Dance in the Dark

Day One Greenie

"Hey! greenie," my eyes start to flutter open as I hear the British boy call out to me.

"I volunteer to kiss her back to life," a a boy calls out, followed by a wave of laughter and arguing.

"Slim it!" The British accent shouts above the rest of the voices.

I force my eyes open and see Newt's face appears from above me. He's kneeled down, so that his face is close to mine. I groan, sitting up on my elbows. The crowd of boys are still surrounding me.

"Day one Greenie," a boy with short dirty blonde hair and odd eyebrows spits in my face. "Rise and shine." He then winks at me while holding a hand out to help me.

"Stop making her uncomfortable Gally ," the blonde, boy pushes him out of my face, not giving me the chance to answer. "You alright?" Newt I recall that's his name. He takes my hands, helping me sit up. I nod.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I refer to their strange words.

"It's what we call the newbies since they don't remember their name quite yet." Newt explains.
"I guess you got a sudden shock. Don't worry you wouldn't be the first, Greenie."

"How long was I out?" I rub my forehead, trying to ease my headache.

"Few minutes," Newt briefly answers. "Some of the boys thought you were dead." He chuckles, attempting to lighten the mood. I grin weakly.

"Alright shuck faces," the leader of this place gathers the boys attention. "New rule: no one touches the girl without her permission. Got that? Or I'll send you to the slammer for a week. Good that?"

The boys around us murmur.

"Good that," Alby repeats. I rub the back of my head. It hurts slightly from the impact when I hit the ground. "Alright slintheads let's give her some space, let her get used to this place."

Slintheads? Greenie? I've never heard these odd words, I wonder, then I find my eyes roaming at my surroundings. There's a forest, a garden, and some small buildings off to the side. And of course, the giant concrete walls that surround it.

"Can you remember anything?" Newt asks me. Bringing my attention back to him. "Other than everything that just happened?"

I rub my forehead and a name appears in my mind.
YN.

"YN," I say aloud. That's my name. I think.

"That came quick," Newt's smile grows, "hello YN, I'm Newt." He sticks out his hand. I shake it.

"she remembered her name, Alby this is YN," Newt tells him for me.

I find myself staring at Newt for a long time, studying his features. He's really handsome. But I quickly brush off that topic from my mind. I got bigger things to worry about. There's no time for silly crushes and boyfriends.

"Well YN we'll show you around." Alby grins at me. "Follow me, I'll give you the tour."

***

Alby shows me just about everything. He tells me how things run around here, and along the way I meet a bunch of new people. He explains the Maze and how they're trying to find a way out of here. He tells me about the creators, the gladers, and all the jobs. It's all so much to take in, but I seem to be taking all of it well so far.

Once we finish the tour, Alby guides me towards an area full of tables ands teenage boys eating. I didn't realize how hungry I was until Alby took me to see Frypan, the cook, and he gave me a sandwich, some fruit, and water.

"This the famous girl greenie?" The cook gives me a friendly grin. I like him already. He seems sweet.

"Thank you," I tell Frypan. Then we return to where all the boys are eating.