terrible player, but she insisted in raising her bets whenever she found it possible, only to lose everything to the more experienced players in the table.
"Where is the girl, by the way? I miss playing with her… At least she knew when she lost, unlike Mona here" June said while distributing the cards.
"I dunno, haven't seen her since the middle of this month… The royal highness must have grown tired of playing such a pedestrian game with the peasants" Annie retorted, giving a quick glance at her cards while laughing. She turned her eyes to the table, and then to Mona, who looked back at her with a puzzled look.
"Ok, why is everybody looking at me? What are we waiting for?"
"We're waiting for you to place the small blind on the table, god damnit" Annie suddenly burst with irritation, slapping the surface of the table right before receiving a scolding look from one of the wardens that were supervising the room.
"But why do I need to do that? I've already paid for two cigarettes at the previous time! Anyway, this isn't Vegas, do we really need to follow every stupid rule?"
"You need to follow the goddamn rules if you wanna play with us; and you're sitting next to June and she's…"
"That's it; I can't play like this anymore… Let me know when this sap finally learns how to actually play instead of beating her gums" Liz, who had remained quiet until now suddenly got up from her chair, throwing her cards in the general direction of the table.
Annie was about to protest and Liz was about to turn her back and go away if it wasn't for the loud and violent shouts that echoed in the common room. The source of the voices came from Roxie and Velma, who were standing just inches away from each other, looking like they could charge with full force at any minute.
"Do you have any problem with me, kid? Maybe you've lost something in my face, that's why you insist in staring at me" Velma said harshly, her voice abandoning the silken and nonchalant tone it always possessed.
"Oh I have an infinite number of problems with you, Velma; it would take me a lifetime to tell them all to you. And it's no news to anybody that I just plain hate you" Roxie stroke back with hate, her face mere millimeters away from the brunet.
"You ruined my life, if someone has the right to hate you, that one is me! You know what, I think you would do better if you just keep your distance from me, okay? I'm not very friendly once in a month"
"Oh really? I thought you were too old for that"
The four women in the table gasped in surprise as they saw the enormous slap Roxie received on the left side of her face, which send her stumbling a few feet away from Velma, who was ready to strike her again like a lioness that's got its tail stepped on. Luckily for the blonde, Mama Morton was just passing by the room, and in a quick and experienced move, managed to trap Velma's arms behind her, before any other guard could intervene. She dismissed the bewildered wardens while Velma still thrashed and squirmed against her. The brunet could be quite strong, but she was no match to Mama, who held her arms in place like they were nothing but twigs.
"You better stay away from me, you twat!" Velma spat the words with hatred, while Roxie still held her own face in disbelief. Her baby-blue eyes as wide as two saucers.
"Now Velma, that would be enough" The matron finally spoke, turning the enraged woman around and forcing her to be face-to-face. "Maybe an evening locked up in your cell without dinner will calm your nerves, what do you think?
"Okay, just let go of me!" The brunet tried to calm her voice, tossing her shoulders a little more to get rid of Mama. "The bitch gave me a strange look, I snapped, it won't happen again"
Velma knew best than going search for problems with the matron, even if the woman had grown to be her "friend". If she abused her powers too much, she could end up thrown in the solitary; and god knew that was the last thing she wanted to happen.
"I haven't done anything to her, Mama, I was just passing by, I swear!" Roxie suddenly spoke, getting closer to the woman, but not too close, since Velma was still in between the two. "What? Is it a crime to even look at Velma? Or I…"
"I've had enough with you two. Back to your cells, and stay there! If I see any of you out before dinner I'll throw you both in the hole, understand?"
A heavy silence fell upon the room as Mama finished her orders. A chill ran down Liz's spine at the mention of "the hole". It was the common name given to the solitary, and she had spent more time there than she would like to have. Those bitches would remain quiet if they knew what was best for them.
"Yes, ma'am" They both said in unison before bending their heads down and heading to their cells. All the while keeping a safe distance between one another.
"Does anyone have another complaint?" Mama asked, casting a wide and intimidating glance to the rest of the women that watched the whole scene. The woman was confronted with a dead silence. "That's better, ladies"
"Holy shit, what was that!?" June asked in a whisper when the sudden conflict was put to an end.
"I guess that even the princesses of the Cook County jail can have their privileges cut short huh?" Annie said with a crooked smiled. Although she got along pretty well with Velma and Roxie it just annoyed her the fact that they were better treated because of their money and fame. If it was her in their shoes, she would probably receive a week washing the toilets, in the least.
A few minutes passed and the quartet started another round of poker. It ran smoothly and silently; Mona was trying her best to memorize the rules and understand why she was always losing when she was so certain she had a great hand. At least now she was accepting her defeat without complaining.
Annie looked around and sighed, her elbows rested lazily on top of the table; life for her in prison was as dull and shitty as the life she had outside. Well, at least now she could watch those kinds of commotions and conflicts that happened sporadically in the jail, but it just wasn't fun to watch if she hadn't started them. She would give up a full bottle of booze if only she could start some havoc, but it was too risky, and Annie was never a person who liked to take risks.
"You know what I think? I think Velma and Roxie could let off some steam if they just fucked" Liz mumbled under her breath as she took one of the cigarettes from her pile and lit it, dragging the smoke slowly.
The red haired raised an eyebrow to Liz and the latter answered with a small and wicked smile. Mona laughed quietly while nodding her head in agreement, but June wasn't buying it.
"C'mon, they wouldn't fuck each other even if they were paid for it!"
"Do you really think so? Remember how much I hated this red haired bitch a while ago?" The skinny and disheveled brunet smirked, softly kicking Annie's legs under the table. June smiled, knowingly; she had lost the count of how many cigarettes were paid for her to leave the two women alone when they were doing chores. She didn't need to guess what Annie and Liz did when they were left alone.
"It was a different kind of hate… You were two nobodies that were worth nothing. Roxie basically stole everything that was important to Velma, there's no need to be smart to know that… Just read the newspapers; Roxie is the bee's knees now, Velma is practically all washed out; they have a good reason to hate each other… A three of a kind, ladies, I won this time" June wrapped her speech while adding the small amount of cigarettes into her pile.
"Do you wanna bet?" Annie said suddenly, throwing her cards into the deck. Something in her just snapping, making her eyes shine with wild determination.
"Bet what?" Asked Liz, while shuffling the cards one more time.
"Bet that until the end of this month, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart will have sex"
There you go, lovely readers! I hope you all enjoyed and I hope you all ignored the fact that I know pretty much nothing about how a prison in the 1920's work! Seriously, I don't even have a clear idea of how Cook County Jail must look like, I did watch Chicago a gazillion times, but I have no idea of how the facilities in that prison must have looked like... Do they even have a common room?
Anyway, I just want to make clear that, if it makes sense for the plot, I'll do it, for example, putting a common room in the jail... If it's suitable, I might even add a pool XD (jk guys)
And last, I'd like to ask for your feedback! Do you have any suggestions? Critics? Just wanna talk about Chicago and how this movie is wonderful? Review or PM me and I'll always be available!
Thanks so much for reading!