Love in Disguise

Thursday, April 17 As much as I wanted the time to pass so I could be free again, Thursday, Kya’s last day of work, came much too fast. So did twenty-nine-year-old Nancy, who was as mean-looking as she was ugly, with tons of acne, a front tooth missing, and dark squinty eyes that gave her an evil look. Her dull brown hair hung limply just below her shoulders. Barely an hour into Kya’s shift, in came the loud-mouthed cop-beater—something she proudly bragged about. Nancy had pummeled the crap out of the cop who had busted her for drugs. Kya was obviously annoyed by her presence as much as I was. “And now I have to do God knows how many years!” cried Nancy, who paced the room while Kya and I sat opposite each other at the table. “Well, you should’ve thought about that before you screwed up,” Kya told her. “Now you need to calm down, ok?” “Calm down? How the hell can I calm down and why should I?” “Because I told you to,” Kya said firmly, eyeing Nancy directly. “Well, I don’t do everything I’m told,” Nancy said defiantly. “Obviously,” I said, speaking up for the first time. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Nancy abruptly turned toward me as if noticing me for the first time. “Who the fuck asked you?” Before I could react, Kya spoke up. “Hey. You watch your mouth around her. Understand?” “No, I don’t understand! I don’t understand anything!” Nancy began kicking at the cots, the walls—anything she could. Kya stood up. I felt my body tense up and my pulse quicken. “I can’t live with this shit,” I told Kya. “One of us has to go.” Nancy spun on me. “Yeah? Well, why don’t you be the one to go then?” “No way. I was here first.” She lunged menacingly toward me as I rose to my feet, a part of me wanting to take her on, win or lose, just to know I’d taken a stand against her without backing down like a coward. Kya whipped out her stun-gun, positioning herself between Nancy and me. Nancy stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Kya. “You gonna zap me?” Kya nodded. “I most certainly am if you don’t keep your hands to yourself.” With her other hand, she summoned additional officers with her walkie-talkie. “Fuck this shit!” screamed Nancy. “I didn’t do anything, and now you’re going to send me to the dorms?” “Nope,” said Kya. “You’re going into isolation till you get yourself calmed down.” That set Nancy swearing and screaming even louder. She looked back and forth between Kya and me, no doubt wishing she could kick both our asses. “And she’s not coming back here when she does,” I said. “Not while I’m still here.” “She won’t,” Kya said, stealing a quick glance at me. “What is she? Your little princess or something?” Kya said nothing. She simply continued to keep a watchful, non-intimidated eye on Nancy, ready to zap and defend if necessary. Although Nancy was considerably bigger than I was, she was also considerably smaller than Kya. There was no comparison in strength either. I had no doubt that Kya could crush the life right out of her if need be.