Privilege (Privilege 1)

He pointed at the solid metal door for effect. Ariana held his gaze. Held it and tried not to smile. Willed herself not to smile. He had no idea how wrong he was. How very, very wrong.

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Finally, judging by the silence that his point had hit home, Dr. Meloni leaned back in satisfaction. His grin lit his entire face.

"Guard!" he shouted, his eyes still locked on Ariana's.

The door instantly opened, and Miriam, the bulbous Ward Two guard, appeared, filling the doorway. Miriam, with her dyed red hair and piglike nose, had an impressive collection of steel-toed boots. Shoes that meant business. Ariana had never even rolled her eyes at the woman.

"You can take this one back to her cell. I'm done with her," Meloni said disgustedly.

"Let's go," Miriam barked.

Ariana shoved herself out of her chair and walked across the room, biting down hard on her tongue to keep herself from tossing any sort of parting shot at Meloni. One wrong word, one angry glance, might give something away.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Osgood," Dr. Meloni sang in a teasing voice. "And the day after that... and the day after that... and the day after that...."

He was still chuckling when the door slammed between them.

9

A GIFT

"It's such a lovely day. Isn't it such a lovely day?"Kaitlynn Nottingham paused in the center of the prison yard. She tilted her pretty face toward the clear blue sky, closed her eyes, and took a long, cleansing breath. Her small, upturned nose, rosy cheeks, and long lashes were perfectly suited for a child's porcelain doll. A little someone to be cherished, coddled, cared for. An innocent someone who shouldn't have been locked up in the Brenda T.

How did we end up here? Ariana thought, her face creasing in consternation. This could not be her life: allowed to walk outside only under the watchful eyes of the gray-polyester-clad guards. Forced to wear these awful, shapeless denim trousers and itchy light blue button-downs--the short-sleeved summer version even more unflattering than the long-sleeved winter one. But most insulting of all were the clunky, square-toed sneakers she had to wear day in, day out. What sadist had designed those?10

To add insult to serious fashion injury, Ariana and her fellow inmates weren't allowed to personalize anything. No accessories, no jewelry, not even a drop of perfume. Heaven forbid anyone exert any sort of individuality--it might make them start to long for other rights as well, like the right to wear an underwire bra, or to make a phone call at a normal hour of the day instead of during assigned slots late at night and in the early morning. Ariana reached up and fingered the gold fleur-de-lis necklace she wore tucked into the collar of her white undershirt. She'd been forced to bribe each and every guard on her ward in order to be allowed to continue wearing it. Even Dr. Meloni had let it slide once her father had slipped him a sizable check, which she was certain had paid for the Jaguar sedan he drove to work every morning with Rambo hanging out of the backseat. But the bribes had been worth it. Ariana was sure she would have gone slowly insane without the necklace. It was the only thing that kept her grounded. Reminded her that there was a reason to keep going. A family she needed to live for.

"At least they keep the grounds up," Kaitlynn continued, focusing on the positive, as always. "They put in summer blossoms this morning. Did you see?"

Ariana sighed as Kaitlynn pointed out the freshly planted flower beds. "Whatever you say, Little Miss Brightside," she teased, trying for a light tone and failing miserably. Yes, the grounds around the Brenda T. were lovely. Rolling green lawns, manicured gardens bursting with color and lined with natural stones, evergreen shrubs growing wild along the barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence that surrounded the entire yard. All very pretty.

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But no matter how the groundskeepers tried to mask it, that fence was still there. Staring Ariana in the face. Appearing nightly in her already fraught dreams. Her worst and most unrelenting enemy. The enemy she'd have to conquer in just a few short days.

"I'm just saying, it could be worse," Kaitlynn replied. "We could be in one of those maximum security thingies with no view and no free time and all that gray...." Kaitlynn shuddered.

"I like gray. I feel gray," Ariana told her, staring straight ahead as they walked.

Kaitlynn let her thick brown curls fall forward and gave Ariana a sympathetic look. Normally a look like that would have made Ariana bristle, but not coming from Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn had been there for Ariana from the moment Ariana had been shoved into their shared cell nearly a year and a half ago, the day after she'd been found guilty of Thomas's murder by reason of insanity. Kaitlynn had listened to her story. Had sympathized. Had given Ariana the room's one good pillow and let her keep it to this day. Kaitlynn was her only friend inside the Brenda T.--and maybe in the world.

Not that Ariana had expected to hear from Noelle Lange after everything that had happened. Or Kiran Hayes or Taylor Bell. But one card, one tiny little care package, would have been nice. They were probably too busy hanging out with Reed Brennan, being friends with Reed Brennan, taking Reed Brennan's side....

"Ariana, stop!" Kaitlynn said, reaching for Ariana's arm with alarm. Ariana hadn't even noticed her fingernails digging angry grooves into the flesh of her forearm. She forced herself to breathe. Fine. She was

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fine. Thinking about her former friends---about her-- always rattled Ariana. After everything that had happened, it was amazing how easily they seemed to have forgotten her.

"I'm sorry you had a bad session with Dr. Meloni," Kaitlynn said in a placating way. She tilted her head, a tell that Ariana recognized. It meant that Kaitlynn was going to tell a joke or say something witty. "But let's be honest.

When have you ever had a good one?"

"Fair point." Ariana smiled, pleased that she had correctly predicted Kaitlynn's response. Ariana had been practicing reading people, noticing the habits and mannerisms that betrayed their intentions. She had made mistakes in the past--miscalculated--but she would never let that happen again. She was getting better, and this exchange with Kaitlynn proved it. But then again, Kaitlynn wasn't the most complex person in the world.

"And look around," Kaitlynn said, lifting a free hand. "It's beautiful out. Sunny... warm, not an ounce of humidity... a nice breeze coming in off the lake."