Blowing Smoke
Characters: Cassandra and Drea Setting: Afternoon, the courtyard
Drea had to admit that she felt pretty good right now, as she headed back from the pool, a towel wrapped around her hair and one under her butt. It had been a long time since she'd been able to take a leisurely swim. It had been months since she'd done it, and more since it had been in a non-therapeutic situation. For a few minutes there, she'd almost been able to forget what hell the last two years had been.
She hummed a little tune as she took the long way around to her room. Not that it was that much of a long way around, of course, but it allowed her to better take in her surroundings. While it was still prison, there was no question about that, the lack of guards or much that was actually "prison-y" was starting to calm her worries a little. It was still going to be a long road back, but she was starting to think maybe she could do it after all.
Smoking wasn't something Cassandra indulged in if she didn't have to or it didn't fit her social setting, but the message from Hayden had rubbed her the wrong way. She'd had at least him on her side, but it hadn't lasted. So she was indulging in an angry cigarette, something she'd picked up from the store when there had still been a store, sitting on the ground with her back against her door.
Drea had always had a fairly keen sense of smell, so when she smelled that wonderful tobacco scent, she was drawn to it immediately. She only had a few in her bag of possessions, and she'd been saving those, but once her olfactory senses had gone off, she couldn't resist. She rolled up beside the girl who was the source of the smell and tried her best to look friendly. The fact that she was relaxed from her swim helped that a little bit. "Mind if I bum one of those? I can get you back, I've got some in my room, I just don't have them on me right now." She pointed towards her room to show that she wasn't just, um, blowing smoke.
Cassandra considered being a bitch and saying no. She was having a shit day and wasn't in the mood for idle chatter no matter their suggestions. Being a bitch wasn't winning anyone favors though so she sucked it up and handed this new girl the pack, relieved she didn't have to get up. "New?"
"Does it show?" Drea said, accepting the cigarette gratefully. She hadn't realized how much she missed it until she felt it between her fingers again. "But yeah, I just got moved in this morning. Room 6. Drea." The girl didn't seem like a hand shaker, so she thought she'd let her make the first move there.
Normally Cassandra was more polite but not today. Today she kept her hands to herself. Yes it was obvious this woman was new. She was in a wheelchair. She'd be hard to miss. "I’ve not been here that long either," she said instead with a small smile that seemed true even if she didn't feel it. "I'm Cassandra."'
Finding the lighter in the pack, Drea was already lighting up. "God, that's good," she said absently as she handed everything back to Cassandra. "Sorry, it's just been a while. I don't usually get this orgasmic over a smoke." She paused for a moment to enjoy the cigarette. "Thanks. Like I said, I left mine in my room. I was hoping to hold out a little longer before giving in." She hoped her willpower was a little stronger if there was ever alcohol around.
Cassandra looked at the cigarette in her hand. "Honestly I thought I would too." Though she probably should have known better with Hayden and Hunter being involved.
This would have been more awkward if Drea hadn't been used to it. A lot of times her smoke breaks were just her and other smokers just standing around and not actually talking to each other. Of course a lot of times their heads had been buried in smartphones and the like. But she didn't have that here. "So, where you from, Cassandra?" she asked, finally breaking the silence. "Vegas here."
The other woman's point of origin actually got a tiny smirk out of Cassandra, who didn't look up but didn't stop the smirk either. "Atlantic City," she offered. It was a similar place, though Vegas was flashier.
"Ah," she said with a grin. "I never got out there. Some of my friends talked about it just for something different. I kinda felt like if I wanted to take a vacation, it'd be away from the whole casino thing." She looked around the block. "Of course, this isn't exactly what I had in mind. Guess nobody does."
"Did you work the circuit?" Cassandra found herself asking. It had been so long since she'd been in the business, but old habits died hard. She still knew it like the back of her hand.
"Nah," Drea said, thinking fast and exhaling through her nose. "I... I just kinda worked security. Freelance." Technically, she wasn't lying- she'd done some moonlighting as security off and on, especially when overtime wasn't readily available. The casinos always needed extra eyes around. "Of course, that was when I was a little more... bipedal."
Cassandra raised an eyebrow at the woman. "I can see that. We had plenty of security." Not enough. She'd found her way around it, but she also knew the club and the casino like the back of her hand. "Did you like the life?"
Drea shrugged. "Yeah, I did. I mean, sure, it was dangerous sometimes, but it was fun. And I guess mostly rewarding. And you always met the most interesting people." At least that part was the complete truth. "I bet it was kind of the same in AC. We'd hear stories from time to time."
"It was what it was. Catering to big whales, doing what you're told and watching the place bring in money." Cassandra had been very good at it, even if she was better at avoiding real work. "What kind of stories?"
That sounded about right from her recollections of casino work. "Oh, you know. Some of the gamblers who'd run through, any particularly juicy thefts or scams that they'd want us to keep an extra eye out for. You know how it is, they get kicked out of one place, they move on, or if something works one place, either they'd come our way or someone else might try the same trick." She shrugged and took another long drag. It really was kind of exciting. And she kinda missed it.
"I'm sure my story was big time news," Cassandra said, sarcasm in her voice. She wasn't happy about it. The whole thing had just been one big fuck up. She blamed Hayden and Hunter of course, but that didn't make it easier to deal with.
Once Cassandra mentioned "her story", wheels began turning in Drea's head, putting the pieces together. It hadn't occurred to her at first, but now that everything was falling into place, she kicked herself mentally for not recognizing her sooner. "Ah, yes. I seem to remember hearing something about that. You and a pair of twins almost pulled it off, huh?" She took another long drag, a slight smile on her face. "Pretty ballsy."
"There was no 'almost'. We did." Cassandra was sure of that. "We did." They hadn't gotten caught until after the fact when their trio fell apart. "They're here, the other two."
Well, that was interesting. She didn't know all the details, but Drea had heard quite a bit about the heist. Cassandra had a rather broad definition of "getting away with it", she thought, if they were in here now, but she wasn't going to quibble. "I'm sure that makes things interesting. I'm a little surprised they'd keep y'all together, but hey, I don't question, I try to get by, right?"
"We were together. Up until this morning, then they got moved over there and I stayed here. Though keeping us together is more waiting for an explosion than keeping people who belong together together." But Cassandra was determined to win her twins back. She and Ru would work this out and she'd have them both.
Drea chuckled a little as she adjusted her legs and butt a little. "It does kinda seem like they're waiting to see what happens with all of us." She hadn't been here even a day, but she'd already gathered that this little social experiment was highly combustible. "Like The Real World on crack or something like that."
"And when they get bored, they shake things up." Just like they had today. Cassandra was still feeling bitter about it.
"I guess it keeps us on our toes," Drea said with a shrug, then looked down at her feet and wheels. "Or whatever." She took one last drag of her cigarette, having smoked it down about as far as she could, then looked at it. "I guess I’ll find someplace to put this and get out of your hair. I should probably take a shower anyways" She gave Cassandra a wave. “I guess I’ll see you around.”