After breakfast the next morning Alby told her she was with the Builders for the day, and that he also informed Gally that in no way was she to be working with the Bricknics. Builders and Bricknics worked closely together a lot of the time.

Dug, the Keeper of the Bricknics was informed as well, they didn't want a 'Chris situation' happening. Gally and Dug both agreed and everyone was happy.

Alex groaned loudly, but headed over to find Gally. This was going to be another long day. At least yesterday she was with animals, and they liked her. The sun was already heating up the glade, it was going to be hot. She found Gally easily, he was yelling orders at a small crew of boys. "Ugh, my turn to babysit is it?"

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." she rolled her eyes.

He handed her a tool belt, and a bucket of nails and said, "go fix the bloodhouse fence. It's broken in one section and then you can finish this table for Jeff, he needs another for the Med room." He spun on his heel and slouched away yelling things at everyone he passed. That was all the instruction she got.

"Well okay then. Let's go fix a fence, Bark."

She walked over to the bloodhouse, and walked along the fence trying to locate this broken section. She followed it until it took her to the back corner, hidden between the back of the barn and the Deadheads. She huffed as she saw a few planks of wood had fallen off the post. She set her tool belt and bucket of nails down. Alex stood there for a minute with a fist on her hip, and the other one rubbing her bottom lip thinking.

What's the best way to fix this?

Alex was deep in thought. Bark turned towards the forest, ears perked up, tail out, on high alert. A twig snapped at the edge of the forest, Bark growled. Alex spun around searching the trees with her eyes for whatever made the sound. She couldn't see anything. She wasn't dumb enough to go searching, though she was curious. But if Bark was growling she knew something was there. She thought she saw movement in the shadows. Something silver flashed in the sun.

What kind of bug was silver?

She took a cautious step forward searching for the silver bug again. She saw another flash, followed by a red flash. She dropped caution to the wind and ran to the tree. There scuttling up and down the tree was a little lizard type thing, silver body with red glowing eyes, it was a weird mechanical creature, it had a few letters painted on the back of it. It scuttled off and into another tree. Before Alex took another step another twig snapped. That feeling of anxious forbidding filled her and she backed out of the trees slowly, eyes searching.

She had a job to do, and twigs snapping in the Deadheads around her wasn't something she wanted to stay and find out what it was. With Bark on high alert watching the trees, she fixed the fence relatively quickly. It was hard work. Simple, but a physical challenge, she could see why Gally was good at this.

As soon as she hammered the last nail in, she hightailed it out of the secluded area, back into the hustle and bustle of the glade. She walked over to the builders table, trying to find Gally.

She stopped a boy, "Hey, I'm Alex, what's your name?"

"Matt, and everyone here knows who you are." He chuckled, "So, what's up Shanket? How can I help ya?"

"Do you know where I can find Gally? He told me I had a table to fix or build..?" The boy named Matt shook his head "Sorry Alex, he's not one for detailed instructions, but will yell at ya if you do it wrong." he shrugged, giving her an apologetic look, picked up his load of wood and continued on.

She looked around and saw a pile of wood planks. Shrugging her shoulders she picked up her tool belt, rummaged around the table looking for a measuring tape. Finding nothing, she did however find a long piece of string, not perfect but it would do. She sat down on the grass in the heat of the sun and got to work.

A few hours later Gally marched up to her, expecting tears and whining. It's what he does with every greenie, gives them a job and leaves them, see what they would do. He found her sitting on the grass, a cup of water in her hand. She had taken off her long sleeved shirt, so she was only in a tight tank top and shorts.

He rolled his eyes "Stupid girl. Gonna distract all the other guys." He muttered. He stormed up beside her, glaring down at her.

"Put a shirt on!" He barked, making her jump.

"Excuse me?" She slowly get to her feet, setting her cup on the newly built table. She turned back to Gally who was still glaring at her.

"I said put a shirt on. Cove up, you'll distract my guys." He snapped.

"How about no." She snapped back, crossing her arms. "It's like a thousand degrees out here for one. Two, if your guys are that distracted by skin, tell your guys to cover up. Most of them don't even have a shirt on, including you. One look at some of that exposes abbs, and one guy might slip off the roof. We don't want a workers comp claim, now do we?" Her words dripping with sarcasm.

Gally opened his mouth but she cut him off before he had the chance.

"I'll cover up when they do. You don't see me oogling and making a fool out of myself, same rules apply to them. If I can control myself they can control their selves. Remember Gal? No special treatment." She crossed her arms, sticking a hip out. Her glare just daring him to say anything. She could see his teeth grinding. She got him and she knew it. She couldn't help but smirk.

"What's this?" He demanded, gesturing beside her, changing the subject.

She also gestured to the table, "The table Jeff asked for. He said he would put it in the Med hut after supper, they had a line of your builders to patch up right now, it was those darn exposed abs and pecs muscles. I told you those guys should cover up, too much skin and ops, there goes the hammer!" She answered with mock concern, just to needle Gally some more. She turned away and starting to clean up her work station.

He growled at her words, she could see his anger building, like a slowly boiling kettle. "What do you mean, the table...you finished it? And talked to Jeff without talking to me first?" He yelled.

Alex was just as frustrated with the keeper of the builders. But she had an easier time keeping it together. This guy was such a loud mouthed bully. And she was pretty sure no matter what she did, he would always find something about her to yell about. So, she didn't bother to face him. She had gathered all her supplies, pushed past him to put it away while she snapped back her answer.

"What did you expect? You left and I couldn't find you. So I made the shuck table. That's what you told me to do. I'm pretty sure you're just mad because I got the jobs done." Only after she dropped her took belt and nails into the builders main table did she turn around, point a finger at his sweaty shirtless torso, "And I did it without you. You're also mad because your plan for me to fail back fired." She snarked.

She was right. But Gally wasn't going to admit that. He was secretly impressed. Other Greenies would just cry, run around asking question after question, getting in the way of everyone and being a real pain. She also had the guts to talk back and chew him out. He growled in frustration.

"You're done for the day." Gally dismissed her with a wave of his hand. She rolled her eyes and turned to walk away when he called her back.

"How did you get the table to not wobble?"

Alex gave him a 'are you serious' look, but answered anyway, "You guys don't have a measuring tape, so I used string and made sure each leg was the same length...if you and your builders would do that more often, things wouldn't be so lopsided. Measure twice, cut once- someone told me that once...I think. Maybe." She spun around and walked off to the Homestead.

______________________

Up in her borrowed room she found Minho back from his run and already showered. He turned around to face her, when the door opened. When his eyes meet hers his face lit up.

"Ahhh she's back from the Builders! Survived Gally?"

Seeing his big smile, and his squinty half moon eyes, her face broke into a grin as well. They just stood there in the room, grinning like idiots at each other.

There was a knock on the door, "Hope I'm not interrupting..." a chuckling voice said from the doorway. Alex ripped her eyes away from Minho and spun around, Newt was leaning on the door frame, arms and ankles crossed, chuckling at them. Alex instantly felt warm and she could feel the heat rising up in her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Newt walked away laughing to himself.

Alex slowly turned back to Minho, he was looking everywhere but at Alex, rubbing the back of his neck, his face and ears turning pink. And Alex was very interested in her boots, playing nervously with a piece of her hair. It was quiet for a minute, then they both looked up and spoke at the same time.

-"So Alex..."-

-"I guess we..."

They both stopped, Alex looked back at the floor, her face still feeling warm, she was suddenly very aware of the tight tank top she had on.

This is awkward.

Minho cleared his throat, she glanced back at him. He ran a hand through his hair, he took a few steps closer to Alex. He was smirking, and had an eyebrow cocked, he looked down at her. Alex could feel his closeness. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She looked up through her eyelashes at him. He took another step closer, and slowly leaned down. Alex was now holding her breath.

What's he doing? Keep it together girl. Breath shank! He's so close.. SHUCK those lips..

In a low seductive voice, his lips right by her ear, her lungs stopped working, "You need a shower Shanket. You smell like a shuck Glader!"

She gasped "Minho! What the actual shuck?! You're such a shuck faced slint head" She shoved him in the chest, "Mean-ho!"

He stumbled back, throwing his head back laughing loudly, holding his stomach.

"What's the matter She-Bean? Thought I was gonna kiss you?" He was smirking at her, she blushed a deep scarlet red.

"Ugh, Eww. No!" She said loudly, turning around, quickly grabbing her shower stuff.

What would kissing him be like? He looks like he has very kissable lips...girl it's been like three days!

Alex stopped at the door and flipped her hair and looked over her shoulder. She batted her eyelashes at him and in a sweet voice asked, "Well Sir Knight, will you escort this fair maiden to the ye ol' shower and stand watch like the brave knight you are?"

Minho smiled, a smile that made his dimple show, his eyes crease into half moons, and his bright white straight teeth show. He bowed with much arm waving and flailing.

"As you wish My Fair Lady! Me and thy noble steed shall stand watch and make sure no lowly peasants shall disturb you!"

He held out his arm for her to take, whistled for Bark to follow and he escorted his fair lady down the stairs to the showers, Alex giggled the whole time. Minho kept pushing guys out of the way and yelling "Make way for the Fair Lady" or "bow peasants, there is a Lady Shank present!" Gladers just shook their heads and continued on, or watched in amusement.

One glader leaned over to his buddy, "I bet ya 10 bucks they get together!"

"Oh, you're so on!"

While she showered, Minho and Bark guarding the door, she told them all about her day, including the weird silver creature. Which she found out was called a beetle blade and that's how the creators watch them.

Creeps.

And the twigs snapping, they both assumed it was the beetle blade trying to get her attention.

This was how their daily routine started. Alex would meet Minho in his room, after she was done with her day, he would guard the door while she showered. They would talk about their day, or anything else that came to mind. The gladers could usually hear laughter coming from the two of them. Alex would have supper with the rest of their friends and then she would crash in her borrowed bed.

She had tried all the jobs by the end of the week. Track hoe was hard sweaty work, her hands hurt from blisters and cuts and her knees hurt from kneeling pulling weeds. She didn't mind the company. Zart was kind of slow and sleepy, but very strict when it came to his plants.

Her and Newt started an argument, it was a very intense disagreement. Minho asked what it was about, at supper that night, and neither of them could tell him. Alex still insisted Newt was in the wrong! Their argument got so heated they were screaming at each other and ended up throwing mud and some of the freshly picked tomatoes at each other. She was fired, right then and there. She wasn't too upset.

"I didn't want to be a hoe anyway." She rolled her eyes at the table making the guys snigger into their food.

She worked with Frypan the following day. That was a fun day, it went fast. She didn't think she was that bad, but just didn't have 'the touch', as she was told. Fry waved a wooden spoon around dramatically trying to explain what 'the touch' meant. Though chopping veggies and whisking eggs wasn't overly challenging. She had more fun chatting with Frypan than cooking. He was quite the glade gossip. She had fun listening to his stories and theories about each Glader. She turned red and changed the subject as fast as she could when he brought up Minho and her.

She also spent the day as a Slopper, she was supposed to be shadowing a boy named Dave. She slipped away from him at the beginning of the day and hung out with Chuck instead. He was more fun. They spent the morning cleaning the breakfast dishes and planning the perfect pranks. They spent the afternoon washing laundry. It wasn't pleasant work, but Chuck was a fun kid to be with. He swore just as bad as Minho, and gossiped just as much as Frypan. Dave didn't seem too bright, because he didn't notice she wasn't with him until the end of the day when she was putting cleaning supplies away.

"Where'd you go?" He asked, surprised to see her at the cleaning closet.

"I helped Chuck with dishes and laundry."

"Oh." He shrugged and wandered away, with a spaced look. Alex just shook her head, she was glad it was the end of the day, her back hurt, and she was ready for her shower.

*****************************************

So what do we want for Miss Alex? Builder- so she can keep mouthing off to Gally? Or Slopper so she can hang with Chuck? 

**An in depth chapter of Alex getting fired as a Glad Track Hoe (and you find out what Newt and Alex's big argument was about!) in the 4th book: Indulgence, a chapter called: "No, Your Wrong."