Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 4

Another warm day in the Glade, but she didn't mind. Emma was excited about the bonfire, which would be happening the next day. It was all she could think about, which was a refreshing change from the constant negative thoughts that had been filling her head recently.

When she arrived at the Gardens after lunch, it was almost time to be done for the day. Once there, she was surprised to see Dmitri. He was a Builder. A friend she had met the previous day when he helped her carry crates. What was he doing in the Gardens? "Hey," Emma stopped beside him. "What's going on?"

"Gally's been annoyed about all the loose nails in the workstation," Newt explained. "Dmitri was looking for some extra baskets."

"Or anything, really," he added.

"We don't have any," Zart said.

Emma thought carefully. "Have you asked Fry to use one of the glass jars?"

"I did," Dmitri confirmed. "Said he doesn't have enough as it is. Can't spare any."

"Sorry, wish we could help." Newt didn't think much about it. There wasn't anything they could do to help. Besides, he didn't care much. Gally had been on his last nerve since he decided to publicly hate Emma. Emma was his friend, easily his closest. It had only been a month, but that didn't matter. "Go bother someone else with Gally's problems."

Zart sent Newt a bewildered look. The Second-in-Command ignored him. Emma, however, was deep in thought. She was looking at the situation selfishly. Helping Gally could buy her way onto his good side. "Well, I could make something."

They all turned toward her. "You'd make something?"

She shrugged. "Weave a basket or something. It's not like the Glade couldn't use more anyway. Besides, what else would I be doing?"

"Uh, helping me." Newt threw his arms out. Emma stared at him, pleading with him with her eyes. They were going to finish working for the day soon anyway. "Fine, okay. Make some baskets or whatever you want to do."

She beamed, biting her lip. "Great. I'll drop them off when I'm done."

Dmitri nodded. "Sounds great. Thanks, Emma." The boy casually touched her shoulder. It came off awkwardly. Quickly, he spun around and walked away.

Zart snorted. "What?" Emma didn't understand what was so funny.

"Nothing," the curly-haired boy said. "Nothing."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Newt crossed his arms. "You don't have to do extra work just to get Gally to like you." It was almost time to be done for the day. Baskets weren't easy. It would take her hours.

"I'm not doing this for Gally," she lied. "I want to help the Glade. You can't tell me having a basket to store tools in wouldn't be useful."

Zart spoke before Newt could. "It would be handy. We can't afford to lose anymore." It was easy to misplace things. "But it is late. Are you sure you want to do this tonight?"

"Yes." What else was she going to do?

Newt mulled over the situation in his mind. He knew Emma was doing this to get on Gally's good side. He also knew it wasn't going to work. "Have fun, Greenie." In the end, he knew he couldn't stop her. Emma had to realize on her own Gally was never going to like her.

Emma groaned, throwing her head back. She hated being called a Greenie. "I'll be over here if you need me." Staying close was in her best interest. Silent, she turned on her heel and went to grab what she needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma sat under a tree alone, hands weaving another basket. It was late into the evening, but there wasn't anything else for her to do. Working exhausted her, but it was still too early to sleep. Despite not sleeping well the last few days, she couldn't rest.

Nights were something she struggled with. The weight of the world always felt as if it was resting on her shoulders. Ignoring her curiosities about the world had been easier at the start. Now, it was hard. Emma's mind was constantly full of questions. Why was she here? Why was she the only girl? Who was she really? Who was she before?

The questions would never be answered. Accepting that was no longer possible. Emma wanted to know why she was here, why there weren't any other girls. Was it a test? Was it meant to break her? Being the only girl in a Glade full of boys wasn't easy. It was hard not remembering who she was. It was hard being outcasted and treated differently. It wasn't her fault. She didn't ask for this. It wasn't fair of Gally to think differently of her either.

As her mind momentarily spiraled, the vines sliced her finger. Emma gasped, pulling her hand back. It wasn't painful. It just took her by surprise. "You okay?" Newt, who was approaching already, heard her.

"Yeah," she assured him. "What are you doing?"

"Checking on you," he explained. Newt stopped directly in front of her. "You've been working for hours. Why don't you call it a night?"

Emma looked at the three completed baskets. She had a fourth in her hands that could easily be finished tomorrow. "Yeah, you're right." She stood up. "I'm going to drop these off."

Newt raised an eyebrow. "Right now?"

"It's on my way to the Homestead. Why not?" She picked up the three baskets, all different sizes. "I'll see you later." Newt never had a chance to respond. Emma was walking away from him.

The girl walked nervously through the Glade. Tomorrow would officially mark a month in the Glade. She wasn't any closer to befriending Gally, but the Glade wasn't as bad as she thought. It was home, sort of. It was all she had. It was complicated. As the questions began to return, Emma shook her head.

Approaching the Builders station, she was slightly surprised to see people there. Emma planned to leave the baskets on a bench, allowing Dmitri to explain the following morning. That was no longer the plan. Gally was hunched over the table, a piece of paper in his hand. Beside him were Alby and Dmitri. He was explaining something to them. A pencil lazily between his fingers.

The first to notice her was Dmitri. "Hey, Greenie." He saw the baskets and smiled. Pushing away from the table, he walked toward her. "Thank you. This is such a great help."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Figured it was my turn to help you."

Dmitri chuckled, taking the baskets from her. "What's this?" Alby didn't understand what was happening.

"Oh," Dmitri said. "I went to the Gardens looking for baskets since we needed some. They didn't have any, but Greenie here volunteered to make some after she finished her work for the day." He made sure to add the last part, not wanting Emma to get in trouble for doing something that wasn't her job.

Alby was pleasantly surprised. "That was kind of you."

"Just doing my part." Emma looked at Gally, who was already staring at her. His face remained neutral. It seemed he didn't care about her gesture. She wasn't surprised, but it did hurt. Nothing she did would ever be good enough. That was slowly becoming clear. Gally would never like her. He would never see her as an equal member of the Glade. "I should go."

"Thanks again," Dmitri said.

The girl forced a smile. "Sure, no problem." Looking away, she turned on her heel and headed toward the Homestead.