They were nowhere in the glade, so my last resort was the deadheads. There was nowhere else they could be. Chuck trailed behind me as we entered the tree line, shivered as the temperature dropped. I hated being in the deadheads. Nothing ever good came out of being here. I wasn't even safe alone. Hopefully nothing would happen since Chuck was with me.
We were looking for a while and then I heard voices. It sounded like Newt and Thomas. And Teresa. I walked towards them, breaking through some trees to find them at the back of the forest. The maze wall peeking through the trees.
The three of them looked at Chuck and I, confused about what we were doing there. Newt even voiced his confusion aloud. "I didn't want to miss out on this party. Why'd you guys sneak away to the deadheads? Plotting against everyone?"
Newt gave Teresa a weird look, distrust in his eyes. "She ran off in the middle of the tour, came and found Tommy in here."
"Everyone kept telling me about Thomas." Teresa explained. "I wanted to know what was so special about him."
"You and I both." I muttered. "But how did you know he was in here?"
Thomas and Teresa gave each other a quick glance and Teresa signed. "I don't know. I was kinda just walking aimlessly."
I squinted my eyes at her. Something was definitely weird. There was no way she was just walking and stumbled into Thomas. She was purposefully looking for him. And somehow found him back here. What is he even doing back here? I looked around and found a pile of blankets. Had he been sleeping here?
Newt shook his head. "Let's just head back to the Maze and we can worry about you two weirdos later." Then he turned to Chuck and I, giving us pointed looks. "And don't you two got jobs to do?"
My face flushed and I chuckled nervously. "We finished for the day." It wasn't technically a lie. Chuck was done and I had been put on sleeping greenie duty. No one said to go back to the Track-hoes.
Newt didn't look totally convinced but just bobbed his head and led us back to the Glade.
I kept a close eye on Teresa as we walked. She looked at Thomas a couple times, her eyes focused on him, but seeming miles away. A few times Thomas looked at her, shaking his head. She only looked defeated. I wondered what it was she was trying to do. Did Thomas feel her staring at him? I mean, if someone looked at me like that, I would have felt it.
Anyhow. It was a repeat of my first day here, except now, it happened with Teresa. At dinner, everyone ogled at her and I had to keep staring threateningly at them. Not that it did much, they didn't like or trust me. And they weren't scared of me. Which didn't matter, because I would kick their ass anyway.
No one sat next to Teresa except me when we ate, like she would contaminate their food if they did. But I understood, she was new and a girl. Not only that, but she came up a couple days after Thomas. It made sense they were cautious.
Chuck spoke to Teresa like she was any other Glader, telling her stories and pointing out the ones she should be extra weary of. Really she needed to be extra weary of everyone, but there was no point in saying that. She looked like she already came to that conclusion.
Minho of course tried his luck with her and I watched as a weird emotion came over Thomas's face. I couldn't place it. I waved Minho away and he backed off no problem, just pouting. After dinner I spoke with Newt about Teresa's sleeping arrangements.
"She obviously cannot sleep with the boys out there." I pointed out.
Newt scratched his chin. "Yeah. I do not trust them at all. She looks like she can handle herself, but I don't want to risk it. How about your old room? It's next to us, so if anything, we'll be there."
I nodded. "That doesn't sound too bad." I walked over to Thomas, Chuck, and Teresa. I wasn't sure where Minho went, but if I had to guess, he was already asleep. "Hey Teresa, got a room for you."
"Cool." Her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes turning a darker blue. I looked behind me and saw Gally.
"Need something Gally?"
I wasn't that much smaller than the Builder, but somehow he found a way to look at me as if I was. "Sundown. Thomas has to go to the slammer."
I frowned and then remembered they had a gathering this morning for him. That must be for his punishment. I stepped to the side. "I won't be in your way." As Thomas walked past I asked, "how long are you in for anyway?"
"Just the night."
I smiled. Newt's doing, most likely. Gally walked away with Thomas, standing as far as he could from the new boy.
"What did Thomas do?"
I flinched, forgetting that Teresa was there. "Did Newt explain the maze to you?"
She thought and then nodded. "He said non-runners are allowed out there."
"Yea, well Thomas decided to run out there, right before the doors closed."
"He must have had a good reason." I looked her up and down. Teresa was smart, that much I can tell. She got things quickly and didn't ask too many questions. Not as much as Thomas. "I mean, it's not like he would risk his life for nothing right?"
My lips perked up. "Right. Let's get you to your room. You're a bit smaller than me, but my clothes should fit."
"How long have you been here?" She asked as we walked up the stairs. It was habitual for me to walk over the busted step, but she tripped over it.
"Three months."
"Hm. Seems like you've been here longer."
I laughed. "Yeah, I feel like it too. After a month it just grows on you. Makes you feel like you've just always been here. Memory loss helps with that." She stayed quiet and we got to my old room. I raised my hand and paused at the door handle. I haven't been here for a long time. Not since Nick.
"Is something wrong?" Teresa asked, stepping beside me.
"Just old memories here." I twisted the handle and pushed the door open. The room was the same as I left it. Bed made and nothing lying around. There was dust from being unused, but some spring cleaning would get rid of it. And thanks to the hole in the wall excuse for a window, the room didn't stink.
"You used to sleep here?" She looked around the room, noting the smallness and spare furniture. "Why don't you anymore?"
"Upgraded." I said through a lump in my throat. I thought it would have been easier to explain why, especially after telling Thomas about Nick. Granted I didn't say anything about us being romantically involved, I thought the words would come tumbling out.
Teresa just nodded, because who was she to not believe me? She only knew what we told her. And she wouldn't know the truth right now. "So you sleep on this floor too?"
I cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah. All the keepers do. We're the only special non keepers who get this luxury."
"We're the only girls." She pointed out, sitting on the bed. Her hands tested the softness and I knew she would be disappointed in the results.
"That's true, a sad way to look at it, but true."
"Why did they send us up?" Her eyes were intense as she waited for me to answer. A flash of something popped up before disappearing in the murky depths of my memory.
I picked at my cuticles. "I don't know. It was something I never got the answer to." I cleared my throat again. "Well anyway...Newts just across the hall and I'm on your left. If anything, just yell or bang on my wall. We'll come." She nodded, picking at the sheet. "You know, not all of them are bad. You can trust Newt and Minho. And Chucks just a kid." She didn't point out how I skipped Thomas's name, just nodded again. Silent. I sucked in a breath. "Okay. Good night."
"Good night."
I closed the door behind me and headed to my room. I caught Gally down the hall, just staring. I frowned at him, watching as he went into his room and closed the door. Weird. I went into mine and stripped to just underwear. It's been hot recently and I was glad I didn't have to sleep outside. I slid into bed, glad that the day was over, including the stressors. Thomas, Minho, and Alby-I have to go see him tomorrow-were back and Teresa was awake and well. Tomorrow should go smoothly.
