Nicky saunters down the hallway, work helmet in hand, looking thoroughly disheveled. She had just finished her shift in the hole for the day. The inmates were only allowed to work outside for a few hours at a time, the new hunky supervisor stating it was for the inmates "well being". Ha! if it wasn't for the few government regulations that the new management at Litchfield actually followed, Nicky knew she'd be digging that damn hole until she passed out from exhaustion.
But she needed the distraction. Picking at the dirt under her fingernails, a tenseness remained in her shoulders that hadn't left since this morning. Nicky couldn't stop thinking about the look Red had given her as she left for work.
"But what about cravings? Triggers?" Red looked at Nicky incredulously. "This is my seventh time getting clean intentionally, and I find the best way to avoid shit, is to avoid shit." Nicky says nonchalantly. She was better at lying to herself than to Red, and they both knew it. Luckily enough for Nicky, Red let it slide without another word, mutual apprehension hanging between them as Nicky swiftly exited the cubicle after explaining that she didn't need Red's help.
Nicky told herself that she meant what she told Red, that she would get clean, and she would work and keep herself busy.
She hadn't meant to lie, she just didn't want Red worrying about her. It was a defense mechanism. Alright, maybe she wasn't going cold turkey. Maybe she would wean herself off, one day at a time.
Nicky said what she said because Red could be incredibly overbearing at times, and she didn't want to have to deal with that. She was a big girl, she could handle herself, right?
Lost in thought, Nicky found herself alone in the hallway, save for a few stragglers returning from their workshift. Hesitating, Nicky glances over her shoulder and spots the cafeteria.
Red knew that Nicky had seen her.
She hadn't meant to, but found herself unable to break eye contact as Red was put up against a fence and roughly searched by the CO. Nicky could tell the guard was saying something, but couldn't make out his words. Forcing herself to look away, she continued with her work, unable to shake the feeling it had something to do with this morning.
Looking around, Nicky walks into the cafeteria and sets her helmet down on one of the tables. It was still well over a couple hours before dinner, but knowing Red, she was either prepping the kitchen, or in her office. Nicky wanted to see her, to give her some type of reassurance that she wasn't going to get stoned after work or something.
Peering around the corner into the kitchen, Nicky indeed spotted Red spraying cleaner on the stainless steel counter tops, rag in hand. She appeared to be lost in thought and hadn't noticed Nicky walk in.
Deciding to make her presence known, Nicky casually leans against one of the tables. "Hey, what's up, Red?" The older woman appeared to be startled, quickly glancing up from her work. She visibly relaxes when she spots Nicky. "Hello, Nicky." Red finishes up the table she had been cleaning and sets down the rag.
Red sighs and looks at her. "How was work? You look rough." Nicky shrugs, "ah you know, the hole is um, wider. And.. deeper." Red shakes her head, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. Spraying cleaner on another one of the counter tops, Red resumes her work. "Well, good. You're keeping busy, then?"
Nicky exhales and decides to hide her slight annoyance at the question and the implication behind it. "Of course, Re- The FUCK?!" Nicky yells and suddenly jerks her hand away from the table she had been leaning on, startling Red, who drops the rag she had been holding. "What the hell, Nicky?!"
"Something just crawled across my fucking hand!" Nicky yells. Red immediately stops what she's doing. "What?"
They both watch in horror as a fat, well-fed looking cockroach crawls out from under a box of latex gloves on the table, wiggling it's antennae at them as if it were in no danger at all.
"Oh ho ho! Hell to the fucking no!" Nicky points at the thing and quickly backs away. "Red, you got roaches in here?"
Red's face contorts into one of fury, grabbing a knife, she approaches the table Nicky had been leaning on. "A cockroach? In my kitchen? Where the hell did it come from?! Where'd it go?" The roach had scuttered away as soon as Red angrily approached the table it was on.
Red's russian accent dripped off of each word that came from her mouth in an almost exaggerated fashion, something Nicky had noticed would happen any time the woman rose her voice or became angry. She would have laughed if it weren't for the roach that had decided Nicky's hand was it's new floor mat. Nicky hated cockroaches, she always had, and she always will.
Nicky begins looking around paranoidly, and almost screams when she spots it crawling on the floor, away from the table it had just been on. "Holy shit. Over here, Red!" Nicky climbs up on one of the tables, There was no fucking way she was letting that thing get near her. Red sets down the knife and approaches the roach, preparing to step on it before Nicky suddenly yelps. She looks up just in time to watch in horror as Nicky slips on the table, having climbed up on the one Red had just got done spraying.
Momentarily forgetting about the roach, Red rushes in time to throw out both her arms in an attempt to catch Nicky. Nicky's weight was too much, and Red's reaction too slow, and they both tumble to the floor.
"Ah, shit.." Red groans. Nicky rolls off of her, having accidentally landed partially on top of Red. She notices her mother wince and clasp her lower back. Nicky sits up, "Oh man.. Are you okay, Ma?" Red is breathing heavily but swiftly nods her head.
Looking down, they both notice a twitching, squashed mess close to Red's feet. Nicky cringes at the sight. "Well.. I think we got it." Red breathes. Nicky stands and helps Red to her feet when suddenly CO Coats walk into the kitchen, spotting them both getting up off the floor. "Hey, uhh.. Everything alright in here?" Red quickly waves him off, having years of experience getting guards off of her tail. "No problems in here. We were just cleaning up a spill, these girls can be pretty clumsy." Red says and laughs convincingly.
Nicky just glares at her, realizing she had just been blamed for all the ruckus. CO Coats laughs half-heartedly and motions to Nicky. "Is this yours?" He holds up Nicky's safety helmet that she had left in the cafeteria.
"Uhh, yeah, it is." Nicky says. Coats tosses it to her. "Well, in that case, only kitchen staff are allowed in here, so I would, uhh, leave if I were you. You know, unless you want a shot." He says, obviously not caring that much, but telling Nicky anyway.
"Yeah yeah, I was just about to leave." The guard, having apparently accepted her answer, nods and exits the kitchen.
They both breathe sighs of relief. Red looks over at Nicky. "I'll look for any more. You should go clean up, Nicky. I don't need your dirty feet tracking in any more bugs."
Nicky shakes her head. "Sure, Red. But.. are you sure you're okay?" Nicky motions to Red's injured back.
"Yes, i'll be fine Nicky. Really now, I need to check for any more of those things before we attract more attention. I'll see you later, okay?" Red says, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Sure, Ma." Nicky leaves and heads for her cubicle, feeling extremely relieved. God, she could use a shower. She had just avoided a potentially unpleasant conversation about it. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep up her charade, and Red had a way of finding things out, especially when it came to Nicky. Nicky wouldn't be able to continue lying to Red if she had decided to keep on with her line of questioning. So in a way, she was thankful to the roach.
That was a conversation to be had another day.