𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 - 𝘔𝘈𝘡𝘌 𝘙𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘙

3 ~ 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝

Charlotte

The small boy looked up with bright green eyes in shock as I set my plate down across from him. He lifted a hand immediately to fix his messy hair, and I couldn't help but smile a little at his attempts to impress me.

"Hello," I said, once I'd realized that he was definitely not going to be the first one to speak. That was fine with me; I wasn't really in the mood for a loud shower of questions from the others; especially when I should be the one asking them.

"H-hi." he said, putting down his spoon.

"What's your name?" I asked, trying to ignore the eyes staring holes into the back of my head. I could hear hissed whispers from the other boys – they weren't doing a very good job at staying quiet.

"Mitch," the young boy replied, glancing around at the others anxiously.

"How long have you been here, in the Glade?"

"About a month," he replied in a small voice. I smiled sympathetically at him.

"What was it like for you? If you want to talk about it, of course," I added. He gave me a look, and a small smile crept onto his face.

"Well..." he began slowly. "I came up in the Box, just like you did. I was scared out of my mind – even tried to run out into the Maze." He pointed at the gap in the stone wall, leading to the dark corridor.

"Really?" I said, genuinely shocked. "You must be really brave! I was way too scared to try that." I smiled inwardly as Mitch's chest puffed out in a new boost of confidence.

"The others don't seem to like me that much," he said suddenly.

"Why would you think that?"

He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. "Well, they don't talk to me unless I do something wrong. They don't sit with me at lunch. My hammock is separate from everyone else's. And, they're looking at you like you're stupid, just because you're talking to me." He counted the reasons on his fingers.

I turned to look at the boys staring at us. Some turned away, embarrassed, but some flashed amused grins at me. I smiled back.

When I came across Newt's face, I found that he was smirking. "What?" I mouthed. He shook his head and continued spooning stew into him mouth. "I don't think they like me too much either," I told Mitch. "They smile, but they look at me like I'm something to eat. They only want me around so that they can grill me with questions. One of them called me an it," I said, still upset about it.

Mitch snickered. "That was Winston. He's the Keeper of the Slicers; he works with me." he pointed at a boy with dark hair and a face full of acne seated at the Slicer's table. The other Slicers around him were playing with the vegetables on their plates, but Winston shamelessly took a large bite out of a pork sandwich. "Most of us don't have much of an appetite, after what we have to do all day," Mitch explained. "But Winston doesn't seem to have a problem with eating animals." he shuddered. "He's the only Slicer that actually eats like a normal human." I noticed that he said the word 'Slicer' like it was a curse.

"You don't like your job?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "Would you like it if you had to cut up animals as work?" He sighed. "It's better than a Slopper, at least. They're the ones who have to clean the bathrooms and stuff. Disgusting," Mitch shuddered.

"If you hate your job so much, why would they give it to you?" I asked.

Mitch shrugged. "They give you the job you're good at." I looked down at myself, trying to guess what job I'd be given. "I'd say I hope you're a Slicer, so that you could keep me company, but I wouldn't wish my job on anybody," Mitch said. He broke into a toothy grin. I chuckled, which brought me to another realization. I looked around at the others' faces again.