Elise sat up and shuffled to the area near the sink where their food was stored. She opened a box of granola bars and threw one to Nina. ‘You deserve a reward for that. Thanks for volunteering to read again. I was worried he was going to make me do it since it was so obvious that I didn’t want to. I really need to work on my poker face.’

Elise sat down on the ground next to the food and ripped open her own granola bar wrapper. As she was eating she absentmindedly ran her hand over the uneven cement floor, something she did frequently. She’d said she liked the feel of the grooves and bumps under her fingers. It reminded her of the old wooden swing set she had when she was little. There’d been a little cove at the top of the slide where she spent hours reading and running her fingers along the wood. Her hand traveled along the cold, cracked surface over to where the box sat that housed their soap and toothpaste next to her mattress. Suddenly, she whipped her hand back to her side like she’d been burned.

‘What is that?’ Elise exclaimed.

‘What?’

Elise leaned closer to the wall and pulled something from behind the box. It was small and white with a few dark stains on it. From where Nina sat it looked like a piece of dirty Chicklet gum. Elise inspected it for a second before gasping and throwing it across the room, where it landed near Nina’s mattress, giving a gentle ping as it bounced along the floor. Nina reached for the object, not sure what all the fuss was about.

‘It’s a fucking tooth, Nina!’

‘Oh my God.’ Nina could see the remnants of blood and gum tissue, now dried and hardened, rimming the root. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let it fall back to the floor, nauseated. She quickly kicked it away with her foot, not wanting it near where she slept.

Elise jumped up and began pacing the space in front of her mattress as far as her chains would allow. She unbuttoned the tight floral collar, giving her space to breathe.