"You worry too much," Rapunzel said to Anna in the cafeteria after she told her what had happened.
"No, I worry exactly the right amount!" Anna hissed, coming dangerously close to shouting. "You can never worry too much!"
"Keep that tone up, and you could get your ass thrown in the hole," Rapunzel said, her stuck-up voice quite evident despite her mouth being full. "Then you'll really start having a good day."
"At least I might feel safer there," Anna suggested, restlessly tapping her fingers on the table.
"You probably won't say that once you're in there," Rapunzel teased. "I heard that they strip you naked and lock you up with nothing but a dirty mattress and an old wooden bucket."
"You know, it scares me that I never know if you're joking or not," Anna grumbled, looking down at her lunch tray. "And speaking of jokes, since when does a freaking bowl of gravy count as a 'meal'?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a very negative person?" Razpunzel asked her as gravy dripped down from her lip and onto her shirt.
"Up until today, no, they haven't," said Anna sadly, dipping her tiny plastic spoon into her bowl without actually doing anything with it. "If anything, people have told me I'm overly optimistic."
"Well, I think you should work on your attitude," picking up her bowl and sipping from it like a cup. "For starters, you need to stop seeing this place as a prison and start focusing on the more positive aspects of living here."
Now Anna knew that Rapunzel must be joking.
Wasn't she?
"What the heck do I have to be thankful for here?", Anna asked, hoping her voice didn't sound quite as baffled as she felt right now. "Have you even looked at your wardrobe lately?"
"I no longer have to worry about what I wear in the morning," Rapunzel replied, her obvious sincerity almost coming across as obnoxious. "I also pay no taxes now, I get free room and board, and I don't have to shave or trim anymore."
Anna could feel herself recoiling. For the first time, she noticed that Rapunzel had what was unmistakably a thin mustache underneath her nostrils.
It took every ounce of the convict's self-control to not mention it to her.
"Look, you might be eager to tell me about all of the 'perks' that come with being in the hoosegow, but right now, I've got bigger things to think about," said Anna, now unable to not look under Rapunzel's nose. "Maybe you didn't hear me when I told you, but I got threatened today!"
"Please, GoGo was probably just messing with you," placing her bowl down and wiping her nose with her arm. "I think she gets some entertainment value out of scaring newbies."
"Really?" said Anna, who had just about had it with Rapunzel's "optimism" at the point. "Then who the heck is 'Bloody Mary'? And why did she say she'd have an interest in me?"
"GoGo was talking about Merida," Rapunzel answered, opening her bottle of water and chugging it down like a beer. "Merida apparently gave herself the nickname to help make herself seem more intimidating or something. Not like she'd need to with what she's in here for."
Anna felt like she might pee herself.
"Do I even want to know what she did?" she asked meekly.
"I've heard various versions of the story," Rapunzel replied, scratching her chin. "But from what I gather, she killed her mother after they had an argument about her precious bow and arrow. Now, some say she just killed her with a gun. Others say she loaded her with twelve arrows, and only gave her mommy the bullet after she begged for death."
The tale was somehow made even worse by the fact that Rapunzel was grinning as she told it.
"Wh...why does she have a 'thing' for lifers then?" Anna asked, her urge to pee now rising.
"Who knows?" said Rapunzel, apparently so used to being in prison that talking about things like a neighbor committing matricide was just small talk for her. "But she spends most of her time in solitary confinement anyway, so it's unlikely you'll be meeting her anytime soon."
For a very, very brief moment, Anna felt some form of relief. Whoever this Merida was, at least she probably wouldn't have to deal with her for a while
At least that's what she thought until Cinder dragged her ball over to their table, still carrying her mop, and still wearing her disinterested facial expression.
"Did you girls hear?" she said dully. "Bloody Mary is getting placed back in standard population soon."
"Oh, really?" said Rapunzel brightly, appearing delighted by the news. "They must be letting her out early then. Was it because her behavior has improved?"
"Not at all, from what the officers are saying," Cinder said, sounding completely disinterested in her own gossip. "But the isolation cell block is filling up. They have to make space."
"The warden does enjoy sending girls to the hole, doesn't she?" said Rapunzel, scratching her right armpit. "Do you know when Bloody Mary is getting out?"
"Tomorrow afternoon," Cinder answered, sounding so indifferent to the conversation that she might as well have been discussing the weather. "Oh, and I wouldn't go pulling that crap regarding your 'tough new friend' with her. Many of the girls here already know that she's stupid."
Anna wondered if it was conceivable for a woman's bladder to explode from fear.
"And how would they know that?" Rapunzel asked, suddenly sounding cross.
"Goldie, you know the grapevine around here is a fast one," said Cinder, bending over to pick a dead bug off the floor and popping it in her mouth. "And you're just as aware that GoGo recently became my cellie. After your acquaintance's miserable attempt at trying to sound 'threatening' to me this morning, did you really think I wouldn't talk about it with her? Would you really expect for her not to spread the word to anyone who would listen?"
Rapunzel was now glaring at Cinder, but she also wasn't providing any sort of comeback. She seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Bloody Mary will come for your lifer," said Cinder, still chewing on the bug. "And when she does, everyone can find out how 'bad-ass' your mate actually is."
She swallowed her "cuisine" loudly. Then she got back to her mopping.
Anna wasn't sure what she was more freaked out by: Cinder's ominous words, or the fact that she ate recently departed insects.
In any case, once again, she found herself with no appetite.
Rapunzel, on the other hand, slid Anna's gravy bowl over to her and began consuming it herself.
"Look on the bright side," she said, her spunky demeanor now returning. "At least you know you're going to make a new friend now!"
But Anna was too distraught to say anything. She knew that Merida was going to beat her to a pulp or worse. And she couldn't help but wonder if that was the real reason that Elsa was choosing to release her from solitary confinement early.