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     AS SOON AS THE SUN BEGAN TO PEEK THROUGH THE CLOUDS, HE WAS AWAKE. He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. He hadn't slept very well, but at least he'd slept. Scanning the area around him, he realized he was one of the very last boys to wake up. Most of the cots around him were empty, and he could see a group of Gladers already working in the garden from afar.

     He eventually forced himself to put his shoes on and get up. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air and a moment to enjoy it, he watched the hustle and bustle of the Glade. Some of the boys were already making their way around the field carrying tools while some were standing around a shack that needed fixing.

     "Hey, Greenie!" someone called and he searched the field for the owner of the voice. It was Nick, who was coming towards him with a large grin.

     "Sleep well?" Nick asked, putting a hand up underneath his eyes to shade them from the sun.

     He scoffed in response, shaking his head lightly. Nick pursed his lips but quickly changed the subject.

     "Well, breakfast is ready for you in the Cookhouse. Go on and eat. I'll find Newt and you can get your tour over and done with," Nick continued.

     He looked over his shoulder at the Cookhouse and when he turned back, Nick was gone. With that, he took a deep breath and headed toward the Cookhouse.

     The cook, who said his name was Frypan, was inside and had eggs and bacon ready for him. He thanked Frypan and picked a table to sit at. Nobody else was in the Cookhouse, so he ate in silence. It was almost peaceful until Frypan started hollering questions at him from the other room.

     "Your name come to you in your dreams last night?" Frypan's thundering voice startled him at first, making him jump in his seat.

     "Oh, uh--no I don't know my name yet," he shouted back to him, his smile fading as he was reminded that he was still the Greenie.

     "Ah, don't worry Newbie. You'll get it soon," Frypan said in an attempt to reassure him. He gave Frypan a smile but didn't reply, finishing his eggs in silence.

     When he was finished, he brought his plate and utensils to Frypan in the kitchen. He took them and they both exchanged smiles again.

     "Hey, you wanna know something? Something I don't tell most people. Some of the newer guys don't even know this," Frypan said.

     He barely caught what Frypan was saying over the loud clanking of pots and pans. But he stood in the doorway and continued to smile, waiting for Frypan to tell his secret.

     Frypan seemed hesitant at first. "Okay, okay. My real name's Siggy," he blurted out, erupting into a fit of laughter.

     He broke out into a grin in response to Frypan's confession. "Really?" he said in between his laughter. "Why do you think Frypan is better?" he teased, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

     Frypan collected himself before answering, "I think it suits me better than Siggy. Siggy sounds stupid, don't ya think?"

     He was still laughing and quite frankly, he didn't want to stop. The feeling felt so foreign, so unorthodox. He loved it. "I don't know, I kinda like Siggy," he shrugged, resting his hands on the table.

     Frypan shook his head. "Now don't be goin' around calling me that, Newbie."

     He and Frypan smiled at each other once more when suddenly the door into the Cookhouse swung open. Newt came sauntering in, standing in the doorway for a moment with his hands at his sides. He locked eyes with Newt, who quickly averted his gaze and shuffled into the room.

     From behind him, Frypan seemed to be stifling a laugh. He turned back to the cook and felt a sudden urge to shake his hand or give him a hug for how friendly he'd been. Instead, he merely thanked him and left the kitchen to join Newt at the table he'd sat at.

     Newt was resting his head on the table, tapping his fingers on the wood. He didn't seem to be annoyed or upset like yesterday, but nevertheless, the Greenie approached him with caution.

     "Morning," Newt muttered, pulling himself up. "Are you ready?" he stood up, his question obviously rhetorical. The two of them headed back out into the fresh air, stopping just outside of the Cookhouse.

     Newt exhaled deeply and tried a smile. "So, where do you wanna start?" he cocked his head and without meaning to copy Newt, he did the same. They both shared a laugh at their mirrored actions, and he answered his question with a shrug.

     They both looked up at each other at the same time and stayed like that for a moment, and in that moment he was able to really get a good look at Newt's facial features. The night before, Newt's eyes were inky and off-putting. But under the sun, they looked alive. Big brown eyes staring back at him. The dark, puffy, circles underneath them were evidence of his sleepless nights. He recalled what Newt had told him the night before,"You're not the only one who comes out in the deadheads to be alone." Just by looking into his eyes, he was able to discover just what Newt had meant by that. However, his smile covered it all up. It seemed to calm his nerves, Newt's smile. It gave him hope.

     Newt's head fell to the ground. His ears turned red and he cleared his throat. "Well, you should probably start by lookin' round at the Glade and not at me," he said tonelessly.

     He quickly nodded, embarrassed that Newt had called him out, and pointed at the nearest shack. Newt flipped around and acknowledged his choice.

     "Ah, alright then," Newt took a deep breath and motioned for him to follow. He stayed behind him, looking around at the other boys who, for once, weren't staring. That helped him relax a little. He felt himself loosen up and he picked up his pace, passing Newt and heading towards the first stop of the tour.

     Newt caught up with him, his face scrunching up in thought and his eyes on the building in front of them. "This," Newt rested his hand against the door and pushed it open. "is the Homestead. Keepers sleep here mostly. Rest of the guys sleep out in the Gardens. The second floor only has two rooms where we keep Gladers when they're sick. There's a room in the back for Gatherings. And uh, I dunno if Nick showed 'ya but there's a toilet in the back there, too." he said timidly.

     He nodded along to Newt's words, deciding to keep his questions until the very end. Newt shut the door and sighed, frowning up at him.

     "I don't like this. All this tension between us. I mean, yeah, we got off on the wrong foot. But, we're probably gonna be stuck here the rest of our lives," Newt laughed nervously and glanced up at the Greenie again, waiting for him to answer.

     He didn't know what to say to Newt. He was still so afraid and so confused about who and where he was, and Newt wasn't really helping at all with the situation. So, he nodded slowly, hoping maybe Newt would abandon the subject at that.

     But he didn't. Newt groaned in response. "Alright, we're starting over. Right now. Pretend you've not met me yet, alright? I'll--" Newt suddenly spun around. He disappeared behind the Homestead, leaving the Greenie all by himself.

     "Stay there!" Newt shouted from afar and he did, keeping his arms tucked behind him protectively. He scanned the field around him, which suddenly seemed eerily peaceful.

     "Hey, Greenie!" Newt's voice boomed again, but this time from directly behind him.

     Newt had scared him so badly he nearly sent himself backwards into the Homestead.

     "Holy--why would you do that?" he replied snarkily, trying to collect himself before he became too humiliated.

     Newt chuckled at the Greenie's shocked expression which only embarrassed him even more. Newt continued. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said, his voice cracking. He wasn't a very good actor. This made the Greenie let out a laugh he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. Newt stuck his hand out to shake.

     "I'm Newt, nice to meet ya," he said with a smug smile. They locked eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that morning and he quickly looked away, clearing his throat to diffuse the tension.

     "Anyway, I'm supposed to give you your tour. Follow my lead," Newt let go of his hand and started towards the enormous walls that surrounded the Glade, the walls that he had so many questions about.

     The two of them walked side by side, Newt keeping his head low. He glanced over at Newt for a moment and realized he was right. All of the tension between them had to be put behind them. He took a deep breath as they stopped just in front of the walls, lightly tapping on Newt's shoulder. Newt jumped but lifted his head and turned toward him.

     The questions came flooding out of him. "How, uh--how long did you have to wait for your name to come to you? And what was it like? Did it just...come to you one day? Or did you wake up one morning and you knew your name? And did you ever get any memories back? Will I ever remember anything?"

     Newt blinked twice, his mouth falling open in shock. He glanced down at the ground for what seemed like forever, and the Greenie figured it was in an attempt to try and process everything he had just said. This embarrassed him. Still, he watched Newt, impatiently wanting answers.

     After a minute or two, Newt finally lifted his head and took a deep breath. "I was one of the first ones to be sent up into the Glade. Got here with Alby, Minho, Nick, and a few other guys who--aren't with us anymore." Newt licked his lips and before he said anything else, he motioned for him to sit down on a nearby log.

     They sat across from each other. Newt fidgeted with his fingers anxiously but continued his story.

     "I didn't remember anything, no one did. Not at first," Newt's face flushed a bright red as he spoke and the Greenie couldn't help but wonder if he was making up his story. If he was lying to him. He hoped he wasn't lying to him.''After an hour of just roaming around like zombies, checkin' this bloody place out, my name finally came to me. I was sitting on this log here that I'm sittin' at now, and it sort of just hit me. I dunno. And that's what seemed to happen with all the other guys, cause as I asked around everyone else remembered their names. And that was all."

     The Greenie frowned. He didn't understand why it was taking so long for his name to come back to him.

     "Then, the Creators started sending new boys up, just one every month, and it took them days to remember some of their names. Our last Greenie, Johnny, took him just under a week."

     He groaned under his breath in response to this and Newt snickered, reaching forward and gently patting his shoulder.

     "It's alright, Greenie! It's already been two days. It'll come back to 'ya soon enough." he tried a smile, and he returned one as best as he could.

     He glanced up at Newt, the frown on his face beginning to feel permanent. "It's killing me, not knowing. I feel...empty without it. Like I'm just floating around in this body and my soul is somewhere out there, taunting me."

     Newt's eyes widened. "Wow. Okay," he said breathlessly. He suddenly stood up, looking down at him with his hands on his hips. "Listen, this tour will take your mind off things. Let's finish it, yeah?"

     And like some miracle, he smiled. The Greenie nodded to him, pulling himself up and following Newt back towards the walls.

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     When the tour was finished, he still wasn't able to shake the uneasiness he felt about Newt. He wasn't sure why. Newt seemed kind, charming even, but the two of them shared several awkward minutes of silence throughout the afternoon. Newt made him nervous, which kept him quiet. He was afraid he'd say something that would set Newt off like he had done the day before. He didn't know what to think of Newt. Not yet.

     But, he taught him everything he needed to know about the Glade. He learned all about the giant grey walls. They weren't really walls that protected the Glade. Beyond those walls, beyond the Glade, there was a maze. At least, Newt had said that was what it was. He told him that the Maze was dangerous and that he was prohibited from ever going inside. He talked about the Runners, who ran the Maze every day and searched for any signs of a way out. The Gladers had tried so many other ways to escape. but concluded that the Maze was the only way out.

     "Have they found anything?" he'd asked Newt. It was one of the only other questions he had the nerve to ask throughout the entire tour.

     Newt frowned. "We wouldn't be here if they had," he answered, scanning the Maze walls up and down.

     Newt decided to take him back to the Cookhouse for lunch. On their way back, he tried making light conversation again, but the Greenie was done socializing with Newt for one day. He wanted to go home, even though he had no idea what or where home had been for him.

     Halfway to the Cookhouse, he realized he wasn't hungry, and that he didn't want to be swarmed by the rest of the Gladers. Newt continued towards the Cookhouse, but the Greenie stopped in his tracks. He watched Newt, who hadn't even noticed that he was no longer following him, walk further and further away.

     Once Newt was inside, he turned himself around and headed back towards the Homestead. Unintentionally, he glanced behind him for only a moment and locked eyes with Newt once more. He stood in the doorway of the Cookhouse from afar, and not even all the distance he'd put between them could make the frown on Newt's face any clearer.

     The Greenie shut his eyes, a wave of sadness washing over him. He hoped he hadn't hurt his feelings, but he had realized in that moment that he didn't want to get to know any of the Gladers. All he wanted was to find himself. He wanted to leave this place. He wanted to find home.

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author's note!

just in case you guys weren't aware, i thought i'd let you know that newt is a track-hoe right now. since nick is still alive, he's the leader and alby is his second-in-command.

also, don't be afraid to comment and interact with me! i love reading your comments and feedback, especially because i'm very insecure about my writing abilities. i know i'm far from great, but i honestly think i've really improved since 2018 when this was first published.

thank you so much for reading :)

love always,
chloe