˚ ༘✶₊˚.                         ⊹ ˚ .  FIRST ACT
❪         ONE      ♥︎    ₊˚༢࿐
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MAE TOO SOFT TO BE A GLADER. That was now the first thing that came to mind when thinking of her. It had been only a few hours into her new life, and she had already cried four times. Nick and Alby had never soothed a cry female before, so you can imagine how awkward it was when she sobbed into Nick's chest over his explanation of what the Blood House was made for.

He simply patted her head like a dog, while Minho told her to suck it up if she wanted to eat.

That earned him a punch in the shoulder from Newt, who took it upon himself to care for the girl the second she stepped in the Glade. Only a handful of them seemed to be patient with her at the moment, and the blonde was one of them. Newt overlooked her overly sensitive, doe-eyed behavior.

He didn't know why he cared so much about protecting Mae. It had only been a few hours. Newt didn't know her, and it wasn't like they had much in common beside their similar accents but something in the back of his mind told him that he needed to.

As if he had done it so many times before.

Besides, Newt knew it was simply her way of coping, and he'd be damned if he let someone crush her optimistic spirit──much like the Maze was doing to them.

It was easy to see, within the few hours of Mae being there, having a girl in the Glade was a lot of work.

Looking past the too much crying and her odd conversation starters, Mae was a wanderer. And a very dangerous one.

Nick almost had a heart attack when Mae drifted off towards the Maze entrance only seconds after he took his eyes off of her. Both Minho and George had to carry her by her arms and legs away before she wandered inside and the doors closed.

Newt and Minho wanted to be the ones to give her the tour, looking back, they were glad because they'd honestly lose her in seconds.

Then, on the way to towards Homestead, Mae ran straight into Winston, Keeper of the Slicers, causing him to stumbled over a pile of freshly skinned meat he was putting away. This made the boy freak out──causing Mae to freak out too and before anything could be said they both started yelling.

Overall, Nick had to rush her away from the barn in a panic before she started sobbing over the dead animals inside again.

Another thing the boys realized was that Mae could talk someone's head off once she was comfortable. She was't quiet, observant yes, but the girl seemed to love trying to make friends. ( but none of these boys were exactly the social chatty type.)

Ben hadn't seen her coming, and before he knew it he was roped into a overwhelming conversation about his favorite type of grass──he didn't even know there was more than one kind of grass but Mae seemed to know a lot about everything, which was odd.

How can Mae know so much about the things in the Glade when she didn't even know her own name?

What she hadn't realized though, was that Nick was practically interviewing her during the tour, trying to figure out where exactly to put the blonde.

So far, she didn't belong anywhere.

He invited her into the Homestead, where he showed her were the the boys slept—which consisted of only eight. Alby, Minho and Newt included. Nick had offered her his room, considering he refused to let her sleep outside with the boys in the hammocks alone.

"Newbie!" Minho came up to greet her, patting her lightly on the head, "Did you cry again yet? Me and George have a bet, that before tonight you'll cry five times. I said you'll cry six times."

Mae smiled so widely, that her eyes began to squint, "I can cry again if you'd like, so you can win," She offered kindly, closing her eyes and thinking of something sad.

"No—No!" Nick waved a hand in her face to stop her from crying, "I'm not dealing with that again. Don't cry."

Minho complains, scurrying off when Nick threaten to assign him more tasks.

The leader sighed, before grabbing both of Mae's shoulders and directing her into the kitchen, "Frypan," Nick greeted, "This is our newbie. Newbie, this is Frypan, keeper of the cooks."

"Man," Frypan starts, throwing down a pot, "I'm Keeper of nobody if I'm the only one cooking." He responds, with a look from Nick he stopped his complaining and smiled at Mae, "What brings you?"

Before Mae can speak, Nick had said, "I want her to try and cook something. See if she's cut out to be in the kitchen."

She snapped her head to him with wide eyes, parting her mouth and then instantly shutting it. I can't cook to save my life. She thought. Then again, I don't remember if I could or not. Either way she didn't want to attempt it.

"Fine by me," said Frypan, smiling and pointing at the girl, "Just wash what you use."

Mae gave a hesitated nod, glancing at Nick in worry. He simply pushed her forward.

With a nervous squeak, Mae grabbed the pan and. . .

"You burned the kitchen?" Newt laughed hours later. The two were sitting on the grass next to the hammocks, waiting for the sun to go down for the monthly bonfire, "That's hilarious!"

Mae's face reddened, "It's not," She insists, "Frypan looked like he wanted to murder me."

The boy still chuckled. "Look on the bright side, at least you didn't have to wash what you used. How's your head?"

The blonde sighed, touching the bandage on her temple, "It hurts. Jeff thinks I have brain damage—"

"Don't listen to him, he got his job the same way everyone else did, there's no way he could tell." Newt reassured.

"I guess I just don't understand why I can't do anything right. I'm not fit to be a slicer, or a cook, I'm not strong. What am I? Who am I?" She jumbled the questions softly.

Newt leans forward, "Hey, relax Greenie," He said calmly, handing her a clear bottle with an odd colored liquid, "Drink this before you explode, alright?"

Hesitatingly, Mae grabs the bottle and sniffed it. Her nose wrinkled, "No way. . ." She turned to Newt, but he simply smiles playfully, giving her a look that read 'scaredy-cat'. Then, with a sigh, Mae put the bottle to her lips and took an inhaling sip.

Which came back up just as fast.

"That's fowl!" She coughed heavily, waving the bottle back to him, "It burns. Stop laughing–!"

Newt was laughing so hard that he fell back against the grass, clutching his abdomen, "You should've seen your face—"

"What even is that?" She whined, "It's disgusting!"

"Don't let Gally hear that," He composes himself, taking the bottle back with a light smile, "It's his own secret recipe. . .nobody knows what it is, but it works."

"Works to what?" She asked.

Newt took another swig, "To forget."

Mae frowned, looking back at the setting sun, "Don't you think we've done enough forgetting?"

He shrugs, playing with his sleeve, "Whoever we were then, it doesn't matter. . .who we are now?" He looks to her, "That's what's important. . .I don't want to remember what happened then."

She furrowed her eyebrows, her nose wrinkling cutely, "But you want to forget what happens now?"

"I'll never forget what happens now, but for a moment I can forget it doesn't exist and just be. . .alright," He explains, "Does that make any sense?"

In response, Mae grabs the bottle again and with a nervous breath to brace herself, she took a slow and long sip. This time, she didn't spit it out. That alone gave Newt his answer.

"You're alright, Greenie," He smiles.

Mae gave a heavy giggle, "You're not so bad yourself."

"You know you still have until the end of the day to find yourself a job before you're officially labeled a Slopper," He tells her, "What have you tried so far again?"

She lists off a few things, "Slicer," Cried for an hour after watching them kill a pig, "Cook," Burned half of Frypan's kitchen, "And Nick refuses to let me be a
Runner."

Newt nods instantly, "Smart choice, you wouldn't last a day outside."

Mae sighed remembering Nick's explanation about the Maze. They've only been here five months, so they don't know everything. Just that the Maze was dangerous and only runners were allowed inside.

Mae falters before giving a smile, "But that's alright! I might not be able to do anything big but I can still help! Maybe I can hand out sandwiches and waters, maybe clean after you—"

"You want to be the Glade's maid?" He deadpans.

Her face reddens, "Well, when you say it like that—"

"Come on, get up," He gets to his feet and holds out his hand for her, she grabs it instantly. "I'm going to find you a job before you become the lowest rank ever."

Mae rushed after him, for someone with a limp Newt seemed to get around fast, "But I'm not good at anything!"

"Everyone is good at something," He responds, "Hey! Hey Gally!" He shouts, gaining the Gladers attention.

Gally's head shot up at his name being called, throwing down the sticks he was using to set up the bonfire for the night. Mae starts to slow a bit when Gally's eyes catch hers, but just as quickly he looked away.

"Kinda busy here, Newt," He says, "This better be good."

"Mae wants to help you set up the bonfire," Newt lies.

"She does?" — "I do?"

"Yes," The British boy pressed, "Yes, she does."

"But, Newt," Mae whispers to him, "I don't know the first thing about—"

"Alright then, off you go." He pushes her forward.

And she stumbles right into Gally's side.

Mae watches Newt escape with a soft huff. She turns to Gally nervously, only to find him staring right back at her. Out of instinct she gave him a bright, nose wrinkling smile, in hopes to ease the tension. To which he responded with a sarcastic, almost mocking, teeth-baring one before rolling his eyes and turning back to his wood.

"So," Mae dragged, trying to see over his shoulder, "What can I do?"

"You can watch me tie wood together," He responds, "Doesn't that sound fun?"

The question was rhetorical and sarcastic but Mae still said, "Not really, no. Come on, I can help you!"

"I heard you burned down Frypan's kitchen," He says, still focused on his wood, "And cried at the Barn—"

"Okay, okay!" She cuts off with a cute huff, one that made Gally give a barely notice smile, "But I need to find a job before the bonfire or I'll be labeled as a Slopper!"

"Sloppers aren't that bad," He chuckled to himself, "Yeah they are." He corrects.

"Fine, I'll watch you."

Mae pushed into his space, causing him to sigh as she got obnoxiously close to him. She was sitting on her knees, softly tapping her fingers on her thighs as she stared directly at Gally's face.

He did his best to ignore her, putting together long sticks off wood and tying the ends. But her presence alone kept making him falter. The more she stared and tapped her fingers the more aware he became of how distracting it was. She knew what she was doing.

Mae starts humming loudly.

"Okay enough!" He snapped. Gally reaches for her hands, prying them off her thighs and placing them on the ropes, he then pulled a small knife from his pocket and placed it in her other hand, "You cut the rope into small pieces and hand it to me to tie, got that? Just don't wave it around."

Mae nodded eagerly, a small laugh escaping. Gally rolled his eyes again, his face reddening. Then, almost instantly, the two found a rhythm. Their hands would brush together once or twice as they worked, and each time one of them would panic and shuffle back.

Thankfully, Mae's talking distracted them enough to forget how close they were.

". . .and then maybe we all sing happy birthday and make cakes and have a little picnic with balloons—"

"No one can remember their birthdays," Gally remind a tad harshly. Mae faltered softly, and he quickly says, "But it was a nice thought, Greenie."

This made her smile, "We can just assign birthdays! Make up new ones." She puts down the rope and turns to face him fully, hesitantly he does the same, causing their knees to touch, "Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Fun? In the Glade?" He questions, "Greenie we aren't here to have fun, we're here to survive."

She frowned, "But you can still have fun once and a while! What do you usually do during these bonfires?"

"Drink and cry," He said sarcastically, though there was some truth to it. The last four bonfires they had to welcome a Greenie had ended with all of them passing out or sulking about their situation.

Mae shook her head, "Unacceptable! I'm going to make sure everyone has a good time tonight."

"Good luck," He muttered.

"Thank you," She said seriously.

To that, Gally scoffs a laugh, "I'm on my last set." He reached for his knife beside her but Mae was too eager to help him.

"I got it!" She says, grabbing the knife swiftly and turning around to hand it to him. But, she didn't realize how close his hand was, and sliced his palm across by accident. "Oh no! Gally I'm sorry!"

Gally cursed, dropping his sticks and cradling his hand.

"I told you to not to wave it around!" He scolded.

Mae's eyes began to water, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to!" She quickly gets to her feet, "Just stay there, I-I'll grab you something!"

The blonde quickly rushes off.

Her first thought was to run into the Homestead for Clint and Jeff, but the odds of her running into Nick or Alby were likely, and she didn't want to get scolded or in trouble for injuring another Glader──even if it was by accident. So, her next idea would just have to do.

"Zart!" She shouts.

The keeper jumped at her tone, and turned to her with wide eyes, "What?"

"Can I look at your garden, please?"

Zart frowned in confusion, "Why?"

"Because I said please," She huffed.

The boy shrugged, "Good enough for me."

Mae weaved herself into the garden, her eyes scanning the weeds, seeds, and growing veggies. Oddly enough, Mae could name every single thing there. All of the answers were in the back of her mind, like she had studied for a test she didn't remember taking.

Then her eyes landed on a certain plant on the ground, her lips pulling into a bright smile.

"Took you long enough!" Gally said, still holding his hand. He frowned when he noticed Clint nor Jeff was behind her, "I though you were getting a Med Jack!"

She slides to a stop across from him, "I, uh, didn't have time—"

"No, you didn't want to get in trouble," He scoffed.

"Do you want me to help or not?"

"Honestly at this point—"

Mae shushes him, and unravels a rag full of mashed yarrow leaves. Gally's eyebrows shot up in confusion, but allowed Mae to take his palm and press the leaves firmly against his wound. She then tied the rag in place. She looked back at him with a bright smile.

"What did you just do?" He questioned.

"That was Achillea millefolium," She explains, he looked even more confused, "It's Yarrow. The plant has antibacterial properties to help keep the wound from getting infected and stop the bleeding!"

Before Gally could say anything, Nick, Alby and Newt had walked over to them.

"Suns gone down, let's get this bonfire started," Nick says, "It's time to welcome the new Slopper properly," He teased.

Mae smiles sadly in defeat.

Gally sighs, "Yeah about that," He holds out his bandaged hand, "I think we got ourselves a Gardener and a Med Jack."

She turns to face him with wide eyes. Mae never looked more relieved as Gally continued.

"She found some weird plant in the garden and put it on my cut, and it worked so. . ." He trailed, glancing at her, "I mean I could've done it myself but."

Newt beams. Not only did Mae find a job, she managed to find two. It was about time someone around the Glade could name they plants and things in the gardens—god knows they'd come across the wrong kind of mushroom and poison half the boys in the Maze.

"I think that settles it," said Alby, "She'll start first thing tomorrow. Alternate from helping in the Garden and assisting Clint and Jeff in the Med."

"Now," Newt clapped his hands together, "Let's get this bonfire started."

Mae turned to Gally with a big, nose-wrinkling smile, and this time, the boy had returned a small genuine one. What was unexpected however, was Mae throwing her arms over the boy with a laugh. He froze, not knowing what to do.

His face goes red and he quickly pulls away, "What was that for?"

"It was a hug," Mae falters, "Don't you get hugs?"

Gally stands up in embarrassment, "No, those are stupid. Just don't do it again, alright?"

"Oh, sorry," She fiddled with her fingers.

He sighed, "Whatever, Greenie, let's just set these sticks together."

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Gally was right about one thing, bonfires weren't as fun as Mae hoped. Really, she had assumed when Gally's drunk had been brought out people would start to feel more loose, but all it did was make people numb and quiet as they stared into the fire and muttered to one another. It was boring.

"Is this really what you all do for fun?" Mae had asked Nick, who was busy watching over everyone. "You all should be laughing, happy even!"

He looks to her, "Nothing to be happy about. We're trapped in a Maze."

"Yes but we're alive," She says strongly, "You guys are thriving in the Glade, and you should be excited about all the brilliant things you've accomplished this far!" Mae was passionate, they'd give her that.

Nick shrugged at the thought, "It's survival."

"Yes, but is it living?" She pressed.

To that, he couldn't answer.

Suddenly, Zart had run up beside Mae, holding a rag filled to the brim with an odd looking fungi throwing on the rye, "Is there something wrong with this?" He asked her, "It's growing all weird."

Mae's eyes widened, and with a quick look to Nick who wasn't paying attention, she grabbed Zart by the arm and pulled him away, "Do you have any idea what that is?"

"Hey, I got my job same as everyone else," He says defensively, "They give us unlabeled seeds and we just plant them."

"Zart, this is claviceps," She responds. He looked even more confused, "It's Ergot, silly. This fungus grows on rye. When you boil it and drain it, it becomes—" Mae cut herself off with wide eyes.

"It becomes what?" He questioned.

Mae grabbed his shoulder and smiled, "Zart I think you just single handedly saved this party."

With that, she grabbed the rag from him and made her way through the area, "I'm going to get this party really started!" She vowed.

"Good luck with that," Nick mused.

"Thank you!" She says seriously. With a nod, Mae moved around the fire to where Newt and Frypan were sitting with the Runners, chatting away about the Maze and the new places they had found. Mae clears her throat, grabbing their attention instantly.

"Frypan I need to use your kitchen," She says.

The boy instantly shook his head, "No way! I've been scraping your burned food from my pan all day!"

"Please!" She dragged. "I'm trying to save this bonfire!"

"Sorry to disappoint, Greenie," Minho responded with a smile, holding out his drink, "Just give up and join the slums."

"No," She says, "I'm going to make this a fun night!"

"We don't have fun nights," said George.

"That's before I got here," Mae grinned.

Newt chuckled, "Alright, what do you suggest then?"

Mae turned to Frypan, "Let me use your kitchen."

Mae's plan was pretty solid but Frypan wasn't keen on using his good pot for a theory, and decided to accompany her. You see, Mae might not remember any basic information about herself, but she can remember important things. Logical things. It was like whoever did this to her wanted Mae to keep her intelligence as her only means.

So when Zart handed her a handful of Ergot fungi, her brain had clicked in place and she knew exactly what to do with them to make them edible──even though she didn't remember why she knew. With help from Frypan, Mae was able to boil down, and drain all of the fungi into a single bottle within half an hour, then she mashed berries and strawberries into it, until it became a punch.

"Hey, Greenie?" Fry looked down at one of the cups with a frown, "Are you sure this is safe–?"

Mae smiled, "I am eighty-four percent sure."

Frypan looked concerned, "And the other sixteen percent?"

"Let's just have faith shall we?" She asked, and with a bright smile she makes her way back to the bonfire, where everyone looked completely bored.

Mae holds the bottle out to Minho first, who was the closest and the most willing to do anything, "Thirsty?"

Minho looked down at it, smelled it once before shrugging and taking a fast sip. Mae had to pry it out of his hands before he took too much. In an instant, Minho's eyes had glossed over. Mae held her breath, waiting for something to happen.

But, Minho simply laughed, "Now that, is a drink."

One at a time, Mae had walked over to each boy and offered them a sip. The more they drank, the more rowdy they became and by the time she came around to Newt almost every boy in the Glade was jumping around the fire, laughing or playfully fist fighting each other. Some boys were so blitzed out, that they sat on the grass and watched the stars.

They had become numb in a different way, a way that allowed them to enjoy themselves just for a moment.

"What did you put in this?" Newt asked, sniffing it. "It smells like klunk."

Mae giggled, "It's good."

"You've had some?" He seemed surprised.

She falters, "No."

"Then I'm not drinking it until you do."

"But──"

"We aren't the only one's who need to loosen up!" He says, "Come on, now don't be a slinthead."

Mae sighed, before hesitantly bringing it to her lips and taking a long sip. It didn't burn her throat like Gally's drink did, but it was an instant clouding buzz she felt in her brain that made her grin. She felt sleepy, and her eyes glossed over. Mae didn't even notice that Newt had also drank some, all she felt was a lightweight feeling and a euphoric feeling.

Before Mae knew it, she was dancing in a circle. The boys had taken large pots and pans, banging against them for whatever noise they can muster as the other danced around the fire laughing.

It was funny to see Mae in the middle of it all, flowers in her hair and her dress flowing about like a phoenix──dancing and jumping with the loud growing buzz in her brain.

She was so out of it, that she didn't notice the eyes on her. Gally stood with his arms crossed against a tree, sober as ever. He was shamelessly staring at the girl, curious. Mae had been here for one day and it already felt like a lifetime──like they've known her forever. She wasn't scared of them like she was in the box, she didn't seem scared of anything. Gally couldn't help but frown, she was too naïve.

"Gally!" Mae shouts when she noticed him standing there, rushing up to him with a laugh. Her laughed stopped when she noticed he wasn't enjoying himself like the others were. Even Alby has having a good time──excluding Nick, who had gone to the Homestead to do whatever Leaders do. "What's wrong? Aren't you having fun?"

"People aren't drinking my drink anymore," He pretended to be serious, "I'm out of business."

She smiled, "You should be having fun!" As she said that, Mae brought the almost empty bottle and took a long sip, only to splutter and fall forward a little. If only they knew that the reason may was so keen on everyone to be happy, was because she wasn't feeling happy herself.

Gally quickly grabbed the drink, and placed it on the floor, "Okay, that's enough." He says firmly, "I told you, Greenie, there's no fun in the Glade. This is all going to wear off soon."

Mae paused. Greenie. She repeated in her head, a soft frown on her lips. That's not my name, She thought. Mae pondered for a second. The fuzzy feeling in her brain clouded a lot of things, but for some reason Mae was remembering things too──she had a name.

"Mae."

Gally raised an eyebrow, "What was that?"

"My name isn't Greenie. . ." Her eyes widened, and she jumped in excitement, "My name is Mae!"

He gave her a genuine smile. "Hey, shanks!" He bellowed out, his eyes still locked with hers. All of the Gladers quickly turn to them. "Let's raise our drinks," He bend down and grabbed the bottle, holding it in the air, the others following suit, "To Mae."

"To Mae!" They cheered back.

Mae smiled at them, her eyes watering in relief. She knew her name. She remembered who she was and she never felt more at whole with herself──among these boys who were just as damned as she was.

"Welcome home, Mae."

↳ ❛ NOTES ❜
꒰꒰ Mae put LSD in the punch
in case y'all were wondering 😭🤚 ꒱꒱