CHAPTER II
On a span of two seconds, the atmosphere around me changed from fun and light to vivid and electric, all because of this mysterious figure of a tall brunette.
Piper Chapman, keep your shits together.
"Blondie what happened to you?" Nicky asked, obviously teasing by altering glances between me and the raven haired woman.
"What? Nothing. Nothing happened. I'm fine, ordinary, but fine." I stammered. Taystee and Poussey high fived as they laughed. "Vause did it again!" Taystee cried.
"Alright. Bigfoot this is Chapman, and Chapman this is whoever you wanna call her, but Bigfoot's pretty widespread." Nicky introduced and the brunette playfully smacked her shoulder.
"Ouch, that hurts. You're Godzilla punching a Disney princess here."
"Since when is Quasimodo a Disney princess?" She countered and Lorna sniggered raucously. After an eternity of name-callings, she faced me, "I'm sorry, you have to deal with this lame excuse of a human. You see, Nicky's a stage behind the human evolution." Taystee and Poussey laughed but her sultry voice and how sexy it was overshadowed her wits on my ears.
"Alex. My name's Alex Vause despite what these people told you."
I could feel my ears burning and deeply I wondered how she's doing it. She offered me a handshake and my entirety shivered as my hand reached hers. I had to pull back before she starts noticing how I tremble under her mysterious charm.
"P-Piper. Piper Chapman." I finally said.
Nicky introduced me to her girlfriend afterwards, in which I'll be eternally grateful for. Another second with Alex will burn my soul. Nicky's girlfriend name is Lorna Morello and she' living on the campus. Apparently, she's Red's 'daughter' too. She's taking vocational classes on the nearby Tech School and worked part time on Red's kitchen, doing inventory and paper work stuff. She asked me how I'm liking the dorm and said it was alright.
"Speaking of Ma, Red said she needed you to fix some old cabinet on her kitchen, you know, make the height useful"
"I thought we're even. I massaged her feet for forty five minutes the last time I went to her."
"Girl, but you gotta admit that Russian lady makes the best chicken, hands down" Taystee said.
"The Swiss roll has spoken, might be true." Poussey sniggered.
"Shut up Pussy, and I ain't no swissroll."
"My name is Poussey! Accent à droit, bitch!"
All of them laughed while I secretly glimpsed at the woman in front of me. And to my astonishment, Alex seemed to know what I was thinking because she's already staring back at me, with a raised brow and a smirk.
That fucking smirk.
Lorna joined us for dinner later that evening. We ordered pizza and sat down for a movie. I suggested Harry Potter since Taystee kept on mentioning it earlier and realized I missed it. Lorna haven't seen the last film of the series and even though Nicky swore that she can't watch Snape's death for the four hundredth time, because she'll bawl like a baby, she eventually gave in. "You're lucky you goddamn puppy eyes are irresistible," she said to her girlfriend. Twenty minutes after the film started, Nicky started bombarding me with questions.
"So what's with you and Vause?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Come on now, you two were eye fucking" Nicky leaned closer to Lorna. "Right babe?"
"Sure. I mean I haven't seen Alex all giddy like that in a while now." Lorna agreed.
I almost choked on my drink. "I did not do that"
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
"Whatever you say blondie. But let me tell you son, you did a number on Bigfoot there."
"What the hell does that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, tough Vause getting all high school with you with the staring contest."
"We don't do that."
"Now it's we, huh?" Nicky smirked and took a huge bite of her pizza slice.
"You're definitely reaching."
Nicky shook her head no, "You know blondie, all I'm saying is… if you're joining the softball league, I can give you a printout guide and of course the complimentary gift basket."
I saw Lorna rolled her eyes and as much as I wanted to tell Nicky that she's reading it very wrong, I couldn't help myself but picture Alex Vause and her smirks. I mentally cursed myself for craving for it. Nicky chuckled and stood up. She went to the wall where the TV was mounted. She leaned at area just beside the TV, which was covered with a huge world map poster and yelled, "You hearing this?"
My eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
Nicky lifted the world map and it revealed a huge hole, almost the size of a shoe box. She removed the map completely and dropped in on the floor. She turned to me, wearing that mischievous face I am now getting used to dealing with.
"Oh I haven't mentioned, Vause lives next door."
"Wha-"
"And this is the hidden portal to Cuntlandia"
"You should've just invited me you know" Alex's voice came through the hole. I almost threw my pizza at Nicky who's now laughing hysterically.
Nicky invited Alex to come over and join us with the movie and the pizza. She arrived with cans of beers and a huge bag of popcorn. I remained quiet on the couch while Nicky and Lorna prepared the snacks. Alex sat beside me, almost too close considering how huge the couch is.
"Hey"
"Hey"
"Don't worry I haven't heard anything before Nicky tore down the map" She said, showing me her iPod wrapped on earphone wires. "I had this. Too bad though, Seems like your conversation's supposed to entertain me."
"No, no. She's just teasing me with… stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Softball stuff" Nicky said, handing me the bowl of popcorn. I threw a couple at her so she would shut up but it appears like Alex already picked up the whole idea already. How I wish the floor would split open and suck me in to its depth.
"You know Piper, ignore her. Nicky's just like that." Lorna said.
"Yeah. It's all good."
"Is it?" Alex asked with all seriousness on her tone. I pretend to not hear her and focus on the TV instead, but seeing the once hidden hole to Alex's room wasn't doing me any good. After a while, everyone were finally quiet. Nicky was leaning on Lorna's shoulder, sniffing between her tears over Snape's death scene. I could hear Alex silently munching on popcorns.
"Saw that on cinema with my mom, had to be escorted out because my mom literally started cursing loudly when Snape was killed." Alex said, almost a murmur to me. I stifled a laugh.
"There you go, loosen up."
"Yeah."
Nicky's wails screeched through the room and Lorna laughed at her. Alex grabbed her phone and took a couple of pictures of the funny breakdown. She asked me to do the same and I did. Revenge is sweet, I thought. Unluckily, my revenge was cut off by a call from my best friend Polly.
"Sorry I have to take this"
"Boyfriend?" Alex asked without losing her attention on Nicky.
"No. I don't have a boyfriend." I said almost sounding too defensive and I immediately regret it. "I mean-"
"No. It's good. Good for me."
"What does that-"
"The phone" Alex said, reminding me to answer the call and before I could protest, I was mindlessly headed to the balcony. I hit the answer button.
"Pol"
"You said you would call me and you have not, Pipes."
"Sorry didn't track time. You know, busy with the unpacking and stuff."
"Wait, am I hearing Voldemort?"
"Yes, we're watching Deathly Hallows."
"Oh, how's the roommate?"
"Good, good. We're getting along quiet well."
"That's nice to hear, just don't let her took my spot as the best friend."
"Of course, you spoiled brat."
"So did you meet anyone who's ... you know?"
I hesitated for a second thinking if I should be telling Polly about the tall sassy brunette who's been sweeping me off my feet since the morning. "Ugh no."
"Lie."
"What?"
"You took three seconds. You don't take three seconds to answer that. You definitely met someone already."
"No seriously Pol I don't-"
"Piper."
"Why are you always so persistent?"
"Because I'm right and you're wrong. So quick. Tell me the name of the new prospect."
"Alex" I muttered as quietly as I can.
"Why are you whispering?"
"Because she's like six feet away?"
"Wait Alex is a she?!" Polly literally screamed on the other line. "And she's with you in the middle of the night!"
"Calm down."
"Oh shit! You're lesbianing right now? Wow I'm sorry for the interruption."
"No silly, and what? Lesbianing?"
"What? Shall I say you're on a pussy eating marathon instead?"
"Seriusly Pol."
"Alright let's save the Alex story for tomorrow and I want it in full details. I've got an important news right now."
"You're the worst friend."
"And I love you too, you stupid lesbian"
"What's the news?"
"Promise me you won't freak out?"
"So, I'm gonna be freaking out totally."
"Okay. Larry."
"What's with Larry?"
Polly sighed deeply on the other line. I could almost hear her chewing on her bottom lips.
"Goddamn it Pol, spill it already."
"Your crazy ex applied to your freaking college and he got accepted"
"What?"
"Pete just told me! And he only knew today. She saw Mrs. Bloom at Wholefoods and she mentioned Larry's sudden interest with buildings and stuff along with the Litchfield application."
"Jesus. How? He doesn't even like art or science or building stuff!"
"Exactly"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Wow Piper, couldn't you put two and two together? He's not going there for college, he's there to stalk the shit out of you, I swear."
"What the fuck."
Polly ended up the conversation after she made me promise not to strangle Larry. I went back inside, feeling totally miserable at the thought of my obsessed ex. Nicky and Lorna were still tightly focused on the movie while Alex's eyes followed me.
"Do you want me to kill him instead?"
"You're listening?"
"Only at the latter part with the Barry stuff. You're practically yelling."
"No. Lorna and Nicky doesn't seem to be aware." I whispered, pointing at the couple.
"Because they were making out while you're ranting about Barry. Nicky got a libido of a pre-teen bloke."
"Fuck you Vause." Nicky threw a pillow to Alex. I moved closer beside her and heave a sigh way too deeply. Fucking Larry.
"Larry. His name is Larry not Barry," I said.
"Right. That's what I said."
"He's a roach." I sad and I begin telling her how I ended up dating him just because of my mom's wishes. I ranted and ranted until Lorna and Nicky were listening too. The film ended along with my story and Lorna offered to get me a glass of water, she said I looked so flustered.
"Seriously blondie? A roach? What's with the lack of creative metaphors?"
"Hey…I don't prioritize being poetic when I'm mad"
"So what's your plan?" Lorna asked and Alex adjusted her glasses looking at me, waiting for me to speak up but I just couldn't come up with something on the context of outrunning Larry on such a small campus.
"So let me be the poetic one," Nicky said.
"What?"
"Well, he's a roach so you step on him... Well figuratively."
"That wasn't too poetic, babe," Lorna said.
"I wasn't finished. What do you need on stepping on a roach? A big foot! Get it? Bigfoot! " She shrieked, pointing at Alex who's clearly unenthusiastic with her corny joke. I had to suppress my laughter, but the idea of Alex protecting me from Larry got me all nervous suddenly.