Just as Warden Powers said, Regan moved in after dinner. I didn’t have the time to write anything down after she moved in last night, so I’m doing it now.

          She walked though the door in a rush, throwing her bags all over the room in the flurry of activity, disturbing my calm room like a storm. Once she’d flopped down on the other bed she finally spoke.

Regan. So you’re in my group, right?

Me. Um.

Regan. Yeah, I knew I recognized you. Man, this place is a   trip.

Me. Um.

Regan. Old man Powers told me I should talk to you. I guess he wants you to show me the ropes or something. That guy’s a royal drag, you know that? So I’m not gonna worry about it. I figure you’re cool, right?

Me. Um.

Regan. You don’t talk all that much, huh?

Me. No.

Regan. That’s cool, man, I get that, I get that. You cool        if I smoke?

Me. That’s fine.

Regan. Fantastic.

She started smoking, lying back on her bed, studying the ceiling like all the secrets of the world were written there. Suddenly she sat up in a rush, blowing a plume of smoke in my direction.

Regan. Look, so you been here awhile, right?

Me. Almost two months.

Regan. Right, right, so, you ever hear of anyone flyin’ the coop or what?

Me. Um?

Regan. You know, going over the wall, flippin’ the bird to this place, man, you know.

Me. Oh.

Me. No.

She lay back down on her bed.

Regan. Coz I got this idea that all the junk about still being sick on the outside, you know how they say it’ll kill ya? I think it’s all a bunch of BS, with extra emphasis on the S, if you know what I mean.

Me. Yeah, it probably is. I mean, I know that people sometimes…

I bit my tongue, about to tell her about Tereza and Trevor. She sat up again and put her smoke out on the nightstand between our beds, grinding the cherry into the wood.

Regan. What?

Me. Nothing.

Regan. C’mon. We’re buds, ya dig? You can tell me.

I don’t know why I did it, but I did. Part of me almost wanted to see what a socially destructive person like Regan would do with information like that. Maybe she’d even solve my problem for me – if Trevor got busted I wouldn’t be faced with the tough choice he presented me every time I thought about him. I wouldn’t have to worry about betraying Jack just because I couldn’t take being sick.

I told her all about Trevor and Tereza and the saline syringes. When I was finished with the whole thing, Regan leaned back against her pillows and let out a long, high-pitched whistle.

Regan. Wow.

Regan. Those cheeky bastards.

Regan. Wow.

Me. Yeah.

Regan. So this guy is a real dick, huh? You ever taken him up on his offer?

Me. Me? No. I have someone outside.

Regan. Yeah, but extenuating circumstances, man. Hard       times, dig?

Me. It wouldn’t matter. My guy, Jack, he’s trying to get me out. We might get married.

Regan. I get ya.

Me. Yeah.

We talked for awhile longer, but I got the feeling that Regan’s head was someplace else, maybe mulling over the things I’d told her. That’s the thing about Regan, her persona is such that it’s hard to tell if that’s all there is to her or if it’s just a cover for something more. It’s impossible to tell, really, and that’s what makes her so confusing.