Losing Hope

Seventeen

The Greenie got early to bed, and I went to check on him before going to bed myself. He had placed his hammock at the very front of the camp, so that he had a great view on the Glade. But when I got there, he was lying with his back to the bonfire. His body was slightly shaking, and I heard faint, soft sobs coming from him.

"Hey. Hey, Greenie. What's going on?" I asked, and he turned to look at me. His face was red and puffy again. He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hands before speaking.

"I don't wanna be here. I wanna- I wanna go home. I don't know anyone here. I wanna go home," he stuttered between hiccups. I bent to his level and rubbed circles on his back, trying to calm him down.

"I'm sorry, Greenie, but you can't go back. But we're gonna make you feel as if you are home, okay? And you do know people. You know me, you know Newt, and Alby. And if the others aren't nice with you now, they will be. They weren't nice to me either when I first came in."

"Why don't they like us?" He asked, and I smiled.

"Because we're special. We're different from them, and they don't know how to handle it. But they managed to accept me, so they're gonna accept you too. Okay?" I whispered softly, and his sobs calmed down.

"Okay," he answered, and I sat close to him for a moment, until his breathing was back to normal and he started snoring. I got up and walked towards the Homestead, exhausted from unexpectedly dealing with the little boy.

The next day, it was time for our little Greenie to try out his first jobs. To nobody's surprise, he didn't stay the full day in the Bloodhouse, and was sent to work with the Track-Hoes that very afternoon. I decided that since things were pretty smooth with the Med-Jacks, I would go and check on him.

He was working with Newt when I got to them, and he seemed happy to see me. I made small chat with him and Newt, who seemed somewhat tired of looking after the little boy. I tried to teach the boy what I knew from the job he was doing, but he had a really hard time keeping up with me, even if I did my best to slow things down. By the end of the day, Chuck was a bit more excited about being here, but we were all discouraged. Once the night had fallen, Newt, Minho and I went to the Homestead. We chatted as I changed Newt's leg bandage.

"Seriously though, this kid is gonna end up a Slopper," Newt said, and I couldn't do anything else than agree.

"Yeah. But why did they send such a young boy? You guy are all fifteen at least and he's what, eleven? Twelve tops?"

"Same reason they sent us a girl, I guess. They're testing us. See if we're gonna accept or send off the different ones," Minho suggested. It did make sense.

"I'm not letting anyone throw that Shank in the Maze," I said protectively, and Newt shook his head.

"Calm down there, Princess. No one's gonna throw him in the Maze. He's gonna end up a slopper, that's all," Minho repeated. I nodded and finished Newt's bandage in silence, then we all went back to the Glade. A lot of the boys were sitting around the fire, and we joined them. I sat with Newt and a few Track-Hoes, while Minho went to chat with Alby. I was half-listening to the conversation, until I heard the Greenie being mentioned.

"That poor kid. He's not gonna be very useful to us."

"Yeah, and he's so shy and whiny."

"Give him a break. The poor kid is terrified. Did you guys forget how it was when you first got in here?" I exclaimed, and all the boys turned to me.

"Woah, calm down there, Shank. What's got you so grumpy, you fought with your boyfriend?" One of them said, and the others laughed. I scoffed, shaking my head, then stood up and left. I heard Newt shout my name, but I ignored him, walking over to the hammocks' section.

I quickly noticed that the Greenie was not asleep. He was sitting on his hammock, head hung low. I walked up to him and he looked up slowly. His face was swollen and I knew he had been crying again. I smiled at him, and he looked back down at his hands.

"Can I sit with you?" I asked, and he nodded, not looking up at me. I took a seat next to him on his hammock, which swayed a bit, and he lost balance. I caught him before he could fall and we both laughed. He looked back down at his fingers.

"I heard them talk. I know what they think of me," he mumbled, and I instinctively wrapped my arm around his shoulders. He looked up at me. "What did I do?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"You didn't do anything, Greenie. They're just stupid, don't listen to them. Soon, you're gonna remember your name, and you'll get your job, and everything will be fine," I whispered, hoping it would help him. He nodded, looking back down.

"I know my name. It's Chuck," he whispered, and I smiled.

"Chuck? I think that suits you. And you see, you're better than a lot of the Shanks here! It took me almost a full week to remember my name," I told him, and he looked up at me, smiling.

"Really?" he asked, and I nodded. He wiped his cheeks and took a breath. "I'm gonna try to sleep. I wanna be ready for my day tomorrow," he said bravely, and I smiled, nodding. I got up and helped him lay down, handing him his blanket.

"Goodnight, Chuck," I whispered before straightening up and noticing that Newt was not far from us, leaning on a tree, his arms crossed on his chest. I walked over to him, shrugging.

"Look, I know I overreacted, it's just-"

"You know how to speak to that kid," he cut me off, smirking. I smiled, shrugging again.

"Well, he seems to trust me, and it breaks my heart to see him so sad and scared. So I try to help him," I admitted, and Newt nodded. We started walking towards the Homestead and he wrapped one arm around my shoulder. I frowned.

"You're not putting any weight on me, what are you doing?"

"What? These Shanks keep saying I'm your boyfriend, might as well act like it," he claimed, and I scoffed.

"If you think I'd be your girlfriend, you are mistaken, Shank," I declared, and he pretended to be offended.

"Excuse me? You'd do anything for me."

"Not anything."

"Okay. Would you run the Maze for me?" he insisted as we reached the Homestead.

"Definitely not," I answered, crossing my arms on my chest as he let go of me and leaned on his door frame.

"Even if my life depended on it? Say, I was chased by a Griever and the only to save me was for you to come and kill it? You wouldn't do it?" he suggested, a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"Got to sleep, Newt," I said, walking towards the stairs and up to my room.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, Newt, I would'," he shouted, and I held back my laughter. I hated to admit it, but damn how this boy was getting under my skin.