The Forgotten || The Maze Runner

PART 11

Newt reached across Frypan and stole a piece of leftover bacon with a grin when Frypan told him off for it but all he did was wink and move away to join me. He flopped himself down on the nearby bench, leaning his arms on the table while he chewed thoughtfully.

''Alright, Greenie...'' He began, swallowing his mouthful of food.. ''You got twen'y minutes. Ask away. With exception.'' He said, subtly glancing toward the walls around us before looking to me again.

He had very little manners. Like the other boys, he just didn't think to. His personality never affected them either.

I was slowly eating my food while thinking if I should speak out loud my thoughts. But Newt only gave me twenty minutes, so if I wanted to find out a little more about what happened with him and this place while I was away, I should start talking soon.

"Newt, I..." I began, but I didn't know how to continue, how to tell him about the amount of things that were crossing her mind.

"Did any of you remember something else when you first came up in the box? You know, a little more than your own names?" I asked finally.

I waited for him to answer, looking at him chewing at his bacon. I had a strange feeling towards everything.

Newt paused mid-chew, swallowing the rest of his bacon. For a moment, maybe more, he seemed put off by what I was asking him as though it had some kind of underlying message.

''Uh... N-Not really.'' He said, almost in a questioning tone.

Of all the questions to ask, that was the first one I thought of?

He looked like he almost didn't want to ask his own, but did so anyway, following with ''why do you ask?'' and a confused frown.

Did he really want to hear my answer or was he once again, reading too much into it all?

When he gave me that shocked look, I instantly knew his answer. But when he confirmed everything, my heart sank. Deep inside I had a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, his answer will be slightly different.

"Oh..." I began "It's nothing, really...I was just curious."

Suddenly I wasn't that hungry anymore. But I kept eating, avoiding Newt 's gaze. I needed to sort out my thoughts and maybe for a while keep it low key in drawing attention towards myself.

I cleaned my plate and took a deep breath.

"So I think I'm ready to try out those jobs you were talking about." I changed the subject, smiling at Newt. "When do we start?

Newt couldn't stop himself from staring at me. He looked like he wasn't sure what my point was or if there was something I wasn't telling him. Once he realised what he was doing, he shook himself off and stammered briefly before looking over to Frypan; then back to me again.

''Uh... Why don't you start here? See if Frypan needs help.'' He suggested, not wanting to seem as though he was abandoning me. He certainly wasn't; I hoped.

''I need to make sure everything's set up for tonight.''

He climbed from the bench and gently tapped the top of the roughly built wooden table. '

'I'll be back.'' He stated, hesitating momentarily before he took off across the Glade.

"Oh, okay then..." I said watching Newt walking away from me.

I was afraid that maybe I said something wrong, something that made him run away from me. I sighed and stood up, heading for Frypan's kitchen.

Maybe I should stop thinking about everything and deal with the situation. Maybe I should keep my thoughts and secrets for myself.

"Hey Greenie! You got lost?" Frypan's voice made me jump, realizing that I'm already in the kitchen. "N...no. Newt sent me here", I answered. "He said that maybe you need some help."

"Aye, there's always work to do in the Glade", he smiled. "Here, wash these dishes while I make some soup." He pointed around him where some plates were left on the tables.

"Sure, no problem", I said grabbing the plates and gathered them in the sink. Well, at least this job was easy.