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— THE SKYBOX WAS USUALLY SILENT BEFORE BREAKFAST, BUT THAT MORNING, EVEN THE GUARDS WERE MAKING SOME NOISE. A somber smile danced across Cleo's lips when a soft, unanimous hum crept into her cell room. She joined in with the last few notes, humming happy birthday to herself with everyone else.
Her birthday marked one whole year in the skybox. One entire year of not being heard and not being believed, one year of wishing she had just stayed or kept Penelope by her side instead of sending her home. Harper liked to remind her that there wasn't anything she could've done. Life unfolded the way it was supposed to and one day, Moira would face the music.
"Happy birthday, Cleo," her cellmate mumbled. "You've got the entire skybox singing for you."
A soft laugh fell from her lips as she turned her head to look to Harper. Her blonde hair was a rat's nest, her face drooped with exhaustion. They both sat in their beds, heads flat against the concrete walls that surrounded them every single day. Harper was a good cellmate, she could only imagine how different her life would've been had she been paired up with someone like Dax or Murphy.
"Why?" She whispered barely loud enough for Harper to hear. A hand went up to pull her dark locks up into a ponytail, her head shaking. "I don't deserve it."
"Shut the hell up, grace." The familiar nickname lingered in the air. "You're everyone's saving grace. You've been here for one year and yet you've helped all of us more than the guards ever have. Clarke in solitary almost got colored pencils because of you, Jasper and Monty got roomed up because of you, Octavia got to see her brother because of you and-"
"I get it." Cleo held a hand up, a sad smile growing on her lips. "It's called human decency, Harper."
"Human decency? On The Ark?" Harper laughed loudly enough to garner a 'shut up' from somewhere on their floor. "Good one."
