Trapped // Newt

05: Rollercoaster

NEWT AND I are waiting in line to be served our dinner from Frypan. Having taken our time to walk here, it was only the Runners that still needed to get in line. Consequently, Minho takes the place behind me.

"Hey, Remi." He greets with a cheerful smile.

"Hey," I reply.

"So how has your first day been going?"

"It's been a rollercoaster. I've gone from having panic attacks to joking around to angry to being bored out of my mind and back again." I answer honestly. "I hope everyday isn't like this."

"Don't worry, after a week or so it'll be pretty chill." We shuffle forward in line. "Well, I mean, I can't say anything about the panic attacks just yet can I?"

I shake my head in response, still slightly ashamed for the scene I caused.

"So what job around here looks interesting to you?" Minho changes the subject.

Throughout the whole day, that's all anyone was doing—working. I saw some of the gladers building a shed by a garden, and some weeding the garden, and others chopping wood, and others running in and out of the barn. They all seemed like hard working jobs and I couldn't help but feel out of place by not doing a part.

"I don't know just yet, which ever one I can help out in the most I think."

"I should let you know that a spot has opened up in the Runners, one of my guys was injured a little while back." He says. "I think you've got the chops to be a Runner."

I instantly assume the Runner who was injured is the one recovering upstairs. I wonder what his reaction would be to wake up to a girl replacing his job. Would he be happy someone else is doing it or angry? I cut off those thoughts when another surfaces; I'm not going back out there anyway.

"Me go back out there? No way. You saw how I was last time." I say.

Minho nods and says, "Yeah, but that was when you were too frazzled to think clearly and you'd just come up from the box. It's not as bad as you'd think."

I could see his point but I can't imagine stepping out into the Maze and not losing it after what happened earlier. The image of the narrow corridors and towering walls flash across my mind and make me frown.

"Besides," Minho interjects before I can answer his previous statement, "I heard that you're quite the fast runner from some of the Gladers who saw you run into the Maze. They said you out ran all of them."

I blush a little from both the compliment and left over embarassment from the incident. "I guess. . . I'll think about it."

He looks pleased and I can't help but feel bad about not wanting to be a Runner in the first place. After all, I don't really know what a Runner does besides trying to solve the maze. This stupid fear, I can already tell it's going to be a burden on me and everyone else.

I get to the front of the line and Frypan serves me a bowl of beef stew. The smell reminds me of a faint memory, but of course it's just out of my reach. I take my food, breifly thank Frypan and stand with Newt who was waiting for me to grab my bowl before he sat down.

"I suppose we'll sit with Chuckie again then introduce you to some of the other Gladers later, eh?" Newt suggests to which I nod gratefully.

I follow Newt over to the table we sat at for lunch which Chuck is already sitting at slurping the stew straight from the bowl. I smile at his child-like demeanour and take the seat across from him, shortly joined by Newt and then Minho. I can tell that this group don't usually sit together and that I'm the one they're all here for—to which I'm very grateful for—but I feel bad about it. I'm sure Newt and Minho have other friends they'd like to eat dinner with.