teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

2.5

the next time florence sat in the cafeteria alongside the rest of the gladers, she was featuring two heavy eyebags and a whole lot of delirium from a terrible night's sleep. the previous night, when they'd all been sent to their own barracks of sorts, florence was directed to a single room of her own, fully separate from the boys. all night long she'd tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable in the cot that felt far too rock-like, trying to not sweat through every layer of clothes due to a very weak air conditioning unit, trying to actually get a good night's rest.

alas, she did not, especially not after she swore she heard some sort of ruckus going on it the vents. after that, she was too alert to try and succumb to a calm sleep, and though she did fall asleep time after time, it was always light and ready to run if need be.

something about that stupid facility put her in survival mode, and it nearly felt as though she was transported back to her first few months in the glade.

florence shook her head when sammy called her name, breaking her out of her thoughts. suddenly, she recalled where she was, and the rambunctious sounds of the cafeteria made their way to her ears. she blinked once, then twice, and then turned to the boy who sat beside her. "what's up, bud?"

sammy squinted his eyes at her, eyebrows furrowing in an awfully adorable way. "what's wrong with you?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

florence choked on a laugh at the inquiry, setting her off into a fit of coughs as she tried to regain her composure. when she finally calmed down, a smile broad on her lips, she said, "i just didn't sleep well, that's all. i'm fine, though." she shrugged helplessly.

sammy clearly wasn't convinced, at least according to the pinched expression on his face, but he chose to let it slide for the time being. "if you say so..."

she chuckled as she reached out a hand to ruffle his hair. "i promise, sammy, i'm cool." then, she took a look at his plate of breakfast, and she rose a teasing brow at him. "how about you worry about yourself and that unfinished food instead of coming at me for a bad night's sleep?"

a guilty look overtook his face, and sammy let out a childish groan. "seriously?" he whined, casting a disgusted look at the plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast. "this stuff is gross."

florence gave him a look as she reached and plucked a piece of his bacon. "this stuff is heavenly compared to fry's cooking," she argued, plopping the food in her mouth and smiling when she heard frypan's yelp of protest.

sammy still wasn't convinced. "i dunno," he said slowly, tone weary. "i don't think i trust that janson is a good cook."

of course, sammy wasn't correct in thinking that janson had any idea to cook, but his concerns were well heard by florence. she wouldn't trust janson with anything, not until he really convinced her to, that is.

so, flo shrugged helplessly. "i hear that," she sighed. "but, i promise, janson isn't cooking this food. some other employed adults are, so please eat just a bit of your plate, okay? three bites from each thing on this plate, alright?"

his face was squished with disgust, but he nodded. "fine," he sighed, right before taking his fork to take the first bite of his eggs.

with one last laugh, florence turned to look out at the front of the cafeteria only to catch the first glimpse of janson entering the large room. he still seemed to favor that jacket, this time with a different sweater underneath.

florence nearly rolled her eyes.

when he finished a monologue similar to the one from the previous night, more names escaped his mouth. "alice," he started, and the same familiar chatter increased with each name called. "barry, walt, edgar, samantha."