Week 3:

I was with Kalia again. She’s going to be here until March 15. The other girl we were with didn’t speak English and we had a translator device. At first it was way too loud. They tried to make it say bad words and they giggled the whole time. The other girl’s going to be in here until she’s twenty. Kalia fell off her bike once and the handlebar stabbed her in the chest. Her heart stopped and she had to go to the hospital. They’re not allowing her to go back to her family; she’s going to a group home. I can’t imagine what that must be like for her, because I know she loves her family, regardless of whatever it is that she hasn’t shared about them that made the state believe that’s not a safe place for her. The other girl told a story about guns and being afraid but the translator didn’t get it. She also said she was in a fight and fell and everyone laughed at her. I should really improve my Spanish. Mostly they giggled and talked crap and at one point, Kalia said, “Well, you didn’t *snorrrt* when you were young,” and asked her how she got her illegal substances. Luckily, we were able to redirect the conversation back to the movies. My main thought from today is that these girls have been through awful things. They’re not perfect—far from it—but they were giggling and being kids tonight. And yeah, the humor wasn’t innocent, but they can’t really afford to be. Neither were they allowed to be.