Florence - (G.B.)/(B.A.)

Chapter 19

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Remember Me

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On the following Saturday, Florence had woken up in the morning, had breakfast as usual, and received permission from her grandparents to visit the Andrews home. She dressed up in her warmest clothes ⸺ untrusting of the weather ⸺ and made her way across the snow-filled fields to see her good friend, Priscilla Andrews.

Florence knocked on the front door and waited impatiently for a few minutes. There was a cool breeze hitting her face as the snow whooshed all around her. She could handle the snow, but if there was cold wind accompanying it ⸺ she loathed it like it were her worst enemy.

Suddenly, the door opened and standing across from her was a middle-aged woman (perhaps in her late-thirties) who had caramel brown hair and familiar eyes. She furrowed her brows as she looked the younger girl up and down. "May I help you?"

Florence smiled awkwardly as she answered, "I am Florence. Florence Robinson. Prissy invited me over?"

The woman's cold expression remained. "Sorry, but Prissy won't⸺"

"Mom, I'm heading out!" Billy Andrews interrupted and swiftly moved past his mother out the door. He paused in step for a moment to stare at the Robinson girl with confusion, his hunting rifle held against his chest. He seemed like he was about to ask her something along the lines of, 'what are you doing here?' but instead continued on his way without another word.

Blinking owlishly, the young girl shook her head and returned her attention to Mrs Andrews, who seemed like she was wondering whether the two teenagers knew each other from before. "So . . . may I come in?"

***

"I'm not even surprised," Florence commented as she munched on a scone.

The girls were sitting in Prissy's bedroom and after sharing a long conversation about whether Florence's suspicions were correct regarding the blonde's budding relationship with their teacher, Mr Phillps, Florence wasn't much surprised at the news. Sure, she wasn't sure how to feel about the news since her own experiences with the man weren't very pleasant ⸺ but she wasn't going to tell Prissy that; she looked almost love-struck while talking about him.

"Was it that obvious?" Prissy wondered with her hand cupped under her chin as she stared at her friend curiously.

"Well, just a little." Florence pinched her thumb and index finger together as if to motion how obvious it was. Prissy's surprise formed into a small pout.

The brunette was caught by surprise when Prissy suddenly took hold of both of her hands. She spoke earnestly, "Trust me, Flo, I really wanted to tell you. Stephen didn't deem it a good idea, wanting to keep it a secret for a little while."

"I'm not upset about that, don't worry," Florence assured, squeezing her hands with a small smile. "Just a bit confused at how the rest of the student body found out before me. In fact, I wonder who found out about it first."

"Yeah . . . I wonder the same thing." Prissy seemed hesitant, almost as if she already knew the answer to her question before her face returned to normal. She gestured to the muffins on a plate in front of them. "Go ahead, take one.

"You don't have to ask twice."

They both laughed, and the tension in the room dwindled.

***