Live ➳ Newt

bonus chapter

Isaac Newton

➳

< 12 years before the maze >

I sat calmly in my seat, fiddling with my fingers as the bus shook.
I didn't know where I was. The last thing I remembered was saying goodbye to my mother before the men in masks took me onto this bus.
They were scary.
I glanced up, looking around the moving vehicle.
There were a couple other children, they all looked around my age but I was almost 7 so I wasn't very certain.
Mother always said it was impolite to ask strangers how old they were.
There was a girl in front of me, she was much smaller than I was. She had dirty blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. She sat with her legs crossed, and her hands were intertwined on top of her knees.

"Hey."

I smiled, waving a hand at her. She perked up almost immediately, gazing over my features. After a moment, she smiled back. "Hello."

"I'm Isaac, but everyone calls me Newt."

"I'm Ellene," she replied, scrunching up her nose a little, "but my mom calls me Bailey. She says that my dad named me Ellene and she doesn't like my dad."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

She shrugged, "It's ok! What about your mom?"

"She calls me Isaac, says that Newt isn't a normal name."

"I like it."

I paused, searching her eyes, "You do?"

"Yes, silly," she giggled, "I think it's cute!"

I could feel my face turn a light shade of pink, "Thank you! I like your name too, Bailey is really nice."

"Thanks! I like it more than Ellene."

"Me too!" I laughed, sticking my hand out for her to shake.
She looked at my palm, confusion spreading across her face. I grinned, "You're supposed to shake it. My mom said that it's nice to shake people's hands."

"Oh, my mom never told me that."

She grabbed my hand carefully, giving it a firm shake. I pulled my palm back, resting it against my thigh. "What did your mom teach you?"

"Not to trust people."

What?

"She said that people are dangerous and not to trust them."

"You can trust me." I replied happily.

She shook her head, "Nope, no I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you could be evil."

I grinned, "Like a super villain!"

"You're not a super villain, are you?" She gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth, "You're too nice!"

"Nope! I'm the super hero though. You could be my side kick."

"I want to be the smart girl that you fall in love with."

"That works too! My mom said that falling in love is hard work though."

"My mom said that it's easy to fall in love, but that it's hard to make it last."

"Why would we want to be in love then?"

"Well, she also said that if you find the right person it's fun and beautiful."

"I like fun things!"

"Me too!"

"We should definitely be in love."

"For sure!" She smiled happily, "I now love you, Newt."

"I love you too, Bailey."