" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

two.

[CHAPTER TWO]
awkward encounters 101

~

Eleanor felt several pairs of eyes on her as she followed Alby towards the dilapidated wooden building in which he had previously led her out of. She felt uncomfortable under the eyes of dozens of hormonal teenage boys, and she wanted nothing more than to sink away into the ground to avoid the stares.

A thick overhang made out of canvas that was attached to the building was where they were headed, several picnic tables scattered around it. Before they reached it, however, Eleanor wanted to ask one more question- the question that had been running through her mind since Alby had led her outside.

"Where are all the girls?"

She hadn't meant for it to be a joke, but Alby seemed to find it quite funny, anyway. It was odd hearing the dark-skinned boy laugh- it almost seemed unnatural- though Eleanor couldn't help but smile upon hearing it. The boy obviously didn't laugh nearly as much as should have. He shook his head slowly as he chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at her in amusement. "You're the only shuck girl here, you see. That's why everyone's been starin' at you as if you're a goddess, Greenbean."

His words caused Eleanor to stop in her tracks. She was the only girl here? Dozens of questions ran through her mind at this, and she would have bombarded Alby with said questions, if only they hadn't been approaching a group of strangers underneath the overhang.

"My name is Eleanor," she grumbled under her breath. "Not Greenbean, not Greenie- Eleanor."

As Eleanor took in the area underneath the canvas overhang, she began to noticed that the area served as a sort of makeshift kitchen- with a poorly crafted wooden table separating the picnic tables from the area underneath the overhang. Several people were working in the rather spacious area; some were chopping up various foods while others washed items in a wooden sink.

"They have running water here?" Eleanor wondered aloud, her voice just barely loud enough for Alby to overhear.

"Yes we do, Greenbean," he answered with a glance in her direction; she was beginning to wonder if he had heard her comment about her name and was continuing to call her the odd nicknames to annoy her. "Whoever put us here were nice enough to give us enough running water for showers, sinks, and to water our crops."

Eleanor glanced over her shoulder as he pointed towards several rows of gardens in the corner opposite of them; the dark brown color of the soil and the various shades of green on the plants were welcoming colors to her. Alby led her towards a tall, dark-skinned boy who had a small yet thick beard growing on his chin. Using a rag to wipe down the wooden table, he looked rather confused as he noticed Alby and Eleanor walking towards him, though he watched her with curiosity.