“Later,” is all she says, looking away from the microwave.
Kia and Mary finish up with the counters and take their rags and water into the dining room, laughing about something.
“Secrets are against the rules,” Amari says. That only makes them laugh harder.
“You’re one to talk!” Kia says. Amari chases after them.
Samantha pulls her plate out of the microwave and smiles at the slice. “Was it any good?” she asks before taking a bite.
“It’s not any better than the pizza they serve in the cafeteria,” I shrug.
“You’re gonna eat those words in a few months,” she says, taking a huge bite. “This is fine dining for this place.”
At this point, I know she’s right.
Amari comes back into the kitchen with a smile that neither of us returns. She looks like she’s up to something. Samantha shoves the last bites of her pizza into her mouth and hands me her plate. I look right at Amari and put it in the sink.
“Oh really?” Amari says, leaning into the sink to grab the plate.
We laugh and Samantha grabs my arm with her oily fingers, pulling me out of the kitchen. We bump into Ms. Pat.
“Ohh, what is this? Touching, running.” Ms. Pat counts off on her fingers. “Points just flying away.”
“Sorry, Ms. Pat,” we mumble.
“Get out of here, ladies, and join the others.” She waves us off.
When we get to the rec room, the girls are watchingWheel of Fortuneand yelling out incorrect letters.
Ms. Kim motions for us to take the two seats in front of where she’s standing. “Right here, ladies.”
Samantha doesn’t sit right away. She looks at the office and then back at Ms. Kim. “Is Ms. Bree coming in tonight?” she asks.
Ms. Kim shakes her head no.
Samantha plops down between me and the other girl on the couch, who shoots her a look. “Oops,” Samantha says, before turning to me. “My stomach is killing me.”
“Already?” I ask.
She winks. “Yeah, pizza does it to me every tiiiime,” she whines, holding her stomach.
“Hell yeah, I apologize to my roomie in advance,” Tanya says. “My stomach is bugging.”
“Language!” Ms. Kim calls out.
Some of the other girls start joking about the aftereffects of pizza night.
Samantha turns to Ms. Kim. “But seriously, I might need the nurse. She has those pills for lactose or whatever.”
“Not right now, Samantha,” Ms. Kim says. “Wait until night staff gets here.”
Samantha groans but shoots me a smirk.
I wonder if this is part of her plan, but I don’t want to upset her by asking here. “Can you come to the room before you go?” I whisper. She winks again but doesn’t respond. I take that as a yes.
Someone puts on a movie and I try to focus, but I can’t stop thinking about Samantha and worrying that she’s going to get caught. I tell myself to relax and manage to doze off halfway through the movie. By the time Ms. Kim sends us to bed, Samantha isn’t next to me anymore. I look around but she isn’t in the room at all. A lot of the girls have left already.
“Now you can take that snoring to the privacy of your own room,” Ms. Kim says, motioning for me to go.
