Author stuff: How are we 15 chapters in and a month isn't over yet? My brain can't comprehend.
TRIGGER WARNING for this chapter. Menstruation, blood, and everything that menstruation encompasses is in this chapter. Also, this chapter is kind of gendered. Mostly due to menstruation. I was able to reword a big chunk of it, but I know I missed something.
Chapter 15
In Which The Inevitable Happens
Flossy woke the next morning with pangs in her abdomen again. It was rather uncomfortable, but she didn't want to move from her hammock. She listened to the sound of the Glade waking up – the bleatings of the animals being let out to graze, the cries of the boys as they greeted one another, the clucking of the turkeys, the chirping songs of the birds.
It was the sounds that she woke to every morning, but for some reason that day they felt more like home.
Regretfully, she turned on her side and felt something slick between her thighs. She rolled back into her first position and sat up. Looking down she saw the crotch of her pajama bottoms stained red.
"No," she said, lying back and covering her face with her hands. "Why? Why now? Why not never? Ugh, stupid."
She had to get up, she was aware of that, and take care of her situation. The Creators had been generous enough to provide her with tampons and pads, as well as medication for the pain, after her first week. She'd thought that she'd be prepared for this day, but she most certainly did not feel ready.
She was a little miffed that the Creators hadn't sent her anything to stop this from happening. Perhaps they didn't have any access to it? As impossible as it seemed, it was entirely probable.
She needed to wash up and get into fresh clothes. Unfortunately, she didn't think that was possible. She waddled over to her box of things and dug around. She pulled out a clean pair of undergarments and a pad, as well as a shirt and some dark cargo pants.
She wiped off her thighs with her pajama bottoms – they'd have to be washed, though she didn't want it broadcast across the Glade via Sloppers than she got her period. That would be uncomfortable to explain to all of them what she was going through. She would have to wash them herself tonight when she showered, like she did with her undergarments. (That had taken some figuring out. Really, the details weren't too important or necessary.)
Flossy quickly changed into her clean clothes, hoping the blood dried on her legs, making sure the pad was secure on her underwear. She gathered what she needed for the day – stuffing more pads into her pockets – and headed to the toilets.
The boys greeted her as usual. The toilets were relatively empty, thankfully. She wadded up a bit of toilet paper and wet it with water from the sink. She wiped down her thighs and flushed the wad down – thankful that the Creators gave them plumbing, a blessing at a time like this. When she was finished, she washed her hands and headed back out, acting as if nothing was wrong.
She joined the Track-hoes for breakfast, picking up a bowl of oatmeal with some dried fruits and honey to mix in. The honey was almost too sweet for her to handle, so she decided to give the rest to Chris – Gally didn't like oatmeal. She ate what she could, though it wasn't as much as she would have liked or normal had. At least it was something in her stomach.
Zart seemed to sense that something was off almost immediately.
"You feeling okay?" he said.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm just not really hungry this morning."
"This doesn't have anything to do with the other day, does it? You're not sick, are you?"
"No. Just… just not hungry."
"If you give that to Gally, I'm going to scream," Chris said, looking at her half-full bowl.
"Take it." She pushed it towards him. "What am I doing today, Zart?"
"I'm thinking the orchards today," Zart said, tapping his chin. "I know we managed to clean up quite a bit after the rain, but the orchards still need some work. Think you can handle apples and oranges?"
"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem."
She'd never really gotten the chance to wander around the orchards, but they sounded nice. She almost always caught a whiff of them in the warm breeze when she was working. She was more than happy to take up this task.
She found a couple of big baskets tucked in the gardening shed and got to work. Moving around helped ease the pains in her abdomen tremendously. It was only after a few hours of work that they started to make themselves known to her again, and an unpleasant chill started to creep in.
She sat down and leaned against one of the apple trees, letting the sun warmed bark return heat to her body and soothe any cramps pricking at her. She drank deeply from her water bottle and looked around the Glade. Everyone was hard at work, each doing their part. This was home now. Her home, as odd as it was.
Although, she couldn't remember the life that came before the Glade, she knew homes weren't usually like… this. This was a peculiar situation. Kind of like a little community of sorts. She still wasn't sure if she liked it.
She drew in her knees, holding them in place, and rested her head between them. That helped with the cramps a little bit.
"You sure you're feeling okay, Girlie?" Chris said, coming over to join her in a little break. "You're looking a little paler than normal."
"I'm sure," she said.
Still, he placed a hand on her forehead and frowned.
"You're running a bit of a fever. You should go to the Med-jacks and lie down again."
"Chris, it's fine – I'm fine. Trust me."
"I really think you should –"
"Is something wrong?" Zart said, coming over.
"Flossy's got a bit of a fever."
"It's fine," Flossy said.
"Flossy, if you're sick, you need to take care of yourself."
"I'm not sick. I'm fine."
"Flossy, go to the Med-jacks."
"I'm fine, Zart. It's nothing I haven't handled before." She hoped so. She hoped this wasn't the first time she'd gotten her period. That would be embarrassing. Although, she was handling quiet well if that was true. "I just need a little break is all. My backs getting all cramped up."
She didn't think any of them would understand – if they did, it would be a miracle. Still, that didn't mean that she couldn't try to hint towards the truth.
"If your muscles are cramping up," Chris said, "you really should see the Med-jacks. It could be real bad."
She thumped her head on her knees. Okay, it went right over their heads.
"It's fine. It's normal."
"Back muscles cramping up aren't normal," Zart said, crossing his arms and frowning down at her. "Go to the Med-hut."
"I'll be –"
"That's an order from your Keeper, Flossy. Chris can take over the orchards."
She huffed a sigh and tossed up her hands.
"Alright, but I'm telling you it's all fine and normal."
Zart pointed in the direction to the Med-jacks, and she reluctantly made her way to Clint and Jeff. She flopped down on one of the beds, waving a greeting to them.
"Uh, you okay?" Clint said.
"I'm here on Zart's orders for something completely normal," she said, draping her arm across her eyes.
"And those orders are…?"
"Remember how I wasn't feeling too good a couple of days ago?"
"So, you're sick."
"Not exactly. It goes along with that, but… I don't know why I didn't think about it before, but it makes sense. Ugh, stupid memory wipe."
"Mind explaining?" Jeff said, tapping the sole of her shoe.
She lifted her arm up to look at them.
"Do I have to? Please don't make me say it."
"We won't be able to help you," Clint said, "if we don't know what's wrong."
"It's a girl thing."
"'A girl thing'?" Jeff said. Clint thought about it for a moment before catching on. For Jeff, it took a moment longer. "What – oh. Oh! Uh, is there anything we can do? Or…"
"I have no idea what to do," Clint said, turning away. He wandered around the Med-hut. He looked mortified. "We don't have anything on this. Should we ask for some books on this? We should probably ask for some books on this."
"There's not a lot anyone can do," she said. "It just happens. Hey! You could tell Zart I'm perfectly fine and –"
"I honestly think you need rest. I mean, whatever your body's doing is clearly causing you discomfort and it's interfering with your work –"
"It's really not."
"– so, I think it's safe to say that you be put on bed rest until it's done. That only takes a couple of days, right?"
"Anywhere from three to nine days, depending on the person."
"Three to…" Jeff said, gaping at her. "How are you even human? You're only on day one. I can't imagine it being any worse."
"I think day two is worse," she said, slowly nodding. Her gut gave a pang. "Yeah, day two is usually worse."
"So, what can we do to help?" Clint said.
"Blanket? I'm feeling kind of cold. It wasn't too bad outside because of the sun, but it's cool in here. I'll probably need some of the pain pills in my room for tomorrow…"
"Pain pills? The Creators gave you something?"
"It's meant for this and not anything else, so yeah."
"For safety reasons, I'm going to have to ask you for that bottle."
"What?" she said sitting up. "No. The Creators gave it to me."
"Flossy, we've had people try to… to seriously hurt themselves by overdosing on pain meds before," Clint said, placing his hands on her shoulders. His words hit her hard. Gladers have tried to… Why? Who? "It's why we lock everything up. It's for their own safety. Does anyone else know that you have them?"
"No. Just you two."
"Good that. Let's keep it that way." He tapped her shoulder. "Now, get some rest. Can't have our only Girlie practically dying on us."
"I'm not dying," she said under her breath. She did as she was told, accepting the blanket from Jeff. She curled up on her side and waited for herself to fall asleep. "This sucks."
Author stuff cont'd.: This is going to be a fun week.
