𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 & 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘-𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 (𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧)

SIX

The doors opening woke me the next morning. My eyes were blurred from sleep and I just knew my hair would be a mess. The sheets were twisted around my legs. I pulled them out and sat up, moving my fingers through the knotted strands. Gally started to wake up and yawned, almost sounding like he was roaring instead.

"You must have been an old man in your past life."

"What makes you say that?" He groaned out, stretching his back.

"Well you snore and yawn like one."

"Oh haha. You're so funny." He got up and left his sheets where they were.

I frowned. "You're not going to fold them?"

He looked confused and then realized that I was talking about the sheets. "No. I'm just gonna lay down on them tonight." He stretched again, his fingers almost touching the ceiling of the hut. His shirt rose up a bit and I caught a glimpse of his torso. I admit, I was staring for a bit longer than I needed to and when I realized I stood up quickly, sure I was blushing.

"I think Newt or Alby is looking for me right now. I'm gonna go."

"Alright."

I stepped around his sheets and walked out of the hut, bumping right into Newt.

"Morning Florence."

"Good morning. Breakfast?" I didn't give him a chance to respond before I started walking towards the Kitchens.

"Slowdown. Are you okay? And what are you wearing?"

"I'm fine. It's Gally's old clothes."

"We can put in a request for you to get new clothes when the box comes up tomorrow. You know, so you have something that fits better."

"That would be great, thank you."

After breakfast, Newt took me to the fields and introduced me to Zart, the keeper of the Track-hoes. I remembered him from the other night. He had been by himself and talked quietly.

I walked around with Zart for a bit as he showed me where fruits and veggies were and when they needed to be harvested. Right now the tomatoes were ripe and they were the Track-hoes main priority right now. "They stay in the ground too long and they go bad." Zart explained. I had to stand close to him to hear what he said.

The time passed quickly as I worked on the tomatoes. Were they a fruit or vegetable? Zart said they were fruits but they seemed more like veggies to me.

We each had a basket to fill and when it was ready we had to take it to Frypan to store. I grabbed my basket and made my way to the Kitchens. Frypan was happy to see me and even happier to see that I had goods in hand.

He grabbed the basket and took to what looked like a cooler chest. He opened the top and dumped the tomatoes into it. I could already see more that the other Track-hoes had brought. "So many tomatoes, I think we'll have it in soup tonight." I caught a glance shared by two cooks in the back as they prepared lunch.

"That sounds good." I smiled and said I would be back. I knew there were more tomatoes for him.

On my way back to the fields I saw that most of the boys walking about would look at me, which was normal because hey-I was the only girl. Or maybe it was because I was wearing clothes way too big for me. Whatever the reason, I picked up my pace and got back to work on the harvest.

It was nearing lunchtime and the sun was creeping high in the sky, casting its rays on us. Someone had come around with water and I gulped mine down greedily. It was hard work being crouched over fields of dirt in the hot sun.