Chapter Six-
"Where have you been assigned today?" Asked Emily.
"Laundry. You?"
"Kitchen," replied Emily, pulling on a jumper.
"Watch your back. They're not going to act kindly towards us, especially with what happened yesterday," replied Charlie.
"Same to you Charls. Hate to have to visit you in medical," said Emily, grinning.
"It'd be your pretty face in there, not mine," Charlie replied. The pair walked out arm in arm, a matching set, and headed towards their duty areas for the day. They waltzed past Bea and Franky, and as they reached the laundry, Emily split away, heading for the kitchen.
"Boomer, aren't you on kitchen duty?" Asked Franky pointedly.
"Oh. Yeah. See ya Franky!" She ducked around Mr Jackson and headed out.
"Oi Charlie, you should have a go at this steam press. She's beautiful," said Simmo.
"That's mine Simmo," said Bea, voice dangerously low.
"Calm yourself down! Just thought the newbie should have a turn," said Simmo. Bea stalked past, yanked Charlie's ponytail to pull her out of the way, then shouldered Simmo aside, sending her flying to the floor.
She'd earned this spot.
"Bitch," muttered Simmo.
"Speak up Simmo, no one will hear you if you mutter," said Bea. She glanced up to see Charlie standing by.
"You can fold towels. Franky will show you," ordered Bea. Charlie looked disgruntled over her assigned task, but followed the orders given.
"Simmo, sheets," said Bea, pushing down the steam press.
"Who put you in charge?" Complained Simmo.
"I topped Jacs, I get her spot. Bitch about it all you want, I had a teenage daughter. I'm used to it," said Bea, focusing on the sheets she was pressing. Charlie bit her lip and continued folding the towel she'd picked up. No use fighting back right now; she didn't have the support she needed to do it.
"It's nice to have the girls back together. All we need is Ronnie here and it would like old times, wouldn't it Franky?" Exclaimed Bea.
"Sure is Red. At least Nanna isn't in charge of the press, you remember how she fucked up my hand," remarked Franky.
"Haven't got anything to say Charlie? That's unlike you," said Bea.
"Just keeping my head low. I know when I've been bested," she responded, continuing to fold towels.
"Looks like you'll do well in here. How's Lex doing?" Asked Franky.
"The Freak pulled some moves on her, but she's bouncing back just fine. Don't you worry about her Franky, Em and I have her covered," replied Charlie. Franky nodded, and as about to say something else when the lunch call came through.
"Oh my god, I thought that would never come through. You're no fun Charls," said Franky, leaving. Bea left next, then Liz and Doreen, leaving Charlie and Simmo in the laundry.
"Watch for screws," she ordered. Simmo moved to the doorway, and stood guard. Charlie pulled open the laundry cupboard, and pulled out a small bottle of ammonia and a larger bottle of bleach. She shoved the bottles into the front pocket of her jumper, then shut the doors.
"Come on, I'm not up for lunch. I'm going to head back to the unit," said Charlie.
"Catch you later." Simmo left Charlie and headed to lunch, and Charlie trekked back to her room, the goods still hidden in her jumper. She was lucky now screws saw her; they were supervising lunch with the rest of the women. She stashed the bottles away under her pillow, making her bed so they were hidden. When she was finished, she straightened her jumper and returned to the cafeteria.
"Charlie! How did you enjoy laundry?" Asked Emily, passing Charlie a lunch tray.
"You can only fold towels so many ways before it gets boring. Especially when Bitch and Bitchier over there control everything," replied Charlie, inclining her head towards Franky and Bea.
"Well, you should see if you can swap with Megs and come to kitchen duty with me," said Emily, taking a bite of the beans on her fork. She grimaced, and returned the disgraced food to her tray.
"Better yet, you could trade with Simmo and come down to the laundry," responded Charlie.
"Simmo, could you take kitchen tomorrow?" Asked Emily.
"Sure thing. Always like kitchen better than laundry any ways," replied Simmo. Charlie as about to open her mouth and speak when she spotted Bea walking by, and instead opted to keep her mouth shut. After Bea and Franky's crew left, Emily leaned towards Charlie.
"Lex wants to see us after lunch. Reckons she's got a new card game she wants to introduce us to," said Emily.
"Sounds like a plan," replied Charlie. She tried to eat a mouthful of food,and found it not to her liking, and chose to discard the food, much like her twin.
"Come on, we'll go now," said Charlie. Simmo moved to clear their trays, and Emily and Charlie filed out. The walk to Lex's cell as filled with trepidation and tension, the Wilson sisters each wondering if the venture was successful.
"You wait outside, watch for the screws," ordered Emily. Charlie nodded, and loitered against the wall outside H3.
"Lex," said Emily quietly.
"Delivery this morning; a new deck of cards. Could really help your game a little," said Lex. She handed Emily a sealed deck of cards.
"What sort of game are we looking at?" Asked Emily.
"Best deck I've had so far. Deals well," said Lex.
"Excellent. Thanks Lex. Let us know when we can help you out," replied Emily.
"Not a problem. Look, I promised I'd meet Jules outside, so I'll catch you around." Lex mock saluted Emily before walking out, and Emily quickly tucked the cards into her jumper. She walked out to Charlie.
"Come on. I feel like I'd like to relax."
"Governor, Prisoner #271-288 from Sydney is here for processing, and she's not handling well," said Vera breathlessly, not even bothering to knock on the office door.
"What do you mean? Is she fighting back?" Asked Joan.
"No. Well, yes. But no. I think you might want to come out," said Vera before running back down the corridor. The prisoner in question was hanging limply between Will and Fletch, the third guard behind them nursing a bleeding forearm.
"What the hell happened?" Asked Joan.
"One of the guards grabbed her from behind, and she started fighting. As soon as we let her go she stopped, but she started rocking on the spot. Kelly at the back was the one who gently pushed her to get her moving, and she snapped. She bit her hard, then when she was restrained by Will and Fletch, she just went limp," said Vera, clearly baffled.
"Put her in a medical cell, make sure she receives a psych consult. Don't sedate her; whatever she's on at the moment reacts badly. Give her time to calm down, and she'll become the sixth cell mate of H3. Doreen and Liz can look out for her," said Joan decisively.
"She seems like she might be a danger to the other prisoners. Should we really be putting her in the general population?" Asked Vera.
"I've spoken to Dyllwynia Correctional Centre, and we've decided it's the best option. For now, keep her in medical, and let me know when psych has seen her," said Joan. Vera sighed, and directed Will and Fletch to take the new prisoner to the medical observation units. Joan strolled back to her office, awaiting the explosion that was sure to occur when Vera was finished.
Sure enough, just as she had taken her seat and pulled open the transfer files, Vera burst into her office.
"She's a danger to the women," she blurted out.
"No she's not," replied Joan.
"Look at what she did to Kelly from transport! Kell needed eight stitches to close that wound, and Dr Ward wasn't even sure that the wound would heal well. She's a menace!" Exclaimed Vera.
"If you'd read her bloody paperwork like you're supposed to before an intake, you would know that this particular prisoner has a different handling protocol than standard! Honestly Vera, I wonder about you; if you didn't have your head screwed on straight, I don't know what we'd do with you," replied Joan snidely. Vera looked gobsmacked for a moment, then turned heel and walked out.
This prisoner would turn everything they knew about Wentworth upside down.
"Liz? The governor would like to see you," said Linda, standing in the door way to H2.
"Coming Miss Miles," said Liz. She packed up her knitting and followed Miss Miles through the corridors and up to the Governor's office. Miss Miles knocked, and pushed the door open.
"Elizabeth Birdsworth to see you Governor," she said stiffly.
"Send her in," responded Joan, not looking up from her papers. Liz entered the room, and took a seat.
"I've got a little bit of a problem Liz," started Joan.
"Oh? What sort of problem?" Asked Liz.
"We had a new prisoner arrive this morning, Nikki Gallagher. She's from Dyllwynia, and she's been transferred here as her last resort. Rather than introducing her to the general population immediately, it's been decided to integrate her in stages. The first stage is introducing her peer worker for her block, and getting her into the education unit, and eventually, moving her into H2. You will be accompanied by two guards when visiting her, as she's proven herself possibly dangerous," said Joan.
"How dangerous?" Asked Liz apprehensively.
"Transport guard required eight stitches," replied Joan.
"What's her history?" Asked Liz.
"Placed in juvenile detention at sixteen, moved to Dyllwynia at seventeen and a half, and whilst there for four months, has spent three of those months in solitary. If she doesn't survive here, she will spend her time in solitary for the remainder of her sentence," said Joan.
"How long?" Asked Liz.
"She's still got fourteen years to go," responded Joan.
"I'll give it a go," decided Liz.
"Excellent. I'll have Mr Jackson and Miss Miles escort you to her." Joan pressed the intercom on her desk, and asked for her secretary to summon Will and Linda. Liz sat in the chair, twiddling her thumbs nervously. After a few moments, Will and Linda appeared.
"Take Liz to medical cell one, and supervise a visit with Nikki Gallagher as per our discussion earlier," ordered Joan. Liz stood up, and followed Linda out of the office and down the hall towards the Medical Unit. Linda knocked on the door of cell one, and pushed the door open.
"Mr Jackson and I will be just outside the door," assured Linda. Liz nodded nervously, and stepped inside. At first she thought she'd been brought to the wrong cell, with no sign of the young woman.
"Nikki?" Asked Liz tentatively. She heard a sob from under the bed, and kneeled on the floor.
"What are you doing under here love?" Asked Liz kindly.
"I didn't know what you were going to do," she whispered.
"Why don't you come up here and sit on the bed? I'm not going to hurt you," assured Liz. Nikki crept out from under the bed, then pressed herself against the wall, watching Liz with wary eyes.
"What's your name?" Asked Nikki.
"My name's Liz. I'm a peer worker for H Block, and I live in H2, the unit you'll be assigned to when you're ready," said Liz.
"You're not going to hurt me?" Asked Nikki. Liz shook her head.
"No. I don't want to hurt you love," reassured Liz.
"The others always wanted to touch me, to hurt me. I don't like being touched and they never listened, and I broke a girls nose, and then they put me by myself. It was so quiet in there," whispered Nikki.
"Well, hopefully this goes better. If you do what Franky says, Franky'll look out for you, and we won't let you go back into the slot. But you've got to try and stay calm, instead of breaking someone's nose," said Liz, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Nikki got up off the floor, and moved to the bed.
"We will look after you," assured Liz. Her heart went out to the young girl, who reminded her of what her own daughter was like, and she wondered what had happened at Reiby and Dyllwynia to scar her so badly.
"Really?" Whispered Nikki.
"Of course."
Little did she know how hard the next few months would be.
Tada! An episode finished - for those who've experienced my episodic works before, six chapters equals an episode, and I try and follow how the season were structured on TV. In this case, ten episodes will make this a season (or until Wentworth returns to our screens!) and I'll always try and keep you updated where I can on twitter!
I love feedback - if you don't want to review, you can leave me a tweet (handles are on my profile page), or share it amongst friends. (As I write this, I've had 122 views since first posting just over a week ago - fantastic support!)
I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be put up, but I'm pretty sure it will be soon - real life has a nasty habit of getting in the way, so I have to work around that!
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MissShawnaAlice xx