It felt so real

It felt so real

By LaPanda Mason 

It was the weekend, and the sun was shining so bright it woke Candace up from her nap. She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms above her head. She slipped her feet into her fluffy slippers and walked over to the window. She looked at the time on her watch and shook her head.  

“Fuck! I overslept!” she says aloud. She starts to undress as she walks towards the bathroom leaving a trail of clothes behind her. She turns on the hot water in the show and pulls her hair into a ponytail. She takes a quick shower, gets out, and dries off. She tosses the damp town into the hamper before going to her room.  

She grabs her cell phone to send a message.  

I am so sorry! I overslept I’m on my way.  

She was supposed to be meeting her boyfriend, Jamal, at the bar on the corner of her block. She picked a pink summer dress to put on and put her hair into a ponytail. She still had makeup on from the morning, so she only needed to freshen up. She puts on her shoes and walks toward the front door. She gives herself a second glance as she walks past the full-length mirror in the hallway.  

She walks briskly down the street avoiding small puddles along the way. It had rained earlier but now all they had was clear skies. She makes it to the bar in no time. The security guy standing outside the door knew her face, so he opened the door for her.  

“Thank you, Mack!’ she said as she went into the bar.  

Jamal was sitting in their usual booth in the back of the club. She could tell by the look on his face that he was upset. She stopped at the bar to get a corona before joining him.   

“Hey, my Luv!” she said with a big grin on her face. She leaned in to kiss him, but he pushed her away. She sat back with a look of shock on her face.  

“Look, I need to tell you something,” he says. He avoided her eyes. “Damien and I went to Vegas last week and got married.” 

Candace moved to the opposite side of the booth with her mouth open. “Wh... what did you just say?”  

He looked up from the table and took ahold of her hand. “I can’t say I’m sorry because I’m not. How could you not have known I was gay as fuck. I will be by your house to get my things, whatever may be left anyway. I slowly started taking my stuff home weeks ago.” He smirks at her. “Soooooooo, do you have anything to say?”  

Candace slowly slid her free hand under the table to get the gun strapped to her thigh. POW! She casually put the gun on the table.  

She had been going to the gun range and had gotten pretty good. It only took one shot, and he was dead. Everyone in the bar froze for a minute and looked at her. Candace picked up her corona and finished it like it was water. The patrons of the bar had gone back to whatever they were doing before the shot.  

“Ms. Hutchin?”  

She looked up and a police officer was standing right in front of her. “Where did he come from?” she thought.  

“You have to come with me,’ he said.  

She stood and turned her back to him so he could put the cuffs on. As he guided her out of the bar everyone started clapping. The street was filled with police officers. The police sirens and lights were all on making it hard for her to see. There was a spotlight shining on her until she was put on a police transport bus.  

“What the hell is all this for?” she asks. “Why am I on this bus and not in a car? How did you guys get here so fucking fast?” The officers ignore her as they chain her to the seat.  

The ride to the jail seemed like it took hours, but it was only minutes. They had a full police escort the entire way. When they pulled up a lady guard was waiting and pulled Candace off the bus.  

“Why are you being so rough? Damn, I know how to walk,” she said loudly. She feels a sharp pain in the back of her head. “Did you just fucking hit me?”  

Three of the female guards throw her to the ground and bound her ankles together. Two on the arms and two on the legs. All together they lift her off the ground and carry her into the prison. They throw her on the booking floor and close the door. Once the cuffs are off and her ankles are free, she stands and glares at the guards.  

“Take off your clothes,” one of them orders. “MAKE IT QUICK!”  

Candace does as she is instructed and stands trying to cover her private parts. One of the guards rolls a 55-inch T.V. attached to stand into the room. She stops it right in front of Candace and turns it on.  

“Don’t I get some clothes?” she asks. They ignore her.  

The screen comes to life and there is a judge on the screen. She was all wrinkled, with white hair and black splotches on her face. “You’re being charged with 1st-degree murder of a police detective.” 

“What? A police detective, since when? The muthafucka I was fucking with didn’t have no job!” she says. She forgot that she was naked and dropped her arms.  

“You are found guilty and are sentenced to fifty years in the Greenhouse women’s prison. There will be no possibility of parole. You will die in prison!” the judge said with disgust.  

The guard turns the T.V. off and rolls it out of the room. Another guard throws a lime green jumpsuit, and it hits her in the face.  

“Look bitch...... you're being very rude,” she said. The guard simply smiled.  

Candace had only been locked up for one day but to her, it already felt like an eternity. She was able to blend in peacefully, so none of the ladies gave her any trouble. Simone was her cellmate and they called each other sisters.   

“I don’t feel good,” Simone said. She laid down on her cot and started shivering.  

Candace wet a towel in their small sink and pressed it against Simones's head. Her eyes were turning red, and her nose started to bleed. Candace didn’t know what to do. 

“Guard Amy,” she called out. “She’s fucking sick in here!”  

Guard Amy took her time getting to the cell. Candace could hear her boats as she got closer.  “What are you yapping about today?”  

“Do you see her?” she asked pointing to Simone.  

Amy looked around Candace. “Yes, I do. She dead!” 

Candace turns to look at her friend. Simone’s eyes are open with red tears running down the side of her face. She rushes to her side and gives her a shake. There is no response. She shakes her a little harder, but still no response. She turns to Guard Amy, but she isn’t standing at the bars.  Candace stood at the bars and called out to the guards.  “Hey! Where the fuck did you go?”  

The sound of metal clinking echoes through the pod. Candace sits on the floor and rocks back and forth.  

“What the fuck?”  

The day turned to night, and they still had not come to remove Simone's body. Candace had dozed off while sitting in the corner. “This has to be a nightmare,” she says in disbelief. She could hear the chatter of the other women. Suddenly it went quiet. “Hey, ladies!” she called out. 

She heard the bars slide open and rushed footsteps as they entered the pod. Candace stood so she could see what was going on. Five guards were standing in the middle of the room.  

“Yeah, operation clean house is complete!” Guard Amy says into her walkie-talkie.  

One of the guards notices Candace peering out the bars of her cell. She nudges the other guard, who turns to look at Candace.  

“Disregard previous transmit, one pending. I repeat. One pending.” 

“Copy that,” someone replies.  

Guard Amy walks over to the cell bars and pulls her gun from its holster. She points it at Candace’s chest. “Do you have anything you’d like to say?”  

Before Candace has a chance to respond Amy pulls the trigger. POW! 

Candace sits up and looks around the room. Jamal is sitting in a chair asleep, and her mother is lying on the little couch. She soon realizes she is in a hospital room.  

“You’re awake!” Jamal says as he opens his eyes. He gently wakes her mother up and they both hug her.  

Her mother kisses her forehead. “I’ll go get the doctor.” She ways and rushes out of the room.  

“What happened?” Candace asks. “I had the weirdest dream!”  

Jamal sits on the bed and holds her hand. “A couple was fighting outside the bar and the lady shot at her dude. She missed him but the bullet hit you in the chest. The doctors said it was a miracle you are still alive. The bullet missed your heart by an inch.” 

“It felt so real!” she says. She rests her head against his chest.