eunoia - teresa tmr

SEVEN

Florence shifted her weight, wincing as a sharp ache shot up from her legs to her hips. Her gaze shot around, her eyes landing at once on the tangle of girls standing across from her. The noise of the training room was too much: voices slamming against the walls in a messy snarl of sound. Silent halls, the only sounds being the muffled hum of machinery and the soft shuffle of footsteps, were way more familiar to her than this. It was too loud, too much.

"Kenny?" The voice came clear through the cacophony of sound.

Florence instinctively glanced to where the voice came from. A few feet away, a girl with short blonde hair was looking at her with eager eyes. Florence blinked in surprise and confusion.

"Kenny?" the girl repeated, brow furrowing when Florence didn't respond. Her lips pursed. "You're Kenny, right?"

Florece blinked again, and a wave of bewilderment flushing over her. "No," she said quietly but firmly. "I'm Florence."

She turned her head a little, her eyes squinting with the repetition of the name. "Florence? Huh.... fine, whatever. My name is Eleanor." A very slight, awkward smile crossed her lips. "But everybody calls me Nellie."

Florence nodded. Before she could say anything else, a gaggle of girls gathered around her. One of them was shorter than the rest, with bright ginger hair that seemed to glow under the fluorescent lights. She was the first to come closer and flashed a big, white smile. "I'm Pip," she said, her voice clear and friendly. "Nice to meet you, I'm Florence." Florence high-fived the hand she held up.

The next girl stood tall with straight black hair; her expression quiet. "Billy," she said simply, and her eyes met Florence's with something quiet, almost unreadable in them.

"Billy?" Florence repeated.

Billy curled her lips into a smile but left it at that, waiting for Nellie to break the silence. "Billy's real' good with a bow and arrow," she said simply. "When we first started, they tried to call her Bullseye, but that was too long. And 'Bully' didn't sound good, so. Billy stuck.'' Florence laughed.

Nellie smiled and nodded to her left. "And beside me is Winter!" The brunette stood facing a little bit away from everybody else. Her dark brown hair had white streaks in it, Florence had never seen that before, but she decided that it looked cool. Her gaze finally fell on Florence as she continued to stare for some time; the expression she wore blank. She finally spoke after moments, in a very soft tone. "Hey," she nodded a little, her eyes dancing momentarily to Florence before looking away. Her smile was soft and silent, almost fragile. In that action, Winter's hair just couldn't help but steal Florence's gaze-straight pale strands against dark brown. "That's nice," she whispered softly. Winter shrugged, still smiling. "One day, it just started growing like that. I haven't figured it out yet, but I guess it makes me different." Florence nodded. These girls were nice, and they made her feel less like an outsider in this loud and busy place. This really did feel like a good week to make friends!

"So, you don't have a nickname, Florence?" Nellie asked, curious in her voice, and bright in an idea. "Everyone here has one, you know. It's kind of a tradition."

Florence blinked, taken aback by the question. "Uh, no," she said. "I haven't thought about it much."

"Well, we can't leave you without one!" said Pip, turning round on the rest as if it were a decision the company ought to make then and there. "What's about, like... Birdie? Since your last name's Nightingale?" The suggestion was left just long enough until everybody started to nod, like it was the most regular thing. "Yes, Birdie's good,'' said Billy, her voice betraying a hint of favor. Winter glanced over at her, then turning her attention to Florence. "It looks good on you," she said softly. "You really do look like you could... float away any time." Florence's chest felt warm—a silly feeling, like she had found dirt to root her feet upon. "It's Birdie now,'' nodded Nellie.