Post by gvb on Apr 11, 2021 16:06:34 GMT -6
Traveling from Chicago to Baltimore was much more comfortable than the outward trip she made back in September. Perks of flying in rather than put up with seventeen hours of bus, but planes weren’t an option the first time around due to the travel restriction the COVID-19 pandemic imposed.
She fell asleep as soon as the plane took off, there was something about floating in the air that always calmed her senses and favored sleep. And after the sleepless night, she definitely needed some. It wasn’t the excitement for this trip back home that denied her sleep, nor the understandable emotion coming from seeing her dad for the first time in months and everything else she had planned for this weekend. It wasn’t even the adrenaline still rushing through her body after finally managing to beat Faith Savell earlier that afternoon, getting a measure of revenge after months of harassment and humiliations being perpetrated by the former Gold Star against her and Tiffany.
Tiff… She was what kept her up all night just staring at her phone, waiting for a text that never came. Not a message of congratulations, not a vocal note to reassure her, not a single tweet to comment on the events of that cursed day, the day of her twenty-first birthday.
Not that Tiffany owed her anything. Sure, they grew quite close recently, but apparently not that close, not as much as Trinity wished for them to be.
If only she knew.
If only she could find the right words and the right occasion to tell her…
“Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.” The inflight announcement woke her up from her slumber. Outside the window the city of Baltimore was starting to take shape, emerging from under the carpet of clouds that concealed it. She lost herself in that sight, or perhaps it was just the drowsiness creeping back in and snatching her back in its sweet embrace.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Miss, but you should secure your tray table. We’re about to land” The soft and gentle voice of the flight attendant called her back to reality. The haze that was engulfing her mind, residual of a short but deep and much needed sleep, began to lift and Trinity turned toward that voice. She was very young, couldn’t be more than one year or two older than her, looking incredibly cute in that uniform.
“Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll do it right away.” She apologized with a smile, securing the table as the captain first and the young girl now asked her to. “Can you tell me what time it is, please?” She would have checked it on her phone, if she didn’t forget to plug it in last night and let the battery die.
The flight attendant checked the watch on her wrist before answering. “1:20 PM. We’re bang on time.” She answered with unchanging kindness before asking Trinity if she could help her with anything else and move on when gently told no. One twenty. That would give her time to eat something quick before her appointment and charge her phone a little, just enough to check Twitter and messages from her friends Tiana and Millie.
Hopefully from her too.
After recharging both her phone and herself with a not-so-healthy meal that would make her friend Tiana shudder, she took a bus to her destination. Tiffany hadn't called, or texted, or even tweeted since yesterday. That was the only reason why she bothered checking the phone, the squabble between Faith and Olly? It didn’t matter to her. JJ butting in and to defend his ex-girlfriend and calling Olly a snake? That was nothing new, the surprising part was that Faith had trusted him in first place. But she wasn’t getting no sympathy from her, not after what she did. If anything, this was karma striking, and Trinity could appreciate the irony in this. Faizah taking the leap and sweeping in to ask Olly out? Not shocking at all.
The bus stopped half a mile away from it, leaving her to cover the remaining distance by foot. The silhouette of the structure grew bigger with every step she took, its menacing towers standing out against the sky. Then came the fence surrounding the courtyard that only vaguely reminded her of the Academy, a warped and twisted version of it anyway with full-armed wardens guarding the perimeter.
“Name and purpose of your visit.” The guard at the gate spoke in a bored tone of voice without even lifting his eyes from the laptop he was watching a baseball game onto.
“Trinity Thompson, I… I have an appointment with the Director.” Only now the guard deigned to look out of the guard post. He took a long look at her, chewing on some beef jerky without saying a word. She shrunk under that inquisitorial gaze, making herself small. This place almost intimidated her, and this man with his stern stance and the unfriendly, cold attitude wasn’t making things any easier. After what looked like an eternity, he picked up the phone.
“I have a Trinity Thompson here. She says… Yes, sir.” The conversation was short, barely enough for the person on the other side of the line to confirm what Trinity said. Two guards approached the gate, a buzz anticipated the gate opening. But not a word was spoken by the rude guard, who went back to the game and his beef.
She knew the procedure all too well, this wasn’t her first time at the Baltimore City Detention Center. First she would go through the frisking, then after stepping through the doors she would have to leave all her personal effects to the guard there. And the most recent addition, the pesky COVID swab. Finally she was escorted to the Director’s office, by far the most welcoming place, actually the only one, in the whole facility.
“Trinity. To what do I owe you the pleasure?” He asked the young girl, inviting her to take a seat. The room was cozy, a stern contrast to the greyness of the rest of the building. Two wide windows allowed the sunlight to come in, giving a nice view of the courtyard outside. An entire wall was covered in books, another one had a few paintings hanging onto and soft classical music was playing in the background. To a degree, it reminded Trinity of Gian’s office.
“I.. I had a request, if you don’t mind.” There was something incredibly calming about this middle aged man. The way he spoke, his demeanor, the relaxing ambient he was receiving people in.. Everything was meant to make whoever was sitting on the other side of the desk, whether it was a visitor, an employee or an inmate, at ease. “I was wondering if you could… Like… Give dad a special leave next Saturday.” She knew this was asking a lot, but she read all about furloughs. “One day, I don’t ask much. A few hours even.”
He raised an eyebrow, the young girl’s request certainly caught him off guard. On one hand, Timothy Thompson was a model inmate, set to be released in december. But to obtain a prison furlough he would need a good reason, and part of him was hoping the blue haired teenager sitting in front of him could give him one. “All I want is for him to have dinner with his daughter, to celebrate her birthday. Is that too much to ask?”
A sympathetic smile appeared on his lips. The tenderness of that request, the bashfully way Trinity asked him and the purity of the sentiment behind that appeal, the desire of a daughter to celebrate her birthday with a father she only met behind a bulletproof glass really tugged at the strings of his heart. “I would love to comply with your request, Trinity. But I’m afraid I can’t allow it.” He reached out and rested his hand on hers, a way to soothe the obvious disappointment denying the request brought on the young girl. “What I can do, though, is to grant you extra time with him. I know it’s not ideal, but you will still be able to celebrate your birthday…”
“Oh no…” She interrupted him. She was extremely calm, far more than you would expect her to be in this situation. “It’s not my birthday I want to celebrate...” This new detail definitely caught the attention of the director. His eyes widened as he watched the softest of smiles dawning on the girl’s lips.
“I meant his other daughter… My sister, Tiffany…”