The Calming Neon Lights In Our Dark Stormy Skies Chapter 14: Full of Ups and Downs, an orange is the new black fanfic

Thank you for beta'ing, A Star In My Universe! Warning: transphobic thoughts (Lorna doesn't know any better), sexual assault, rape, sizeist and racist remarks. Note: Nichorello's community service hours are from 4-8pm, not 3-7pm. I realized that starting at 3 wouldn't give Lorna time for cheer practice.

At least three different alarms are going off at the Diaz apartment, and Daya groans while slapping her clock, trying to hit the snooze button, but instead, she knocks it off her nightstand. She yawns while stretching and rubs her bleary eyes, which can't seem to open, so she decides to sleep for thirty more minutes.

"Oh no, you don't!" Gloria reprimands her and shakes her out of her peaceful slumber. "We got a busy morning! No one can be late!"

"I fuckin' hate Mondays...can't wait for Friday," Daya mumbles.

"Yeah, that's how the rest of us feel, but you know what? We don't make it worse by gettin' stoned the night before! Get up, breakfast is ready in ten! Drink tons of these today because weed makes you dehydrated!" Gloria holds out a bottle of water and Daya takes it.

"It's too early for this, but fine..."

"You gonna be out of it, too," Aleida joins in. "Mm-hm, I know what you did, Gloria told me, and I agree with her. You ain't goin' nowhere except school or places with your family for a whole week. Your phone stays with us, too, so hand it over."

"What?!" Daya shouts, fully alert now. She can't have Gloria and Aleida snooping through her phone and finding the texts from P or John. "You're fuckin' playin' with me! You won't even enforce it!"

"Quit being a snotrag," Aleida scolds her. "This is what you wanted, right? You preached all about appropriate punishments. You in trouble, so I'm givin' you proper discipline. There's no way in hell you're gonna be a fucked up hoodlum like me. Getting high once can lead to an addiction if you ain't careful...and then drugs are all you care about."

"Listen to your motha," Gloria adds. "You gotta learn your lesson. Smoking ain't gonna solve your problems!"

"Don't look at it," Daya snaps while giving her phone to Aleida.

"We won't. It'll just be hidden somewhere and you won't see it til Sunday," Gloria says.

"You're just doing this because you love to be mad at me."

"No, I don't. I'm being a good mom here. I know I wasn't before, but Imma listen to you more. You're a smart girl and I expect a lot from you...so I really should take your advice about parenting to heart like I do with Gloria. I'll make you a healthy lunch, and you can tell me anything else you need."

"Okay, where's Aleida, and what'd you do with her?"

"I get it, you don't trust me...but you gotta hear me when I say I'm starting to figure stuff out. Look, I haven't touched one single drug since Gloria moved in, and I put Christina to bed last night. I ain't doin' mean things. I'm even dating someone new...and his only crime is being too attractive. It's only been a few days, and people can lie, but if I find out he's doing drugs or whatever, I'll leave him...and I really think I deserve another chance. I wanna prove that I'm bein' good. You can't just be a bitch to your daughter and then be mad and jealous when other people are there for her."

"Wow...did you prepare that?"

"I thought about it."

Daya sighs. "Okay, you got a month." She hugs Aleida and Gloria wordlessly and then they get the other kids up and eat breakfast burritos.

The new kindergarteners are very excited for today, and Christina only is because Benito will be with her. She's only shy around strangers, and Daya is happy that her baby sister will have a friend in her class. When they get to Little Stars Three, though, Julio starts crying when the teacher takes him from Gloria's arms, and Emiliano won't let go of Aleida's hand without bawling his head off.

"Don't worry, little guy, Mommy's gonna pick you up at three, and you'll see your big brother, too!" Gloria assures Julio while wiping his tears away and kissing his cheek.

"I need you to be a big boy," Aleida tells Emiliano. "Mommy and your tía gotta go to work. We'll get you after school."

"You're gonna make lots of friends!" Benny adds.

"Bye-bye!" Christina hugs her brother. "Mommy has to take me to school now!"

"Everyone has separation anxiety on their first day," Ms. Basara says as Aleida pulls away from Emiliano and gently pushes him toward the teacher. "Farah, Dina, can Emiliano and Julio play with you? They don't have cooties!" She turns to the boys' mothers. "We encourage that boys and girls are equals, starting at an early age. My granddaughter and her best friend are both one years old. They started the program six months ago."

The two dark-skinned girls she's referring to look up from their toy kitchen, and Daya notices that one of them is in a wheelchair and the other one is fake-feeding her. Apparently, Farah is the one who can walk, but Dina is unable to. Once it looks like Ms. Basara has gotten the boys settled and their wailing has quieted down somewhat, Gloria, Daya, Aleida, Christina, and Benny leave for Highland Elementary School.

Right away, Daya recognizes Miss Stacy as her camp counselor from nine years ago, and she's glad to know that this woman will be Christina and Benny's teacher. Even though she's a bit overly peppy, at least she's nice. "Hi, remember me?"

"Yes, hello, Dayanara!" she says excitedly while giving her a hug. "How have you been?"

"Great!"

"Super. Which one of you is her mother?"

"I am," Aleida says. "So, meet Christina, my other daughter." She tightens the girl's pigtails so they're higher on her head.

"This is my son, Benny," Gloria introduces him with her hands on his shoulders. "You don't wanna separate 'em."

"Welcome! Why don't you two cherubs sit over there with Michael?" Miss Stacy gestures to where a small African American boy is plopped on a chair with two dark-skinned women, looking a bit glum. "We start at eight and end at two, but it's fine if you need to get your children here early before work."

Gloria and Aleida nod in understanding, and they hug the kids goodbye. Daya bounces her sister in her arms a little, pecks her cheek, and sets her down to the floor. "Have fun, angel!"

"Thanks, sissy!"

"Bye, love you!" Gloria says after kneeling down to Benny's level and showering him with lipstick kisses.

"Bye, love you too, Mommy!"

"Don't get attached to Miss Stacy. I'm your mama, nobody else," Aleida reminds Christina, and Daya snickers. She stands back up, along with Gloria and faces the teacher. "Catch you later."

Christina and Benny skip away to Michael's table while holding hands.

"Okay, I advise all the parents to leave the room so the children can get used to being apart from Mommy and Daddy," Miss Stacy announces, and the ladies who were with Michael, join Daya, Aleida, and Gloria, and exit through the door.

It's not until Daya gets to school and sneaks into a supply closet to begrudgingly meet Mendez, that she receives a text.

Close your eyes, pretend you're someplace else, and remember, this was your choice so Gloria could stay with you. xx, P

Like a hawk diving for prey, Mendez launches himself at her, and all she can do is tear up, tune out his grunts, ignore his cold hands and nasty penis, and be thankful that he's using a condom so she won't be stuck with her rapist's baby.

Upon arriving at the salon she usually goes to when she wants to get extra dolled up, Lorna asks to see Marcus Burset, as he's the best hairstylist in this place. He's not here at the moment, and she wonders if maybe he's at his other job as a firefighter.

"It's not Marcus anymore," the clerk says. "Didn't you hear? He had a sex change this summer...she prefers to be called Sophia. I'll get her for you."

All her life, Lorna had been taught that anyone except straight, white, cisgendered, able-bodied people were gross, but through her years of being friends with the other girls, she'd learned to be more accepting. She still has many questions about transgendered people, since she's never been around them. "I was so used to Marcus, though!" she exclaims as the clerk gets up. "I'd always assumed he was gay since he was a man doin' hair and stuff. Why would God put him...I mean, her...in the wrong body? What if they're different from each other?"

"It's just the way things are, honey. Don't worry, I'm still the same person I always was," Sophia assures Lorna as she comes up to her. She looks a bit like her former self, but the facial hair has been replaced by a smooth complexion and bronzer, along with eye makeup and lipstick, and she's wearing a long, curly brown wig. "If you have more questions for me, I would be happy to answer them. Sit down."

Lorna plops into one of the chairs. "Do you still have your..."

"No. I got rid of it right when my wife, Crystal, told me she didn't want any more children."

"Oh...if you're a woman now, does that mean you became a lesbian?"

"I've always identified as a woman, even when I was a man...so to the outside world, I might have looked straight when I was with Crystal before my transition...but I've actually always been into women, whether I was one or not."

"Can I just tell you what I want now?"

"Sure."

"I'll have my hair in smooth waves, smoky eyes, and the reddest lipstick you got."

"Oooh, hot date tonight?"

"How'd you guess?"

"You asked for that shit whenever you went on one!"

"Yeah...so, um, how's Michael doing?" Lorna asks, referring to Sophia and Crystal's son.

"He's great!"

The echoing sound of heavy boots hitting the empty classroom's floor causes Diane to jump a mile and stop writing the day's lesson plans on the green chalkboard. She turns around quickly and her jaw drops in shock, and then she narrows her eyes with anger when she sees Alex's biological father-eyeliner, piercings, tattoos, tight black leather pants, black tank top, bandana, fingerless gloves, and all-standing in front of her.

"How the fuck did you find me?" she asks, malice filling her tone.

"Piper Chapman is all over the news, and in the obituary, it mentions the friends she left behind, one being our kid. It was easy!"

She circles each desk and doesn't look at her ex. "You have no idea who Alex is. I carried her for nine months and been her mother for fifteen years without you, and we've done just fine, despite living in a trailer park and me working four jobs to support us. The only thing you've done was give me her."

"I'm sorry, Diane. I had so much goin' on with the band back then...you remember how popular Death Maiden was. I couldn't think about babies at that time. I would've been a shit dad anyway, hooked on drugs or always busy. I just couldn't quit...but I swear, I've changed. I'm going to. I want us to reconnect and I'd love to meet the child we created all those years ago. I could even get back to being a drummer for another successful band, anything to make money for our family."

Diane scoffs loudly and lets out a sarcastic laugh while shaking her head. "You're a fuckin' deadbeat!"

"I want to try making things work. I know I was wrong and should not have done that to you, so I apologize, greatly."

"If we're gonna do this, it would be a secret because I don't want her to get hurt when you vanish again."

"I won't!" Lee protests.

"She and I can't have you just dipping in and out of our lives. You need to be in it for the long haul...being her father, at the very least."

"I'd like it if you'd consider being mine again, as well." He stands back and his eyes follow her wherever she goes.

"You're staring at me! Why?"

"Fifteen years have been so good to you."

His compliment is sweet and his cocky grin is sexy, but Diane wants to take baby steps; she barely trusts him after he left her to raise Alex all on her own. "Still the charmer, I see."

"You know you're the hottest chick in this place, though, right?"

"Don't you forget it!" She can't stand the fact that they're flirting, but it seems like she can't stop the words that tumble out of her mouth.

"Come on, bring out that old wild side," he urges her with a wink. "I know you've still got it."

"You can be my date to our upcoming school dance-a-thon this Saturday. Alex will be too busy with her friends to notice who I'm with. We'll take things as slow as molasses."

"Good! Need any help?"

"Nope."

"Alright, well then, I'll get going. Let's exchange phone numbers."

"Okay!"

"Thanks a lot!" Cindy shouts after the girls as they stroll down the hall.

"The party ended early because of you!" Janae puts in while jabbing a finger into Lorna's shoulder, and her friends get in front of her protectively.

"You don't get to fuckin' touch her!" Alex defends Lorna.

"Yeah, back off, puta!" Flaca chimes in. "You've already tripped Daya because of a harmless prank, which we've already apologized for, so you've bothered us enough!"

"I really don't have time for this today," Daya mutters.

"Me neither, I got other stuff to do," Lorna mumbles timidly, not wanting to take one glance at how furious Janae is. She always takes things too far.

"What you just call my girl?" Cindy asks roughly while shaking her fist at Flaca.

"I got it, Cindy," Janae says, her face still full of rage. "We could've all just stayed except for you shitheads!"

"Hey, chill!" Poussey interrupts them and pushes her friends back slightly. "There's no need to get violent! Their girl fainted, what are they gonna do, just leave her there to suffer?"

Maritza gestures to the thin African American girl. "Thank you. We were afraid the cops would come along with the ambulance, so we actually prevented that risk! I mean, hello?"

"Oh yeah, we hate the po-po, so whatever, it's cool," Cindy tells them.

"Nah, y'all are the same," Janae disagrees, but she and Cindy just walk away.

"I'm sorry, they're bein' fuckin' weird," Poussey apologizes.

"It's fine, we don't blame you for their behavior," Lorna mumbles, remembering that they're part of Vee's cult. They've always been this way, but living with Vee can make negative, rude people turn about ten times worse than they already are.

"Well, peace out!"

"Bye!"

"You've been fuckin' my girlfriend, huh?" Christopher yells, and Lorna snickers as she and the girls watch him land a clean punch into Joey's face.

"This is such great payback...Christopher, my destiny, standin' up for me after what Joey did," Lorna gushes. "God, I love him!"

"They're not talking about you, let's go," Alex mutters, attempting to lead Lorna away.

"Could you not rain on this beautiful moment? Thanks," Lorna says sarcastically.

"What?! I've never even spoken to Angela!" Joey denies, rubbing his bloody nose. He grabs the front of Christopher's shirt and bashes him into the wall. "You want a battle? We can brawl after school!"

"She told me the two of you were together," Christopher tells him gruffly. "She refuses to go near me. You both deserve each other, lying pieces of shit!" he shouts while walking away.

"I'm so happy Joey didn't hurt Christopher!" Lorna exclaims. "I hope he doesn't this afternoon! Told y'all I was smart!"

"I hate drama more than anything. I'm on your side all the way, but I won't fight Angela," Daya whispers to Lorna.

"Even though I don't like either of those boys, I can't stand violence," Flaca murmurs. "Hey, Mari, want a piggyback ride?"

"Sure, I'd love one!" Flaca kneels to the floor and Maritza jumps on her back and latches onto her tightly. "So, I got an idea...write on the bathroom stalls about what Humps, Piscatella, Dixon, and Ratman did to us, but we wouldn't say who we are!"

"Yeah!" the girls agree and head to the girls' restroom.

"I adore those flatforms on you, Flaca, and your Platform Pradas, Lorna," Daya compliments them.

"Thanks!" they say at the same time while smiling with pride.

"After re-reading The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, I had a nightmare that I was forced to marry Humps at my age, because of the play in the book where Count Olaf made fourteen-year-old Violet do the same thing so he could get her gigantic fortune. That part of the movie coming out in December will be hard to watch!" Maritza says, and Lorna instantly feels sorry for her.

"We don't gotta see it," Flaca responds.

"You like that kinda dark stuff!"

"I know, but I don't want anything to trigger flashbacks for ya."

"It's fine, I'll just let y'all see it without me."

"I'm glad he's not going out with any of our moms or in Lorna's case, Franny! It would be like Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire on the Disney Channel," Alex comments, and the girls make grossed-out faces.

When they go into the bathroom, Flaca sets Maritza down and the five girls slip into the handicapped stall after making sure no one else is in there with them. They get out different colored pens and start scrawling. Lorna takes a deep breath and puts ink to tile.

Humps told me his sick fantasy of having a threesome with me and another girl since we're the shortest on the cheerleading squad, and Piscatella pushed me to the ground like a fifth grade bully.

"That's awful," Daya murmurs.

"I'm so glad I'm skipping Bio today," Lorna mumbles.

"Ugh!" Maritza exclaims as she pulls back from what she'd put about Humps.

"No wonder you always want us to hold your hand," Alex realizes out loud after finishing her sentence. Piscatella gave me a harsh pat-down...it was as if he was trying to break my bones or something.

"Yeah...I'm afraid to even see him, and it calms me. I know y'all ain't legitimately terrified, but I am, even if I did get rid of his car!" Maritza states.

"Oh, how was that, by the way?" Daya wonders out loud.

"Fun, but scary!"

Flaca and Daya had just scribbled that they felt creeped out by these men in general and Dixon would slap their butts before sending them on their way. Lorna adds anyone else wanna share their story? let it out, girls.

"How about we write about these corrupt teachers in the school newspaper? We could interview all the students who had been harassed before-even the former students-and we'll go on strike until Caputo and Fig hire new and better teachers and fire the bad ones!" Flaca proposes as they leave the stall.

"Great idea!" Lorna says excitedly. She and Flaca coat their mouths with dark red lipstick, and then Flaca touches up her thick black eyeliner. "Oh, we all look good!"

"Hell yeah!" Daya agrees.

They proudly stride down the hall because of a job well done. Lorna and Maritza are between Flaca and Daya, and Alex is on the opposite side of Daya. Maritza tightens her grasp on Lorna and Flaca's hands as Dixon and Humps come up to them and prevent them from going any further.

"Well, well, if it isn't the sasquatch, the runt, and the three wetbacks!" Dixon says rudely. Humps sneers at them and a queasy feeling grows in Lorna's belly. It seems like Maritza's doing worse, though, the way she's hyperventilating and very close to sobbing as she hides herself in Flaca's arms. They scurry away, and Dixon picks up his walkie talkie. "Get someone to catch Gonzales and Ramos, stat-and I need another person because I can't do two at once!" He rips their bags off their arms and Humps ransacks them, carelessly throwing their books, makeup, and phones all over the floor. Dixon grabs Lorna by the back of her shirt and slams her against the wall. She lets out a small shriek of pain when her body hits the plaster, and it takes a second or two to get her breath back. "You're nice and tiny, I like that." As he continues his assault and pinches her nipples hard, she whimpers. "You can be my own personal cheerleader!"

"She doesn't use-" Daya starts to say, but Humps starts patting her down and spending too much time on her breasts and the inside of her pants.

"You got big jugs!" Humps pushes Daya to the side after finding nothing and moves on to Alex.

"Just search me and get it over with," Alex says sharply.

"Of course, Bettie Page," Humps drawls as he sniffs Alex's raven locks. "Oh man, this lustrous hair..."

"Huge knockers on this one, but not much of an ass." Dixon snickers as his hand comes down harshly on Lorna's butt. "No drugs here!"

"I've always had fantasies of sexy librarians," Humps tells Dixon while frisking Alex.

"She's a dyke, maybe you oughta have a threesome!"

"Are you okay?" Daya asks Lorna in a hushed voice as they pick up their things.

"I will be. You?"

"Mm-hm."

When they go away at last, the girls shiver while adjusting their clothing and straightening out their purses and backpack. They huddle together and shakily walk to the kitchen without saying a word.

"Yo, you sure you think my shirt collar covers up my love bites?" Aleida is asking as Gloria reads the strange note a few times over. "I don't want the boss thinkin' I'm a slut or nothin'!"

Dear Ms. Mendoza,

You might be curious as to who could've narced on your ex to the cops. It was Flaca-she followed you to the store and called them. She was just too chicken to admit the truth to you. Her leader was a nosy snitch-so you could see where she gets it from. I'm sorry.

You want proof, question her.

Sincerely,

"Christ Almighty, that stupid girl!" Gloria cries. "Ay dios..."

"Who, Daya?" Aleida tries to look at the letter, but Gloria folds it up and stuffs it into her apron pocket. "What the fuck you hidin' from me?"

"No! Ugh...it's not your concern, Aleida."

"Oh, what, you can be in my business, but I can't?"

"Why don't you let Gloria deal with her personal matter, hmm?" Red suggests, but Aleida just sticks up her middle finger.

"You better take care of this childish drama before breakfast!" Miss Claudette adds.

"Uh, we got somethin' to say."

At the sound of Flaca's voice, Gloria takes the piece of paper out of her pocket and gives it to the tall Mexican girl. She gives a head nod to Aleida as a cue for her to leave them alone and then folds her arms across her chest. "I assume you were in on it, too, Maritza, since you're here?" Flaca stares at the note, dumbfounded.

"We got him arrested because he could do worse than a slap across the face and hit your kid," Maritza confesses.

"Yeah, we was just lookin' out for you!" Flaca puts in.

"Well, guess what, Lucy and Ethel? I had a plan after that happened! I could've gone to jail if those policemen understood Spanish! They raided my house a day later, but luckily...well, you probably know what happened since you were sneakin' around my bodega!" Gloria's voice rises with each sentence and her body tenses up. "I told you to stay out of it! He knows what you look like now, and he really doesn't like tattletales!"

"We ain't gonna visit him or nothin'!" Maritza protests.

"He could break out, or he might have friends...in fact, he does...you are goddamn lucky nobody's come after you or me yet!"

"We couldn't have possibly known about the food stamp fraud since you don't tell us shit about your life! Sorry for only trying to help!" Flaca screams. She and Maritza tear out of the kitchen's backroom, and Gloria fumes while shaking her head.

The prospective cheerleaders run their fingers down the rosters, checking to see who made the squad. Lorna and Maritza jump up and down while squealing and hugging. Some others sigh in disappointment or happiness. The junior varsity team consists of Lorna, Maritza, Brook, Ella, Caitlin, Tia, Liz, Tiff, Ines, Kay, and Lily.

"Yay!" Flaca, Daya, and Alex cheer in unison.

"I'm captain, just like Piper was!" Lorna exclaims. "Maritza, you can be my co-captain! That's what I was last year!"

Maritza beams. "Thanks, you're so sweet!"

"Wow! Congratulations!" Maria exclaims in passing and gives Lorna and Maritza hi-fives. "I kinda knew you'd win. I just had an inkling!" She disappears around the corner.

Lorna turns to her coach and yoga teacher, Erica Jones. "I promise we won't let ya down, Ms. Jones!"

"Good, I'm glad! I have faith in you girls." She claps her hands twice in order to get the team's attention. "Ladies, listen up! Our first practice is after school today, from three til six, so I'll see you then! You can come in comfortable sweats!"

Everyone agrees to this and then they go in their separate ways, except for Maritza and Alex, who go to Physical Education together, and Flaca and Daya head to their English class, side-by-side.

Lorna watches out for the abhorrent teachers as she walks to History. She pulls her phone out of her pink purse and her eyes scan over her new message.

Don't be a sore loser like you were last year! You knew Healy liked Piper the best, even though she rigged the election so you'd win. Maybe you will this time, since Piper isn't here and everyone's scared of Pennsatucky, so she didn't bother to run ;) You'll replace Piper soon enough...you even scored fuckin' team captain! Kisses, P

"What'd you think of that sub for Bennett?" Flaca wants to know as she, Daya, and Lorna walk to Yearbook and Journalism in front of Alex and Maritza, to block Humps from seeing the small Latina. Flaca's attempting to keep her mind off her and Maritza's fight with Gloria by talking about other things, because if she doesn't, she'll wind up feeling sad and crying over it. She rolls her eyes at the text from P.

Sorry, had to take care of that because you're too much of a baby to admit what you did!

"She was okay...a bit boring and too cheerful for my tastes, but whatever," Daya answers. "I wonder why he's out. He seemed fine last week, right?"

"Maybe he had jury duty or takin' care of his wife?" Lorna asks.

"Or his husband, he could be gay, for all you know," Alex chimes in.

"He's single...er, well, he doesn't wear a ring, maybe he's just not married," Daya says awkwardly.

"Not everyone is even dating these days, let alone tying the knot!" Maritza pipes up shyly.

"Ain't that the truth! He could have a kid out of wedlock though, they might have gotten sick," Flaca tells them while throwing her arms over her shorter friends' shoulders.

"Come on, this way!" Alex says to Maritza, who appears frightened as they pass the others. "So, what did you think of that new song that just came out? Rockin', huh?"

"Yeah..." They wave at Flaca, Daya, and Lorna as they vanish around the corner to Maritza's Geometry class.

"I hate that she's gotta be with Dixon for a whole forty-six minutes and the rest of us have cool teachers for second period," Lorna grumbles. "I don't even wanna imagine how he'll terrorize her since she played hooky on Friday!"

"I know," Daya and Flaca say angrily in unison. They slip into their Yearbook and Journalism class and offer friendly smiles to Ms. Maxwell. The teacher simply just has the students take their seats in front of the computers, explaining that they have already been given Breathalyzer tests, patted down, and their bags or backpacks were searched, at the beginning of school, so she doesn't need to do it again.

"Anybody got an idea for a class assignment?" Flaca shoots her hand up eagerly while setting down her black bag. "Yes, Miss Gonzales?"

"We could take pictures of those in desolate situations, with their permission, of course, or like, have someone take a picture of different groups of friends dressed kinda raggedy and leaning against a brick wall near an alleyway and looking tough, or just homeless."

"Cool!" Daya comments.

"Yeah, it sounds fun," Lorna agrees, "and if they're blowin' out cigarette smoke or somethin', we'd zoom in on that, for details!"

"Okay, what would be the purpose, to show how bad some have it?"

Flaca nods. "I wanna open up people's eyes."

"I like your thinking."

The next class isn't so pleasant for neither Lorna nor Flaca, as they have Piscatella and Humps for teachers. Daya and Alex link arms as they go to Mrs. McCollough's history lesson. Flaca scowls at Humps as she walks into Biology and when his back is turned, she smirks at what Maritza had done to his car last night. She sits down and slams her textbook on her desk. It's not so much that she's afraid of him-she's more angry at him for making Maritza fear simply going to school.

"I was going to start on human body parts, but they smelled so bad that flies were buzzing around them, so I've decided to have us dissect them instead. I've killed about three-hundred so far, so you each get ten." The students groan and some girls jump out of their seats while screaming.

"Oh, gross!" Larry yells.

"Ew!" Polly complains.

"There ain't nothin' in a fly...just smushed up black sludge," Flaca points out. Her stomach churns with disgust as a cup filled with ten dead flies is placed in front of her.

"Why are you so horrified? You're like Satan's wife...you should be pleased...unless you desire to swallow them, or I could serve you a live baby mouse instead? You'd eat it whole, or I'd choke you with your sexy black tights while munching on your bare legs."

"You're repulsive," Flaca snaps, staring at him coldly.

"Would you rather dissect your little friend instead?"

"Don't you dare!" she growls, and Humps snickers.

"That's what I thought!"

"I like someone who's unavailable," Maritza says as Lorna walks her to her cooking class, which Lorna had mentioned she'd taken last year. "I know the pain, okay? I'm heartbroken every time I see them together. I wanna smack him into the pavement."

"Who's your crush? I promise I won't tell."

"That's not the point. I'm sayin' that I'll just leave 'em alone. If you really love someone, you want them to be happy, even if they ain't with you."

"Christopher's not with Angela anymore. Anyway, wasn't Diane acting weird?" Lorna asks.

"Yeah, like we had to keep bringin' her back to the lesson. Maybe she's goin' through somethin'..."

"I hope it's nothin' bad!"

"Same!"

They hug before going off into their separate rooms. As Lorna sits down with the girls in their Art class, the only one the four of them have together, they see Maria putting on lipstick while holding up a compact mirror. She closes it while smacking and rubbing her lips together. Daya looks shocked and she gasps. "That's Jungle Red, the same kind that was on my mirror!" she murmurs.

"How do you know?" Flaca asks.

"Aleida's got every kind, and I tried 'em all out."

"Maybe she's P!" Lorna suggests, and Daya appears to be offended. "What? She could be..."

"My mom's not P. She may be a bitch, but she's not sending us anonymous messages. She wouldn't threaten to turn herself and Cesar in for drugs!"

"Oh yeah, you got a point!" Alex says. "It would make sense if it were Maria or Blanca, since they despised Piper!"

"Everyone hated her...she was kind of nasty, if you really think about it," Flaca points out. "It couldn't be Maria...she helped Maritza with pushing Humps' car into the lake!"

"I know," Lorna agrees. "It might just be a coinkydink."

"Hey...can I steal a kiss?"

"I'm wearing a hairnet, I look awful!" Aleida looks down in embarrassment while brushing her bangs to the side. She is, however, happy to see Leon, after the tedious work of washing thousands of dishes and organizing meals on trays repetitiously for four hours straight.

"You do not!" Leon reaches over the counter, strokes her cheek with his thumb, leans in, and presses his lips to hers.

"Aw, look, it's the jigaboo and the beaner!" an obese, bald white man remarks snidely while taking his food. "Your daughter's got quite a nice rack on her, though. Humps got to grab 'em this morning, and boy, was I envious!"

"Excuse me?" Aleida questions him ferociously, ready to stab him with the nearest knife.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch you right now," Leon snarls.

"Just let me have my lunch!"

Aleida yanks it out of the asshole's hands. "Oh, hell no! I ain't servin' you, fatty! Dios mío..." She hacks up some saliva, preparing to spit on his beef and noodles, but Gloria shoves it at him and pulls Aleida away from the counter.

"That's Dixon and I warned you, if you blow up at him, Piscatella, Humps, or Stratman, who knows what they could do to you. Keep that firecracker personality of yours inside at school, got it?"

"Fine, I'll be a pussy!"

"You don't gotta do that, just...don't fight back. It's not worth it. You won't win."

"You the one who said I gotta stand up for Daya...and that racist shithead needs to be slaughtered!"

"I know, but he's a co-worker, not just someone you can kick out of your house, so you put your head down and don't say shit that could get you in more danger!" Red cuts in.

"Whatever, I understand," Aleida mutters, tossing her hands up the air. "Hey, Leon, thanks for comin' to see me!"

"You're welcome, Lei."

She grins at her nickname. "Hungry? I made you somethin' special...well, one of the head chefs helped me." She holds up a piece of apple pie.

"Oh, thank you!" He takes it from her, they make out for a second or two and then, they wave goodbye at each other.

"Mmm, who is that hunk?" Ouija asks, gazing after Leon after he leaves the cafeteria. She walks past Alex's clique and joins Maria and Blanca somewhere else.

"Now, that's a piece of man candy!" Jennifer hollers from another table. "Too bad he's taken by the new brown cook..."

Daya groans with displeasure. "God, this is so weird!"

"He's the dude Aleida's dating?" Flaca asks. "What a fuckin' god, I mean, holy muscles!"

"I suppose, for now, I guess..."

"If your mama don't take him, I will, because he's fine as hell!"

"Can you stop? You have Ian anyways!"

Alex smiles at Daya sympathetically. "If it's any consolation, straight relationships are boring."

Lorna shrugs. "Oh well, at least she's not dating Christopher!"

"Isn't it funny that your moms have the same first letter of their first names as their opposite daughters, like...Alex and Aleida, and Daya and Diane?" Maritza asks, and the girls giggle while nodding their heads yes.

"That is strange," Daya agrees.

Sylvie comes over to their table and wraps a red scarf around Alex's neck. "For when it gets cold," she explains while sitting next to her taller girlfriend.

"Thank you!" Their mouths join together.

"Aww, so cute! So, Al, Sylvie, how was your dinner with Diane?" Flaca interrupts their kiss.

"It was excellent! Her mom is the best!" Sylvie gushes.

"Yeah, we love Diane, so no surprise there!" Lorna says.

Alex hums in agreement, but lately, she senses that her mother has a secret. She wants to ask her about it, but she'll wait until it's really obvious. Diane seems a little forgetful today, like students have to bring her back to the present, as Lorna and Maritza had reported to Alex, but it could be just overall stress from working at a school where animals roam.

"Lorna got me from Earth Science and we practically ran to English class. Before passing his classroom, we made sure he wasn't out there," Maritza informs the girls. Alex wasn't even aware that they'd changed topics.

"I'm happy you didn't have to see him!" Alex replies quickly.

"So, some fool left their suitcase at the airport and it had an iPad inside. Well, it's mine now!" Cindy bellows behind the girls and then guffaws. Sylvie discreetly listens in on this impending, interesting conversation, and Alex is also wanting to know what the drama is about.

"You should give it back to its rightful owner," Allison Abdullah chides Cindy.

"Nah, they so stupid, man!"

"Come on, Puffs, you gonna get your ass thrown in jail!" Poussey insists.

"Donte's in Lexington for armed robbery. I did it with him, but I didn't get caught because I followed your advice to ignore him when he tells me to slow down! I'm not in the slammer, bitches! My goal was to just keep running...but we needed the shit we stole 'cause we poor. Yo mama buys you anything you want, and that iPad belongs to a particular person!" Janae says.

Alex jumps when her phone vibrates. I see where your eyes are at, stay out of other people's business! What, you're gonna take after Piper and gossip about them now? xo, P

"We should not be eavesdropping," Alex hisses to Sylvie, so they direct their attention back to their friends.

"Did I ever tell you that my mom got momentarily arrested?" Daya inquires. "It completely freaked me out when he pulled me into his drug ring. I backed out after like, a day, and yelled at Cesar, Aleida's boyfriend, for not bailing her out and getting her into this or encouraging her in the first place. I'm so grateful for Gloria because she's well on her way to setting Aleida straight!"

"That's cool," Sylvie responds. "Where do you all live? I know Alex and I are in Queens."

"I am, too!" Flaca answers.

"The Bronx," Daya says.

"Brooklyn," Lorna tells them.

"Gloria and her sons moved from there!" Daya informs her.

"I'm from New York City," Maritza lets them know.

"Awesome!" Sylvie comments.

"That's all very interesting, but excuse me, I gotta use the little girl's room," Lorna announces, starting to get up. "This song is dedicated to Christopher MacLaren," she declares over the loudspeaker about two minutes later. She takes a deep breath and the girls watch as the whole cafeteria stops what they're doing to hear it. Christopher grits his teeth in fury. Vinnie rolls his eyes. Red and Gloria come out from the kitchen.

"Oh no, we gotta stop her!" Flaca says worriedly.

"Guess mine is not the first heart broken, my eyes are not the first to cry, I'm not the first to know there's just no getting over you..." she croons.

"Shit!" Alex yells as everyone except her girls, the decent teachers, and the kitchen workers start laughing hysterically at Lorna's off-key singing.

"You know I'm just a fool who's willing...to sit around and wait for you...but baby can't you see, there's nothing else for me to do...I'm hopelessly devoted to you..."

"Fuckin' hell, shut up!" Daya shrieks at their fellow students, Humps, Piscatella, Dixon, and Stratman.

"She sounds awful and pathetic!" Joey proclaims. It's true, but Alex hates when people talk rude about her friends.

"We'll take care of this, damn it!" Maritza chimes in. She and the girls race to Fig's office.

"But now there's no way to hide...since you pushed my love aside...I'm outta my head hopelessly devoted to you..hopelessly devoted to you...hopelessly devoted to you..."

Sylvie turns the knob and opens the door. "Okay, your American Idol moment is over!" Alex interrupts Lorna, but the small brunette keeps at it.

"My head is saying fool forget him...my heart is saying don't let go...hold on to the end, that's what I intend to do...I'm hopeless-hey!" Lorna screeches as the girls cut her off by removing her from the room. "Jeez, what crawled up your asses and died?"

"They're all making fun of you!" Daya explodes.

"Why?"

"You're being a desperate piner!" Flaca says harshly. "Ay dios mío..."

"Now they'll know about the Facebook thing, if they haven't guessed what you did already," Maritza whispers when they return to the noisy cafeteria.

Lorna scoffs. "Oh, I seriously doubt it!"

While Flaca is walking Maritza to her Spanish class, Gloria catches up to them with guilt clouding her features. "Girls, I'm so sorry that I overreacted. I understand why you had to butt in. I was just...being mum about it all, so you really had no clue."

"I knew you'd eventually realize that!" Flaca exclaims, her tone filled with satisfaction.

"We forgive you," Maritza goes on.

Gloria squishes them together in a group hug. "See you later!"

"Bye!" they say happily in unison.

"I'm so glad she came to her senses!" Flaca says.

"Me too," Maritza agrees.

"Can we do West Side Story for a play?" Lorna begs her drama teacher. "Please?" Alex chuckles while shaking her head. "I wanna watch it, too! It's the best movie ever!"

"Those aren't in my future plans, but if anyone else wants to do that, please raise your hands!" Ms. Rogers tells the class. Lorna waves her arm from side to side while Suzanne and Maureen do the same thing. "Okay, we'll act that out someday!"

"Whoohoo!" Lorna cheers while clapping excitedly. The bell rings and then Alex leads Lorna outside of the school as they link arms.

"Good luck, and don't let any of them see you!" Alex says. She wraps her arms around Lorna in a friendly embrace, and then Lorna takes off into a sprint, even though her whole body is shaking with nerves. She lets her feet carry her all the way to Starbucks, forgetting she could've simply taken a bus, and she trudges in, breathing heavily while coughing.

"I need...I need water..." she rasps to her sister.

"Okay, Lorna, you can come on back here." Franny waves her to behind the counter. "I think it's a brave thing y'all are doin'," her big sister lets her know as she hands Lorna a cup of ice water. Lorna downs it in seconds while collapsing to the floor with her arms around her knees, tucking them underneath her chin. "What excuse are you gonna give tomorrow for why you didn't go?"

"Uh...I was sick...cramps, maybe, since I gotta return for cheer practice."

"I hope that works!"

Lorna gulps hard and then refills her cup. She swallows the clear liquid and allows the ice to melt in her mouth. "Mm-hm..."

"Have you spoken to one of the school counselors yet?"

"No..."

"If they're not helpful, I'll research the best therapist in Brooklyn."

"Don't bother me about this anymore!" Lorna slumps into a sleeping position and is thankful that Franny gets the message.

She stays there until three and rides the bus back to school. As soon as she gets inside the gym with all the girls, Brook pounces on her.

"I'm way more peppy than you! I should be cheer captain!" the Asian girl claims, and Lorna flips her off.

"Ya dirty fuckin' hippie, everyone wants me as their captain, and Maritza's my second-in-command. That's what they voted for, duh!"

"This is betrayal!" Brook sulks and pouts on the bleachers while the rest of the girls dance to Get This Party Started by Pink. It's the song that they always start out with, even though it came out three years ago.

They only stop moving their bodies to the beat when Humps walks in like he owns the place. "Well, come on, continue what you were doing...perform for me!"

Lorna feels faint and Maritza looks it, the way her face is turning pale, almost a white color. Maritza runs out while clutching at her tummy and Lorna follows her while trembling.

"Why did he come in?" Maritza squeaks. "He was leering at us..."

"I know, I don't feel safe with him around...at all..." Lorna squeezes her eyes shut tightly in order for no tears to come out of them.

"We're supposed to be the leaders...what should we do?"

"We can't let him ruin everything we love."

Maritza sighs heavily. "Man, what a day full of ups and downs!"

"I'll say!" Lorna agrees.

They cling onto each other as they go back inside, and they're relieved to find out that he'd left.

Later, Red drives Lorna to the hospital for her first day of her community service job of being a candy striper nurse. Dr. Brooks hands her a pink and white striped uniform and instructs her to put it on. The lady introduces Lorna to her patients-Rosa Cisneros, who's bald and dying of cancer and Anita DeMarco, who has blue eyeshadow and sleeps with a CPAP because of her respiratory problems. Both women are in their sixties and sassy, but nice. Lorna hugs Red goodbye and the doctor leaves before saying, "This is Lorna Morello, she is a student volunteer in high school, please be friendly to her."

"Hon, can you get me some needles and thread?" the older Italian lady requests. "I want to knit socks for my grandson. You know it gets freezing in upstate New York!"

"I'm not sure if those are allowed..."

The Cuban woman tuts. "I know you don't go by the rules, kid. You got it painted all over you...you're worn down after only being in here for five minutes!"

"No, I've just had a long day. I honestly don't mind working here..."

"Alright, it's your first day, I'll leave you alone," Anita mutters. "Will you let me call my husband, though?"

"Sure, I don't see how that's a problem."

"So tell me, kid...is that Dr. Brooks a fake or what?" Rosa asks. "At least you're smiley enough to pass as warm."

"Yeah, she gave me the wrong diagnosis...depression, which is far from what I got!"

"You know, there's a cute fellow next door named Yusef...you should meet him," Anita says teasingly.

"He has my disease," Rosa tells them.

"I have a boyfriend," Lorna informs the women.

"I hate this," Nicky complains as she holds a plastic bag with one glove-covered hand and collects trash with the other, like she'd been doing for the past four hours. "Marka would just hire someone to do it for me...and I'd sit back and relax, but then again, she's the reason I'm even in this position!"

"You're almost done, Nichols," CO Ford lets her know with an amused look on his face. "You're doing great."

"Oh, I'm glad you're enjoying this! I know that after today, I'll have only...a hundred and nineteen days left!"

"That's one way to put it."

"Listen up, you fucker! I walk and feed that dog every day, and what do you do? You laze around and watch sports all day!" Lorna screams into her phone as she places a few notes on his car, full of her dedications of love for him. "Don't let this go to voicemail again! This is the fifth time I've called you!" She peers through her binoculars and looks for where he could be inside his house while littering his lawn with Kleenex and candy wrappers. "Why aren't you answering, damn it?! I love you so much, and this is what I get in return?! Well, screw you, Christopher!" She hangs up and calls his number again when she sees him making out with Angela in his bedroom. "Hey! You're cheating on me! I will choke that cooze to death!"

Someone pulls her back from the house and throws her into their car. "Lipstick and dirt just don't mix, cariño!" Gloria scolds Lorna and then pulls away from Christopher's curb. "What the fuck were you just doing? What if the owner busted you instead of me, huh?" she whispers.

"I'll take it off, then!" Lorna scrubs away her lipstick.

"That wasn't literal...I'm sayin' nice girls like you shouldn't be doing ugly things like this."

"Please don't say anything," Lorna begs Gloria. "I'm not allowed to go near his house no more..."

"I won't say a word, but why would you do this?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I get angry sometimes because my boyfriend can be such an idiot! He lets stupid Angela walk all over him and she said I can't see him!" Lorna sniffles as her nose tickles. She gasps shakily as she starts to cry. Gloria hands her a box of Kleenex.

"Yeah, guys can be like that." Gloria drives them to King Kone. "Here's someplace that always cheers me up, ice cream!"

"Yay!" tiny voices shout from the backseat, and Lorna notices for the first time, that Daya's brother and sister and Gloria's sons were with them all along.

"Hey, guys! Thanks, Gloria," Lorna says after blowing her nose a few times. "I needed that. Where's Daya and Aleida?"

Gloria scowls. "They're visiting that punk, Cesar."

"Well, if she loves him-hold on, why is Daya there? I thought she hates him!"

"I can't leave Aleida alone, especially not at the police station where she could tell on herself...and someone's gotta watch the boys and Christina, you know?"

"Ohh, okay, then. I just gotta let Franny know I'm with you."

"Where did she think you were before?"

"Storky's."

Lorna takes her phone out of her pocket to text Franny. What you're doing isn't that bad...you're only doing it for love! XOXO, P

She disregards it for now and messages her sister. Gloria saw me and the girls at Storky's, so she offered to take us out for ice cream. -Lorna

"You should put ice on that," Gloria murmurs. "Does it hurt?"

"What?" Lorna's confused until she looks in the rearview mirror and sees that she has a faint black eye. "Oh, no...I guess I fell pretty hard! What about your injury?" She wonders how Gloria got that.

"It happened a while ago, and I already took care of it. They'll have ice there," Gloria assures her. She parks outside King Kone and Lorna helps her unbuckle the children. Gloria picks up Julio and takes Benito's hand, while Lorna leads Christina and Emiliano inside.

Lorna presses the ice to her right eye as they all order what they want. She's so happy to not be home.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, HannahMiley1fan, LindaAndrewsfan, cornedout, Celestial-Vapidity, and A Star In My Universe!

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