Reporting job [2]

Brianna sighed as she pulled the weeds.

From afar, Melissa and Alice were murmuring with each other while occasionally throwing glances. They were exercising on the wide green field with the other inmates scheduled for leisure time, while Brianna was weeding, an additional punishment for her behavior.

The knitting job she signed up for had already begun a week ago, but because she was locked up, she couldn't report, and going in a week later felt awkward, so Brianna just obediently and silently fulfilled the other punishment she had to take.

Besides, money won't be a problem for her from now on. She checked her belly where she stashed the envelope. She no longer put the money in her account, afraid that the guard who always obeyed Melissa would tattle about her acquiring money again.

She would just keep the cash and use it to buy her basic necessities.

So, the last time she ran out of toothpaste and shampoo, she won't have to pitifully ask for some from Alice who did lend her, after insulting and throwing the items in her face. She felt so sorry for herself as she bent down and picked up the fallen bottles, while they snickered behind.

Now, as Brianna stared down at them with a blank look on her face, Melissa and Alice flinched and looked away, as though they started to fear her.

Even in their cell, the two were acting strange. They became aloof instead of nitpicking her in every little thing she did like they always do. While Bianca would sporadically throw her orders and threaten her if she refused to obey.

It seemed that the woman realized that Brianna didn't want to get involved in fights again, so she was taking advantage of her reserved and cautious behavior.

But oftentimes, Bianca was sleeping, if not missing in action.

After accepting the reporting job from that strange guy, Brianna started following Bianca discreetly.

"Hey, you already depilated that spot. It looks awful now."

Brianna blinked. Her mind was brought back into the present by an inmate's reprimanding voice. She looked down and gasped. The ground she was weeding lost all vegetation, even the ones who were supposed to be there beautifying that field.

"Tsk. Tsk. The guard will scold you for that," the older inmate shook her head.

Brianna smiled crookedly and scratched her head. "Please, don't tell on me, ma'am. I'll fix it! I'll just have to plant these…uh, ornamental grasses…?"

"You can't even identify what's weed from not. Geez, move away! I'll pick them, you plant them back."

The older inmate shoved Brianna lightly and crouched next to her. "You should pay attention to your surroundings and stop losing in deep thoughts, especially when you're outside. You never know who holds a grudge against you here, they can just attack you or stab you suddenly if you're not alert."

Brianna gave room for the older woman. "Do such cases really happen here?"

The inmate spun her head to Brianna, sporting a look asking – 'Are you kidding me? You're rooming with someone who stabbed an inmate with a toothbrush, and you just whacked someone in the head until they're barely breathing!'

Brianna tilted her head at the older woman, so the latter just looked away and faked a cough. She was in charge of taking care of that garden, so when she saw Brianna plucking even the ornamental grasses, she didn't think twice and approached her, even scolding her for her mistake.

Now that she was talking with Brianna, the older woman couldn't help but break into a sweat. The atmosphere surrounding the younger inmate is somehow…mysterious and chilling.

"O-Of course! Such things can happen here, so you really need to be more…c-careful! Anyway, let's fix this faster before the guard comes!" The older woman speedily segregated the weeds from the grasses.

She wanted to get away from Brianna as quickly as possible, however, Brianna opened another topic for conversation, and she was too scared not to answer.

Brianna inquired, "That path…where is it headed?"

The older inmate followed Brianna's gaze. She was tracing the path between the recreational gym and the administration building. It was a narrow path with plant boxes on both sides, and wildflowers were planted.

The older inmate opened her mouth, "Ah…that path is headed to the chapel. It was behind the recreational building. Why do you ask?"

Brianna stared at the road for a while, before turning to the kind older inmate. "I saw someone come in. It's my roommate, Bianca. So, she goes to the chapel? Hmm, come to think of it. She said it was her book, the bible I used back then."

The older inmate flinched. She heard it was the weapon Brianna used, so she suddenly felt scared.

"Does she go every day?" Brianna asked again.

The inmate nervously replied, "Y-Yes…as what I heard…"

"What does she do inside?"

"P-Pray…?"

Brianna eyed the older woman weirdly. The woman who stabbed someone and bashed her head as soon as they met was religious...? That was kind of hard to believe. Brianna thought to herself.

Once the grasses were all planted clumsily again, Brianna stood and clapped her hands. Some inmates nearby turned to look at her and grimaced at the masterpiece on the ground, but their lips were mummed. When Brianna glanced around, all of them hastily turned their heads to the opposite side.

Brianna felt a sense of superiority witnessing those inmates express caution and nervousness around her. She grinned as she patted her back and walked away, feeling proud of her grassy patchwork.

The wind blew, and the newly planted grass got blown up. Everyone saw it, but no one dared to call Brianna back.

Brianna followed the path to the chapel.

A small triangular building appeared at the end of the path. The front façade was made of stained glass and both sides had metal buttresses. On the left side was a long rustic metal cross, spanning several meters from the ground.

Brianna carefully opened the door. She peeked at the tiny gap and was surprised to see Bianca in the frontmost row, looking up at the cross on the altar and mumbling.

"Please, Oh Lord, help me get my revenge! I will never rest in peace until those bastards are rotting in jail like me!"

Her sinister voice sent shivers down Brianna's spine. She was convinced, that Bianca was truly a madwoman.