I do not own the Maze Runner or any of its characters.

Lauren: What happened when all you guys came up?
Newt: *flashbacks of Alby playing the trombone and him opening and closing an oven door in the Kitchen* Nothing.

Lauren
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I had fallen into a dreamless sleep, and thank goodness I had. I needed a lot of energy for what was going to come.

I worked with the Builders today, getting ready for the massive project I had drawn up with Jonathan two days ago. I, Lauren, was going to remodel the Homestead. With a few helpers. Jonathan would oversee the building and other things, but I was the real brains behind it.

It was something to keep me busy for a while and put the awful idea that I had come up with last night out of my head. Despite saying it out loud, I still wasn't sure that I was going to do it.

We needed a lot of wood, so that was what a lot of the Builders were working on. A few were still working on daily things, but a majority of them were devoted to remodeling.

It wasn't a very complicated plan. I was going to strip down the Homestead to its barest parts and redo them. I had handpicked the better Builders to work on the task. There were a few, and I wanted to do this remodel right. Gally was in charge of the Builders demolishing the Homestead. Peter was in order of the other ones. Jonathan led the Bricknicks redoing the Homestead, and I was the project manager.

Not a bad setup, to be honest.

I hadn't understood the difference between Bricknicks and Builders when I first came up. I still don't, but there's a slight difference when you see them working. Builders are better with more delicate things, like dressers and beds. And creating something from scratch. Bricknicks are good at repairing things.

It's complicated.

But combining the two, you get a very good team.

I was shocked when Jonathan told me I was going to be a project manager. It didn't make sense. Me, the lowly Greenie who had been here for two weeks, was overseeing two Keepers and their people. But Jonathan insisted, and I accepted the role.

Today, I was pitching the idea to the Bricknicks and the Builders. Jonathan had already cleared it with Alby, and he said we could go ahead as long as the rooms had walls at the end of the day. It wasn't the best timeline, but I believed we could make it work.

Once Gally and Jonathan got their guys together, I started to talk.

"Hi, I'm Lauren, but you guys knew that." I nervously laughed. This was starting great. "I had an idea for a project, and I've gotten it cleared with Alby. We are going to be remodeling the Homestead." I told the group.

I was met with silence.

"How? The thing's huge." One Bricknick protested.

"Well, combining the forces of you guys, I believe we could get it done in three weeks. A month tops." It was going to be a crunch, but it had to be done. The thing was not going to be standing for very long. It was only standing because of hope, spit, and prayers.

I looked at the group, steeling myself for more protests. But they just looked back at me, waiting to get more info.

"Okay then. The Builders are going to be split into two groups, one still working on daily things, but it's going to be a small group. Peter will be overseeing you guys, so if I had not talked to you two days ago, you can leave with Peter." I instructed. A couple of guys left.

"So that leaves the rest of you. Jonathan told me that the Bricknicks pretty much only fix the Homestead, so I won't split you guys into two." They laughed.

"But if a building does need to be fixed, or someone needs a Bricknick, Rob, and Sid, you'll be my guys. Fancy that?"

The two nodded.

"Alright. Today we're just gathering materials and sketching stuff out, so I won't be needing too much from the Bricknicks. We might get a room done today, but I highly doubt it. We won't do a lot this week because we're waiting on the next shipment of wood to really get started. That's all for now!" I dismissed the group.

"You did good." Gally walked up to me.

"Really? I felt like the start was kind of shaky." I wrung my hands, trying to get some nervousness out of them.

"Nah." He shook his head.

"Thanks. I gotta talk to Jonathan and plan some things out." I left and walked over to where the Bricknicks were.

"Hey! That was pretty good." Jonathan complimented me.

"Thanks! So which room are we going to be working on to start?" We were going to go room by room, one each day. The Homestead was three stories, and it equaled to . . . a lot of rooms.

"I figured we should start off with Med-Jack rooms. They're not using any of them, and it won't be that way for long." He wisely said.

"Good idea. I'll go clear it with them, and we'll get started!" I walked over to the Homestead to talk to Clint and Jeff.

But I didn't make it. Alby stopped me mid-way.

"Lauren, you're comin' with me." Two Baggers flanked him.

"Um, okay? Is this about the project? Because Jonathan said he cleared it with you," I started.

"It's best if ya don't struggle." The two Baggers grabbed my arms.

"Hey! What's this all about?!" Despite Alby's warning, I struggled. A few guys started looking our way.

"Put her in the Slammer." Alby left, and I swore the entire time he walked away.

"You absolute crackface of a stick, why the finch am I going in there?!" I acted like a cat about to be put into a bathtub. I didn't care if I was adding more time to my sentence. Thinking about my actions? We don't know her.

More and more guys started looking our way, and I noticed that someone was yelling for Gally. I hoped he wouldn't come over. The guy would make a bigger scene than I was.

"Shuck, she's really strong." One Bagger commented.

"Well no dip, Sherlock. Why'd you think I was told to be a Builder?" I had zero tolerance for stupidity right now.

"Geez, I thought you were nice." The other one told me.

"I would be nice if I wasn't being hauled off to prison. Come on guys, you're smarter than this." I still struggled, trying to get out of their firm grip. I was going to have bruises on my arms.

They eventually got me into the Slammer. But it was not an easy fight. I had attracted a crowd with my, how shall we say it, colorful swearing. Around half the Glade gathered around the Slammer, and rumors were flying.

"Lauren, why're you in here?" Peter was concerned.

"I wish I knew." I paced the walls of my cell.

"What the shuck?" Gally had caught up. I knew I had to diffuse a potential fight.

"Alby trapped me with two Baggers and they threw me in here. Don't know why." I brought him up to speed. "Can you grab Jonathan? I feel like I'm going to be in here for a while. And we can't stop the project just because Alby's acting like a stick." Crisis averted.

He hesitated, but Gally left.

"I thought you weren't getting punished." Peter was crestfallen. I knew he was talking about what he did for me yesterday night.

"Oh, hey," I said softly. "Alby's just a prick. This is probably for outrunning the Griever on my training day. Or, backtalking him when I came up in the Box. Or yelling at him later. Oh! Maybe it's snapping at him for keeping me from my shower. I haven't exactly been a model Glader, you know." I forced a laugh.

"Yeah, but-" He was cut off when Jonathan walked up.

"What's all this about?" Jonathan was perplexed.

"Don't know, really care. Just go on ahead with the plan that we planned out. But someone's got to clear the rooms with Clint and Jeff. Peter, will you be my man?" I asked.

"Yeah. I can do that." Peter left the group.

"Anything you want me to do?" Gally asked.

"Um, try to stop the rumors. I'm pretty sure I'm not a robot spy sent by WICKED." That was the prominent rumor circling.

"Okay." Gally left.

"Try to get out soon." Jonathan left me with those words of encouragement.

I paced, planning out what I was going to say to Alby when he walked up. A lot of it included yelling and more swearing in my mother tongue of Glenner slang. But I eventually landed on just silently judging him. I had excellent glare.

Alby finally walked up to my cell after the last Glader left.

"You wanna tell me why I threw you in here?" He asked.

I said nothing.

"I'll tell ya. I have very good reason to believe that you're not who you say you are."

"You really believe that I'm a robot spy sent by WICKED? I have evidence of a visitation by my dear Aunt Flo that could prove it wrong." I said calmly. He wouldn't get the reference.

"Well, no. But I do believe that you're sent by the shanks that put us here."

"Well duh. We're all put here by them." I tried hard not to sound condescending.

"But you chose to be here."

"I, a girl, chose to be sent here, a place filled with males, willingly. Alby, you're a leader for a reason. Use that brain of yours."

"I've got evidence that you were speakin' with WICKED."

I was appalled. "What evidence?"

"You were havin' a conversation with someone last night in your room." Alby looked at me with a hard stare.

I thought back to last night. "Oh, that thing? I was talking to myself, I had a bad idea and was trying to talk some sense into my impulsive side. If anything, I was making your job easier, Alby." He didn't need to know what idea it was.

I could see the gears turning in his head. "Well, if that's true, you're still going to be in here until tomorrow."

"Why? Can't you let me out? I've got a really big project, Alby." I pleaded.

"You can still talk to people, but I've gotta think this whole thing over. Call this your punishment for talking back for the last two weeks."

"Ugh. Fine, but I need ten minutes to grab some stuff and go to the bathroom. It's a lady emergency."

"You've got five." He opened the door and let me out.

I could maybe see it from his perspective, but locking me up for a conversation seemed a little extreme. It made me wonder where he got his information from. And if he came up with the idea all by himself. Or maybe, he was mind-controlled. Anything was possible.

I grabbed what I needed for the rest of the day/night, including my journal. I had to do something to keep me busy. I didn't want to spend any more time talking to myself. It had already caused me more grief than I could handle.

I waved to Gally and Peter and peaced myself back into my cell. Alby locked me up, and I sat down in the rickety chair.

Let's get down to business. I started to plan everything out for my project.

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Haha. A little Disney pun never hurt anybody.

But still, Lauren's in the Slammer!
But everything will be explained in the next chapter! It's going to be a little different from my usual chapters, and maybe a POV change??
You never know~~~

Questions!

-Do any of you feel like I wrote Alby OOC? (out of character)

-How many of you screamed at me for hurting Peter's feelings

-Is there anyone you dislike that is liked by a majority of people? (Mine's Teresa, with a hint of Aris)

-Questions, comments, CC?