I probably should have said that before, but I'm trying to include more dialogue in this fic than I usually do, I hope it's working! I tend to normally fall into narrative a lot, so I'm kind of getting out of my comfort zone :D
Thanks again for Ladies and Canines by reviewing chapter 2, you encourage me to go on with this story, and I'm very grateful for that! ^^
Well, I hope you all like this chapter!
Velma Kelly sighed as she dropped herself slothfully on her bed. She felt the little extra comfort two mattresses granted to her bed and she thought somberly: Nowadays she would never have the privilege of gaining another mattress from Mama, at least not for free of course. She turned her head to the right and read the headlines from newspapers and magazines she used to cut out and stick to her wall. 'Not in memory do we recall such fiendish and horrible double homicide' 'Notorious starlet Velma Kelly accused of gruesome crime' 'Stage queen in jail' 'Dramatic night at the Onix; Velma Kelly is arrested after breathtaking performance'.
She whined quietly in frustration, burying her face in the pillow. It had been almost two months since she practically disappeared from the press; now every piece of newspaper she could put her hands into talked about Roxie, all the headlines were about her and her annoying cute little face was stamped in all magazines. Even Mama was growing fond of her and Velma couldn't help herself in feeling a strong jealousy… After all, she was Mama's favorite girl, or at least she used to be.
How did she ever allow her fame to be taken away like this? And by a little pathetic chorus girl who had no charm whatsoever. She laughed with herself knowingly; Billy Flynn could turn anyone into a star if said person paid well… She had no idea how Roxie managed to get the money to pay the attorney, but she did, and now she was being bathed in fame while Velma fell deeper into oblivion.
She turned on her back again in order to breathe, only to turn around again and curl herself into a ball assaulted by the intense cramps she had once in a month. She pressed both hands against her lower belly, uselessly trying to ease the ache. She groaned and whined in pain, feeling the urges to punch the wall, or just scream loudly at someone.
She tossed a little bit more, trying to find a comfortable position to be in; she noticed the sunlight was almost gone by the dusk, bathing her own cell into semi-darkness. She forced her mind to remember if she ever hated someone as much as she hated that blonde… Of course she hated Veronica, and even Charlie a little bit, but Veronica was her sister, for Christ's sake, on rare occasions they would get along well. And Charlie was good for the sex, she couldn't deny that… But Roxie was just unbearable to her. Somehow she always managed to find something she liked in everyone she met, even if it was just fairly, but all she wanted in her life at that particular moment was to punch that girl in the face, and even if that granted her a week in the hole she wouldn't regret it.
She closed her eyes for a minute, only to be startled by the alarm indicating dinner time. She got up and ran her fingers across her hair, settling the brown strands. She thought about Roxie and the perspective of seeing her again, and promised to herself she would control her impulses. Maybe she could get through dinner without losing her mind or dying of pain.
"There she is, Annie!" Liz nudged the red haired slightly in the ribs when she noticed Velma entering the cafeteria "And there is Roxie, excuse me while I do my thing"
Annie rolled her eyes before signaling for Velma to sit next to her; she knew exactly what Liz would do: she would convince Roxie, very subtly to open up to Velma. And Annie was about to do the exact same thing with the latter.
The four inmates had initially protested at the idea of manipulate both women, but they decided the bet would be even funnier if both got confused and even more pissed off, besides, it increased the competition between them and the prospect of chaos. After all, that was all they wanted to see, and there was nothing better than a good old catfight.
"Hey Velma, it's been a while since we don't see you, how are you doin'?" Annie asked cheerfully, stepping to the side in order to leave an empty space for Velma.
"It feels like Satan is tap dancing in my womb, Annie, how do you think I'm doing?"
The first whistle echoed through the cafeteria and the women sat down on the long benches in unison, the second whistle came and they removed the metal cups from the top of their plates. As soon as she got the chance, Annie laughed sarcastically earning a livid look from Velma.
"Is that why you slapped Roxie a few hours ago? I mean, you're right, the girl is a pain in the ass, but maybe you should take it easier on her, you know?"
"Why are you saying this to me?" Roxie asked fearfully, trying to be as far from Liz as she could. It was no news that the girl had a fame of being unstable.
"It's just friendly advice… Maybe you should try to get along with Velma" Liz said through her teeth, already starting to lose her temper on the blonde.
"Friendly advice? Since when you're friendly with someone?"
"When I want to, god damnit!" The skinny brunet yelled, only to receive a warning from a supervising warden. She looked down and tried to focus on her food; Cook County's specialty: a dark, thick broth of something…
"This is ridiculous Annie… I can't even think about having a normal conversation with Roxie"
"But you could try, you know… You wouldn't believe the amount of positive things you could get from each other"
"Yeah, like what?"
"I don't know, common interests and such… You would have to discover it by yourself"
"The only common interest we have is to see each other dead, I personally think this is not a good starter for a conversation"
"Why can't you girls be as peaceful as I am?"
"Says the woman who poisoned her own husband" Velma tried to laugh along with the red haired, but a sudden burst of pain deformed her smile into a grimace.
"I'm just saying you could both try… Unless you want to have red marks on your face as long as you stay here" Liz mumbled, considering if she should finish her dinner or walk away from Roxie before she could imprint her own palm in the other side of the blonde's face.
"Oh my god, is it that bad? Some reporters are coming to see me tomorrow, I can't show up with my face as red as a tomato… Oh, that bitch is going to pay, I…"
"Another good reason to get along with her, right?" Liz cut her out in mid-sentence, fidgeting with the cuticles of her own free hand. "Or maybe let her bruise you in a place no one can see, I don't know"
"What do you mean by that?" Roxie asked confused, but before she noticed, Liz had already got up and was quickly making her way out of the cafeteria.
And that was Liz not being very subtle! Hehehe
I really enjoyed quickly changing the dialogues in this chapter, I just hope it makes sense!
By the way, just consider that the inmates were served their food in the meanwhile both conversations took place, I tried to include that in the text, but it just broke the flow of it… Then I realized it felt like the food just appeared out of nowhere, but no, they're not served by magical house elves, trust me xD
Like this chapter? Have any suggestions and/or critics? Review or PM me and you'll make my day by doing so!
Thanks a lot for reading!
