As cliché as it sounded, Nicky couldn't help but wake up and wonder if it all had been a dream. She can't remember when she fell asleep exactly, but she must have, as she felt the morning bustle of the dorm startle her into consciousness. For a few seconds after waking, she considered, hoped, that perhaps that's what all the last few months had been; a dream. The heroin. The SHU. Alex. Lorna. Maybe it had all been a figurement of her subconscious imagination. But the puffy eyed Piper three bunks down and the fresh grazes on her knuckles tell her otherwise.

Rolling over onto her back, she threw an arm limply over her face. The harsh, florescent lights assaulted her from the ceiling, the intensity of them causing her eyes to ache. The sound of her fellow inmates echoed around the room, taunting her, reinforcing the fact it was time to face reality. Already feeling drained, she grabbed her wash stuff from under the bed and pulled herself into a sitting position. Her Bunkie had already left for work, the bed opposite her was empty and creased with recent slumber. After staring at it blankly for a few seconds, Nicky forces herself to stand up and walk progressively to the bathroom. There she follows the normal routine; wash, dry, pull on her slacks and shirt. Before she knows it, she is ready. She inhales, mentally preparing herself to ride out the wave of another day.

Nina is already in the cafeteria when Nicky arrives, standing five feet away from the rest of the breakfast line. Although she's still dressed in that awful orange, she looks less spooked today, as if the realisation of her surroundings were beginning to settle. Still, she continued to resemble a dear in headlights, anxious and perplexed under the illumination of unfamiliar light. She stood half in the line of women half out of it, the other inmate's tutting and mumbling insults as they filed in front of her.

Suddenly swept up in impulsion, Nicky decided to bite the bullet.

"Hey, you know if you want to eat, you got to stand in line, right?"

It came out harsher than she had intended. Mocking.

Nina startled, her glassy eyes searching frantically for the familiar voice.

Nicky tapped her shoulder.

"Uh...hey." She began, wringing her hands of invisible water. "I-uh, yeah, I know."

Nicky raised her eyebrows. "Right. You'd have been standing there like a lemon all fucking day if I hadn't said anything."

"I-uh..." Nina started, but her sister interrupted her by gently pushing her into the breakfast line. Behind her, Nicky reaches for two trays.

"What're you doing here Nina?" She asked suddenly, slamming the trays down with unnecessary force.

Nina jumped. "I...uh..."

Nicky sighed, exasperated. "Enough with the damn I-uh's already!"

Her words unknowingly escaped in a shout. Other inmates in line turned and gawped at them, eager to lap up the latest prison drama. One woman laughed out loud, as nasty, bellowing laugh. Others sniggered and bitched.

Nicky watched as her sisters face began to crumble. Her eyes were even glassier now, tears threatening to spill down her flushed cheeks.

"No, no." Nicky warned, taking her firmly by the shoulders "Don't cry. You can't cry."

"I can't...help it." Nina choked, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. The tears were beginning to stream now, with the slow but steady pace of a lazy river.

"You can." Nicky told her, drawing in a sharp breath "I promise."

The lie left a bitter taste in her mouth. She couldn't promise. Of course she couldn't. But what else could she say?

With the naivety of a child, Nina nodded decidedly. By this time, they had reached the end of the breakfast line, their trays waiting to be taken. Leaning over the barrier separating the kitchen from the cafeteria, Nicky ushers Red over, who, as usual, was surveying the chaos of meal-time in the safety of the prep room.

Strolling over reluctantly, Red startled when she noticed her most rebellious daughter comforting an orange-clad inmate. But, when Nicky requested a tissue, she stayed silent, tilting her head in confusion and then nodding it. A few seconds later she returned from the back of the kitchen, clutching a handful of them.

"Thank you." Nina sniffed.

Nicky nodded in appreciation. Picking up both of their trays, she hands Nina her food and leads her toward the benches. When in the midst of them, she notices Piper and Jones sitting at their normal table, and parks herself and her tray a couple of seats down from them. Nina, unsure if this was an open invitation for her to sit down also, hovered like a fly at the edge of the bench.

"Sit." Nicky said simply, pointing at the empty space opposite her.

She did.

"That's Chapman and Jones." She explained, signalling to the other two women who occupied the table. "Chapman, Jones, this is Nina."

Jones smiled her sympathetic grin. Piper stayed silent, staring at her trays uneaten contents.

"Nice to meet you, Nina." Jones welcomed "Are you a friend of Nicky's?"

"Uh...not really..."

"Then why else would she be showing you around?" Chapman interjected, looking up from her tray "Nichols isn't the type to show around newbie's."

"Uh..."

"Actually" Nicky interrupted "She's my sister."

The woman both gasped. Jones silently, Piper with the subtly of a clown in tap shoes.

"Shit." She breathed, the possibility of a scandal instantly perking her up "You never said…"

"I'm quite aware of that Piper." Nicky snapped back "Thank you."

"Well, I can definitely see it" Jones chipped in "In the hair." She motioned to the sisters matching masses of unruly hair, distinct only in their shade.

"Figures. Our Dad was cousin Itt's stunt double back in the 90's." Nicky joked, prodding her breakfast sausage with her fork.

Nina frowned, misreading her sarcasm. "No he…"

"It was a joke." Nicky grunted.

"If you don't mind me saying, I'm sensing some unresolved issues here." Piper interjected "Want us to go?"

"No." Nicky shot back too quickly, making it evident that was the last thing she wanted.

"So, Nina, is it your first time down?" Jones asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Uh, in prison, yeah." She hesitated "I was in jail for a bit though, up in, uh, county?"

Jones nodded knowingly. "Jails rough. It's a much better vibe in prison, if you have the right approach…have you ever heard of the Mandela's, Nina?"

Nina shook her head and, of course, Jones began her infamous Mandela saga.

Nicky watched as she listened. She suddenly felt the same feeling of perplexity that had been written on her sisters face in the breakfast line. How could Nina, the picture of a golden child, end up a criminal? It just didn't fit. Since their renuion yesterday, Nicky hadn't thought about the why's or the how's, more pre-occupied with the shock of the situation, but now she'd had time to mull it over, she felt more left in the dark than ever. Sure, its not like the two of them had ever been close, it was hard to form a bond with a kid eleven years younger than you that lived on the other side of the country, but even so, she thought that she had a good enough sense of Nina's character to be able to predict something like this. Unlike Nicky, Nina was quiet and wholesome. Sure, she was a little awkward, but she was clever and polite, the kind of kid people would describe as a "joy to be around."

Her most vidid memory of her sister was during that summer. She was 23, Nina 12. She remembered her, spread out on a pinic blanket in the backyard, flicking through her precious animal exsyclopedia and making notes of the birds she saw in a spiral-bound notebook. That kid was crazy about animals. Nicky didn't care for them much herself, she found them annoying and tedious, but even so, she found it strangley refreshing to see such passion in someone so young. A few years earlier, she had told Nicky that she wanted to be a vet. However, by that summer, she had downgraded to the more realistic goal of a vetinary nurse or senior zoo keeper. She'd have to go to college still, but for nowhere near as long, and without grades anywhere near as high. "Sensible girl"l Nicky remembered commenting, and she meant it. Think about it, how many pre-teens had already thought that far along? Most of them were too pre-occupied with boybands and lip gloss to give a damn about college. But not Nina. Nina was different. Special. She was sure of it.

Something had ovbiously changed, but what? Nicky had no idea. Of course she didn't, she hadn't made contact with her sister since she was in the 7th grade. But she wanted to know. Needed to know. Needed to know how someone with so much promise could fuck it all up so enormously.

When Nicky's mind rengaged with the conversation, Jones was wrapping up her words of wisdom. Nina was still nodding, more and more furiously as the hippie droned on.

"Thank you." She said, when she was sure that Jones had finished "That's some great advice."

Jones beamed. "You're more than welcome, Nina. And if you ever feel like the stress of the place is getting to you, feel free to swing by yoga class. Its more worthwhile than most of the women here seem to think, isn't in Chapman?"

Chapman grunted, only half engaged.

Nicky felt her fists subconsciously clench, readying for battle. "Okay, so enough with all the small talk and positivity." She turned to Nina "What'd you do?"

Nina frowned. "What do you..."

"I mean whats your charge? What did you do to get yourself thrown in this shit hole?"

"I...uh..."She hesitated, chewing her lip "I, uh, I'd rather not say."

Nicky rolled her eyes. "Typical. You show up here, out of the blue, and you dont even have the balls to tell me what you did? " She spat, anger rouging her cheeks "Pussy."

"Nicky!"Joans exclaimed. Even Piper looked shocked.

"What? Its true." Nicky shot back "I have a right to know."

"No." Nina whispered "You don't. You have absolutley no right."

"Oh, gimmie a break. I know shits gone down in the past and I've fucked up, but now you've fucked up, and I'm the one whos exspected to watch your back in here." Nicky exsplained callously "And if I'm gonna be the one to play babysitter, I think I'm entitled to some answers."

Nina swollowed. Contempt shone in her dark eyes. "I don't need you to watch my back."

"Okay, sure..."

"I don't." Nina repeated, louder this time. "I don't need you."

"Bullshit." Nicky spat.

"Its true." She cried, pulling her hair behind her ear, revealing the deformed organ. Nicky winced at the sight of it. "You're the last thing I need."

And with that, she hurled herself out of her seat and down the aisle, leaving her tray untouched. She was crying, but she was trying not to show it. No matter how angry she got, how tough she wanted to seem, she couldn't help but erupt into tears in situations like this. Head down, feet fast, she felt the eyes of the other inmates bore into her, like a heard of lions surveying a lone buffalo.

"Its the curse of the Mandela." Chapman offered, finally beginning her breakfast.

"What?"

"The curse of the Mandela." Piper repeated. "Whenever Jones gives the advice, shit follows. Or in my case, bloody tampons."

"It's no big deal." Nicky sniffed. "She'll get over it."

"Probably." She agreed "But we both know she won't be able to stick this out alone. She's already enough of a target. Without back-up she's screwed."

Nicky must have looked worried, because Jones quickly extended her hand. "She doesn't know what she's talking about." She soothed "I'm sure Nina will be just fine."

She nodded, trying to let herself be convinced. But of course, she wasn't.