Oh, goodie. I mettwonew people I instantly hated today. I gave Salvatore a heavy glare, though Ivy was pleading with me not to.
Salvatore must’ve thought he couldn’t make a profit off any of us, because he pulled his eyes away almost abruptly, quickly becoming bored.
His gaze leveled Chancey, though. “Who’s this?”
Salvatore could pick out the one person in the whole group he knew Ivy liked, though I’m certain Ivy didn’t tell him. Everything got really tense.
“He’s my… friend.” Ivy’s tone was instantly defeated. All he could do was give Chancey a pleading glance.
“Yeah, uh… we’re good pals,” Chancey took the hint instantly.
“Hm. Angels are good company,” Salvatore commented. “Walk with me, son.”
Salvatore didn’t even give us so much as a goodbye before he walked off. Ivy hurried after him, casting an apologetic look at Chancey behind him.
“Wow,” Kallie said. “Ivy’s dad is a dick.”
“You okay?” Charlie asked, reaching out to nudge Chancey.
“It’s fine,” Chancey insisted. “Whatever he needs.”
“That couldn’t have been easy,” Marcus stated.
“It don’t mean nothing,” Chancey insisted, before giving a huff. “I’m sure Ives can’t tell his dad he’s screwing a man.”
“Chancey, come on,” Charlie moaned, but Chancey had already stormed off. I frowned, feeling awful for both of them. It was terrible that Ivy had to deny himself the authenticity of who he was, not even for acceptance, but for safety.
I made sure to add Salvatore Bianchi to my list of individuals I’d like to make suffer.
When it was time for lunch, we decided to take our food out to the bleachers to eat, as it was a fairly warm day for March. Ez was out on the basketball court with Opal, shooting some hoops.
Charlie fed me a couple of blueberries— my favorite fruit— out of a fruit salad we’d picked up from the cafeteria. As we ate, an annoying giggle wafted over the prison yard. Esther sat on a bench between Naya and Mad Dog, laughing loudly at something one of them had said.
“Looks like Esther found some friends,” Kallie said sourly.
Esther caught us staring at her and gave a big smile. She stood from the bench and approached us, her grin more deranged than welcoming.
“Oh, dammit. She’s coming this way,” Marcus said. He hastily tried to hide himself behind his sketchbook, and fumbled with the papers so they went flying everywhere. Esther bent down to pick them up, handing them back to him.
“Do be more careful,” she said sweetly. “It’s not nice to litter.”
“Thanks,” Marcus said, but he cringed as he took the papers from her.
Ugh, Oberi complained.She smells like soup, and not a good kind.
Apparently, she didn’t care if Esther could overhear her. But Esther didn’t react, so I checked mind-reading powers off the list.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I’ve heard a lot about you, so no introductions are needed,” Esther gushed.
“We’re sure you have,” Kallie growled.
“I came over to see if you guys had any suggestions for the Institute. I’m sure I can pass them along to the Warden, since I’m his nieceand he gives me whatever I want.”
Esther silently mouthed the last part of the sentence— which I thought was stupid, considering Charlie had no idea what she was doing.
He got the concept, though, because my husband instantly launched into a complaint. “I mean, if you really want to know, he could make it accessible for people to get around. There are no elevators, and my wife’s wheelchair doesn’t fit through half these doors. Not to mention he didn’t exactly make it easy for a blind guy like me to pass classes.”
“Well,actually,” Esther began. “The proper term isa person with visual impairments.You shouldn’t call yourself blind, Charlie. It’s offensive.”
