They Don't Own Me

Chapter 13

Ivy groaned as she laid in bed. Ever since she made it out of the Maze, Alby wanted her to stay in the Glade. The two had had a big argument about it and they eventually decided that Ivy would remain in the Glade for a week so she could finish healing. Alby wasn't happy with the idea of her going back into the Maze but Ivy still managed to convince him, with some help from Newt. The only bad news was that today was Ivy's second day out of the Maze and she was bored out of her mind.

Finally deciding to get off her lazy butt, Ivy rolled out of bed and left her hut, making her way to the Mess Hall. Along the way, she spotted several of her friends. Newt was working away in the gardens; Alby was walking around, making sure everything was running smoothly; and Adam was feeding the animals. Ivy didn't want him running the Maze alone so she let him have the week off, allowing him to work with Winston again as a Slicer.

"Hey, Frypan!" she greeted as she entered the Mess Hall.

The cook looked up from where he was cleaning up a table and smiled upon seeing her.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I'm bored. Mind if I use the kitchen?"

"Go ahead! Hope you plan on making something good."

"We'll have to wait and see then."

Ivy stepped into the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt so she could wash her hands. After she dried her hands, Ivy went to the cabinet and pulled out different ingredients that she was planning on using. She set them on the counter and began making her meal. She didn't know where she had learned to make the recipe she was about to make, but she knew she must have learned it before she came to the Maze.

Ivy placed several large strips of bacon into a pan and set the pan over a fire, letting the bacon cook. As the meat sizzled, Ivy hummed an unfamiliar tune, dancing a little as she watched the bacon cook, making sure it didn't burn. Just like the recipe, she had no clue where she had heard the song before but it was catchy and she liked it. Ivy smiled as she hummed and danced, happy to have a distraction instead of staring at the ceiling of her room.

"Having fun there?"

Ivy jumped in surprise and turned around, spotting Minho by the door. The girl sighed with a chuckle.

"Shuck, Minho," she said. "You scared me. And to answer your question, yes I was."

He smiled.

"What are you doing anyway?" he asked.

"I needed something to do, so I asked Frypan if I could take over the kitchen for a bit. I'm pretty much the only person he trusts not to burn the building down."

Minho laughed. Ivy turned back to the fire and moved around the bacon to keep it from sticking to the pan. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Minho walking toward her.

"Need any help?" he questioned.

"Would you mind?" she replied.

"Last I checked, no one's bleeding to death, so I'm not really needed right now."

"Well that's good. If you really want to, Minho, you can help. Just do me a favor first and tell Frypan to go take the rest of the day off. I can handle making dinner."

Minho nodded and left to talk to Frypan. A minute later, he came back into the kitchen, telling Ivy that Frypan said 'thank you.'

"So how can I help?" Minho asked with a smile.

"See that pot over there?" Ivy motioned to a large pot on the far counter. "Grab that and fill it about halfway with water. Then put it over the fire so it can boil."