Author stuff: Want to make a friend with a girl? Offer her a hair tie. No seriously. It works every single time.

Trigger warning for the chapter. A brief mention of killing animals right at the start.


Chapter 23

In Which The Girlies Form A Bond

Flossy didn't see the Greenie until lunch that afternoon. She looked a bit peaky after having spent her morning in the Blood House.

"How's your morning so far?" she said tentatively, taking a bite of a mixed green salad that Frypan and Graham had put together specifically for her.

"Do they normally start y'all off with killing animals?" the Greenie said. She hadn't even touched the sandwich in front of her. Gally looked close to swiping it off her plate.

"Winston had you doing that already?" Archie said, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "At least he waited until after lunch for us."

"You did say a few mean things to him yesterday," Flossy said. "It's probably just him messing with you."

"I don't know," Gally said. Flossy knew he wasn't happy to be sitting near the Greenie, but he stuck still around. She wasn't sure if she should be annoyed or endeared by it. Probably both. "It takes quite a bit to get him upset enough to get revenge that way. What'd you say to him?"

"I have no idea," the Greenie said, rubbing her temples. "I said a lot of things to a lot of people. I don't even remember half the night. What even happened?"

"You beat Chris in a wrestling match," Archie said.

"He's not too happy with that," Flossy said under her breath. Chris had been moping about the Gardens all morning. No one wanted to work around him, and he seemed to be making the plants wilt just by his proximity. She was sure that, before the day was over, Zart would dismiss him to be miserable elsewhere. Like the Deadheads.

"Chris isn't exactly the strongest shank in the Glade," Gally said. "Even Flossy could beat him."

"Gee, thanks."

"He'd actually let Flossy win," Archie said, pointing out the obvious. "Doesn't want to hurt her."

"And I think she could win all on her own," Gally said. "She has enough know how."

"What, you've been teaching her or something?"

"A couple of lessons on self-defense, yeah."

Flossy tried not to blush at the memories of those lessons. They'd only had a couple of spare moments where he could teach her some self defense. She could still recall the press of Gally's chest to her back as he molded her poses to better defend herself, and the way his hands would gently maneuver her arms and legs. He'd also taught her ways to quickly escape – weak points every boy had and how to break noses, if necessary.

She really, really wished that she hadn't had a crush on him. It would have made it all easier. He wouldn't have to correct her as often. But she couldn't help it. The warmth and gentleness that he only showed her would make anyone in their right state of mind slowly start to feel a fluttering in their stomach.

She'd, thankfully, hadn't needed the lessons outside of the one incident with Ash, and she hadn't needed them since. She wondered if he'd extend the same graces to the Greenie, but she didn't think he would. They didn't exactly start off on the best foot, and she didn't even dare to hope that they would progress much beyond pleasantries in her presence.

"Don't think you'll need them though," Gally said, eyeing the Greenie. "You can keep them away all by yourself."

Flossy kicked his leg for those harsh words– true as they were – though he didn't even flinch and simply went back to eating as if nothing had happened. The Greenie didn't seem to notice either.

In all actual reality, it seemed to kick start something in her brain. Flossy watched as she finally picked up her sandwich and started to eat.


The Greenie wasn't much good at anything. She tried – anyone who watched her could tell she was putting in effort – but nothing seemed to click with her. Flossy watched as each night she came back looking like she wanted to cry but was withholding tears lest she be thought of as weak.

Flossy didn't blame her for it. She wanted to break down and cry so many times in the past, but she'd always had someone there to bring her back up. She tried to be that person for the Greenie, but she was almost certain the girl cried in the showers. It was a good place to cry. There was already water, and you could blame the red eyes on getting soap into them.

A few of the boys did, though they wouldn't admit it. The Glade has little use of those who showed much weakness. They couldn't, really. They spent a lot of time just trying to survive their life in the Glade.

As the job trials passed by, the Greenie had yet to remember her name. As more time passed, everyone started to think she'd never remember it. Greenie seemed to fit her, and she couldn't care less.

And then it happened.

Flossy woke up to a shriek from across the room. She groaned and looked over, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes. That was not how anyone wanted to be woken up.

The Greenie was sitting up in her hammock, hands covering her mouth. Her eyes were wide, and she was watching Flossy.

"Sorry," the Greenie said in a harsh whisper. "Didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay," Flossy said, words slurring together. "Everything wrong?"

"Everything?"

"Sorry, meant anything."

"No, no. I'm okay. You?"

"Tired is all."

"Go back to sleep. I'm going to go to the toilets. Yeah, the toilets. Be back soon, okay?"

"Okay."

Flossy didn't turn back over, and she didn't close her eyes as she watched the Greenie move about. She knew that waddle.

"Do you need a pad or a tampon or something?" she said.

"Do you have some?" the Greenie said, looking over her shoulder. Her large eyes were wider than humanly possible and so very hopeful.

Flossy slipped out of her hammock, feet tangling on the floor. She clambered over to her box with some not so quiet thumping around, probably waking their neighbors. She withdrew several packages of the sanitary objects and offered them up.

"The Creators kept me well stocked the first month I was here," she said. "They have every month, actually. I don't think they understand menstruation very well."

The Greenie took the packages gratefully and quickly changed into fresh clothes. Flossy did the same, every intention of guarding the Greenie while she tidied herself up.

"Clint and Jeff are going to insist on bed rest," Flossy told her as she cleaned herself up. "It sucks and it's boring, but they don't know how to handle it. None of the boys do. I've really just gone along with it, because it makes them feel like they're helping."

"They really put you on bed rest?" the Greenie said, opening the stall door. "Didn't you explain it to them?"

"As best I could. They still won't listen."

"Boys are stupid as klunk."

Flossy snorted and led her back outside. The Greenie followed her to the Med-hut. Clint and Jeff weren't inside, but she knew where everything the Greenie would need was by that point.

"I have to work today," she said, "but I'll be joining you in here soon enough."

"Flossy?" Clint said, walking in. "What're you doing here? Isn't it a bit early for you? Oh, hey, Greenie."

"Morning, Clint," Flossy said. "Greenie's going through, ah, you know. And you and Jeff weren't here yet, so I thought I'd get her all settled in. Hope you don't mind."

"Not a bit. Well, Greenie, looks like you'll be spending some time with Jeff and me."

"Great," the Greenie said, "just what I wanted."

"Don't worry," Flossy said, tucking her in, "they won't let you starve."

She bid the Greenie farewell. She would be in there the following day or the day after that.


It turned out to be the following morning. She woke to cramps much worse than they had been in the past. It was more of a stabbing, burning than the throbbing ache she was used to.

She'd made it to the toilets and had finished cleaning herself up, thankfully, when it got worse. She collapsed on the floor, clutching her abdomen. By the time anyone found her, she was in tears and had to be carried to the Med-hut.

The pain pills did little to help ease anything, but they did help to knock her out so she could have a few hours of relief.

She woke for a second time that day – still in pain – but it was less. And someone was stroking her hair.

The Greenie.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Flossy said in return, her voice cracking out of her throat. She winced at that. The Greenie offered her a cup of water, much to her relief.

"So," she said after she drank the whole cup, "how was bed rest?"

"It was fine," the Greenie said, shrugging. She fiddled with the silver chain around her neck.

"What'd you do most of the day?"

"Annoy Cliff and Jent."

"Clint and Jeff."

"Yeah, them. And I slept a lot."

"That's good."

"And I remember my name."

"Oh! Good. That's good. What is it? Your name, I mean."

"Adne. It's Adne."


Author stuff cont'd.: Everyone, welcome Adne. Yay!