𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 - 𝘔𝘈𝘡𝘌 𝘙𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘙

5 ~ 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣

Charlotte

 I woke the next morning to the sound of the Maze Door opening. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, looking towards the Door. The stone wall was gliding noisily across the ground, revealing the dark corridor once again. I covered my ears.

As I was looking, a group of boys dashed through the Door into the Maze. I assumed that those were the Runners, and sure enough, I spotted Minho's jet-black hair among the boys.

"Hey," came a shy voice from behind me. I turned to see Mitch standing there. He was holding a small crate, and his hair was sticking up all over the place. I had to hold back a giggle.

"Hi," I said cheerfully, swinging my legs off of my hammock. "What's that for?" I nodded to his crate.

"You, actually." He handed it to me. "They found it in the Box yesterday."

I pried it open, and to my delight, I saw that there was a pile of folded clothes: four shirts, two pairs of cargo pants, and sneakers. Below the clothes were other essentials, like my own bar of soap and a small bottle of conditioner.

"Did you not have this stuff before? 'Cause that's kinda gross..." I asked Mitch, wrinkling my nose. "No wonder you guys smell so bad."

"We have soap," Mitch said defensively. "And shampoo. And yes, we do take showers."

I held up my hands in a surrender. "Just checking." I put the objects back inside the box and set it under my hammock.

"Hurry up," whined Mitch. "Breakfast ends soon, and I'm starving."

"Alright, alright." I stood and I walked with him over to Frypan's kitchen.

"Hey, Greenie!" Frypan grinned enthusiastically. Unlike the other boys, he looked very awake.

"Hey, Frypan," I replied. "How long have you been up?"

"Five," he replied, and laughed when he saw my eyes widen. "Gotta get up early to start breakfast," he explained.

We sat at Mitch's usual table, and I took a bite of my bacon. "Wow." I groaned in appreciation, shoveling the rest into my mouth.

"Frypan's bacon is the best bacon that has ever existed." Mitch announced, stuffing his own face.

"Why, thank you!" Frypan called from the kitchen.

"Morning," Newt sat himself down next to me. "How's your first real day going so far?"

"Better than my first day," Mitch answered before I could open my mouth. "Mine was horrible. I spent the whole day crying in the forest."

"Your day's gonna be with the Builders," Newt told me, ignoring Mitch. "Just try them out, and at the end of the day, Gally will give Alby a report on how you did."

A half an hour later, Newt walked me over to the Builders' corner. I stood at his side nervously, anxious to be watched by Gally.

"Hi!" A kind-looking boy with a mop of red hair approached Newt and me. "I'm Alex." I shook his hand. He pointed behind him at the group of Builders. "So, you're with us today?"

I nodded. "I guess I am."

Alex handed me a hammer. "Great! You can help us finish this wall. We're trying to make another shower cabin. Since we get another Greenie each month, our original cabin gets quite full at times."

"Hey, shank, you ain't the Keeper," came a familiar scratchy voice. Alex glanced behind him at Gally, who was coming towards us. "I can take over from here."