It's raining when Alex, Nicky, Blanca, Lorna, Daya, Shani, Karla, Flaca, Maritza, Michelle, and Taystee get to Martin Van Buren High, so Alex holds her blue umbrella high over their heads and Michelle is huddled the closest to her. Alison and the boys approach them with hugs as they come into a hallway. Alex closes her umbrella. Vinnie, Adarsh, and Diablo kiss their respective girlfriends on the lips passionately.
Blanca yawns loudly. "Getting up at six-forty-seven in the morning for school sucks balls, dude," she gripes.
"Yeah, but look on the bright side! Winter Break is coming up and we created this hauntingly beautiful anti-bullying poster!" Nicky gestures to it. The top pictures are of Blanca, Flaca, Maritza, Alison, and Nicky, the middle row has Alex, Lorna, Daya, Taystee, and Maria, and the bottom photos contain Red, Gloria, Diane, and Aleida. Each of them, with the exception of Flaca, has a nasty name they've been called before across their foreheads, and Flaca has vampiress going down her cheek. They're just sick of all the bullying that has gone down at their school thus far. The caption reads words hurt.
"Who said you were a ditz?" Flaca asks defensively, slinging her arm over Maritza's shoulder.
"Oh, I was teased about it at my old school...people would nickname me Mar-ditz-a because I wasn't very smart." The shorter Latina rolls her eyes. "Don't worry about it, I'll never see those bitches again. I know I'm intelligent!"
"Damn right!" Blanca agrees and the others concur. "Besides, we ain't even most of these anymore, or at all." She taps her picture. "I'm not a beast."
"Nunca fuiste una bestia," Diablo assures Blanca as he winds his arms around her from behind.
You never were a beast
"Gracias, mi amor." Blanca stands on her tiptoes, turns slightly, and kisses his cheek.
Karla sighs disappointedly. "Kids can be so mean! Lo siento, chicas." They grin and thank her.
"I don't do drugs, so I'm no longer a junkie," Nicky mutters.
"Well, I'm proud of you, darling," Shani tells her while caressing her hair.
Nicky glances over at her with a shit-eating grin. "Thanks, sweetheart!"
"My mom and I live with Charles, so we're not garbage," Alex says.
"You never were...why they'd call you trailer trash and Diane white trash is so beyond me, it's too rude!" Michelle exclaims.
Alex shrugs. "I dunno, that bull is supposed to be reserved for racist, homophobic rednecks, not us."
"I'm doing well on my medication, so bye-bye psycho Lorna!" she says cheerfully.
"I'm very impressed, my little macaroni," Vinnie praises her, and Lorna's smile only gets wider.
"How dare they call you preggers!" Adarsh shakes his head sadly and cups Daya's chin. He presses his lips to hers and she beams into the kiss.
"Well, I am pregnant." Daya gives a shrug. "So, it's like...true."
"Yeah, but it's not a nice name," Maria points out. "Just like when I used to be slut."
Taystee glares at Anti-Black slurs that's written on her forehead in the photo. "I'm so glad those Nazis and teachers from Hell are gone!"
"Oh, me, too! Look at this!" Alison points to terrorist that's written on her forehead.
"I see it." Hassan grits his teeth and wraps his arms protectively around her. "Hope this makes people think before they speak."
"Aleida, stupid whore, Gloria, hot pants...now I know that was Dixon and Humps," Daya says bitterly.
Maritza frowns. "Sexist motherfuckers! I was so worried when I drove Humps' vehicle into that dirty lake, I thought it wouldn't sink and the lights would still be functioning...but everything worked in my favor, thanks to Maria and Yadriel!" She hi-fives both of them.
"I know! I've never heard anyone say Red was a...commie cunt," Nicky murmurs, narrowing her eyes at the insult that was thrown at her beloved foster mom.
"Kasey Stanky did," Maria informs her.
"Red totally ruined her food!" Flaca chimes in happily. "Also, they repeatedly cooked her eggs over easy since she said it was disgusting, and they'd do it every time she was racist!"
"Good!" Nicky comments and they all chuckle.
"Hey, speaking of name-calling, I got a question! Why were the newbies, apart from Karla and Shani, referring to us chicas y mujeres like Gloria, Aleida, and Diane as cookies?" Blanca wonders aloud. "Especially fuckin' Badison..."
"Probably 'cause we're traumatized and crumbling and those bitches saw that!" Maritza responds, wrinkling her nose with distaste.
"My girlfriend is like, obsessed with my hair!" Suzanne announces randomly in passing. She links arms with Maureen, who has an infection on her face, elephantiasis. "She made a portrait of me and instead of paint, she used my real hair! I am blessed! She's so much better than Piper...I remember telling her a poem, which was supposed to make her love me, but Piper rejected me." Suzanne's grin grows wider. "So, I pissed by her bunk at camp!"
"Ew!" the others complain. Suzanne and Maureen just smirk to themselves.
"Bitch, you a fool, move on!" Cindy exclaims as she comes up to them.
"Fucking nasty!" Ouija puts in.
"That's why we chained you to your bed, Suz...'cause you were whining like a pissbaby, literally! You actually did the dirty act, stinking up the whole room! Ain't like we cared about Chapman, it's the rest of us who were affected," Pidge mutters.
"Well, y'all still a bunch of piñatas and I wanna hit you for what you did to our girl Suzanne! She's just possessed, that's all!" Cindy snaps.
"Mentally ill," Alison corrects her, and glares at Pidge and Ouija until they stomp off.
"Jeez, I once kicked a teacher and got called a bitch, but nobody cared!" Maureen grumbles.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did your grandma recently pass, too?! 'Cause Suzanne's did last year, and we all really liked her!" Taystee says. "You don't get a hall pass for acting up, our girl Suzanne does!"
Flaca points to Maureen and her jaw nearly drops to the floor as a disgusted expression crosses her features. "You gave me that hair doll..."
Daya's heart skips a beat. "From the hospital?!" she asks, horrified. "When you were run under by Maria?"
Maureen just snickers. "Did you like my gift?"
"What...what did it mean?" Blanca questions the suspicious blonde. "Why did you present her with something so creepy?"
Alex pushes Maureen into the lockers roughly, so hard that her head bangs against one of them. "Answer her, you fucking cunt!"
"Get off my Mo-mo!" Suzanne cries. She lunges toward Alex, but Taystee and Cindy hold her back.
Maureen cackles evilly as she struggles in Alex's strong grip. "She and her little friend made fun of Suzanne a while back. I was bitter and wanted some sweet-ass revenge...I thought if Flaca was being threatened, it would scare her into an apology of some kind, but I guess it didn't work..."
"We told her we were sorry, you idiot!" Maritza screams.
"Maureen, you don't gotta defend her, she broke a girl's collarbone, assaulted some people, and removed all of her clothes...she's clearly insane, but she can take care of her damn self," Lorna insists.
Suzanne's face breaks into a wide beam and then her eyes get big. "Yes! Thank you, Lorna!"
"You're welcome!" Lorna tells her proudly.
"Hey, Maureen, isn't my drama class with Ms. Rogers at the end of school with you, Suzanne, Cindy, Lorna, Alex, and Jeanie?" Gina asks sarcastically. "Why are you acting things out this early in the morning?"
"No one calls me Jeanie, it's Babs!" the black girl near them corrects her. "'Cause of my last name, Babson. Jesus, y'all are theatrical and nerve-wracking, maybe you should join Norma's club and calm the fuck down."
"Nobody invited you to this. Exit, stage left." Maureen waves them away. They flip her off and leave. "Come on, Suzy, let's disperse."
"Okie-dokie-artichokie!" Suzanne bellows and then rushes off with Maureen. The rest of the girls and boys just chuckle to themselves awkwardly.
"This sucks we gotta wash dishes as a fuckin' punishment," Janae gripes as she, Cindy, Taystee, and Poussey scrub pots, pans, plates, and cups until they're spotless.
"Yeah, well, if somebody didn't steal the corn from Red's garden, we wouldn't have had to," Taystee mutters, glaring daggers at Cindy.
"Not my fault it's delicious!" Cindy protests.
"You still can't touch another person's shit!" Poussey scolds her.
Meanwhile, Nicky, Shani, Flaca, Maritza, Daya, and Maria are sitting cross-legged on the counter in the backroom, talking to Red. Everyone turns around when Karla enters, upset. Blanca and Diablo are behind her, appearing to be just as angry. "Yo, one of the bitches out there told us that we need to be searched way more than usual, 'cause we probably don't come from this country." Karla scoffs.
"They then said they were just kidding, ¡pero lo dudo!" Blanca chimes in. "Actin' like a bunch of fuckin' redneck bimbos!"
but I doubt it!
"YA tozhe." Red tsks. "Looks like someone needs their food destroyed!"
So do I
"Who are they?" Gloria asks defensively.
"Hope you flipped 'em off and told 'em to beat it!" Aleida chimes in.
Diablo gestures behind him. "Marie Brock, Charlene Teng, whatever-her-first-name-is Akers, Shruti Chambal, and Raquel Muñoz."
"Damn, the slutbag whores who threatened to beat up Blanca and Nicky for being friends when she used to be in Carol's group?" Taystee wonders aloud.
"Those are the very same ones," Karla mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Hmm. For some reason, I expected your harassers to be white," Poussey comments.
"Yeah, it's stupid to hate on your own god damn race!" Janae scoffs. "Raquel betrayin' y'all."
Cindy lifts her shoulders up and down. "Just goes to show ya that pieces of shit can come in all different colors of the rainbow. Like my ex, Curtis, who got me pregnant and disappeared on my ass. He was as black as the midnight sky, but he wasn't loyal. Don't matter what you look like."
Janae claps Cindy's back supportively and the others look at her with sympathy.
"I said an offensive immigration joke a few months back," Nicky admits sheepishly, glancing around at the girls and women. "I pretended I was arresting four of my own friends. I'm really sorry for that."
"As long as you own up to it and never do it again, that's okay," Shani murmurs.
"Yeah, we forgive you," Flaca adds.
"Mm-hm," Maritza, Daya, and Maria agree.
"That's it, we need to investigate further into the mystery, even though we haven't talked about it in so long," Alex decides aloud as she, Daya, Flaca, and Lorna sit outside a doll shop that Wednesday afternoon. They've just finished eating cupcakes, chocolate with pink frosting.
"Stephanie knows everything," Daya says quickly. "About what happened to Piper."
Flaca hums and then raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "How do you-"
"Maria told me, I went to see her in the mental ward a while ago...like, before she redeemed herself."
"Let's pay her a visit, shall we?"
Alex folds her arms across her chest. "Lorna, we can't just drop by and say we were in the neighborhood or demand that we want answers, that's so cliché. Besides, I don't think she's home...and her parents aren't, either. They left for vacation...Hawaii, I believe. They're not gonna be back 'til January."
"We got a right to know! I can pick a lock, as you're all well aware. Don't worry about the house being vacant, in fact, I hope it is!"
Flaca, Alex, and Daya look at each other with shock written all over their faces, and then chuckle in unison. "Okay, sounds good!" Flaca murmurs.
"This is genius, we're gonna figure this out all by ourselves!" Daya chimes in eagerly.
"Even if it kills us, but let's hope it doesn't," Alex mumbles.
Lorna shoots her a disapproving look. "Well, don't jinx it by saying that!"
"Alright, Michelle, last chance." Ouija folds her arms across her chest. "You too, Blanca, I cheered you on for showing civil disobedience and Zirconia here gave you food and a can of Coke when you were forced to stand on the table! I thought you were strong, even after all the bullying you had endured!"
Blanca scoffs. "Well, that was cool of you two, but what you talkin' about?"
Pidge gives them an impatient look. "We're asking you one more time if you would toss Alex like a moldy piece of bread-which she is, by the way-out of respect for our group!"
"What? No!" Michelle stammers. "You...you don't gotta be so mad." Her voice rises. "I'd never do that! I'm in love with Alex! We were in an incredibly dangerous situation not too long ago and it made me realize that I never want to lose her. Stay out of our relationship...and get off my property!"
"Well, we're pissed! It's getting pretty serious between you bitches...and we hate Chapstick! We associate her friends with her, especially Alex, because she was the closest to that cunt, our very own sworn enemy." Zirconia spits on the ground. "Like fuckin' star-crossed lovers!"
"Look, if y'all don't want me to be happy, then you're not true friends!" Michelle shouts at them.
"Yeah, you idiots suck!" Blanca grumbles. "Even after what you did for me...it was only because you hated the dipshit teachers, too. You would've done it for anyone they were oppressing; you even made friends with the fucking Nazis who pushed me down the stairs, all because they despised Piscatella and his cronies! The Hitler fans don't even like our race! Sankey threw food at me when I was standing on the table and Helen, Brandy, and Jennifer laughed at me when I ate it. What is wrong with you, ganging up on Michelle like this and trying to make me feel bad for drifting away from your group?"
"Mm-hm, simmer down! Yo, there's enough hatred in this world. You don't need to talk to Alex, but you should at least be civil to her. Is that clear?" Maria asks Ouija, Pidge, and Zirconia.
Pidge and Ouija seem to be thinking about it. "Okay..."
Zirconia scoffs. "You're not the boss of us. I can't deal, I'mma go meet up with Alana, she doesn't mind that Chapman lover, but she's not all buddy-buddy-lovey-dovey with her either. I wasted my Coke on you, B, the gorilla threw it away and punished me. Thanks a real lot. My mom's pregnant, so I got enough to deal with. I'll probably feed the kid fuckin' dog food. Don't even get me started on that pig who's fucking Ms. V!" She sends Blanca and Michelle pointed glares and storms off, yelling about Mercury being in retrograde and how it's a thermometer planet.
Michelle grunts and stuffs her hands into her pockets. "Charles isn't a pig, even if he's a police officer, he's a good man and I hope he's Alex's stepdad one day! He seems real good to her and her ma."
"Mm-hm, that's right!" Blanca agrees strongly.
"Whatever...so, McChicken or nah?" Ouija asks after an awkward silence falls over the girls.
They shrug. "Sure."
"Look, what happens if we get caught breaking and entering?" Alex worries aloud.
Daya rolls her eyes. "One of us can stand guard. Don't be such a scaredy-cat."
"It should be me," Flaca tells them. "Daya informed us about Stephanie, Lorna's helping us into su casa, and Alex used to love Piper. I was like, nobody to her."
"Aw, but you'll be left out," Lorna says sadly. "Besides...she'll think something's up if you're just loitering outside her door. If worse comes to worse, we can hide under a bed or whatever...or escape out the window if it's low enough to the ground! I've snuck out of Christopher's house successfully before, he suspected it was me, but couldn't actually prove it!"
"Should we be listening to a former stalker for advice?" Alex wonders aloud.
"On how to commit a crime that's been done to us a few too many times now? Yes," Lorna replies with a scowl. "Just because your mom's dating a cop, doesn't mean you need to be a stickler for the rules."
"I'm sorry, but I'm trying to show him and my mother that I'm a model citizen after I was caught with contraband."
Flaca touches Alex's arm gently and squeezes it reassuringly. "Yo, I think they'll understand if we get busted for this. They seem pretty cool...and this ain't drugs, we ain't hurting nobody! We know Stephanie may not give us clear answers. She could be covering for somebody!"
"She does have a point," Daya says. "This is the girl you had real live feelings for...don't you wanna find out what the fuck went on the night she disappeared?"
Alex shrugs. "I'm a little scared to, but...okay." She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly once the four friends come up to Stephanie's place. They sigh with relief when they don't see any cars in the driveway or signs that people are home. Lorna gets the door unlocked easily and lets them in.
They go up to Stephanie's bedroom and head inside. Flaca goes through her drawers while Daya sifts through clothes in her closet, and Lorna searches for anything under her bed. Alex feels around for anything on the top shelf, but finds nothing out of the ordinary.
"Got somethin'!" Flaca calls out as she holds up a journal with Stephanie's name on it. She opens it and lets the other girls see what's written for the night Piper went missing.
"Dear Diary," Daya reads out loud. "I have witnessed too many horrifying things that I can never say aloud to anyone, because she deserves every bit of this. I don't give a shit what happens to her. I watched Piper come out of the house she was having a slumber party at. She and Pennsatucky were having a fight and she beat her up and then Suzanne really kicked her ass a few moments later, calling her Mommy. Later, Blanca kidnapped her, she put her hand over Piper's mouth and dragged her into some toolshed where Maria, Ouija, Pidge, and Zirconia were laying in wait. All I heard was loud screaming. She'd been branded with a swastika." The girls gasp.
"Ay dios mío," Flaca murmurs. "She was acting like a Nazi..."
"They took that way too far!" Alex shouts, her eyes brimming with tears. "Holy fuckin' shit! I knew we couldn't trust 'em!"
"Alex, calm down, we like Blanca, Maria saved our lives, and we don't care for the other three, but Piper was a terrible friend and a rotten human being. You gotta admit that to yourself. It sounds like she was just tortured, not killed. If you're gonna be a menace to society, expect to pay for it," Lorna mutters.
"She came to me, sobbing for help," Daya continues, running her finger under the words Stephanie had written. "I just shook my head and backed away, my hands held up in the air...she had tormented me for so long that I felt like she needed to be taught a lesson. I told her to call nine-one-one or go home and have her parents take care of her. I was so god damn fed up with her bullshit...she was clutching her bleeding arm with a white rag. It was so disgusting to look at. She didn't even tell the police who did it, she was crying and being very disturbing, since I've never seen her like that before. I guess that's what it takes to knock someone so catty and moronic off their high horse. After she left, Janae must have mistakened this girl named Trista for Piper, because she killed her and buried her alive, maybe to protect Suzanne. I didn't think that was worth reporting...Trista was just as awful as Piper. Nobody knows what happened to Piper. She could've moved to Virginia for all I care, that's where she said she would go into hiding...disguise herself with a black wig. It was so corny, but I supported her until the end. I don't even know why I wasted my time with her."
"She must have known people were after her." Flaca shakes her head while pursing her lips. "Damn...so she didn't exactly die on that night, and she wasn't attacked and buried alive, either."
"Piper and I aren't good at timing...that's why I was so mad at her at the worst possible time..." Alex sniffles and wipes her eyes with a tissue. "I'd yelled at her just before I never saw her again. It was our biggest fight ever, and we never had the chance to make up."
"You ain't the sun, the world don't revolve around you! That's the last thing I told her," Flaca murmurs. "I was pissed with her, too. She said she was gonna give Bailey a hand job for keeping quiet about the panty selling, so I called her a fuckin' whore. Don't feel too bad, Allie, you never know when the end is."
"Mm-hm, and she left us!" Daya points out angrily. "She ran away to god knows where, and I know she can help herself out there, but she didn't call us. She didn't return. I've never even missed her. The way she treated me...and you girls...and our other friends, like Blanca...yeah, she's dead to me."
"Piper got an infinity tattoo from Stella...the fuck kinda name is that anyway?" Lorna asks rhetorically. "She was surprised when everyone thought she was a monster, but she was really acting like one!"
"Stella," Alex growls. "Hey, you've reminded me...she said she wasn't into chicks, but I saw her making out with that bitch!"
"You see?" Flaca gestures to Alex. "Hon, she was a cunt. We've forgotten about her. She's history!"
"I thought I erased her from my mind, too," Alex mumbles. "It's just...she was my first love, my lesbian awakening, and it's hard to let that shit go."
"Michelle was your first love," Daya corrects her. "You just had a crush on Piper and she didn't reciprocate. She also made fun of you for it. I'm aware that this is all hard to process, but at least we got our answers, right?"
Alex just sighs and appears to be sad.
"She had a funeral! We were there, Red cooked pasta for it!" Lorna says. "Do you think it was Trista's instead, some random we've never heard of?"
Flaca shrugs. "I guess."
"Jesus Christ, wow..." Alex mutters. "She lied so much, even about being dead!"
"I hope she is by now," Lorna states. "If not, she needs a lifetime of karma roughing her lousy ass up."
The door suddenly opens and the girls freeze in place. Footsteps ascend the staircase and Flaca's heart starts pounding wildly.
"Shit, she must've forgotten somethin'!" Daya grabs the journal from Flaca and stuffs it into the open drawer while closing it quietly.
Alex pales. "I'm gonna throw up."
The others have panicked looks on their faces as Lorna opens a window quickly. "Down the fire escape," she directs them in a hushed voice. "Help me out first, hurry!"
So, they descend the ladder one at a time and reach the pavement before Stephanie can bust them. Flaca is just closing the window as soon as she hears a doorknob turn. She doesn't catch her breath until her feet hit the concrete.
Then they run away from Stephanie's apartment.
"Oh, that fucking cunt!" Aleida growls under her breath, her expression angry.
"Huh?" Leon wonders aloud.
Aleida continues storming toward the Hispanic woman who she recognizes as Juana, her old friend. She's standing on a street corner, smoking. "Remember me, bitch?"
"Who the hell are you?" Juana mumbles around her cigarette.
"Aleida Diaz, moron. You didn't protect me when we were kids. I was brainwashed by my useless whore motha into thinking that prostituting was okay! Recuerdas, you once shoplifted a bottle of vodka and two mixers from a store and the owner didn't even notice you. Our regular drink was an orange vodka soda. You watched me get into that ice cream truck with that pedophile."
Juana scoffs. "I beat you in our race, fair and square. Your vanilla ice cream melted and dripped all over my hands. You chose to run off with Rita after juvy and fuck her gross, older brother. Why you thought he was cute, I got no idea. I also recall that some girl hated you there."
"Well, you, Ricky, Rita, and that nameless cabrona ain't nothin' to me," Aleida tells her strongly. "I got way better friends than y'all. Even my cousin Jazmina apologized for bein' a selfish bitch. Have a nice life." She flips Juana off and walks away with strength flooding through her. Leon follows close behind her. "Damn, that felt good!" she states later. "Whoo!"
"I admire you, fiancée!" Leon compliments her.
"Gracias, fiancé," she murmurs, sliding her hand into his.
"Since you two have decided to get married and you've been dating for a few months, you must know a lot about each other," Jason the immigration guy says as Karla and Weevil both sit down in front of him. He appears to be skeptical, but they're prepared for this. "So, Weevil, how does your fiance spell her name?"
"It's Karla...with a K. Not like Gugino."
She still has the feeling of her ring on her finger and it's often stuffed in her jeans pocket, but she's not wearing it today. It feels as though Ramón passed away yesterday; the pain is still so raw, but it's been six months already. She remembers crying and throwing up for a while after, and not just from the morning sickness and pregnancy hormones. Not wearing the wedding band that Ramón had given her tears her up inside, but she has to pretend she's about to marry Weevil, so she can stay in America. She has on a cheap ring that Weevil had gotten her so they wouldn't be in trouble. She feels like she's betraying Ramón's memory, but he would want her to stay here and keep herself and their children safe.
"I see...and Karla?"
"Mm?" She glances at Jason and suddenly sits up straight. "Oh, sorry."
"How did Weevil propose to you?"
Karla sighs with relief, for this is an easy question. She'd told him the story before about Ramón asking for her hand in marriage, and she'll just have to edit the location and when it happened. "He was very sweet..." She giggles shyly; she'll never forget that day. If she cries, she'll say it's happy tears. "He actually took me to the Statue of Liberty this past Saturday, and I kept thinking somethin' was up because we usually don't go there, but he didn't ask until we were both cozy and warm in bed that night. He just rolled over, caressed my cheek, kissed my lips, stared deeply into my eyes and my soul, and said...'Karla, my life, my love, my one and only, would you do me the great honor of being my wife?' and of course, I was all for it! I said yes right away!" She chokes up slightly. "It was so beautiful!"
"Weevil, how long had you and Karla been dating before getting engaged?"
"A few months...four, to be exact."
Karla nods in affirmation. "It was about time he popped the big question!"
"How and where did you meet? Both of you can answer this."
"At a mutual friend's party," Weevil says. He holds Karla's hand and it somehow calms her nerves. Her heart is racing.
"Yes, he was in a band, and some sleazy person came up to me and started being creepy, so Weevil saved me and we started dancing," Karla chimes in.
"When did your relationship progress to the romance stage?"
"We were enjoying a summer evening under the stars when we first kissed," Weevil answers.
"Do you know each other's best friends?"
"Diablo," Karla murmurs with a smile.
"Blanca," Weevil says immediately, grinning too.
"What does he do for a job?"
"Weevil sings in a band."
"Karla is studying to be a lawyer and a teacher," Weevil adds proudly.
"Okay, that's all for now. You need to be living together once you get married, and I'll see if you are within six months."
The fake couple beams in unison before leaving and then they breathe out huge sighs of relief. Karla is still limping along on crutches and Weevil is kind enough to walk at her pace. Once they're far away from the building and in Weevil's car, they exchange a high-five while laughing hysterically.
"Did you think he suspected we were lying? I was so nervous he would!" Karla exclaims.
"Nah, but it's a good thing he didn't expect us to lock lips or ask us to! I know my parents and my relatives might..."
"Yeah, because I'm totally not prepared to just casually start making out with you. Maybe we could...practice?" she asks shyly. Her face heats up as soon as she does. "I mean, like...um, to be prepared! Uh, really gotta sell the act, ya know!" She inhales sharply and exhales shakily. "Say something..."
"You're not exactly letting me talk here!" he protests through a chuckle.
"Oh..." Karla winces and bonks herself on the forehead. "Sorry."
"I think that would be a good idea, as long as you're comfortable with it. I know it hasn't been long since..." He doesn't finish his sentence and her heart squeezes. She doesn't know if she can bear hearing her deceased husband's name from anyone's mouth but hers.
"Mm-hm." She nods. "Starting when?"
Weevil gestures to her. "You're the boss."
Karla thinks for a minute. "Hmm, even though I'm all primped now...I suppose a few months from now would work. I need a while."
"It's fine, I understand!"
He holds her gaze for a few moments like he's sizing her up or something, but he's smiling like the cat that caught the canary. "What?" Karla wants to know, suddenly feeling timid and self-conscious. She checks her lipstick in the mirror to see if it's somehow gotten smudged. Are you checking me out? she wants to ask.
"You're admirable. It's not everyone who can go through trauma as terrible as trekking through the wilderness while pregnant, running from a wolf, and losing their spouse, and still be able to hold down schoolwork and have a goal like being both a teacher and a lawyer. You'd be terrific at either one, or the two careers if you decided to do that."
"The lawyer is for if the teaching position doesn't work out." Karla winks at him and presses her lips together while beaming. "Gracias, though!"
"¡De nada!"
On Thursday just before school starts, Piper's friends decide to confront Blanca in the courtyard. She's going to town on a breakfast burrito.
"Lorna, you can still wear lipstick after finding out this depressing information about Blanca?" Alex whispers.
"I believe in order to feel better, you gotta look good," she insists.
"Yo, where's your boy and Karla?" Daya asks Blanca conversationally.
"Taking one of their last final exams. They need the extra time."
"Maritza, too," Flaca says.
"Vinnie and Adarsh are having guy time, probably thinking up ways to woo us gals," Lorna chimes in. "Nicky and Shani are busy under the bleachers...as usual."
"Michelle's fighting with Zircuntia again, so they both got trash pickup duty on this beautiful morning," Alex mutters. "Why didn't you tell us what you, Maria, and your band of bitches did to Piper?"
"Easy, Alex," Lorna hisses.
Blanca nearly chokes on her bite. "What?! Maria and I didn't touch your ex-novia." She takes a gulp of orange juice that's in her water bottle and glares at Alex. "You didn't need to growl at me like that!"
"I know. I can't believe we thought it was you who killed Piper," Flaca murmurs, keeping a supportive arm around Alex's shoulders. "She never even got murdered!"
"What the fuck are you idiotas talkin' about?" Blanca wonders aloud, frowning.
"We snuck into Stephanie's room yesterday afternoon," Daya explains. "She had it all down on paper, everything that occurred while we were sleeping at our slumber party. Piper escaped Lorna's apartment and we didn't hear a god damn thing!"
"Except for me, I fought with her," Lorna says sheepishly.
"Oh...well Maria was the leader of me, Ouija, Pidge, and Zirconia. We hated Piper, we wanted to make her suffer. Maria just organized the whole thing...she punched Piper in her stupid face and the other girls held her down...I did too, because she couldn't move, otherwise we'd mess it up...Zirconia branded her. I promise, though...I would never hurt any of you. Piper was awful, you gotta understand! We let her go right after giving her the swastika. We just wanted to torture her the way she did us." Tears shine in Blanca's eyes. "Hey...but we had to get rid of Sankey. She got a headache, and we made it worse by beating the bitch unconscious. Alana and I killed her later. Well, she can't feel anything now, she's dead."
"Piper never physically injured any of you!" Alex cries. "I'm gonna tell Charles everything!"
"No, don't!" Daya and Lorna shriek in unison.
Blanca sniffles. "She gave us so much emotional pain...Maria was labeled a gangster and a slut, and I was bullied to the point of suicidal thoughts. So...we needed her to back down. She didn't respond to verbal threats. She finally left after what we did. Fucking finally. Ding dong, the witch vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. We got our wish. If you say one word about this, you'll ruin what we have...friendship. I thought Maria was taking it too far with the branding, but she guilted me into going along with the plan. I was under duress...I still get nightmares about it," she admits. "I never thought my former group would actually...mark her with a hate symbol."
"A few months in juvy ain't gonna kill you," Flaca lets her know. "Diablo's a good guy, he won't leave your side. Mira, with my girl's mama bein' your lawyer, you'll probably get community service. You can turn yourselves in, or we will."
"What's the point? It happened a year ago!" Blanca sniffles. "Y'all are my chicas now...ain't you supposed to be loyal? Stephanie witnessed it and didn't tell a soul, why aren't you jumping down her throat for that? It's the holidays, chill the fuck out! I don't wanna spend Valentine's Day behind bars! Forget about this and move on. Please!" she begs them, panting heavily. "I-I didn't even have the intention of murdering her! I just...I wanted her far away from here! She left New York, and look at you four! You seem a lot happier without her, healthier, I swear. You're thriving. Why...why would you put a girl who rescued us and one of your besties in juvy for a conniving little cunt who made fun of your weight, Daya, who threatened to kick you out of your clique, Flaca, who was homophobic to you, Alex, and Lorna, I know you wanted to see her burn just like Maria and I did, because she made a move on your guy."
"I'm sorry, Blanca...we can't sit on something this big," Alex tells her. "The only thing we'll take to the grave is you and Alana ending Sankey for good, because she was really a fuckin' monster."
"Well, you're gonna get in trouble for trespassing, you went into Stephanie's place without her permission and read her personal stuff. Let me talk to my lawyer and Karla," Blanca says reluctantly. "She could give me some legal advice, and she won't judge me because she's my best friend."
"Okay," the other girls murmur in unison.
"You can still sit with us at lunch," Lorna assures Blanca. "I don't want Nicky, Shani, Taystee, or Poussey to think anything's amiss...we'll let our significant others in on this when you get your punishment, they know and like you better than Piper, anyway...but the rest of our friends don't need to be aware of the gory details."
"Alright, I understand," Blanca mumbles. "I'll probably confess it to them, too, though, because Nicky and Taystee have both been arrested before! They'd get it."
Daya shrugs. "Yeah."
