Trapped with the Animals

suprise party

my eyes slowly open, to be met with blinding light. so i guess we fixed the power.

"oh thank god you woke up, the paperwork i would have had to fill out would have sucked." luschek says, standing next to my bed.

"hey just think of it as free electro shock therapy, way more effective than praying the gay away if you ask me." nicky jokes. piper alex and i all burst into laughter. even luschek joins in.

lucy walks over to my bunk and sits down on my bed.

"guess what tomorrow is." she says. we all stand in confusion. what's so special about tomorrow. after i don't respond, lucy tells me.

"it's your birthday, silly!" she says.

"oh my god, let's have a tea party!" alex says laughing. again with the british jokes. i guess they never get old.

"luschek, do you know if we have crumpets?" nicky joins in on the joke. luschek rolls his eyes and walks away.

"i have something for you, but you have to wait until tomorrow." lucy tells me. i'm a sucker for a present.

"a birthday blowjob, how romantic!" piper says, and alex playfully hits her arm.

"well maybe, but it's something even better than that." lucy says.

"lights out in 5 inmates!" a CO yells, and lucy, piper, and nicky go back to their bunks. alex goes back over onto her bed and slumps over.

"you know," alex starts talking to me.

"lucy wouldn't shut up about you when you left for the uk." she says.

"she was so worried about you, she really cares." she tells me.

"i know, it's just really complicated." i tell her.

"oh i know complicated, what happened?" she asks.

"she's the reason my mother died..." i tell her. tears start to well up in my eyes.

"oh yeah, that really is complicated. my mother died too, and piper left me right after. but i forgave her. we all make mistakes, but you have to keep the people that care about you close. i forgave piper." she tells me. and i decide to sleep on it.
~~~
i'm awoken by my dad, holding a stack of pancakes with a candle on top. he begins singing happy birthday to me.

"goodmorning to you too." i say laughing. he holds the plate to me and i blow out the candles. it's my 18th birthday.

"alright so get dressed and brush your teeth and we will head over to the clinic." he tells me. today is the day.

"austin royale? the doc is ready to see you." the nurse says and my dad and i follow her back into a room.

"alright so we already wrote you your prescription, it will be ready to pick up tomorrow." the doctor tell me. she takes a cotton swap drenched in disinfectant and rubs it on my thigh.

"you ready bud?" my dad asks me. a huge smile covers my face. of course i'm ready.

the doctor takes out a small bottle labeled 'testosterone' and my smile gets even bigger. my first shot.

dad always promised me on my 18th birthday i could start hormones, and i've waited for this day for what feels like forever.

she collects the liquid into the syringe, and injects it into my thigh. i wince at the small pinch, but in my book it's worth it.

my dad and i thank her and walk out to the car.

"that smile isn't going away is it?" he asks me smiling himself. i shake my head, smile still plastered on my face.

"do you reckon we go get lunch? riley said he would meet us there." he says. and i nod yes.
~~~
"happy birthday to you..." the family sings, hovering over my bunk.

"you guys didn't have to do that." i say to them, barely awake.

"of course we did, we are your family." red says, handing me a cupcake.

"oh this didn't even the half of it-" nicky tells me, and red covers her mouth. i assume it's a suprise.

we head to breakfast and i notice that nicky and alex leave early. piper, red, and morello act like nothing happened. i guess it's part of the suprise.

"come with me." lucy says taking my hand. she leads me to a supply closet and shuts the door behind us. she leans in for a kiss, and i kiss her back.

i walk over to the wall and push her against it, kissing her harder. i guess this is my way of saying i forgive her.

alex was right, i can't hate her forever. and we are stuck here together now, so i might as well make the best of it.

suddenly we hear a knock on the door. i jolt back, waiting for a CO to walk in and give us shots, but lucy smiles and takes my hand once again, leading me to the common room.

i hear music playing, and then i hear nicky's voice shout something.

"the british are coming!" she yells, making everybody in the room break into laughter.

it's a suprise party. there's streamers and posters on the walls. i notice the biggest poster, that says: happy birthday to the british f*ck.

i assume that was made by nicky. i smile and thank everybody for throwing the party for me.

there's more cupcakes like the one from earlier. everybody is laughing and dancing to the music. this is probably the most normal thing i've experienced since i've been here.

lucy takes my hand and leads me into the middle of the room. she leans on me and sways side to side.

"okay present time!" red announces, handing me a cup. i look down into it and the smell is familiar.

"it was nicky's idea, but you can thank luschek for bringing it in." red says, waiting for my sip of approval.

tea, how original. of course this was nicky's idea.

i smile and take a sip, it tastes great. i thank red and give her a hug. next piper and alex step up to me, handing me a few pictures.

"your bunk has been so bland since you got here, thought we could spice it up a bit." piper tells me.

there's a british flag, a picture of puppies, and a picture of paul revere ripped out of a history book.

i smile and hug them both, thanking them. finally, nicky hands me a quarter. i look at her with confusion.

"it's a sober chip, first of many, we are doing this together." she tells me, pulling me into a hug. i look over at lucy, who seems to have something on her mind.

"alright now it's my turn." lucy says taking my hand.

"you're leaving your own party?" alex asks me. i shrug and let lucy lead me out.

"the british are coming, again!" i hear nicky yell, and everybody bursts into laughter.

"what are we doing?" i ask lucy in the bathroom. i jump up on the counter to sit down, and she stands in front of me.

she quickly plants a kiss on my cheek and reaches into her pocket.

she pulls out a small baggy with 4 pills in it. i stare at it for a moment and i feel the whole world freeze around me. i just agreed to stay sober with nicky.

lucy begins dangling the bag in front of my face, an unsettling grin across her face.

i can already feel the withdrawal symptoms kick in, and the sweet escape is very tempting. maybe just this one.

temptations set in and i take the bag from her.