Chapter Text
Three years in prison was too much time to pay for tapping a wire for your rich asshole boss. Nevertheless, this was where Miss April May was stuck. She should be anywhere else; a girl who won dozens of beauty pageants in her early years did not end up in a state penitentiary. Fun fact about prisons: They do NOT hold beauty pageants, or do much of anything fun, for that matter. The walls were also painted about the dullest color you could imagine- April would have preferred the off-white they show on TV over BEIGE- what was this, the men’s cargo shorts section at your mom's favorite department store?
Prison was honestly not that bad, other than the fluorescent lights, linoleum floors, and stench of misery exuding off the locals. April actually kind of enjoyed the total lack of responsibility that came with being locked up. The only problem was that this lack of responsibility came with a lack of anything fun to do. April May had been in prison for one full year now- probably the most boring year of her life.
A year in (two entire years to go, ugh), and April May had gone through seven roommates. The girls they made her room with didn’t get it. They thought she was too mean, too materialistic, too girly, too… whatever boring people think are bad traits to have. It wasn’t her fault they were all too boring to handle her.
The newest one to request a change of room was Brenda Lyfe, this forty-year-old woman with thighs for days who had honest-to-gods murdered someone. April wasn’t one to judge people for that kind of stuff; things happen- but to act like she was a better person than her, even after being in prison for homicide? Yeah, no. Brenda had submitted her room change request after April had commented on the way she smacks her lips when she talks for “the hundredth time”. She had gone off on a rampage, talking about how April had no respect for anyone other than herself. Talk about over dramatic. She enjoyed what little time she had in between cellmates, biding her time until the next person to hate her came along.
“So Warren,” April May began, immediately sending the warden outside her cell into a blushing mess. Warren was especially susceptible- a younger guy who obviously has never had a steady girlfriend. All it took was a few words. Honestly, with the way these boys scrambled at her feet, she could probably break out of here whenever she wanted. “You hear any news about who’s gonna be my new roommate?”
“Yes, but er- I’m not really supposed to tell you.”
She pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes at him, which probably would look ridiculous to most people. Guys weren't most people, and it was kind of disgusting how hard they fell for some cartoonish levels of flirting. “Aw, you can’t even do an itsy bit, just for me? Please tell me it’s not Elizabeth, she gives me the stink eye in the courtyard already-”
“Well… I guess I can let you know.” She gave her biggest, brightest smile at the response, worthy of a blue ribbon and a new tiara. She’s pretty sure that she was able to avoid being charged as an accomplice to Redd White’s murder almost wholly because of her charms- unfortunately, not enough to get out of her full admission to wiretapping.
“Your new roommate is new to the prison.” Warren let her know. "You don't know her."
April May screwed up her face. “A total newbie? Jeez, I hope she doesn’t cry a lot tonight-”
“I wouldn’t bet on her being the crying type. Seems like she’s involved in some sketchy stuff- helped murder a guy.”
There was a beat of silence. “...Warren, I was involved in a murder. Did you forget you work at a prison?” Warren blushed, this time mostly out of embarrassment.
“Right, sorry.”
April was satisfied with the new information. It was nice to hear that a new convict was coming to prison. Well… nice for her, at least. The new girl was probably pissed that she got stuck in here. Still, April had made enemies with most of the people here. She’d try to be on her best behavior for the new girl- maybe she wouldn’t be as boring as the rest of this prison.
…
Upon very little reflection, April May found that Mimi Miney was probably the least boring thing about this prison. Before April even saw her, she could hear her shouting down the corridor, her voice a light tone that occasionally lilted into something deeper. It sounded like she was on the verge of getting into a physical fight with her guards, the way things were going.
“NO, I will NOT take off my beret- you already searched me up and down, thanks for THAT by the way- why should you have to take my hat too?!” She rambled on and on, not letting the guards get any sort of ground with a pause in her speech.
April jumped up from her bed to get to the bars, looking towards the sound of the commotion. The girl was on the shorter end- it was hard to tell from back here, but she might have been April’s exact height. She had bright red hair and a cute white beret that was currently the subject of the turmoil the guards had to deal with.
“I don’t care about uniform requirements- your ‘uniforms’ are hideous!”
April May smiled, quick to cover it with a polite hand, feigning surprise as the guards got closer. Already, she could tell this new girl was much more her vibe than Brenda ever was. She leaned on the bars of her cell. “Oh, boys!” She said in her cutest, brightest falsetto.
All three pairs of eyes shot over to her. Assumedly, the boys had the same blushing-mess reaction they always did. April was a little too distracted, now that her new roommate was a few paces and a wall of metal bars away, staring right back at her. She was pretty- she had these deep brown eyes, and her red hair was stunning. April figured that if it was dyed, getting it to hold that kind of color must be a pain.
“Yes, April?” One of the guards interrupted her blatant ogling. Jesus, she was just as bad as men. Well, not actually. Men wouldn't have the decency to be self-aware of when they're ogling a woman, and much less respect about it. Plus, at least she smelled nice and had a skincare routine.
“Could you let my new friend here keep her hat? It’s not like she could murder anyone with it, right?” She gave herself that ditsy voice that made boys trip over themselves. The girl in front of her quirked her head to one side out of curiosity. Her eyes were narrowed, just slightly, out of suspicion. April couldn't blame her. Prison was a rare place to find random acts of kindness like she was bestowing. She hoped this girl couldn't actually murder someone with a hat- that would be a little awkward if they ended up hating each other like all her former roommates.
“Uh… we’re not really s’posed to-” The guard got interrupted by the other, slightly more seasoned guard jabbing him in the ribs.
“Sure, it’s ok Miss May!” The older guard said. He had a kind smile and just a brief tint to his cheeks, more used to her antics than the younger ones.
She gave a bright smile. “Thanks, Dave!” Any guard that had worked there for more than a month knew it was easier to just get her what she wanted- it was always harmless, for the most part. If she didn't get things the easy way, April became relentless. There were ways to make the guards' lives a living hell, just with some clever gossip and her good standing with the majority of the prison's staff. That’s how she got her hands on some prison uniforms that had been dyed pink, instead of the traditional bright, ugly orange. That being said, orange didn’t look terrible on the new girl- it surprisingly complemented her hair nicely.
The guards brought the girl into the room, watching over both of them as she unpacked her few possessions. The girl placed a framed photo of herself on the shelf next to her bed, which was... odd. April wasn't one to remark on self-obsessive tendencies since that'd be a little hypocritical, but that didn't seem to be the story here. She looked kinda... upset, as she was putting it up. lingering around for a few minutes to make sure things were settled before they finally went away. Leaving April May alone with the new girl. April put on her best smile.
“Hi! What’s your name?!” The girl blinked back in surprise- Maybe she was coming on a bit too strong. She decided she'd tone it down just a little, then wondered when she started caring about first impressions so much.
“Ini- agh, sorry- Mimi Miney.” Mimi stumbled over her name like it was foreign on her own tongue. April squinted a little at that but gave it less thought than a smart person probably would. Mimi gave a lazy smile back, something calmer than April usually wore.
“Well, I’m April May.”
Mimi nodded. “Cute name. Thanks for getting them to let me keep my hat, by the way.”
“No problem! These guys are basically at my beck and call. It can be a bit annoying at times to play into it, but it serves me well.”
The redhead nodded at that. “Oh, I totally get it. I kinda had to play the part of a total airhead girlygirl for like, years… I keep catching myself putting in too many ‘likes’ and ‘ums’ still.”
Ok, now April was seriously confused. That was… a lot to unpack in the first five minutes of meeting her. Where could she even start with something like that? “Play the part?” She asked cautiously.
Mimi gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “Yeah, I kinda like… pretended to be my sister after she died in a car crash we were in? It’s a long story, but basically, I ended up killing a guy over it.”
“Yikes.” April was fairly desensitized to the entire killing thing at this point, but it was still a little surprising to hear a sweet-looking girl like Mimi admit it so blatantly awful like that.
“Yeah, it was like a total buzzkill.” Mimi, finished with the last of her sparse unpacking, sat on her bed and pulled her feet under herself in criss-cross applesauce fashion. “So, I’ve told you a bit about myself… What about you?”
“What do you want to know?”
“How’d you get in here?”
April smiled. It was a little cliche, but sure, she'd go with it. "What are you in for?" was about as common an icebreaker in prison as "What's your major?" was in college. Mimi had already talked about how she killed a man, so she'd let her know about her predicament. “I was caught wiretapping for the company I worked for.”
Mimi raised her eyebrows. “No way! How’d you get caught?”
April rolled her eyes. “Well, if it weren’t for the murder case that was wrapped around it, I would have been in the clear– the stupid defense attorney working it managed to weasel a confession out of me in court.”
“God, defense attorneys are the worst.”
April nodded enthusiastically. “Right? The way they get all cocky when they have evidence against you-”
“The way they slam their desks- although that’s a problem with lawyers in general, really-”
“And oh my god, their STUPID spiky hair-”
There was a beat of silence- Mimi looked genuinely shocked at what April May just said. “Spiky Hair?” It wasn't any mild confusion over a disaster of a haircut, no there was recognition in her eyes. God damn. Another one.
“Yeah... The defense attorney wore this obnoxious blue suit and had spikes slicked back- goofy-looking face, too.”
“No WAY! You had Phoenix Wright too? I like, hate that guy!!”
April smiled. “I hate that guy!!”
The two of them giggled, leaning back on the walls of their cell. April was beginning to seriously suspect that Mr. Wright was at the heart of every interesting murder case that ever happened.
“You’ll have to meet the rest of the gang- there’s a whole Phoenix Wright Hate Club around here. Most of them are a bunch of weirdos; we’ll just have to be the only actually cool ones there.” Apparently, April had already decided Mimi was cool and wasn't afraid to admit it out loud. That didn't take long, and her brain had kinda failed to consult her on the matter.
“I feel like this Wright guy’s whole job is taking on cases where the guilty party is some sort of weirdo- you know, the woman who dragged me into her murder plan had hair about three times as big as her head? She spoke like she was from the eighteenth century.”
April laughed. “Well, the guy who got me to lie about witnessing him murder some chick was my boss- he wore these terrible shoulder pads and said words like he ran a thesaurus through Google Translate five times.”
“That's awful.”
April grinned at Mimi. “He’s terrible, but not the worst company- besides the whole power-hungry murderer thing. You can meet the guy for yourself- he’s biding his time before they finally fill out his sentence. Probably has years left, with the amount of bribes he's managed to place. We have lunch sometimes, even though it’s super his fault I’m in here.”
“How generous of you.”
A slightly awkward silence filled the air, and the two girls just looked at each other. Slight smiles just barely sat on their faces. The stiff mattresses they sat on were rapidly becoming uncomfortable. Soon, the silence became unbearable for April, and she was becoming wary of just how long they were looking at each other and not doing anything other than looking. Was that weird? She was probably being weird. Man, was this how guys felt? No- April didn't think that a man had once thought about how long he had looked at her; they all just did it.
“Okay, so what’s your least favorite thing about Phoenix Wright?” It wasn’t typically polite to start talking shit with someone you just met, but it felt easy to do around Mimi. She readjusted herself, lying on her mattress and letting her feet kick up into the air, hands propped on her chin.
Mimi thought for a second. “Well, he doesn’t seem like that much of a competent lawyer, does he? He always has to get help from these little girls…”
April let a wide grin stretch across her face. “Exactly! Like, I think my trial was his first trial all by himself, but… the mousey girl in the weird clothes that he was defending literally had to toss balls of paper with advice in them! He looked totally lost.”
Mimi’s face folded into that confused state of mild recognition again. “...weird clothes? You’re not talking about Maya Fey are you?”
“Yeah? You know her?”
“Not really… well, I kind of tried to frame her for murder.”
“Oh god, the poor thing. What are the odds that happens twice?” April May felt just a teensy bit bad about committing perjury now. Mimi shrugged, apparently not too concerned over the matter.
“Especially since she has to basically be her own lawyer, with Phoenix Wright around.”
April broke out into laughter, which Mimi was quick to join in. She could tell already that she was going to get along well with Mimi- she was quick and witty but didn’t look down on someone for being girly. She engaged in banter and didn’t look down on some good old gossip and mean girl talk, which was good since those were some of April’s favorite pastimes.
…
“So who’s this Miles Edgeworth guy?” Mimi asked a few days later.
April May gasped, whipping her head around to look at her. “You mean you don’t know?! He wasn’t prosecuting the case you had with Spiky Head?”
“No… does he and Phoenix have some sort of history? The guy mentioned his name a few times, with this strangled, kicked-puppy kind of look.”
April May sighed. “They must have broken up. Or never even got together, with how hopeless the whole thing seemed. Edgeworth’s this high-in-the-ranks prosecutor guy- wears dark pink three-piece suits and frilly cravats. Has a vaguely almost British accent, says stupid dramatic things like ‘mmmmmph!’ and ‘nnnnnnnnghhhhoooo!’”
“Definitely sounds fruity.”
“Oh, almost definitely. I had the whole crowd going wild for my wanton winking, and the guy barely reacted whenever I directly flirted with him.”
“Oh yeah, I would have gone crazy, he’s super gay.” The sentence was out before Mimi really had time to think about what she was saying, but once she realized, a deep blush flew up to her face. It was cute, and it made April break out into the silliest, widest smile she couldn’t seem to control. She'd suspected Mimi played for a similar team, judging by the way she looked at her sometimes. But it was nice to have some solid confirmation that things weren't totally hopeless- and even more, she was attracted to her, specifically. Well, hopefully- she couldn’t be sure, not yet. Shaking herself out of it, she remembered she should probably talk again.
“But yeah, during the Mia Fey trial, I felt this like, super weird energy between them. Like sexual tension, but they were also on opposing sides. I swear, the little yearning looks spiky head would give McDonald hair-”
“McDonald hair?”
“His bangs look like the McDonald arches.”
Mimi giggled at this, tossing her head back a little. This made her hair bob a bit, those large curls at the end bouncing. Focus, April, Focus.
“You know,” April said. “We should talk to Dee- she had her own trial where Phoenix and Edgeworth were both present, I bet she could totally dish.”
…
April had grabbed onto Mimi’s hand, dragging her off to the cafeteria. Her hand was soft, fitting nicely in between her own fingers like they had already been friends for years. Less than a week had passed, and it genuinely felt like April had known Mimi for years. They just seemed to get each other like that.
“Mimi…” April started, stopping at a cafeteria table near the back corner. “This is Dee Vasquez.”
Dee Vasquez sat in her chair, the perfect picture of someone entirely comfortable where they were. She had perfect posture, of course, but still had the casual air of someone who knew exactly who she was. Her legs were crossed, orange uniform primly fitting around her body like it was hand-tailored for her. She had a long cigarette in her hand, elbow propped up on the table. April admired how put-together this woman could look, even while in prison.
“How did you manage to get something like that in here?” Mimi said, gesturing to the cigarette.
“...charmed to meet you,” Dee said, flat gaze fixed on Mimi.
“That didn’t answer my question.”
Vasquez gave her signature slightly condescending smile, leaning her head to the side. “I get to choose what questions I answer. I have a certain… authority about me that lets me do so.” April felt a little chill down her back- Vasquez always had this icy demeanor about her. It changed the entire atmosphere of any room she was in.
“So that’s how you get cigarettes?” Mimi was almost completely unfazed by Vasquez- it was impressive. Vasquez considered her for a moment, letting her eyes size up the girl in the white beret. After a few seconds, she nodded, letting herself puff smoke out of her mouth.
April sat down at the table. “Y’know, Dee, Mimi over here was in a trial with that Phoenix guy-”
“Of course.” Vasquez spat out like something bitter was in her mouth. Her indifference dropped at the mention of the lawyer in an instant. “Isn’t he at the heart of all the worst cases?”
“That’s what we’re saying,” Mimi added.
“We wanted to know what you knew about him and Edgeworth- apparently Mimi caught him mentioning the prosecutor, but the guy wasn’t around.”
Vasquez rolled her eyes. “Useless lawyers, both of them. The prosecution couldn’t even stick to his job.”
“Huh?” Mimi asked.
“Miles Edgeworth is part of the reason I am here now. He started cooperating with the defense. Slammed his desk far too loudly.” That last part wasn't exactly related to the outcome of Vasquez's case.
Mimi and April locked eyes with each other, eyebrows raised and mouths on the verge of a smile. They looked back at Vasquez. “Do you get the vibes that they were…” April trailed off, unsure how to phrase the question.
“Enamored with each other? Absolutely- it was written on their pathetic little faces.”
The girls nodded eagerly, April standing and pushing her chair in. Mimi mimicked her actions- April knew that Vasquez liked to keep conversations brief and to the point.
“Thanks so much, Dee.”
“I told you not to call me that. It’s Vasquez or Dee Vasquez- Dee is too informal for a woman like me.”
“...She seems cool,” Mimi said as they walked to their own spot in the cafeteria. “Just a bit full of herself, that’s all.”
“I’ve honestly tried so hard to find anything to critique her on when I gossip, but I’ve got nothing,” April admitted. “She’s just a powerful, cool lady. And super hot.”
“She's gorgeous- it's kinda terrifying.” Mimi agreed. Something fluttered inside of April’s stomach- a small bit of false hope growing just a bit more sure. Her hand felt a little oddly cold all on its own, now that she’d known what it felt like to wrap it around Mimi’s.
…
They sat on April’s bunk together, an inch apart from touching. April could smell Mimi from this close, in little wafts that came along with the industrial air conditioning. The standard-issued body wash that everyone used was the main part of the scent, but there was something else uniquely Mimi there- a sweet undertone.
“Frank Sahwit sweats about a gallon a day.”
April had to calm herself down so her giggle didn’t turn into a full-out cackle. “More like two gallons.”
“The other day he bragged to me about how he threw his toupee at a lawyer in court- who in the world would actually brag about that kind of thing?”
“Oh my god, I swear he told me that story like three times already.”
“He’s the worst.” Mimi yawned, and April realized how late it was getting. Lights out was two hours ago, but they had managed to get the guards to turn a blind eye to them staying up. It was nice to be close to each other- to just talk, and laugh, and be next to each other. To catch those elusive little sweet scents. April wondered if she kissed her, if that same smell would be found when she tasted her lips-
“What are you thinking about?” Mimi asked innocently. Thank everything in this world it was already dark, or else she would have seen the way April was blushing horribly. She had to get control of herself.
“Frank’s sweat, unfortunately.” She lied. Mimi laughed, seeming to buy into it. April knew her eyes were crinkling the way they always did when she found something really funny, even in the dark.
“If we collected it, we could fill like a whole swimming pool,” Mimi added.
“Oh god, then we really never would get Gant to shut up.”
Mimi gasped in happy surprise, quickly falling back into fits of laughter. April loved to make her laugh, to hear the way it filled a room so nicely. No, no, no- May, these are not huh she’s kind of hot thoughts, these are I might be in love thoughts and that is dangerous awful stupid territory.
“Have you been swimming lately, Min-o?!” Mimi put on an impressive impression of Damon Gant. “Like, NO, of course I haven’t- does he forget we’re all in prison?!”
“He asks me at least once a day. Horrible. The worst.”
The two girls fell into laughter, letting it drift into the comfortable silence they had grown to know quite well. April let her tired head fall onto Mimi’s shoulder, chancing a little more contact than usual. Mimi didn’t even flinch. A terrifying few seconds passed before she pulled in closer and rested her head on top of April's. Despite the late hour, it took April a while to sleep due to the way her heart was fluttering around.
…
April May had a list of everyone in her prison, ranked on a scale from 1-10 on how much of a total buzzkill they were to be around. (Mimi had made a solid zero on her first day here, a record-breaking low). On top of this list in a bright, glittery pink gel pen was Manfred Von Karma- a 12. Yes, he broke the scale.
April could go on for a solid hour in all the ways she did not want to be in the presence of that crusty old man. For one, he was a famed prosecutor. April didn’t have a great track record with lawyers. But that was just skimming the barrel in all the ways he was horrible. His breath smelled like artichokes and death. He had bags under his eyes that could probably rival the size of April’s designer handbags. The man looked like he hadn’t used lotion a day in his life- his hair always had a slightly greasy tint to it. Besides all this, he carried himself like he was the hottest shit to ever exist. Nose permanently upturned and the inevitable ‘tsk tsk tsk,’ that you would hear if he ever saw you do anything.
And if you tried to tell him off for anything, he would argue with you. Oh, he would argue. He brought undeniable logic and reasoning that would always paint him as absolutely in the right, all just for petty prison squabbles. April May hated Von Karma; he was no fun at all.
She and Mimi were in the courtyard during their one hour of free time. It was getting to be late summer, and the dandelions were starting to kick into full bloom. They sat on the small patch of grass near the concrete, picking flowers for braided crowns. The sun was out, and very few things could ruin such a nice day.
Click. Click. Click. The tell-tale signs of Manfred Von Karma approaching, his cane hitting the pavement with a professional thunk every other step. Think of the devil- April let her eyes roll to the back of her head, letting out a groan of annoyance. Mimi looked over at her, confused. She hadn’t met the guy yet- Manfred barely ever showed his face. Today was their unlucky day.
“You girls are far too old to be playing on the ground like children. Show some dignity, if you have any to spare.” He spoke in his deep, condescending voice. Like he was scolding children, not grown ass adults.
“Hey, Von Karma. Nice to see you too.” April said in a very obviously faked cheeriness. Mimi scrunched her face together in contempt, looking over her shoulder to see the man himself. He looked as pale as a ghost and as old and hollow as ever.
“Compared to you, we are children,” Mimi said, letting a snide tone come through. “I mean, how old are you? Three hundred? Four?” April hid a smile behind her hand, glancing over to Von Karma. He looked disgruntled, eyes narrowing to slits as he prepared to open his mouth. She noticed he needed lip balm badly.
“Furthermore, you prove your childish nature. Commenting on my appearance is an immature way to sway me from my argument.”
“Aw, are you afraid we’re gonna be too mean to you? Talk about how you look like a corpse of a human?” Mimi retorted, not dissuaded from her own stance. April was stunned, unable to add to the conversation out of sheer admiration. Not many people were able to stand up to Von Karma like this, especially on their first time meeting him.
“You have disgraced yourself by stooping so low. If you had any-”
“Buddy,” Mimi interrupted with a casual smile on her face. “I like, murdered a guy. I can’t disgrace myself much more than that.”
For the first time since April had met Von Karma, he was absolutely speechless. April felt her jaw drop, looking between the two.
Mimi’s smile grew wider. “So what did you do? What disgrace have you brought upon yourself? You are aware you're in prison, right?” She leaned in for the last part, mocking a whisper. Manfred Von Karma scowled back. Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away, his cane pounding just a little harder on the pavement. His knuckles were white from the grip he held onto it.
“Man, what a dick,” Mimi said, picking her flower crown back up.
“I love you so much,” April said, eyes still wide and mouth smiling in a kind of awe she realized was reserved just for Mimi. Her heart was pounding in her chest, cheeks flushing just a bit when she realized just how honest she accidentally was- it would be taken as a joke, right? A just friends thing, right? Mimi was frozen, seconds felt like hours, and April just wished she could hear what was going through her head.
“Love ya too, girl.” She bumped shoulders, a kind smile on her face. She didn’t laugh, so it probably wasn’t taken as a full joke. April’s mind was running a mile a minute, and Mimi was going back to her flower crown. She was bent over her work so that April couldn’t see her face through her bright, beautiful hair.
April didn’t usually fall this hard for anyone. She was materialistic, surface-level level and simple in her relationships. She knew what she liked and went for it. April May didn’t yearn or pine or… whatever was happening to her. Mimi Miney was simply the best part of her life at the moment, and she didn’t know what to do about it. Usually, she would have made a move by now, but with Mimi, that terrified her. What if she ruined everything?
…
“Hey, Mimi?” April whispered across the room that night. Something was bugging her, eating at the back of her head.
“Yeah?”
“You said you murdered someone… I guess I like, never really thought of it before, but… what was your sentence?” Please, please be different. Please let this damn country have just some semblance of sense for once and let her have just a chance at happiness- Her stomach was doing flip flops in her gut, just waiting for an answer. Mimi was taking her time, which couldn’t mean anything good. If the justice system had any semblance of good, it would let April have this. Have Mimi- however that would play out. She hadn't even planned the murder by herself! She had basically been extorted-
“Same as almost anyone who’s ended a life in this country.” There was no humor, no light in the statement. It was flat, cruel words that made April’s brain freeze.
“...oh”
“I’m sorry, April- I’ve got at most five years before they take me out. I’ll leave you behind.” She sounded so sad. Not just for herself, but for April’s sake. No one put that much consideration into April like that, especially when it was their own life they were talking about. Mimi was on death's door, and she was thinking about her.
“That’s alright.” She sniffled, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I’m getting out of here in two years anyway.” She used to count down the days until her sentence was fulfilled. Now, she wasn't so sure she was ready to leave so soon.
All of these feelings… everything April’s heart was telling her. The late nights together, the glimpses of something that could be, brushing hands, kinda sorta almost cuddling. It was all for nothing. They were doomed to be apart eventually, weren’t they? It felt like someone was stepping all over April’s heart.
“Mimi?”
“Yeah?” Her own voice sounded wet now. It pulled at April’s heartstrings like she was a tangled-up marionette.
“Can I ask why you did it?”
There was a long beat of silence, long enough that April considered apologizing for prying. Since when did she apologize to people? Finally, Mimi spoke. “...I used to be a nurse once. I wasn’t very good at my job, but I loved what I did. At first, at least.” April listened, letting Mimi’s soft voice float over from across the room. Afraid that if she interrupted, the story would be lost forever.
“That was before Turner Grey started running the hospital. He overworked us- me and the other nurses. We would come home feeling dead on our feet, no time to eat before we passed out on the closest couch.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Well, one day another nurse looked like she was going to pass out on the job- she was like, swaying on her heels, sweaty, hadn’t eaten all day… I was supposed to go home, had already worked a double shift. But I couldn’t let her go on like that… when I brought up her current state with Turner, he told me to either let her work or take her shift for her. I took her shift.”
There was a long pause. April was just beginning to wonder if she had fallen asleep when she spoke again. Mimi’s voice was shaking this time, sentences coming faster like she was in a rush to get them out.
“I knew it was my fault, in the end. I can’t put all the blame on Dr. Grey- but I was still so angry with him. It was complete negligence, I warned him-”
“Mimi, what happened?” April interrupted her, stopping her spiraling train of thought like she had put a brick wall on the train tracks. In the dark, she could see Mimi jump a little.
“...in my exhausted state, I mixed up medication. I ended up killing fourteen people. And then… two weeks later, my exhaustion killed my little sister.”
“...Oh, Mimi.” Mimi had spoken once about her sister, when they had first met. Something about a car crash. It turned out that the picture on Mimi's shelf was of her.
“I killed him. Turner didn’t take any of the responsibility for the patients or for the accident. Maybe it was wrong what I did. Honestly, I still don’t regret it. As far as I’m concerned, it was his fault I’m an only child now.”
She turned over on her bed, facing the wall. April knew this meant she shouldn’t press anymore- she wanted to comfort her, let her know she wasn’t alone, that April didn’t think she was a terrible, blood-thirsty murderer. But now wasn’t the time. April turned over in her own bed, shutting her eyes and letting her breathing even out. But she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the death sentence hanging over Mimi’s head.
…
“MISS MAY! My beautascious secretariat!”
April sighed, head falling even further into the arms propping her up. “I’m not your anything anymore, Mr. White. That kinda stopped when you got me in prison for tapping wires, and also like, when you totally killed a girl.”
Redd White frowned the stupid little pout that often got him whatever he wanted. “I’m not even your best friend? You’re my best friend, you know.” April knew. It wasn’t like there were a lot of options around here.
“You’re my second best. Maybe third if Vasquez would tolerate talking to me for more than ten minutes-”
“And I assume that Miss Mimi Miney is in first place. I am insulterated! It appears that I have been positivedly demoted!”
April dropped her arms, letting her head fall to the cool surface of the table she was at. A small little groan, just slightly more than an exhale, came out. Here she was trying to forget about Mimi, and this dick comes along…
“You are completely, absolutely in love with her. Aren’t you Miss May?” Redd White says out of the blue. April May lifted her head, her eyes shooting over to him. They were twinkling with that conceited mischief.
“Shut up,” April muttered, letting her head fall back down.
“Oh, so it is veridical what I say?”
“Redd, I seriously do not want to talk about this right now.” She could barely understand what he was trying to say, anyway.
“And might I ask the reason why you are eluding my inquiries?”
“She KILLED someone- She has a death sentence, and I’m getting out of here in less than two years. I can’t get attached.” April couldn't help the little tremor that came out in her voice, begging her to let loose any emotion instead of bottling it up.
“Well, it already seems too late for that,” Redd commented, leaning on the table with one hand.
“Thus my current crisis,” April replied, gesturing to the state she was in.
“My dear secretariat-”
“Not a secretary anymore-”
“You shouldn’t let something as frivolous as the law get in the way of love.”
April looked over to him, eyes narrowed in confusion. “What are you saying?”
“Even in prison, I still hold some…influence. Mimi’s fate is not sealed indefinitably. I’m sure with you out of prison in two years, we could arrange a retrial.”
A small flicker of hope lit up in April’s chest. The first feeling all day that hadn’t pulled her down into the trenches of despair. The corners of her mouth pulled into a slight smile. “You think so?”
“Abso-posi-tivibly.”
Something flipped like a light switch. April didn’t even care enough to roll her eyes at Redd’s “verbose languature.” She didn’t care enough to say any niceties to him as she scraped back her metal chair, her body carrying her like it had a mind of its own. She whizzed past room after room. She felt like she was flying. Finally, she turned into the room she shared with Mimi. She was sitting on her bed, staring at the wall across from her.
She looked over, a weary smile on her face, and her eyes a little puffy. “Kinda felt like you were avoiding me-”
“No.” April lied, just a little. “I was with Redd White.”
“Oh, really? Y’know, he’s got the language of a middle schooler who just learned what a thesaurus is. And I think he bleaches his teeth daily-”
April laughed. “Yeah, he’s the worst.” She walked over to Mimi, grabbing hold of her hands. They were soft as always. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, but for some strange reason, she didn’t feel nervous in the slightest, just overwhelmingly excited. Maybe she was in denial. Or delusional.
“Mimi, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.” She had thought those words too many times to admit. It was strange finally hearing them out loud. Mimi’s eyes widened, something sparking in them before they twisted back down in a sad kind of disdain.
“...April, it’s no good. You know we can’t do anything about it-”
“Maybe we can- Redd said he can use his influence, we could get a retrial-”
Mimi’s eyes shot up, looking April right in the face now. “Really?”
April nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! And even if it doesn’t work- I don’t care, Mimi. We deserve to be together, even if it’s only for the next few years. I don’t care.”
Mimi smiled, her face so soft, so kind. It wasn’t always like that- she liked to show her snark, her contempt for the world, whatever she felt was put on her features. This might have come from having to bottle everything up behind the facade of her sister for so long. Mimi refused to hide who she was anymore. But still, she was always kind for April. “I’d like that.”
“...can I kiss you?” April had kissed dozens of people before- boys, girls, the whole lot. Why in the world did this feel so awkward now? Where did this hesitation come from?
Before she even got a response, she felt Mimi’s hand wrap around her cheek, pulling her down a little as she rose to meet her halfway. It was soft and sweet, and April wrapped her arms around Mimi as if she let her go, she would never have existed in the first place. She held on like a lifeline, kissing like she never kissed before. It turned out Mimi did taste a little like some kind of hard candy. Lemon, April realized. It was Mimi’s favorite flavor, and she later admitted that everything from lip balm to perfume that she owned smelled like the fruit. April never really considered it anything special before, but now it was her favorite smell.
Who knows what the future would hold? But for the next two years, they would have each other. They would be by each other's side, complementing each other's company with easy laughter and fluttering feelings like April had never felt before. And once she got out, she would fight like hell to bring Mimi with her.