Remember for the Both of Us [COMPLETED]

6: Meeting

I stumbled out of the bathroom to see Newt leading several people into the Homestead and closing the door in the face of others. I took a step toward him, then hesitated. He was obviously not letting anyone in to the meeting or whatever was going. I didn't know anyone else, so walking over there was obviously not going to do any good. I slid down the wall, tucking my knees under my chin, covering the tattoo with my hand, suddenly self-conscious. 

A few minutes later, I saw a tall form detach from the crowd loitering outside the Homestead, and walk towards me. I panicked slightly, rising slightly, a hand pressed against the wall behind me, ready to bolt. But then I spotted the mop of curly hair atop the figure's head, and I relaxed, hiding my face by burying it in my knees. I waited, breath loud in my ears, for him to approach me. 

"Er... hello there, Greenie."

I looked up but said nothing. He had grown so tall! Hunger had stripped away any excess fat, but he was still the same Chuck I remembered. He had to be almost thirteen now...

"Hi, I'm Chuck," he said, sticking his hand out. 

I forced a look of distrust on my face, not moving to take his hand.

"Ah, I get it," he said. "You're still in shock. Sorry. The first couple days don't make sense, but you get used to it eventually."

"What are they doing in there?" I asked.

"They're having a meeting or some shuck." The slang flowed easily from his lips now. "I don't know why. All of a sudden Newt comes over, grabs the Keepers, and shuts them up in the Homestead with him."

"What?" I asked. "Keepers?"

"The Keepers are the people in charge of the jobs here," Chuck explained. "That'd be Gally, who's in charge of the Builders; Minho, who's in charge of the Baggers now; Clint, who's head of the Med-Jacks; Frypan, who's the head cook; and Teresa, who takes care of the Track-Hoes. But the roles are kinda blended together right now. We don't have anything specific like we used to."

"Teresa?" I said. "Is that the girl?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. She's happy to have company, that's for sure. All us boys don't shower enough for her liking."

"So... what am I going to do here then?"

"You'll get assigned a job. It's pretty easy around here; we only have to work every third day. You'll probably get assigned as a Track-Hoe. Teresa's been so excited to meet you. She's never met another girl, you know--" he broke off awkwardly. Because she can't remember...

I forced a smile. "Well, neither can I, but I'm sure she's had to wait much longer than I have..."

Another form walked up. "Hey, Thomas," Chuck greeted him. "I was just talking to the Greenie."

I looked at Thomas. He was nothing like the boy he used to be before the Maze. He was WICKED's golden boy. Now here he was, beaten. Broken. All of them were, actually. I was too. Not because I had my memory wiped, but because I was the only one who remembered.

"You look half-starved," Thomas said. "I remember the first thing Chuck here did for me when I was the Greenie was took me to eat. I bet we can steal something from the kitchen without the cooks noticing."

He offered me a hand to help me up, and I wanted to take it. But I was supposed to be distrustful, so I just pushed myself up the wall. Thomas dropped his hand and nodded; I knew he was remembering how he felt for the first fateful hours of his life here. "Are there sandwiches?"

Chuck brightened immediately. "I make the best! Come on!"