Thank you for beta'ing, A Star In My Universe! Again, warning: abuse, racism, and mentions of sexual assault. This story takes place in 2004, by the way. Happy New Year! 2017 yay!
milaya-sweetie
ay dios mío-oh my god
si, gracias-yes, thank you
muy bueno-very good
pridurki-assholes
tia-aunt
putas-whores
Before Diane begins the lesson, she walks up to Maritza's desk and puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asks the small Latina while kneeling down next to her. "He didn't do anything to you, I hope!" she adds in a whisper.
Maritza nods. "Yeah, I'm fine now! I got out of the class."
Diane smiles. "Oh, good! How did that happen?"
"Fig said I wasn't supposed to be in there because I'm in ninth grade, not tenth. She didn't acknowledge that Humps was the problem."
"What an idiot! Well, at least he won't bother you again. I just wish we could all get him fired."
"Same."
Maritza strolls into her English class at a leisurely pace, but she's feeling anything but relaxed. Being in Flaca's arms during their hug before they separated brought her much comfort. Now, though, she's alone again. She's in a big school where hardly anyone knows her-quite the opposite of the small town she used to live in, where everyone was friends with each other and made her feel safe. It wasn't as clique-y as Martin Van Buren High seems to be, and there were no innapropriate authority figures. In fact, they were her babysitters when her mother wasn't home. Flaca had warned her about Humps and the other bad teachers, but Maritza never imagined anything like sexual harrassment happening to her, especially not on the first day of school.
She'd just finished crying, but she can feel the lump in her throat rising again. She sniffles a few times while wrapping her arms around her middle. One foot in front of the other, Maritza, she thinks to herself. Remember, this woman's nice.
"What's wrong? First day nerves?" Ms. Vause suddenly interrupts her self-talk.
"I'm...I'm not feeling well," Maritza explains in a soft voice, willing it not to crack. "I just got back from Mr. Humphrey's class..."
"Say no more, sweetie," her teacher tells her kindly.
"Can I use the restroom...to, uh...to clean up?" she asks.
"Of course. Take as long as you like."
"If I don't return, my name is Maritza Ramos."
"Thank you."
Maritza goes into the girls' bathroom and stares at her reflection in the mirror while her trembling hands grip the sink for balance. Her eyes are red and her nose is pink. She looks a mess and she feels it, too. She starts to get clammy and the urge to barf comes on again. She grabs a chunk of her hair to get it out of her face and empties her tummy. After wiping her mouth, she slips into a stall and sits down before she can pass out. Tears roll down her cheeks as she sobs into her hands. She lays on the cold tile floor, not caring that it's dirty. He touched her with his grubby hands, so she's already gross. Gone is the girl who had it all-she's now a stain on her own glamourous life. Her mother has finally made it big, but he screwed it up completely. She really doesn't want to be her mother's first case. Juliana Ramos would never take money from her own daughter.
"I'm sorry, Mama..." she mumbles.
She stays there until the next bell rings, and she finds out that she was never punished because Ms. Vause is cool and she understands why Maritza skipped class.
From her second day on, Ms. Vause offers her student a comforting hug-and Maritza takes it every time.
Today, it's better, but she's now worried about how Flaca's been acting all morning. Something else is bothering her, Maritza can see it. She just doesn't know what it is. It could be empathy, but no one has a panic attack about someone else's trauma unless they went through the same thing. Flaca denied it when Maritza asked, and she feels so bad that her best friend is still stuck in there with him.
She wishes there's some way to get rid of him forever without getting into legal trouble.
Loneliness is the only emotion that Nicky's feeling right now. In the last few hours, she'd been fondled and roughed up while getting carted off to the youth delinquent center-and it wasn't even by her fellow prisoners. Her heart's still acting up and she can hardly move, let alone breathe, without it throbbing. She just wants someone to hold her and her mouth is so dry that she can't swallow. She's about to go into withdrawal, she knows it, and she's very sweaty and thirsty. Water sounds so delicious right about now. She gasps sharply as her chest heaves and she allows herself to cry for maybe the sixth time in her entire life. The first few times she can remember letting tears spill was when she was three, probably at the overnight camp Marka left her at and in her preschool classroom. Then, there was that moment at age thirteen when she realized Marka never loved her. Vee being rough with her was upsetting. Now she's stuck in this desolate place and she's completely lost. She'll never see the outside world again. She can't bother her friends-they've probably already forgotten about her-and that annoying lady who pretended to give a shit, for sure has pushed Nicky out of her mind, too. That rude man better not have hurt them like he did her, though, she thinks infuriatedly.
"Itching for a fix? You seem jittery." Nicky raises her head out from between her knees. It's that touchy-feely Mendez, who'd firmly cupped his sleazy hands on her bottom when he put her into her cell. "If you want something, you big crybaby, just suck my dick, and I'll get it for you."
She sniffles and wipes her eyes dry with her sleeve. "I don't like cock, especially filthy ones...so no, thank you." She rolls over on her side until he disappears.
"You're high, aren't you?" Dixon accuses Gloria in a nasty tone and shoves her to the wall. He forces her to face it and slam her hands against it, causing a sharp pain in her palms. He pats her down roughly and she's shocked she hasn't had another panic attack yet.
Arturo circles around Gloria as he decides what he'll do next. He looks her up and down and smirks. He'd put her in crutches over the summer, and she'd gotten them off right before school started. Her legs are still weak, though.
Suddenly, he stops behind her. She doesn't want to turn in fear that he'll slap her for not being still. He breathes on the back of her neck and whispers her name. He strokes one of the bruises on her cheek and she winces in pain. That's a new one he'd given her yesterday.
"Sniffling...a clear sign you've been snorting coke. General shakiness and red eyes mean you're using drugs of any kind. What, did you get beat up by someone you owed money to?" Dixon reaches under her shirt and she squirms in his tight grasp. He's making her injuries hurt even more and she bites back a scream when he sticks his hands into her bra and clutches her breasts.
He pushes her forward to the oven to make dinner and gives her a quick slap on the butt. "Sé una buena chica esta noche."
Be a good girl tonight.
He just sits there, leering at her from the kitchen table while she makes the dinner. She carries the soup over to the table and he sticks his foot out. She stumbles over him and falls, her arms flailing out in front of her and the soup bowl crashing to the floor, spilling hot soup all over herself. One drop gets on his shoe and he begins to laugh evilly. Her elbow catches the table before she tumbles to her knees and then on her face. She hears him get up and then feels a very sharp stab in her chest.
"Aaaah," she gasps.
"I don't do drugs," Gloria says in the most even voice possible.
"Te dije que no fueras tan tonta, que no me escuchaste. Eres tan patético, que te acuestas con sopa encima de ti mismo. Dios, limpiaos, mujer, no recibís la cena. Lo arruinó para mí."
I told you not to be such a klutz! You didn't listen to me. You're so pathetic, just laying there with soup all over yourself. God, clean yourself up, woman, you get no dinner. You've ruined it for me.
"¡Me has tropezado!" Gloria cries angrily.
You tripped me!
He squeezes her butt cheeks and slaps her bottom extra hard. "You're a bit chunky there. Were you born with a huge ass?"
"Yo no hice nada semejante." Arturo's foot comes fast and meets her leg solidly and she lets out a shriek.
I did no such thing.
"Me pateaste en mi pierna casi curada," Gloria hisses.
You just kicked me in my almost healed leg.
Gloria closes her eyes in a futile attempt to block out what's happening. "Maybe."
"Deja de decirme lo que hice. Sé lo que hice. Es divertido hacerte daño."
Stop telling me what I did. I know what I did. It's fun to hurt you.
"Just shut up, bitch." He slides his grimy hands down her jeans and pulls her undies up and into her butt crack. It's so uncomfortable.
It hurts like always, and the insides of her thighs are sore. She'll have to cover up more bruises tomorrow.
Lorna runs into the cafeteria while Red is busily working on lunch with Norma. The tiny girl's face is full of despair. "I just saw Dixon frisking Gloria and bein' all handsy with her by Ms. McCollough's classroom...can you check up on her? When he left, she was really upset and I dunno how to ask her what's the matta without buggin' her! I know it was because he did that to her, but she was crying before, Flaca implied it in our yearbook and journalism class. I gotta run to Art, but I just had to let ya know."
"Thank you, Lorna." Red tries not to show her anger in front of the brunette and her best friend. Norma gestures for her to go, as she has everything handled, and as Red passes Lorna, she gives her shoulder a light squeeze.
Red finds Gloria against a wall taking deep, shuddering breaths in and out while whimpering. The older woman's heart aches for the younger's when she sees her like this. She knows Gloria hates looking weak. "Hey...hey..." she murmurs soothingly while rubbing circles on her back. "Milaya, you wanna talk about it?"
"No," Gloria murmurs and sighs heavily. She shakes her head. "I...I can't..."
"I know these new rules are absurd and those pridurki will use it for their own disgusting pleasure-"
"I'm not strong...I want to be, but...why aren't I like you? I mean, you probably take these pat-downs in stride, but I...I broke down...I'm still doing it. Ay dios mío, I need air!"
The redhead puts her arm around the Latina in solace and leads her outside. "You probably want privacy, too, no?"
"Si, gracias. A smoke and a piña colada sound muy bueno right about now!" Gloria hisses.
Red chuckles quietly. "I'm with you there." She wipes a tear off Gloria's cheek. "You better not let those pricks hear you say that shit, though."
"It won't ever stop. They'll search us and we'll be violated in every way possible. They'll fulfill their fantasies and be in all of our nightmares. They have fucked up this place so much..." she blubbers.
"Did one of them give you those marks? You're all banged up, you poor girl..." Although Gloria is a grown woman like Red, she can't help but mother people who are even slightly younger than her. It's just in her nature. She'll go through hell before she lets it happen to anyone else. Gloria's bottom lip is swollen, like someone had punched her there, and her black eye shows, even through the makeup.
"No...I...I fell...on-on the sidewalk...rushing out the door..."
Red would believe this if she hadn't seen Gloria being so jumpy this morning before Piscatella arrived, quite the contrary to how she'd been a total badass all of last year, even with the crooked teachers. "This is the work of a person! Who is it? We'll talk to their boss-"
"It's nothin'! Don't worry about it."
"Gloria, listen to me. I want you to be safe, so please...let me help you," Red begs while holding her hands. "I can tell when someone I'm close to is lying. You're like a different person than you were when you started here. I will ask you one more time. Who the fuck is hurting you?"
"Arturo. Don't tell anyone." Gloria says shakily.
"I don't recognize the name..."
"My boyfriend of three months and one week..."
Red growls under her breath. She wants to kill him. "He's done it all this time?"
"No...just since July. He's got something on me, so I can't call the police. At least he doesn't cause harm to my sons."
"What could he possibly have on you?" Red can't think of a reason why anyone would lay a cruel hand on a woman as sweet as Gloria. "Why wouldn't we take his lousy ass to the cops?"
Gloria's voice grows softer and Red has to strain her ears to hear her. "Well...you know how you, Norma, and Claudette have committed crimes and never gotten caught? I'm also going against the law. I run a convenience store and just after beginning my position as a cafeteria worker, I did some food stamp fraud. Children were starving, and I had to feed them and support myself...I'd basically steal money from the government...and I'm eventually going to use it to escape Arturo if he knocks around my babies. I cannot go to jail for that! I'm a mother and I need to be there for Benito and Julio, plus all you girls here! He will report me to the police!"
"Of course. You've come to the right person...I'm a mobster's wife. That means my mafia people can slaughter him like the animal he is. I'll talk to Dmitri-"
"It's not that easy..."
"Don't underestimate me. My husband's kingpin is a very powerful man. He and the others will tear that weasel boyfriend of yours to shreds and burn the body to a crisp."
"The boys love him...this will terrify them. They have no idea that he's abusive. He lives with us."
"So, come to my house, all three of you, and you can tell them that he got into a really terrible car crash or something...or he was deported. Where is he now?"
"Working as a drug dealer...he should be home around nine, just after I finish my job."
"I'll see you at your house tonight, then."
Gloria throws her arms around Red. "Thank you. You're such a great friend!"
Red returns the hug. "I won't let him touch you again," she vows.
All throughout her Biology class that morning, Flaca had been glaring daggers at Humps. When she sees him staring in their direction in the lunch line, she storms up to him. "My girl Maritza told me everything...and I will ruin you!"
He sniggers. "Okay, beaner, whatever you say. She felt so good against me! Mmm-mmm-mmm!"
She narrows her eyes and clenches her jaw while her hands ball up into fists at her sides. "You can't touch her, you don't live with her, and she can change her phone number and email address! ¡Vas a quemar en el infierno...joderte!"
You're gonna burn in hell...fuck you!
"I understood that, you bitch," he snarls.
Flaca goes back to where she'd been standing and she notices Gloria watching him carefully as the kitchen workers slop food on each tray. "Dios, he's coming this way," Maritza says nervously. What'd he tell you?" she asks. "You both looked pretty angry over there."
"I threatened that asshole, but he didn't take me serious," Flaca grumbles. "I may have made things worse..."
He stalks toward Flaca and her friends and pushes ahead of them. Maritza immediately whimpers as she scurries to a table to get far away from him. The other girls follow her just as quickly.
"Oh, no, why is he headed over here?" Daya wonders aloud.
Alex groans. "Maybe he's making up for lost time...with Piper there to kiss up to him and the others, they never bothered us...but this morning, Piscatella manhandled me because some snitch told him about me purchasing heroin from Nicky."
"You're saying we should embrace it?" Lorna wants to know. "I don't feel like doing that! I'm scared to go to his class later this afternoon!"
"Hell no, I ain't takin' his shit!" Flaca agrees. "Even if they were 'nice' to us, we hated 'em 'cause of the stories from their students!"
"Then why did we sit there in silence and flank Piper as she ratted out people she bullied?" Daya questions the girls.
"We deserve this," Alex mutters. "It's our turn now."
This whole time, Maritza's been picking at her pizza. "No, you don't, and no, it isn't!" she exclaims.
Humps creeps in between Flaca and Maritza and faces the latter. "Why would you stop coming to my class?" he inquires in a frighteningly calm tone. "I want you there." Maritza's unable to move. She's gasping while pressing her hands on her belly. Before the others can do or say anything, Gloria helps a shaking Maritza out of her seat and strokes her hair in a loving manner. Maritza responds to the sweet gesture by burying her face into Gloria's chest and wrapping her arms around her.
"Just breathe...inhale...and exhale..." Her attention switches to Humps. "Hey, you can treat me however you'd like, but leave that little girl alone!" Gloria yells at him furiously. "I noticed the way you were lurking around her...what business do you have, being at a table with a group of teens?"
"I was telling her how good of a job she did on her homework!" Humps removes himself from the seat.
"That's for during class and you stayed there for way longer than necessary! You're a fucking teacher! Go sit with Piscatella, Dixon, or Stratman, but do not eat with the students! They are so freaked out by you!" Flaca sees that Red, Norma, and the decent educators are grinning proudly in the background.
"Yeah!" Poussey shouts from another table and the whole cafeteria cheers. It doesn't die down until Humps leaves out the door.
"Cariña, will you be okay?" Gloria asks Maritza.
Maritza presses her lips together. "I...I think so. Yeah. Thanks, Gloria!"
"Oh, good! No problem."
When Maritza sits back down, Flaca holds her protectively and rocks her back and forth.
"All this fuckin' drama with Piper...you shoulda dumped her!" Maritza's voice breaks at the end of her sentence. "You five...you had privileges over everyone else, huh?"
"Yeah, but without her, we're nothing," Lorna responds despondently, her brows knitting together.
Maritza jerks out of Flaca's arms and climbs over her lap to where Lorna's on her other side. "Oh, right, like me and the rest of the school," she snaps. "You ever think about how that feels? You're in his Bio class, but I bet he didn't do shit to you, whitey!"
"She didn't mean it like that, Mari," Flaca murmurs. "Lorna's on our side. We can't stand that sicko."
"While he hasn't done anything...yet...I'm still terrified of him," Lorna adds.
"You have no reason to be. None of you do. I bet last year, y'all walked around without a care in the world...kinda like I did."
"Where is all this coming from?" Daya asks.
"Don't blame us for Piper's wrongdoings. It's not our fault that she was like our human shield! We couldn't help what the men did!" Alex defends them. "We know it wasn't fair. We were terrible...but karma's gonna get us. It's already happening. I didn't know what Piscatella would do to me."
"He'd obviously go easy on you because you were associated with Piper, right?" Maritza asks sassily.
"Wrong!" Lorna retorts, and Alex pushes up her sleeves to reveal light bruises. "See?"
"Okay, well, I'm sorry. It'll get worse! Humps...he groped me today," Maritza lets them know.
"What a sadistic motherfucker!" Daya cries.
"Disgusting," Lorna chimes in saltily. "Dixon did the same thing to Gloria. I caught the tail end of it and told Red...she couldn't have stopped him, but she at least comforted her."
"I wanna cut all their heads off!" Flaca says fiercely in a hushed tone. She doesn't know why Red's organized crime crew hasn't done it already.
"We'd only do that in self-defense," Alex whispers. She beckons the others to lean into her. "Ms. Berlin, my English teacher, is having us learn about the play, Macbeth. She says she relates to Lady Macbeth. She told us how to commit the perfect murder and have no one find out. I think she learned from experience! We were so grossed out, though...I mean, blood, knives, dicks! I raised my hand and asked if she could butcher the awful teachers...and everyone laughed. She said she liked my thinking, but she can't take down all four of them. If one went missing, the others would wonder and an investigation would start. She added that we could all do it for extra credit."
Maritza's eyes widen. "Are you for real?"
Alex nods. "Oh, yes...but I could never. For one, it'd be body horror...and not to mention, I'd be taking away someone's life. Even if they are despicable, they're a living...thing!"
"They don't act human," Daya mutters darkly.
"Yeah, more like wild animals," Lorna goes on.
"Al, you're way too good for this crew," Flaca continues. "Half of 'em felt up one of my best friends and a woman who's like my tia. I'm biased."
"Yeah, me, too. Piscatella was brutal with Nicky, Red, and you, Alex! You Latinas didn't see it, but I witnessed the whole thing! He also knocked me down!" Lorna states further. "What can I say, they're all violent!"
"Ratman doesn't seem that bad," Maritza disagrees.
"Last year, he forced this girl named Blanca Flores to stand up on a classroom table for not showering, and she pissed herself twice until Gloria got her down. He's more of a rookie now, though...he hasn't done anything horrible except for that. He even felt like he shouldn't have done it...he told Piper that, and she called him a pussy. It was still so wrong!" Daya explains. "Blanca was really weak after that, but then, she took better care of herself and he never bugged her again. I bet she hates him with good reason, but the three we need to focus on are Humps, Dixon, and Piscatella. They are the worst!"
"For sure! Yo, you think there's somethin' goin' on with Gloria?" Flaca asks.
"Yeah, we saw her in the bathroom this morning, and it appeared as if she suffered a blow to her face!" Maritza puts in.
"I noticed that she looks kinda triggered whenever the horrible teachers yell at her," Daya says.
"Same," Alex murmurs.
"It broke my heart when Dixon was feeling her up...gosh, she was so traumatized after that!" Lorna remarks sadly.
Flaca throws her arm around Maritza. "We're gonna find out what the fuck's happening to her, by hook or by crook," she declares.
Her phone goes off with a new text, and she glances at it when Maritza's not facing her. Don't you dare fuck this up! I'm counting on you! xx, P
While everyone is eating their lunch, Diane comes into the kitchen's backroom. "Okay, I'm here. What's the deal with that Maritza girl? Is Humps still bothering her or something?" she wonders out loud.
Norma waves at her and Red announces, "Sadly yes, it seems so, but we'll discuss ways to keep her and the rest of her group safe. Let this meeting begin!"
"How will we do it?" Gloria asks while folding her arms across her chest. "This is only the start of Piscatella's reign and the end of Piper's powerful shield over our girls, so to speak. Now they're in possible danger, so we gotta be a lot more protective. We're not going to kiss up to those creeps like she did. They hate us anyway, so they wouldn't believe it."
"Yeah, we can't really go to the cops...remember, we tried that? There was no evidence."
"Oh, but now, there is!" Gloria answers Diane while touching her fat lip.
Diane frowns. "You got that from them?"
"No...I'll just say I did."
"I doubt that'll work. The lie detector test would show that they're telling the truth when they say they didn't cause that injury, and then they'd bring you in for questioning," Diane lets Gloria know. "I want those fuckers in jail as much as you do, but framing someone is a crime. How'd you get that, anyway?"
Gloria frowns. "It's from a bee sting-I'm allergic to 'em. Red...what about your mob boss, or hiring hitmen?"
"Ooh, those are nice ideas...but they live together in a cottage with two cops...Dimitri spied on them for me when they started terrorizing the school."
Diane and Gloria groan in unison.
"She begged me not to tell you, Diane, but I have to...Piscatella was abusive to your daughter while searching her for drugs."
Diane gasps sharply. "What?! She's never touched that shit! Why would he...oh, I hate him a thousand times more than I did a few seconds ago! Did he draw blood or break a bone?"
"No, but he was rather careless with her and her things. He didn't force her to lay down on the ground, but she had some redness from where he'd grabbed her," Red informs her.
"Police won't see it as that serious, even though it is to us!" Diane says crossly. "We can't allow Piscatella and his cronies to bully anyone!"
"Dixon and Humps should definitely recieve sexual harrassment charges," Gloria tells them. "Piscatella would get time for violence against students and co-workers...and sleep deprivation is a form of physical torture, which is what he's doing to Red."
"He also targeted Lorna and Nicky. The girls were out there, just minding their own business, when Piscatella stomped toward the front doors of the school. I went out the other way to warn them he was coming, but he'd started interrogating them before I could finish my sentence."
"Nicky's that girl you consider your daughter, even though she's a stubborn bull?" Diane wonders aloud.
"Yes. I miss her already and I'm worried about her...but she isn't here," Red says bitterly. "What we need to do is keep a close eye on those monsters, and one of us will step in if it looks like they're harrassing the kids."
"Oh, definitely!" Gloria agrees. "We can get them to open up more, too, and let them know that they can always come to us if they need to."
"Of course," Diane affirms. "Even if the men are in prison, they could have nightmares and panic attacks. We'll be there for them. It's what mothers do."
"Speaking of which, isn't Lorna giving her debate speech soon?" Red asks. "Let's go out there and listen to her!"
"I want...no, I demand a hunger strike because I hate the food served here! I know it's not the ladies' faults, but we need change. It can't be the same stuff every day...it looks like boring old mush. We could bring paper-bag lunches, but that's just a waste of trees, and plastic Baggies would cause more littering," Brook rattles on, and Lorna is glad that Alex's hand is on her back, otherwise she'd lunge at the Asian girl and attack her for insulting Red, Gloria, Norma, and Claudette's cooking.
"Brook, that's your opinion. How would you get everyone to agree with you? You can't just change others' minds...that's brainwashing. I think most people here love the food and they'd recycle if they brought their meal to school. Litterbugs know they'd have to pick up their garbage and throw it in the trash, unless they wanna be in trouble. Not chowin' down isn't going to fix anything. In fact, it'll encourage people to gorge at home, which isn't good, or the opposite, which is an eating disorder called anorexia. People need to eat, otherwise they'll faint," Lorna argues. She turns to her audience and beams when she sees her supporters, front and center, holding up posters of her smiling and giving the camera two thumbs up. "What I'd really like for this school is for some of the staff to respect us. We're not inmates...these searches oughta be illegal!"
"I'm with you on that one," Brook says.
"Also as your sophomore class president, I promise to help make the school a more positive place for my fellow classmates. I aim for us to take more steps to prevent bullying. Additionally, I'd love it if the teachers would give us less homework. Many people skip it anyway, or they stay up late trying to complete something they'll never need to remember for the future, and lose sleep while doing so. If teachers require homework, it should relate more to the real world. For example, learning about the homeless around our city would open our eyes and lessen our judgements when we hear their stories." An image of Nicky flashes in her mind as she says this. "My cheerleaders could raise money by hosting bake sales and car washes. I hope you consider choosing me to represent the sophomore class. Thank you."
"Ditto! Peace!"
Everyone cheers and both groups of supporters shout their preferred candidate's name over and over again. Lorna's friends, along with Red, Gloria, and Diane, hug her and tell her they hope she wins.
"You did a great job!" Daya compliments her, and the others nod in agreement.
"I trained her well," Alex comments.
"I guess we have to pick the lesser of two evils...the annoying chink versus Psycho Barbie!" a white supremacist, Jennifer Digory, complains and a few children laugh.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Lorna hollers furiously, and Alex and Red have to hold her back from fighting the bitch.
"I know you weren't being racist!" Poussey defends Brook.
"Come on, Jenny, don't start drama," Skinhead Helen mutters and pulls her away.
"You get no lunch tomorrow!" Red shouts after Jennifer. "Hey, Brook, if you don't appreciate the food, we won't cook for you anymore."
Brook takes a few steps back. "I didn't mean-"
"Oh, you did...but maybe you don't realize how hard we work," Gloria says in a tight voice.
"I do!"
"If you want to whine about someone, it really shouldn't be the cafeteria ladies," Diane advises her.
"I'm sorry. I'll just...shut up."
"That would be greatly appreciated," Flaca murmurs.
"Yeah, bring a plastic lunchbox filled with whatever you want-but you don't need to try to make us go on a hunger strike...that's lame!" Maritza chimes in.
"Whatever!" Brook flips the bird at them and stomps off with Poussey.
Lorna checks her phone a while later. I'll make sure you're the champion since you lost to Piper last year! What an embarrassment that was...I felt sorry for you! XOXO, P
As soon as Lorna leaves Humps' class, which is also her last period of the day, she tries to forget about his suggesting that she and Maritza wear bikinis while washing his car or go naked like they're on Girls Gone Wild and that he'd like to see them in their cheerleading uniforms while having a threesome. That perv probably saw Maritza at tryouts. She feels like she shouldn't have mentioned car washes and cheerleading in her speech in case he was listening. Not to mention, she can't think about dissecting the rat without gagging or wanting to faint. She attempts to let all of her stress roll off of her. She'd packed up her things as quickly as she could and met up with Alex and Red in the kitchen. It can never be right outside Humps' classroom door since she doesn't want them to have to be near him.
"Let's go, I wanna get outta here," she mumbles while staring at the ground and hugging them so she's in the middle.
They leave in Red's car so fast that the tires create skid marks on the pavement. Lorna is in the passenger seat and Alex sits sideways in the back with her feet up and her shoes off. Lorna's glad they don't ask her why she's so quiet and pale, but instead, play fun music and sing along to it. She closes her eyes and enjoys the moment.
Once they arrive at Shake Shack, Red asks, "Are you alright now, malyshka?"
Lorna nods. "I'm doin' better. Humps was just bein' a moron...it's only fifty minutes out of a twenty-four hour day."
Red makes a tsking sound and wraps her arm around Lorna. "Did he touch you?"
"No..."
"That's good, but if he does, you come straight to any one of us," Alex says.
"I will."
Alex discreetly shows Lorna her phone, which shows a text that reads, I'm waiting for your request...Lorna sent hers in already! xo, P "What's this about? You're seriously gonna fall for that?"
"I dunno," Lorna fibs. "Let's just stay on topic."
They go up to the counter where Taystee is. Tricia's sitting at a table and writing in a journal. "Hey, you two!" Alex greets them.
"What brings you here?" Tricia wonders aloud while barely looking up. "I'm just chillin', ya know. It's kinda early for dinner and late for lunch...how about a nice snack or dessert?"
"Actually, we were just about to open up with that," Lorna answers her. "This is Galina Reznikov, by the way...but just call her Red. She's like Alex's auntie and my mother figure because my own ma is too sick to do the job."
"Cool. She'd be best friends with our foster mama. Vee doesn't even make me go to school! Isn't that awesome?" Tricia chuckles. She doesn't see that Red has a horrified look on her face. Red opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. She simply turns around to face Taystee.
"Hello...Taystee, is it?" Red asks.
"Yeah, that's me! Do you ladies want a burger, fries, milkshake-"
"No, thank you, we're not hungry or thirsty," Alex interrupts her.
"Nicky's locked up!" Lorna blurts out. "It happened this morning...you gotta bail her out, or ask Vee..."
Taystee grimaces. "Fuck! None of us have cash for that shit! Imma work at Storky's as well and see if I can come up with enough...but man, how did this even...Vee will be so mad!"
"She wasn't selling...she just had it, and someone at the high school...we don't know who...they told one of the meanest teachers to come out and get her. He was so cruel and she may have been having a heart attack while he searched her, but we weren't sure. I work there as a lunch lady, in case you were curious," Red informs them. "That poor girl is stuck behind bars...she won't call anyone for help, but I just wanted you to know. I'll pay for her bail."
"Wow, that's real nice of you and all, but Vee said we're on our own if we get caught. We gotta pay for our mistakes!" Tricia says as Lorna, Alex, and Red sit at the table with her.
"I won't let that happen. Tricia, you're not doing drugs, are you?" Red asks skeptically.
Tricia scoffs. "No! I'm eleven, come on! I really wanna try 'em, though, but Nicky and Taystee don't let me near it. I'm just the bait to lure in customers."
"It sounds like Vee is a perfect role model for you girls, then!" Red snaps sarcastically. "Well, if she doesn't want to take care of her foster daughter, I will."
When school's over, Flaca and Maritza take the bus Gloria is on and duck behind one of the seats so she doesn't see them.
Flaca knows she'll get double detention tomorrow for missing it today, but this is so worth it. The bus goes to a convenience store and she gets out. They leave the bus as well, but out another door. They link arms as they tiptoe to where Gloria and another woman are conversing in rapid Spanish.
"¿Lourdes, dónde están mis hijos?"
Lourdes, where are my sons?
"En mi carro...pero, Arturo golpeó a Benito. Si no pensabas que era hora de irnos antes, definitivamente es el momento."
In my car, but Arturo hit Benito. If you did not think it was time to leave before, it is definitely time now.
"Leave? What...what's she talking about?" Flaca asks.
"Beats me. Oh!" Maritza taps her friend's shoulder frantically. "They're going in!"
The girls head into the store after they're sure the women haven't seen them. They peek out from behind a shelf full of beer and listen to Gloria yelling at a man in Spanish. Apparently, he's Arturo. He shouts back at her and then Maritza claps her hand over Flaca's mouth before she can shriek, because the man has just slapped her across the face, making her head whip to the side. Gloria cradles her jaw in agony and the ends of her hair have flown into her mouth.
"Call the cops," Maritza directs Flaca in a wavery voice.
"On it."
As Flaca dials nine-one-one with trembling fingers, they back out of the tiny shop.
"Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?"
"I just witnessed a man smack a woman and he's done this before. She denied it when I asked, but..."
"Where is this domestic violence occurring?"
Flaca gives them the address of the convenience store and they stay outside of the building until the police come. The girls put their hoods over their heads and look into the window as the cops arrest him and drag him out in handcuffs. Gloria looks relieved but shocked at the same time.
Arturo spits at them. "¡Putas!" He points at Gloria. "Ella hizo fraude de estampillas de comida!"
She did food stamp fraud!
"Uh oh, he knows it was us," Maritza worries out loud when they stuff him in the squad car. "What an idiot...trying to pin things on Gloria while getting taken to the slammer!"
"We won't see him after this. He should actually die in a fire."
"I know, right? We did real good!"
Inside the store, Gloria is pacing back and forth with her hand over her forehead. Lourdes is talking to her and using hand gestures, as if to calm her down. "Now why is she stressin'? He's done for!"
"Let's find out...we'll pretend to buy something." They casually stroll through the doors just when they hear Lourdes assuring Gloria that she'll keep the money at her house so the police don't find it at Gloria's, and she'll send it to Gloria in small amounts each month.
Flaca closes her eyes and groans softly. "I think we got her into more trouble, Mari..."
"I had no idea she actually committed food stamp fraud!" Maritza whispers back. "Neither did you! No wonder she didn't want the cops involved."
"We should just let Lourdes handle it from now on. We don't wanna get way in over our heads with this shit," Flaca points out. They slip back away from the store and go to Daya's house, as that's where they agreed to do their English project. Maritza is only with them because she doesn't want to be home alone.
"I'll try not to bother you," Maritza says.
"You can watch television and play with Daya's sister and brother...that should keep you plenty busy and entertained!"
"Sounds fun! Should we tell Daya or the others about Gloria's tough situation?"
"No, it's private, and it's taken care of."
"Your services won't be needed tonight!" Gloria shouts at Red as she enters the school kitchen's backroom. "You did exactly what I asked you not to...you got him arrested! The boys are asking where he is. You created more work for Lourdes and put a ton of pressure on me. I had to think fast before the police came back and searched my store and my house! Luckily, they didn't find anything because it's now all at Lourdes', but-"
"I didn't call the cops." Red's knife comes onto the surface of the counter with a heavy slam and she never breaks eye contact with Gloria. "Look at me! I. Did. Not. I wouldn't be staring at you if I was lying. How long have you known me? We've been working together for a year now! Are you sure Lourdes didn't do this?"
"Yeah, because I interrogated her too, and it took her like, a second to convince me that she hadn't...I'm sorry, I just have trust issues...Arturo told me he loved me to my face..."
"Of course he did, but then he beat the shit out of you. I didn't, and neither did Lourdes."
"Okay. I believe you...but someone must have turned Arturo in. Maybe they saw him attack me in the store or one of my sons told their friends' parents when he hit Benito, because he was in handcuffs right after he did those things."
Red considers for a moment. "That's a possibility."
"How do you know which one she's banging?" Cesar asks Aleida at Back to School Night.
She smirks at her boyfriend. "Oh...I've seen Daya's artwork...and all I gotta do is eliminate her fat teachers." She laughs in triumph when they go into Daya's English class. "That's him, I'm sure of it! No one here is as good looking!" Aleida checks Daya's schedule again. "I saw her teachers on the website."
"We'll get him to admit it!"
"Hello...and you are?" Mr. Bennett asks as they sit down across from him.
"Aleida Diaz, her mother, and this is my boyfriend, Cesar Velasquez."
Mr. Bennett gives them a blank stare and then chuckles awkwardly. "Nice to meet you," he says while shaking their hands.
"You got Daya in your class!" Cesar booms. "So, tell us, how's our girl doin'?"
"I can already see that she's such a bright student. She's quiet, but that's okay. She gets along very well with others. She's one of the nicest girls in my class." Aleida catches him blushing as he speaks so highly of Daya. His smile doesn't disappear. She starts to lift her shirt a little, preparing to get back at Daya for hooking up with Cesar.
"You're fucking her, right?" Aleida sniggers.
Mr. Bennett's grin fades, as does the twinkle in his eyes. He suddenly gets serious. "No, of course not!" he denies. "Why would you say that? She's your daughter! That's very inappropriate!"
"Her tits are big, right?" Cesar asks, and Aleida feels jealous of his attraction towards Daya. By this time, Mr. Bennett looks horrified.
Aleida quickly flashes Daya's teacher. "Are mine really that much smaller than hers?"
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Mr. Bennett says nervously.
"What's up with the lying, homeboy?" Cesar shouts while standing up.
"You're digging it in deep!" Aleida tells him.
"Please stop talking like this. I'm not doing anything with Daya! She's fifteen!"
"No bro, you are!" Cesar insists. "Just make sure you treat her right!" The bell chimes and that means they need to go to Daya's next class.
To Kill a Mockingbird has been discussed to death and the five Latina girls are now chilling and enjoying each other's company.
They make themselves dinner from scratch and eat their tamales around the table while talking about their favorite music and movies. Christina and Emiliano are in their hi-chairs and Maritza's having fun feeding them animal shaped macaroni and cheese and tickling their little tummies to make them giggle. It's so cute how much she loves babies. Daya does too, but she gets sick of taking care of them all the time when it should be Aleida's responsibility. Her phone displays a message that reads, What I want you to do tomorrow is go back to your old eating habits. Pile in a dozen cupcakes! That should be easy for you! Kisses, P, so she turns it off with a worried sigh.
Blanca starts talking in Spanish about how she wants to kill Millie, the old woman she's been looking after. Millie annoys her so much, from being demanding and calling her Bianca just because she feels like it, to not letting Blanca see her boyfriend and Millie's gardener, Diablo.
"Deberías dejar de trabajar allí," Maria advises her. "El abuso de ancianos es un crimen."
You should just stop working there. Elder abuse is a crime.
"¡Voy a frotar nuestra relación en la cara de ese coño!" Blanca says wickedly. "¡Vamos a joder cuando se despierte mañana por la mañana! ¡Será genial!" Flaca, Maritza, Blanca, and Maria laugh like hyenas.
I'm gonna rub our relationship into that cunt's face! We're gonna be fucking when she wakes up tomorrow morning! It'll be great!
"Okay, you gotta slow down! I don't speak much Spanish...and I really can't understand it when you're talking so fast. I'm only in my second year of learning the language," Daya interrupts them. "You lost me after you cracked a joke."
"Ay dios, okay...Blanca and Diablo are planning on doing somethin' extremely naughty in front of ol' Millie!" Flaca explains while thrusting her hips forward a few times, and Daya chuckles. "It's like, she disrespected them, so they'll do the same to her!"
"I'm very rebellious," Blanca adds on.
"I admire that about you," Maria compliments her.
The terrible teachers would also bully Piper's victims and she'd tattle on students. Two girls who are currently sitting at Daya's kitchen table, will always remember that.
"We're sorry that Piper ratted out Maria for starting a panty-selling competition and sneaking drugs into school." Daya suddenly apologizes. "We should've done something when you were standing up there, Blanca."
"Why? We weren't close or nothin'," Maria says. "You were her best friends, so obviously, you'd stick by her."
"Yeah, but Piper would make excuses for them and our heads were just so far up her ass...we stupidly thought she had a point and the key was to be good and follow the rules, which we did. We were selfish, though...we were just glad they were friendly to us...but we're all in the same boat, students against the horrible teachers. We don't snitch on each other...we're supposed to be equal...stick with each other, and we didn't follow that...so we're sorry..." Flaca responds.
"Gloria saved me then. She told that hijo de puta Ratman, that I would go home and take a shower and because he made me do this, she called my parents on him. That bastard was suspended for a week without pay," Blanca tells them.
"We were happy she did something," Daya murmurs.
"My sister stands all day at her job, but she takes breaks and is able to walk around and bend her legs," Lorna says.
"Yeah, and my mom can do that too, but she's still tired after coming home late from the bar or Friendly's," Alex chimes in.
"Well, Blanca the Beast shouldn't have misbehaved, she's like a wild animal! She wasn't even up there for that long!" Piper mutters. "Shut the fuck up about people who aren't us. You're all lucky to be friends with me."
"She was starving and falling asleep when Gloria found her! She also urinated-"
"Daya...stop being gross. I don't wanna know."
"Okay, what about Dixon breaking Taystee's watch with his boot?" Flaca asks. "You gotta admit, that's mean!"
Piper scoffs. "You need to be polite and call him Mr. Dixon. Seniors, they think the world owes them shit 'cause they're getting outta here soon, and Taystee was acting all high and mighty just 'cause she's Caputo's assistant, no wonder Mr. Dixon did that! He had every right to."
Daya's broken out of her flashback when Maritza asks, "So, how do we take 'em all down? I say we work together...along with Lorna and Alex...even get Gloria and her friends in on the plan!"
Maria rubs her hands together and she grins. "I got somethin'...each of us skips school...not the whole day, but just the classes where we have them as our teacher. We take turns...not all of us will play hooky in every single classroom...at first. Say, day one, I don't go to Bio with Humps. Day two, Blanca misses the ogre man's gym class. We do something like that for a whole week-all seven of us. Just one girl per day so they don't notice at first. You pass it along to every single person in those classes without the scoundrels knowing. Pretty soon, their rooms will be empty. As for the adults who you admire, you get them bodyguards."
"Fuckin' genius!" Blanca exclaims while hi-fiving Maria. "That's civil disobedience for ya!"
"Yes, I love that!" Maritza squeals and clasps Flaca and Daya's hands tightly.
"I'm excited about how it'll turn out!" Flaca agrees.
"Wow! How'd you come up with that? I'm amazed!" Daya gushes.
"I got a lotta time on my hands," Maria answers her. "So, who's gonna go first?"
"I will!" Maritza volunteers. "No Geometry for me!"
"We need to talk to Lorna and Alex about this right now!" Flaca says cheerfully.
Thank you to cornedout, HannahMiley1fan, A Star In My Universe, thecharmedwerewolf, nnicholsnlyonne, and ladyglorificus for reading and reviewing!
