"Come on, Honey Bea, stay with me. No, not like this. Not like this..." Maya's voice tapered off as she pleaded, shaking the lifeless body that once held the soul of her best friend. "Please!" she shrieked. "Please." Her voice was now a whisper as she pulled the girl close and smoothed her hair.

She didn't hear the knocking at the door, didn't notice the same door being broken in, and was certainly clueless to the looks of shock on the EMTs' faces. One came to check Beatrix's vitals, a courtesy more than anything at this point, while the other slowly began to circle the apartment. After about a minute, the second EMT picked up her cell and made a call. Maya was completely oblivious to being reported.

The man and woman, as they took Bea's body, stiffly told Maya there was no reason for her to come. The girl was dead. Dead. The word pounded in her brain. They didn't even bother to close the door behind them, and Maya made no effort to do so from her fixed spot on the hardwood floor. Around her, everywhere, was drug paraphernalia. She had been at her parents' house in New Jersey the whole weekend for her little brother's graduation, and while she was away her friends used her place as a party pad. Nothing out of the ordinary, only this time it turned fatal.

A squad of no fewer than five officers were suddenly in the apartment, two of them roughly pulling her up to her feet and the rest searching the apartment like it was their life's mission.

It didn't take long for them to know they could have her put away for quite some time.

...

No one was with her as she sat in the- what is this, a waiting room?- waiting room, of Litchfield Penitentiary waiting for her name to be called. She was dressed in the clothes she had been wearing prior to her short stay at the small Brooklyn jail she had been held in before the trial. The trial was a blur in her mind. In her grief, Maya was numb. She hadn't listened to much of her attorney's guidance, all of her 'friends' were too scared to come around, and she wasn't strong enough to face her family. The disappointment she knew they had to be feeling was enough to kill her.

...

Everything had just gotten so out of hand. First, it was Maya and Bea getting high at the park after school in eighth grade. Then it was selling dime bags in high school. After graduation they moved to New York for school. College introduced them to the right people and better weed, and their client list blew up. That's right around the time where Maya's personal love affair with weed (and Johnny) had started up. She smoked constantly. She had silently suffered from anxiety, and at first getting high was a great way to deal with that, but it had now morphed into simply being one of her favorite pasttimes. She fucking loved how it made her feel, just chill and happy.

When demand began to heavily outweigh supply, she took to growing herself, and she was good. Really good. They were in deep before they knew it, and now Johnny was their partner. But Johnny was interested in more than weed. First he introduced them to molly. Then pills. Then it was coke. Johnny was almost always on something, but for the most part Bea and Maya only went stronger than weed on special occasions. On one special occasion, Maya met Margot. As the connection between the two grew, Maya saw less of Beatrix and Johnny. She had a sense that Bea was becoming a little too keen on the cocaine, but she wasn't the girl's mom, and she trusted her best friend's judgment. A glaring mistake, she now knew.

...

"Maya Luna," a gruff woman with not a spot of make up and an ill-fitting guard's uniform barked. Maya tried to stand, forgetting she was cuffed to her chair, which was bolted to the floor. "Come on, Luna, I don't have all day," the woman raised her voice in irritation. Maya jingled the cuffs. The lady came over and roughly removed them, replacing the cold metal with a beefy hand around Maya's narrow wrist. The two made their way through the doors. The realness of it all had yet to sink in for Maya. This was all a nightmare, and the worst part was over, so now she would just remain numb until she awoke.

"Strip," the lady barked again. Maya said nothing, just removed her crumpled clothes and stood still. "Squat and cough." She did as she was instructed and was tossed her new clothing. The garments were bright orange. In no particular rush she clothed herself, took the blanket and pillow that were being held out to her, and followed the guard outside to a large white van.

...

It was frigid in the corridor as Maya was guided to her temporary cell. She was oblivious. She was numb, face blankly staring forward, not catching a single word that was spoken to her. The short ride in the van had been for the most part silent. The driver was pretty chatty at first, until she realized she was talking to the air. Maya had happened to catch her informing the van full of fresh inmates that they would go by their last names 'on the inside'.

"Alright, and as you can see, the temporary holding is all filled up," a brief pause, Maya just realizing she is the only orange-clad lady left, "so we went ahead and assigned you, Luna. Follow me." She silently followed. She was led to a grouping of cell blocks, only there were no doors on the rooms. They reminded her briefly of cubicles. "Here you are, Luna," she said, motioning to the room ahead of them. Maya walked to the vacant bed on the right. "Good luck, Nicky. The silence from this one is spooky."

Maya set her new belongings on the bed, only now noticing a sheet to be tucked into her stack. She stretched it over the bed and placed the pillow at the head. As a chill went down her spine, she draped the blanket across her shoulders and sat on the bed, curling into the warmth. She looked up to see the biggest head of hair she'd ever seen on a white girl, and two wild eyes staring back at her.

"Huh," the inmate said simply. Maya just looked back at her, but Nicky didn't say another word. She went back to reading the black and white paper in her hands. Maya vaguely made out the word 'Bugle', but she didn't care to inspect further.

...

For the most part, Maya spent the day alone in bed. Nicky left a little while after lunch (Maya attended, but sat alone and didn't eat a thing) and before Maya knew it, it was dinner time. The thought of food in general made her gag, but the tray in front of her was downright nauseating. After dinner, the inmates all gathered to watch a movie, but Maya opted to go back to her bed. She was stopped on her way, but the young male CO quickly realized her depressed state and let her go.

"You had the right idea, kid. They showed 'The Notebook', it was a fuckin' shit show in there. Talk about your water works. Tears everywhere." Nicky's loud, distinctive voice pulled Maya back into reality. She shifted so that she was resting up on one arm as her eyes found her cell mate. "You doin' alright, kid?" Maya nodded. "Eh, a reaction! Baby steps," she winked. Maya felt a smile coming but it died before it reached her lips. Instead she nodded.

The two spent the rest of the night in a much expected silence.