My name is Esmeralda. Esmeralda O'Keefe. Or Inmate #938433, as it says on the orange jumpsuit that unzipped and changed out of.

Now all I was wearing were a white sports bra and white high-leg briefings, the standard underclothing for us inmates in Rowling Penitentiary for Women. There were some short-sleeve undershirts and tank tops, but I was more concerned about "penal pajamas"when I opened a drawer and placed my jumpsuit inside, pulling out a pair orange elastic waist pants. As I unfolded it, I heard the door to my cell open. I put on the pants as a saw a slender Hispanic kid walk into the cell.

"Hey, Rita!" I told my cellmate. "We got a new roomie."

"So I see," answered my cellmate, a Puerto Rican thief named Rita Maldonado. Her tone of excitement indicated that she knew this kid. "Hola, Audrey!" She climbed down from her bunk and the two Hispanics hugged each other as soon as the newbie set her box of penal provided material down on the bottom bunk.

"You've got two of them," the guard said. "Here's the other one."

A slender white girl with strawberry blonde hair walked into the cell with her box. She set it down on the bunk under mine while the guard slammed the door shut.

"You bimbos got 10 minutes to brag about your crimes. Then, lights out."

"Como esta, Aunt Rita?" asked the Hispanic kid. "Who's the bombshell?" She was obviously referring to me.

"That's Esmeralda. She's a gypsy of Brazilian and Irish descent." She turned to me as I stretched out on my top bunk. "Emma, say hello to my niece, Audrey."

The white girl felt ignored. "Um, hello? Does being white make me invisible to Mexican inmates?"

"I just said she was Brazilian and Irish," Rita retorted, referring to me. "Me and my niece are Puerto Rican."

"Well, I'm sorry. My geography skills are at a beginner level. I'm Anna. Where do we put this stuff?" asked the white girl, referring to the boxes that she and Audrey had carried with them.

Rita chatted down what to do, then the girls proceeded.

When they were done, Audrey got under her Aunt Rita's bunk while Anna crawled into the bunk beneath mine.

Before we all went to sleep, Audrey mentioned that she was part of a female motorcycle gang that specialized in a number of crimes, mostly arson and counterfeiting. The entire gang had been busted along with a few friends, including a bookworm named Belle Granger. I mention her and her name because this is actually her story, not mine…