This Conspiracy

Chapter 12

Author stuff: I don't remember coming up with G Tri-Force and now I'm picturing these children in superhero costumes with some of the worst powers we've ever seen. But I remembered to blame Jeff.

This is the beginning of dumb!Archie. I love my boy, I do. But he's so dumb throughout this whole thing. He's precious. Please, love him as much as I do.

Chapter 12

In Which The G Tri-force (Damn it, Jeff) Get Jobs

Archie wasn't sure of what to expect of a Gathering. It was the first he had ever been to – that he could recall – and his expectations were... vague, at best. His mind drew a complete blank at any knowledge of a Gathering. Meetings, yeah sure that was easy to summon up an image. (Although, he couldn't actually remember actually being at one.)

A Gathering in the Glade? It was more like a court trial. He, Flossy, and Graham were the suspects, and the Keepers were all the witnesses and the jury and the executioners, with Nick as the acting judge. But it was mixed with a conference, of sorts.

They decided to do it in reverse alphabetical order or Greenies – at least, that's what Nick said. He wasn't sure how any of them had come up with that idea, but it must have taken some convincing on someone's part. He didn't doubt that Newt had a say in it.

"This is the first time we've had three Greenies come up at once," Nick said, "and it complicated a lot of matters, mostly in how you went about teaching them and introducing them to how the Glade works. But they've made it as easy for us as we have for them, considering the circumstances."

Archie saw a couple of eyes flit to Flossy, who scratched the bridge of her nose and looked at the ground. She hadn't been able to meet anyone's eyes that morning. He wondered what happened last night after she went to bed.

"We thank them for that and hope that things continue running smoothly in the future. Now, for the reason we're all here: To discuss their trials and place them where they would best be an asset to the Glade. Alright, the Greenbean first."

Archie half listened to what each Keeper had to say about Graham – there was some discourse over whether or not he was a half-decent worker – but it was Frypan who gave him the raving review. In the end, it didn't take long to decide where he'd be. He wasn't given much of a choice, either.

Flossy was a whole other matter. Everyone deemed her a diligent worker, however it was Gally who said she wasn't fit to be a Builder – something that came as a surprise to him. Didn't Gally praise her for her work on the trellises? Didn't he enjoy working with her? Was he already tired of being around her? No, that was impossible. He sat by her at breakfast, taking her sausage and trading for two pancakes. It had to be something else entirely.

She, however, seemed to accept his judgement with a nod of her head, still not meeting anyone's eyes. There was some arguing over whether she should be a Med-jack or a Track-hoe. She had the final say, however. Track-hoe, helping out with the Med-jacks when she was needed.

When they finally got to him it was almost lunch time. He was surprised when they didn't take a break, or that they didn't have someone bring in some food for them. They just kept going. It seemed that they wanted to power through this Gathering without any hesitations or stops. He supposed, since there were three of them, that this was going on longer than normal and that was the main reason why.

He wasn't surprised to hear some of the praises the Keepers sung of him, but he was surprised by Zart. Had he been that bad in the Gardens?

"You didn't see what he did to my tomatoes," Zart said, his eyes growing dark and his posture threatening. Winston and Clint, who sat on either side of him, scooted away. Apparently, one was not supposed to touch Zart's tomatoes without his permission. Or at all.