Adele was on her way back from the kitchens where she worked and as she walked back to her cell she mulled the events over in her mind. She felt guilty for leaving Anna alone for so long that day, and for not spotting just how much turmoil Anna was going through. Perhaps she could have protected her more or found out from her exactly what was going on.

As Adele approached her cell she was alarmed to see Shazza leaving it. Adele wondered what she was doing there and hoped she hadn’t stolen anything of hers. She dashed up to the cell and pushed the door open. Sitting on the bottom bunk was Anna, her left wrist covered with a dressing.

‘Anna!’ Adele cried. ‘It’s good to see you back.’ Then she walked over to Anna, and despite the repugnance that the sight of Anna always elicited, she threw her arms around her. ‘How are you?’

Anna shrugged. ‘Not bad, I suppose.’

‘Jesus, Anna! I’ve been worried sick about you,’ said Adele, quickly releasing Anna as she caught a whiff of body odour. She looked into her sad eyes. ‘Don’t you ever do anything like that again!’

Anna didn’t reply. Instead she dropped her head and gazed at the cell floor.

Adele took hold of Anna’s hands, trying to ignore the dressing covering her wrist. ‘I haven’t told the governor or guards anything,’ she said.

‘Me neither,’ sniffed Anna. ‘Or the shrink.’

‘But there’s a reason you did what you did, isn’t there?’ Adele asked.

Anna shrugged again.

‘Anna, don’t keep it from me!’ said Adele, her tone now stern. ‘I can’t help you if you don’t tell me, can I? It’s Shazza, isn’t it? It’s because of her?’

When Anna still didn’t say anything, Adele persisted. ‘What was she doing in here?’ she asked. ‘Was she having a go at you again?’

‘Not really,’ said Anna.

‘Well, what did she want?’

Anna raised her head again and pulled her shoulders back. Then, with a look of resignation on her face, she said, ‘She wanted to know what I’d told the governor. So I told her I’d not said anything.’

‘OK, go on,’ Adele encouraged.

‘She asked me if anyone else had said anything but I told her I didn’t know ’cos I hadn’t seen anyone since I’d been back.’

Adele nodded for Anna to continue.

‘I think she’ll be alright with me now,’ said Anna.

‘What makes you think that?’

‘’Cos she said that if I keep my gob shut everything will be alright.’