Annalise Keating

CHAPTER 8

Annalise Keating

•••SKYLAR•••

"To the healthcare companies that benefit from inmates eating heavily processed snacks instead of healthy food portions by providing these sick inmates with chronic medical conditions over the counter vitamins, which they have to pay for, and then to the Telecom companies that rake in $1.2 billion for inmates to make phone calls and video calls."

"This part right here," he turned to another page,

"Is what really struck me. You humanized this circle of exploitation in the story of Fernandez, a twelve year old boy living in a low income neighborhood with a single mother working three jobs, one at a diner down the block, struggling to pay off debts, while trying to raise him and send money to his father in prison."

"You captured his seemingly impossible dreams of someday becoming mayor of his city and also his constant fears of ending up in prison just like his father."

"I admire how this disturbs anyone who reads it to feel the effects of poor prison reforms, and that if the coin were tossed differently, any of us could be Fernandez, the victim of the obsession at the federal level with job creation," he said, stepping closer to her.

"April, you are passionate about this. That's why I have a strong conviction that you are the excellent choice for this internship program. What do you say?"

"Of course."

"Great, I will make the call tonight. A little warning, this won't be an easy interview process."

"I can handle it. Thank you," I smiled.

"Have a good day, April."

"Bye, McAdams," I said, making my exit down the hall. Passionate wasn't the word my father would use. More of "ungrateful" or "misguided."

After all, he was a firm believer in people spending years in prison for petty crimes, and challenging that system was naive.

I knew why he backed the anti reform bill; my greedy father had shares in these companies that milked poor Americans. Damn that man and his pressures for me to join the family business.

This was a chance that didn't come often, and nothing was going to stop me from grabbing it.

When I got home, April, fresh out of our shared shower, was blow drying her long hair with a facial clay mask on her face.

"Perfect timing," she shouted.

I looked over at our sofa, where three see through dresses were laid out. "Hey, going out?" I asked, setting bags of groceries on the countertop.

"Yes, we are going to Matt's birthday party. The Buckeyes, especially Liam, are likely going to be there."

"There is no way in hell I'm attending that party," I replied, placing a box of cereal on the shelf.

"How predictable," she said, turning off the hair dryer and giving me her full attention.

"Don't think I haven't noticed how weird you have been lately. You can pretend all you want, he is getting to you, isn't he? So, you are going to go to this party and stop fighting these strange feelings."

I couldn't argue with that. Sharing this apartment for three years running, April did know me. "Fine, but I am picking my outfits."

"Deal, please ignore anything Annalise Keating would wear."

"Very funny, is Chris coming?" I asked, noticing the sadness that showed on April's face at the mention of him.

"Yeah, after his game, we had a huge fight today."

My hands paused on a pack of pasta. "What happened?"

"I think he is cheating on me. Adriana told me she saw him on a date with a girl at Martini Modern Italian, and when I confronted him about it, he claimed it was just a 'friendly lunch' slash tutoring session for his econs class."

"My gut tells me he is hiding something. He's always checking his phone to respond to messages from his 'bros,' buying new gifts. I don't know, maybe I'm imagining what isn't really there."

Her voice broke. "Sky, do you think I'm overreacting?"

I stopped stuffing more items into our pantry and moved to her side. I have seen April face daily challenges to pay her tuition. The last thing she needs is a cheating boyfriend thrown in the mix.

"April, look at me." I snapped my fingers at her, waiting until her blue eyes met mine.

"Deep breaths. This might all be in your head. You know how your anxiety can sometimes cook up shits. You are smart, gorgeous, and have the biggest heart of anyone." I say, wiping a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Hey, if Chris is dumb enough to cheat on you, that's his loss. He doesn't deserve someone like you. You are going to leave his sorry ass in the dust, and we are going to find you a much better man."

"Thanks, Sky, for the ego boost, when did you get so wise about relationships?" April asked, sniffling.