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Aaliyah's trial, fortunately got moved up, therefore why she was currently on her way to court. Two other inmates were across from her, seemingly also having their trials today. She was put in a room, it didn't take long before Alec got there. She smiled at her brother, the latter sitting down across from her. "You look beautiful sister," he said, noticing her new haircut. "Thank you. I feel brand new, like a barbie." Aaliyah chuckles to herself, leaning forward.

"Well, I'm just gonna go over a few things with you before we go out there. I think can guarantee right now that you won't be getting any extra time for the assault. We have a few witnesses today, one of them in which you know. I believe her name is Alison, yes? Apparently she saw the whole thing go down." Alec explained, showing Aaliyah a picture to jog him memory just in case. "Oh yeah, she's my friend. How'd you contact her?"

"She contacted me actually, they were attempting to give her extra time so I dealt with that and in return, she wanted to help you today." Aaliyah smiled, happy that Alison was willing to do that for her. Even if she wished it was Janae. "Okay, but first, I need you to give this to Janae. It's really important." Aaliyah slid over a folded up paper, Alec taking it with a nod. "I'll make sure she gets it, Liyah. I promise." Aaliyah nods, patting his hand greatfully.

The trial went surprisingly great. She got to see Alison again, along with seeing her dad, Teyana, and baby Amira. Tons of people actually showed up as well in support of her. She was declared innocent, so far only getting one extra year for the riot. But it didn't matter, a year went by quite fast. She was just grateful that Alec was able to get her out of the situation. Damn did he make a good ass lawyer.

As of now, Aaliyah was being sent back to Litchfield. When she got in, the tension in the block was very unpleasant. Girls were sweating, iching, looking like their lives have been sucked dry. She raised a brow, heading to her cell, she spotted Carol laying down, reading a magazine. She looked up at Aaliyah's presence. "So? What happened? You guilty?"

Aaliyah grinned, "Innocent on all accounts!" Carol shared a similar grin, high fiving the younger girl who sat down. "Though I did get one extra year for the riot. When I'm on camera burning a bunch of chips and tampons, it doesn't tend to go so well." Carol chuckles, remembering when she seen that on the news. "One year is nothing, and hey, this means you can finally go back to your girlfriend soon."

"You tryna get rid of me already?" Aaliyah jokes playfully.

Carol shrugs, "Things are getting tense around here. I don't want you around when shit blows up." Aaliyah smiles, laying down next to the woman who made room for her. "Yeah, I noticed that. The junkies look like they've been dried out. What's goin' on?" Aaliyah turned her head to look at Carol, rather than turning on her injured side. "Barbara and her fuckin' dyke squad tanked our entire business."

Aaliyah raised a brow, "and Murphy's not takin' care of it?"

Carol glances up from her magazine. "Please, all she did was some petty shit in response. And fucking Hellman lost his dealer, so now we're all screwed." Aaliyah hums, looking down in thought, Carol looked at her with slight suspicion. Liyah sat up, Carol still eyeing her. "You need a new dealer, I'll take care of it. As far as getting it in goes, that's somethin' he's gotta take care of it." Aaliyah stated, confusing the older woman.

"What do you mean by "new dealer"? You got someone?" Carol questions.

"I got a few someone's. Former junkie here," Aaliyah shrugs, pointing at herself.

Carol smirks, shutting her magazine. "I might as well make you my top dog instead." Aaliyah chuckles, shaking her head, "Nah, gonna have to decline. I'm kinda done with the whole leader role. And it's the least I could do. You've been very good to me here." Carol smiles, patting Aaliyah's knee, "Then, let's get to it then, shall we?"

"We shall," Aaliyah giggles.

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Aaliyah walked over to Carol's table, and without her even saying anything, the girl next to Carol gave up her seat immediately. "Interesting." She mumbled before sitting down. Carol passed Aaliyah some cards, "You in?" Liyah shrugs, "eh, why not? It'll pass the time." A few seconds later, Badison made her way over, Teng stopping her from going any further. "Step off. This is a closed game."

Badison chuckles, seemingly amused. "Carol, tell your goon that we need to speak in private." Carol ignores her, calling in the girl. "Teng, sit. Your turn to switch in." Teng switched in with another girl, Badison a little baffled as Aaliyah simply smirks, Badison taking notice of Aaliyah's amusement, she scoffs. "Oh, I see how it is. I'm the fall girl, but I didn't do nothin-"

Carol was quick to interrupt Badison, her eyes still wavering over her cards. "Exactly. You did nothin' to keep those D-Block half-wits from sabotaging our jobs. You've done nothing since. We should all be ass-deep in commissary candy, not penny-pinching for deodorant." Aaliyah hums in agreement, though she didn't have any particular job, she hated seeing C-block so crowded because of them.

"Listen, I got big ideas to make Douche-Block pay, like you said. Mad plots. But I'm being strategical-" Carol looks up quickly, cutting her off, "Shut it. No matter what you do, you're a joke to Barb and her dipshits now. A bad joke." Aaliyah glanced up from her cards, seeing Badison still standing there, seemingly hurt. "What are you waitin' for? Go on. You're not needed anymore." Aaliyah stated, shooing her on.

Badison scoffs, "So, what? British barbie here is taking my place?"

Aaliyah rolls her eyes at the unoriginal insult. Liyah stood up, "Get the fuck on with yourself. Before I make you." Badison shook her head with a scoff of pure disbelief, walking away from the table. Carol patted Liyah's hand, signaling her to calm down and sit back down. "Sorry, bad temper." She mumbles apologetically.

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Usually, Aaliyah would skip yard time. But, she honestly needed some fresh air, so why not? Aaliyah walked out, taking in a deep breath, luckily the pain was bearable, courtesy of pain pills. "Aaliyah!" The girl turned around at the call of her name, seeing it was Taystee who called her, Cindy beside her with a nervous look. She didn't know how Aaliyah would be seeing as Janae wasn't with her and how she was rolling with the C-block boss now.

Taystee just really wanted to make up with the girl after what was said during their last interaction with each other. Aaliyah slowly walked over to them, a little surprised. "Hey girl, you lookin' good. I like the haircut." Taystee said. Aaliyah smiled softly, "Thanks. It was getting pretty hard to maintain." Taystee nodded, Cindy offering the girl a smile. "It's good to see you, really. I missed you guys." Aaliyah said kindly, hugging the two of them and they returned it.

"How you doin'? For real, you takin' care of yourself?" Cindy asked, genuinely concerned for her. She had seen how bad Aaliyah looked when she first got there and it wasn't pretty. "I'm doin' alright. I just miss her, ya know?" They both nodded in understanding, both of them missing Janae as well. "Yeah, we miss her too, man. It's weird without her, you know?" Taystee mumbled sadly, feeling quite empty without the whole gang together anymore.

Aaliyah pursed her lips, nodding, "Yeah, I'm so used to her being around to calm me down and do all that couple shit we usually did, or when she threw racism accusations around. Now it feels like I'm gonna blow up on somebody at any second." She chuckles, though it wasn't anything lighthearted, taking a small exhale. Taystee nodded, understanding how bad Aaliyah's temper could get without Janae there to calm her down. "Hey, Liyah. I'm real sorry for the shit I said to you that day. It wasn't cool. What happened to P, wasn't your fault. I'm sorry."

Aaliyah shrugged, she wasn't gonna hold a grudge. "It's okay, you were angry and under a lot of pressure, we all were. I forgive you. It's okay." Taystee smiled, nodding slowly, glad Liyah was able to forgive her. Aaliyah cleared her throat, "Uhm, so I think you guys should know, I'm gonna get transferred soon, to uh, Ohio, where Janae is." This really surprised the two, assuming that Aaliyah would have let go of Janae. After all, prison relationships never tended to last.

"Uhm, wow. I mean, wow, that's cool. I'm glad you're gonna be with her again. Tell her we said hey too." Taystee said, deciding to support this decision of Aaliyah's. The Brit girl smiled, nodding as she hugged Taystee gently. "I just wish I could've prevented us getting separated anyways." Aaliyah mumbles, Taystee pulling away gently. "Aaliyah. There was nothing you could've done. You was in the hospital, in a fucking coma. That shit wasn't your fault. And I'm sure she don't blame you at all."

Aaliyah smiles softly, nodding as Taystee rubbed her shoulder. "Hey, we was actually waitin' for Suzanne to show up, you can wait with us if you want? I know how close y'all used to be." Aaliyah smiled, nodding, "Sure. I would love to. I quite miss her." Just as she said this, Taystee spotted Suzanne who was looking around. "Suzanne!" Aaliyah turned around as Taystee ran towards the shocked Suzanne.

"What's up? What's up? Oh, man." Taystee and Suzanne hug for a bit before getting a warning from CO Copeland. Aaliyah made her way over, "How you doin' sweets?" Suzanne smiles at the familiarity from the nickname. Liyah hugs the girl for a few seconds before pulling away, not wanting a warning. "Yo, it's good to see you." Taystee said, Cindy walking over as Suzanne glanced at her. "How you been?"

Cindy puts on a smile, "Ain't it good to see Taystee, and Liyah?"

Taystee had her hand on Suzanne's shoulder, Liyah could tell Suzanne was a little cautious, causing her to be slightly confused. "Sure. It's good to see you." Taystee grins, "I got somethin' that will put a smile on that face. Let me tell you." Taystee throws an arm around her, bringing her along with Liyah and Cindy following. "Look, people been talkin' about Poussey, even the papers. I mean, we got copycat riots going on. We are making the change." Taystee stops to stand in front of the woman. "We are being the change."

"Everythin' goin' our way." Cindy said. Taystee and Aaliyah noticed the unfocused look on Suzanne's face. "Hey. They treatin' you okay in here sweets?" Aaliyah questions, a bit concerned for her friend. Suzanne squints with a nod, "You got your meds all straight?" Taystee places her hands over Suzanne's, "Your mama come to visit you yet?" Suzanne suddenly throws the girls hands off, snapping at her, "Stop!"

Aaliyah furrowed her brows, backing up a little. "Stop smothering me. I'm not a child. I can take care of myself. I don't need the three of you always over me all the time." Suzanne expressed. The three women share a look, Taystee blinks, "Okay. Uh, my bad. I hear you. I'll back up. I wanted to be sure you was okay." Aaliyah crossed her arms, knowing she personally would not apologize for being concerned about Suzanne's well being. "I'm fine. Or, at least, I was fine until you two made me come up here. This dung hole."

That expression caused Aaliyah to tilt a brow, finding it oddly familiar. She just shrugged it off as Suzanne continued. "It's not even a real yard. It's just..a bunch of bricks with...big bullies." Suzanne waved her arms, walking away, back inside.

Aaliyah tilts her head, "What makes her feel that way? Not that she's exactly wrong."

Cindy hums with a shrug, "Mm-mm."

"Odd. Anyways, I'm gonna get goin'. I got enough air for today." Aaliyah mumbles, Taystee pulling her into one last hug before she leaves. Aaliyah pauses in her steps, turning around, "Hey uh, I really hope you're trial goes over well. You don't deserve to die in this shithole." Taystee nods, a small smile grazing the corner of her lips, "Thanks, Aaliyah. Take care of yourself girl."

The two watch as Aaliyah leaves, Cindy sighing sadly. "I'm gon' miss that girl's annoyin' ass accent." Taystee chuckles, nodding in agreement, though she would definitely just miss Aaliyah's presence and friendship in general. It's not everyday you get a friend like Aaliyah.

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a/n: we love a supportive alec 👏🏼

AALIYAH, TAYSTEE, CINDY, AND SUZANNE REUNION >>>
but it don't feel right without janae and poussey 💔💔

carol being able to calm down aaliyah is some progress 🙏

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