Subject A12: The Daughter

Bonfires and Bacon

Stella sat slumped against a log at the far side of the campfire as the rest of the Gladers danced and cheered merrily.

After a full day touring with Thomas, he left her to get comfy with her new bed; a hammock besides Teresa's under a sheltered canopy of leaves, in more of a private part of the Glade.

It'd been tiring to say the least, Thomas had more of an up-beat energy to him than everyone she'd seen and met so far; he almost bounded from one place to the next, excited and intrigued, like a puppy just seeing its full surroundings. And now all she wanted to do was collapse and sleep, she was still trying to get over being passed out for most of the night, it was actually, ironically, exhausting.

Finally, he'd gotten round to her sleeping quarters where he mentioned how she'd be partnered with Teresa, obviously us being the only girls it'd be better if they stuck us together. Though she wasn't there to be introduced, Thomas seemed to butter her up quite nicely in conversation

"Oh, she's great." He stated, matter of fact. "She's just one of those people whom comes across as a little cold and defeneive but she's really sweet once you get to know her."

He seemed almost wistful, talking about her. Before she could pry, he left her to get used to her surroundings.

After a couple of hours extra sleep she woke to a commotion. It was dusk, the sun just slipping below the walls of the Glade. Her eyes narrowed in on the glowing bonfire, surrounded by hoards of boys all veering up for the night ahead.

She shook herself awake and strolled over. For a group of boys living off the bare minimum, it was grand.

The bonfire was immense with a straw figure being it's main centrepiece, torching strong to light up the area. Logs lay on the ground as seats and groups of boys hung around, laughing and chatting.

There was also a smell in the air; it was greasy and brauny and it made her stomach clench with hunger. When was the last time she'd eaten?

Searching for a recognisable face was made difficult by the flickering light of the bonfire. In the end, she gave up searching for someone in a bid to make her feel more comfortable with being surrounded strangers and sat against the log, by herself. She watched as they all chatted and laughed with each other, enjoying themselves and being with each other. It felt like such a warm community.

Thoughts were driven out of her mind when suddenly a stick was pushed under her nose. Something was clinging to it, something small and fleshy looking in the fire-light. "Try some!"

She frowned and turned sharply to see a boy, whom looked no older than thirteen. He was chubby but in the cute, squishy, teddy-bear kind of way. He had curly brown hair, cut short, and wore a mischievous grin on his face. "Try what?"

"It's bacon! Obviously." He perched himself on top of the log, which meant Stella had to endure another conversation, with a supposedly cocky thirteen year old of all the people. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

Stella heaved a sigh of boredom, she was in for the long haul here. "Well I'm sorry I haven't heard of it, frankly I've been in a coma."

Noting that I was going to ignore the stick with the stringy bacon attached to it, he pulled it back and started eating it himself. "Oh right. The girl in the coma. Yeah, everyone's been talking about you-"

"Huh. Of course they are."

"-they're all saying how you're the second girl to arrive since Teresa. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, we don't know but there is definetly a divide as to what people think, so I'd be careful also with what you say."