The Intelligence

Boys... And Lots of Them

I heard deep, rumbly, murmuring voices all around me: Boys. "Wow." I whispered to myself in awe, due to the fact that I could actually identify something.

One if the boys, who was maybe 15 or 16 years old, jumped down into my container and just stared at me. He was tall and fit, but thin. His hair was dirty blonde or maybe just flat out dirty and blonde. I broke his extensive gaze, by waving my hand between our faces and saying, "Hello? Dude?" Startled, he jumped back. The other boys saw him and one asked, "What's up ya shank?"

He replied with a very thick accent from somewhere I couldn't place, "It's a girl."

I heard a couple of gasps and chuckles, and the large group started yelling things like, "How old is she?" and, "Is she cute?"

"Slim it, ya slintheads!" A voice began to yell above the rest. "Newt! Stop drooling and bring her up!" There were many snickers. As the loud boy said that, a rope with a loop at the bottom fell into the box I had come up in.

"Right." the boy who I guessed was Newt said, "Here ya go." He handed me the rope. "I will help ya get out of here, okay?" he instructed me kindly.

"Thanks, but I got this." I replied shortly, scrunching my nose. I put my foot in the noose and tugged slightly to signal that I was ready to go up. I heard a bunch of mumbling, as if no one had done that before; maybe no one had, but I didn't care. When I made it to the top, these very strong looking boys helped me out. I think they thought I was going to be heavier because they almost threw me flat on my face! I scowled at them and threw the rope back down to Newt. After he came up, I finally took a good look at the bunch of boys around me. I put my hands on my hips and scowled at all of them, making sure they saw the clear image of my enraged demeanor.

"Hey there, Greenie!" a gruff voice said behind me. I recognized the voice as the boy who was speaking to Newt above the rest. I whipped my head around to face him as he made his way through the crowd. He was older than the rest of the group, or at least he looked it. He had chocolate brown skin and a clean-shaven head.

He held out his hand and said, "I'm Alby and that shuckface is Newt." He jabbed a finger back at Newt, who was then standing right next to Alby. Unsure of what to do next, I went with my gut and shook his strong and calloused hand.

"Jemma," my mind told me, "Your name is Jemma."

I suddenly pressed my hands to my temples and became very lightheaded. I fumbled around before I collapsed to the cold, hard ground and passed out.