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...
Marisol woke up in a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night and her blanket was down by her ankles. She had been kicking forcefully during her dream. Yet she couldn't remember any of the events that happened in the dream.
Marisol looked to the analog clock on the wall. It was 4 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. Sofía was coming for visitation today.
Sofía and Marisol's mother alternated weekend visitations. Marisol preferred Sofía's visits over Valentina's. Sofía wouldn't say much unless it was about how many hours she was working, or how terrible her boss was. But it was real. Valentina on the other hand would try to smile constantly, she thought it would lift Mari's hopes up. She would ask Marisol about her plans after prison and if she was going to study while in here. Then she'd pull out papers she printed from the public library. The sheets usually contained information about various prison college programs. What Valentina tried to do wasn't real. It was a facade to keep Marisol feeling like it was all worth it.
When Valentina was at the library she'd constantly be doing research. She wanted to know about how to help Marisol during and after prison. What she never told Marisol that she'd found out were the depression rates. The statistics were high especially when inmates got out. Valentina didn't want that to happen to her lively daughter. Her daughter had a good heart and Valentina didn't want to see that good heart weighed down with darkness.
Marisol didn't go back to sleep. She just lied there, staring at the ceiling. It had been about five months since Marisol first came here. She still hated everything about it. The only thing she came to enjoy was Angela. In the few months they had known each other, they had become best friends. They were completely and utterly devoted to each other. They were each other's reason to keep moving forward.
...
All the inmates were told that there would be a presentation today. They'd go in different groups to the cafeteria to see it. Not much information was given about what the presentation was going to be about. Nonetheless, Marisol was curious. In the five months she'd been here this had never happened before.
...
Angie was in Marisol's group. She sat with her at the same table. There was chatter among the rest of the women. Angie and Marisol hadn't said anything yet, they were both intensely curious about what this presentation would hold. A whiteboard with wheels on its legs was set up in front of the room.
A moment later, a woman with a tight bun and a man with neatly combed hair walked into the prison cafeteria. They both wore black suits. The women held a suitcase. From it, she pulled out a folder filled with papers. She laid a few papers out on the table in front of her. There was silence.
The woman turned around with a dry erase board marker in hand. She made a bullet point and began to write. Then the man began to talk.
"I am Greg Hayes and this is my partner, Michelle Abernathy. We are from the New York City Department of Medical Research. We have been given approval to begin human testing on a new treatment drug." The man announced.
