*Thank you for all the great reviews! This chapter is such a freaking filler I don't really like it so... but yeah. Hope you enjoy it anyway.


2.5

(175 days before)

'Hey greenie! You've got clothes!'

Romana had perhaps never been so excited all her life (but then, a large part of her life was still missing) for such a little thing. After wearing Minho's clothes for about 3 days, she was more than glad to change into something that would fit better on her.

The Creators were obviously very well off, because what she received was not a bag of clothes, but almost a box full of clothes. It seemed that this week's resources were tailored for her, because there were feminine products and even a box of hair dye that matched her current hair colour.

As soon as her clothes had arrived, she had raced into the cabin to get changed. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a slightly oversized shirt that she tied at her waist. Then, she put on some comfortable socks and a pair of dark brown combat boots to keep her feet comfortable. Her previous pair were a pair of flats, which was mostly comfortable, except for the fact that they pinched her toes a little bit.

Sighing in relief, she stepped out of the cabin and started her work. It was so repetitive, always cleaning, cleaning and cleaning. Romana wished she could somehow have a say over her job, but unfortunately, she was a girl. And they seemed to hold no power over anyone- anything in the Glade.

Minho was running, so fortunately, she didn't need to deal with him just yet.

'Hey greenie.'

She sighed, and turned back. 'Hello Gally. What's going on? Do you somehow need my assistance, which I highly doubt?

Gally smirked. 'Yes, actually. I want you to have lunch with me today,' he answered. 'And I'm not taking a "no" for answer.'

A smile pulled at her lips. Despite her previous impression she had of Gally, he was evidently not the same obnoxious person she thought he was.

XXXXX

'Can you help me with something?'

It was out of the blue. She didn't even sleep on the thought- it had appeared in her mind one day and she went along with it before she could change her mind. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask her to fire away.

(It seemed as if she had learned what it meant behind his every eyebrow movement.)

'I don't want to be a Slopper.'

He could understand, because she had never had training with any of the keepers, and the default had simply been Slopper because they enjoyed being sexist 'shanks'. At his brief silence, she tried to take back her statement, thinking that she had obviously crossed the line. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned-'

He exhaled the breath that he had been holding. 'I'll bring it up during the next Keeper meeting,' he replied, stopping not only her statement, but also the subject once and for all. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed her rushed and sincere gratitude.

It was worth it, he decided, when she appeared much more upbeat and less exhausted after cleaning up after the boys for a week.

Come night, he went to visit her at her hammock (which Alby had grudgingly placed next to the younger boys after much convincing), and told her of the good news. 'They're trying you out tomorrow. You're with the med-jacks tomorrow. Clint warned you to be on time. He, apparently, won't take any klunk from anyone, not even a girl.'

Romana smiled. 'Good.'

Gally settled down on the floor next to her. 'Do you ever wonder why they'd send you here?'

She smiled again. 'Yeah, of course. Only girl in the Glade- I must have done something really wrong in the past. So they put me in here to punish me,' she replied, then turned to look at him purposefully. 'But it backfired on them, didn't it? I have you now.'

It took him by surprise, but the surprise must have been pleasant, because after his moment of shock, a wide smile spread across his face. 'You're definitely something else,' he commented, shaking his head.

'Course. I'm the only girl here. I'm bound to be a little different.'

There was a silence again, but it wasn't awkward- like all their silence, it was comfortable.

(She figured out that she was one of those collected people who didn't show much emotion, no matter the intensity.)

'Well,' he stood up, 'I better go and let you sleep. You have a long day ahead of you.'

'Wait-' she called out, 'I just... can you... Can you stay? One more night? I just... I just feel like there's- I'm just lonely. There's never anyone to talk to and there's never anyone to be around. I don't want to cry myself to sleep again.'

Against his better judgement, he sat back down, just to see that smile spread across her face again. He knew somehow, that it was worth it.