𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, minho (tmr)

Chapter Twenty Two

"Rise and shine, princess."

Florence felt Minho's lips brushing her ear as his words ran through her barely woken mind. Letting out a groan, she lifted herself so her elbows were propped up and she could glance at what was before her.

Minho had laid out all of her Runner equipment and put her breakfast on the bed in front of them so she could get ready without even leaving the room. Looking to the boy with surprise, he blinked back at her expectantly. She felt a smile growing on her lips at all of the effort Minho had gone to.

Who is this boy and what has he done with Minho?

"Are you gonna get ready or what then, shank?"

There he is.

Rolling her eyes and shunning him from the room - despite his protests - Florence got dressed and ate her breakfast as quickly as possible without inhaling her food. Minho had gone to wake Thomas, who Florence felt bad for, as he would have even less time to get ready than the pair of them.

Before she left, she took a second to cast hers eyes across the Glade from her window. Unusually, she could see Teresa sat down beside a tree, facing it. 

Florence had no idea why she would be looking at a tree, and so with her curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to approach the girl. On closer look, she could see the knife in her hands, and that Teresa was carving into the bark of the tree.

Slightly worried she would startle someone holding a knife, Florence shifted from one foot to the other to try and get the girl's attention casually. Luckily it worked, and Teresa's head flew around with her eyes settling on the other.

"Hello." Florence gave an awkward wave. 

Teresa smiled, shifting over slightly so Florence could sit down beside her and see what she was doing to the tree. Taking the seat, her eyes fell upon the scratchings in the shape of the other girl's name.

"Practicing huh?"

It was obvious Teresa was writing out her name in preparation for having to do it on the wall like everybody else. It was smart to practice, Florence thought, since it is permanent, and if you messed up you'd have to just deal with it no matter how much it bothered you.

"It's stupid." Teresa muttered, letting the knife drop on the grass. Florence frowned, taking it in her hands and carving a line into the tree herself.

"Not at all." She started to write out her own name, taking her time to do it as neatly as possible. "This is one of the only things you can really have control of in this place, as small as it is. You want to get it right. It makes perfect sense."

A breathy laugh passed Teresa's lips as she nodded. "That's exactly it."

Teresa felt relieved with her understanding, and so with a smile, Florence handed her back the knife so she could continue to practice it. She watched quietly for a moment.

"How are you settling in?"

Teresa shrugged, pausing for a second. Meeting her eye, Florence could see the hint of sadness behind hers.

"As well as I can. Trying to not get too used to it, you know, since we're planning on getting out." She responded, earning a chuckle from the other. 

"Well, we are close to getting out. You're just lucky you haven't been here two months already." Raising her eyebrows, Teresa sighed in defeat.

"I guess you've got me there Flo."

They sat in silence for another few moments, Florence noticing how the last few attempts of her name were much more even and neater. Then,