The Outcast

Chapter 6

  Days have passed by and Ayla have nearly tried out all the jobs. However, there was still no news about her wanting to be a runner. Newt hasn't talked to her about it at all, but she had figured that he's busy since he's the second in command.

  On this day, Ayla was trying out for the last job, med-jack. She had looked forward to this day for quite a while. She was pretty good at other jobs but she didn't enjoy them very much and so she hoped that this very last job that she was trying out suits her. But if course, she knew deep down that runner is the only job that she would enjoy.

  After breakfast, Ayla went to the homestead where she would be working with Clint and Jeff for the day. Although she had looked forward to this day, she had a bad feeling about it. Let's hope this day goes smoothly, she thought. While she was halfway to the homestead, someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Hey, ready for work?" Someone asked. Ayla turned her head to find Clint walking alongside with her.

"Yeah, I hope I don't screw anything up though." Clint laughed at her comment and replied, "I have a good feeling that you won't." Ayla replied with a smile. It seemed like it wouldn't be a bad day after all.

  They arrived at the homestead and started their work. Clint and Jeff showed her the basics for first aid and later showed her how to treat more serious wounds.

"To be honest, we don't really have much to do here. All we do is wait for patients to come most of the time." Jeff said.

"So what else do you do? You know other than waiting." Ayla asked out of curiosity.

"Chatting... about life? About..." He answered.

"Random things?" She cut him off. He nodded as a reply. "How do you cope with this boredom every day? I know for sure that I can't stand it."

 "Well, the key to that is patience. You gotta be patient to wait for patients to come. Get what I mean?" Clint joked.

"Oh my god... that was probably the worst joke I've ever heard in my entire life." Ayla said. They stared at each other for a second. Out of nowhere, they bursted into a laugh. Ayla laughed for the first time from her heart. She's starting to get used to living in the glade for once. 

  As they continue to chat, time passed by like a strike of lightning. It was already noon in the blink of an eye. They went to lunch together and sat at the same table as they continued their conversation about the most random things they could ever think of. To be frank, Ayla actually enjoyed spending time with them. They were like her brothers, always there to talk with her. They might be the only people who Ayla would be comfortable talking to other than Newt. Speaking of Newt, Ayla still wondered if he would ever talk to her again as he had been avoiding her for so long and she's starting to wonder if Newt actually meant what he had said to her, what he had promised her to do. This was when Newt walked over. "Can I borrow Ayla for a sec?" He asked. "Uh... sure, I guess." Clint replied.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Ayla asked harshly as she followed Newt to leave the crowd. She wanted to be nice but she can't help feeling mad at him because of his ignorance towards her. It had annoyed her for days.

Newt sighed and said, "I was going to ask if you enjoyed any of your work but I guess someone's ill-tempered today."

"I don't know what you're talking about..." She replied while her eyes scrolled through the glade, avoiding Newt's gaze. Newt smiled, knowing that she knew  exactly what he meant. "You know, I had some news about the little secret you told me. But since you're in such a bad mood today, I'll tell you tomorrow then." This caught her full attention. She snapped her head back to Newt and gave him a hinted look as a sign for him to continue what he had to say.

"Alby and I have discussed about your request and guess what he said."

"No?" Ayla questioned.

"Actually it's not exactly a 'no' but uh... I have successfully convinced Alby to let Minho train you for a bit and see if you're capable of being a runner." he chuckled. The joyfulness swarmed through her heart as she processed the great news. Her eyes glinted and her face displayed an unrestrained delight. She thanked Newt over and over again as she gave him a long-lasting hug. Newt then whispered to her that her training would start the day after. Words could not describe how joyous she felt.

They walked back to the dining area casually, their hands swinging side by side, their skins coming in contact occasionally. As they got closer to the dining area, pairs and pairs of eyes looked up from their foods and kept their gazes focused on them. "Don't you guys have work to do?" Newt warned them. They got back to Clint and Jeff and unsurprisingly, they had a huge smirk on their faces. Newt glared at them. They quickly finished their lunches and went back to work. Ayla shook her head in disbelief. Knowing that it was almost time to go back to work, she finished up her lunch and said 'goodbye' to Newt. He stared at her back as she left the area, heading back to the homestead to continue her work.

In the afternoon, most of the job consists of taking care of the slicers' injuries and more chatting. Soon, the night had arrived. After having dinner, Ayla went to bed, looking forward to the next day's arrival.