Afflicted↠ Newt [1]

Chapter 15

The next morning, I awoke to a manly giggle in my ear. I groaned, internally stabbing Minho with a stick as he spoke.
"It looks as if you two slintheads are comfortable."
Beside me, or more like basically on top of me, Newt stirred. He sat up, his eyes still half closed and his hair ruffled by sleep. The sun had yet to rise, leaving the Glade in a cloudy darkness. The only light was coming from the half-moon, which still wasn't a lot. It was way too early for me to be awake, and I stifled a yawn.
"You better prepares yourselves for a whole lot of teasing today," Minho said with a smirk. "Most of us saw you two last night, and those who didn't are sure to know by now."
My bones ached, screaming with fatigue, from sleeping on the ground the night before. I could tell Newt felt the same way, as his eyebrows ceased together in pain as he stretched.
"Why are you guys so quiet?" Minho whined, crossing his arms.
"Because we were just woken up by a stupid shank who giggles in your ear when you're asleep," I retorted. "You wouldn't be too happy either."
He took a seat beside me, draping his arm across my shoulder, "Well, you better lighten up at least a little bit."
"And why is that?"
"Today's the big day, Newbie," Minho said. "Your job is determined today."

+

The sun was only just beginning to appear over the walls as Minho, Newt and I made our way towards the kitchen. All of the Gladers were awake now, most groaning and holding their heads as if they were in intense pain. They probably were, though, as they spent the entire night partying the night before.
I, however, felt energized. Refreshed. Any signs of tiredness had disappeared by now, only to be replaced by eagerness. Longing to know which job I would be given. Though I was nervous, as well. What if I were given a job that I didn't want- like a Slicer?
The thought was running through my mind, making me a nervous wreck, as I grabbed a plate of eggs from Frypan. I took a seat at our usual table, rolling my eyes as Minho dug into his breakfast, making noises similiar to a pig as he ate.
"You're disgusting," I scrunched my noise as he burped, though I couldn't help the laugh that fell from my lips.
"And you're obnoxious," Minho retorted. "Your point is?"
I took a bite of my eggs, mumbling under my breath, "Shuck-face."
"I'm sorry, what?" Minho tilted his head towards me. "I didn't hear you."
"Shuck-face!" I practically screamed, causing more than one odd look to be shot our way. Minho only chuckled and leaned back into his original position.
Beside me, Newt ate in silence. He hadn't said a word all morning, and it made me concerned. Something was wrong with him, and I wanted to know what. He was never this quiet.
"You're quiet this morning," I nudged his shoulder gently. "What's up?"
He only shrugged, "Tired."
"You should've went to bed last night," I said. "In a more comfortable place."
"Trust me, love, I was very comfortable." He glanced over at me and winked, a smirk spread across his lips. Minho made a gagging sound, sticking his tongue out as I returned the smile.
"You two are so nasty, I'm not even joking."
"Go screw around with your griever girlfriend." Newt chuckled as he threw a piece of his egg at Minho. I laughed, thankful that the mood has lifted drastically in the past minute. I hated it when it was gloomy around here; these boys really needed to have fun more. And I was determined to make that happen.

The meeting for my job selection was being held at noon, and I was growing even more nervous every second. I was excited to know my job- to find out how I was going to help this boys. But I was also worried. I didn't want to get a job that I despised doing. That would take all the fun out of it.
Minho took the day off of running, something that he seemed to be doing a lot. Though he was the keeper of the Runners, so he had to be present at the job selection. If he had to be present, then that must mean that I had at least a small chance of being chosen as a Runner. It gave me hope.
I sat against a log in the courtyard alone, drawing designs in the dirt with a twig. Newt and Minho had disappeared into the Map Room, to doing whatever they did in there, and I longed for their company. I knew that whatever they were doing was important, however, so I didn't mind the loneliness all that much.
The sun was almost in the middle of the sky, telling me it was almost noon. Meaning that the gathering would start soon. There was not a single cloud in the sky, which made me wonder. It seemed as if I wondered a lot of things these days; I had a lot of time to think. The sky seemed almost fake, as if it were some holographic image. Maybe it was. Maybe we were trapped inside a large building. And the Creators used a false sky to mess with our heads. Disorient us.
The metal door to the Map Room swung open, and Minho and Newt stepped out of the building. I immediately sprang up, heading towards them. Newt met me halfway, while Minho veered off towards the Coucil Hall. Probably to prepare for the gathering or something.
"Are you ready to find out your job?" Newt asked me.
I shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be." I pursed my lips and looked up at him. "What if I get a job I don't like?"
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Newt said and rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. "I'll put in a good word for you. What job do you want most?"
I stared at him for a second before answering, "A Runner."
For a moment, I could've sworn I saw a flash on panic in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly, "A Runner?" I nodded, and he smiled slightly. "I'll make sure to tell Nick that."
"Why do I get all this special treatment?" I asked with a laugh.
Newt brought his hand up to my face, rubbed his thumb gently across my cheek before answering.
"Because you're my princess. And princesses need special treatment."

+

I sat in the council hall, facing all of the Keepers as they spoke amongst themselves. Occasionally, their eyes would flicker over to me, which only made me feel nervous. I hated being under the stares of so many people, especially boys. Newt was there, too, and Alby. Though they kept their distance from the Keepers. I kept on trying to get Newt's attention, though it was as if he were deliberately avoiding my gaze. His eyes were glued on the ground, occasionally glancing up towards the Keepers. Something was off about him.
Finally, after what seemed like lifetimes of waiting in an awkward silence, The Keepers and Nick split apart. All at once, everyone, including Newt, turned their gazes on me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, aniticipation pricked in my stomach. I looked at Minho, searched his gaze, hoping to find at least the slightest clue that I would be chosen by him. Though his eyes were unreadable, which only made me groan internally.
"Emily the Newbie, are you ready to learn what your job will be?" Nick asked me. My gaze snapped towards him, and nodded quickly. He then continued. "Do you pledge to serve this job at the best of your ability? And do you promise to never go beyond those walls, unless you are in absolute need to?"
The walls. I could never go beyond those walls. Did that mean I would not be chosen as a Runner?
A voice spoke to me in the back of my mind. The voice.
"Don't do it, Emily. You need to run. Run."
"I promise," I said, ignoring the voice as it repeated those words.
"Good." Nick then tore his gaze from mine and scanned the small crowd of Keepers. "Will Emily's new Keeper please step forward."
I looked over at Minho, expecting him to step forward. But he stayed where he was, smiling apologetically at me. Instead, Clint, the Keeper of the Med-Jacks, stepped forward, smiling warmly as he spoke.
"You are now officially the Glade's second Med-Jack."

+

"Med-Jack?" I approached Newt, anger radiating off of me as if I were some kind of heater. He flinched away from me, as if he expected me to punch him. He was lucky that I didn't. "I'm a shuck Med-Jack?!"
Newt held his hands up in surrender as he took a step away from me, "I can explain, Em."
"Yeah, you better." I said as I crossed my arms.
"Listen, I was going to request you as a Runner. I was so close to, but then I realized that they would most likely listen to me. And I couldn't let that happen. You can't be a Runner. It's too bloody dangerous."
"So you requested a Med-Jack instead?"
Newt nodded, "Clint agreed. He said that you were the best trainee he's had."
I narrowed my eyes, felt anger boil up in the pit of my stomach, "You need to stop looking after me, Newt. I'm not a baby, I'm not weak. I can take care of myself." I spat. "I trusted you with this. I wanted to be a Runner so bad, and you couldn't do that for me. All because it's too dangerous."
I didn't wait to see his reaction. I didn't want to. I turned away from him, stalking off in the direction of the Homestead. I was angry. I was beyond angry. I was pissed. I get that he cared, and I appreciated that. But he took it way too far.

+
~ PLEASE READ ~
So I've decided something. I'm no longer gonna update once a day. I'm only gonna update once a week and/or every hundred reads.
So updates aren't gonna be that frequent anymore. I wanna get more reads, so be sure to share this story, so I'll be able to update sooner!