Second Book to Malevolent Maze
"Teresa!" I sat upright after Thomas called out her name.
Groggily, I sat up and rubbed my eyes before looking over at the bed opposite mine. She wasn't in her bed but I could see the light on in the bathroom. I could...
Newt woke up Minho while I roused Aris. He woke up with a jolt and seemed confused to see me standing above him, a peach in my hand. He didn't ask questions though as he bit into it.
"Feeling better?" I asked once he was just left with a pit. Aris licked his lips.
"Way better, can I have that?" I handed him the apple I was holding.
"It was for you anyways." I replied as he took a big bite. Aris studied my face carefully and swallowed his food before saying,
"I do know you, you know?" I nodded my head.
"Maybe we knew each other before all of this." Aris furrows his eyebrows. He's probably trying to recall a memory of us together. I have a bunch of them and it pains me to see that he can barely remember my face. Aris runs a hand through his dark hair, strands falling in his face. If he weren't more like a brother to me than anything else, maybe I would think Aris is cute but every time I look at him, I just see my friend.
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"Where did you get this?" Aris finally asks, setting on a question about the food and not bothering to delve into our past. I smiled a little and straightened up.
"Come on, I'll show you." When we enter the cafeteria, Thomas is already up and moving around and Aris and I are just in time to see him run straight into the invisible bubble surrounding Janson. A smile plays on Aris' lips and I try not to laugh as Thomas feels his way around the invisible barrier.
"How many times do I have to say this." Janson says in an exasperated tone. Aris stiffens next to me. "We still have forty-seven minutes until I am authorized to implement Phase Two of the Trials."
"I know him. Or I recognize him." Aris said softly. Despite Janson being nearly twenty feet away, he seemed to hear Aris speak and turned to look our way. I met Janson with a steely cold glare. Aris just seemed confused. Janson sat back down and continued to read his book, putting his feet up in his desk.
"Go eat." I said softly, nudging Aris towards the food. He didn't need to be told twice as he walked towards the piled up food on the table. Licking my lips, I turned tail to leave the room. I was sure there were more boys who hadn't been woken up yet that needed to eat. We still had forty-seven minutes left.
----
Rat-Man, as everyone had started to call him, was still reading through his book as the minutes ticked down for him to speak. All twenty-seven of us had gathered around his invisible wall, sitting in various positions. Minho, Newt and Thomas were up front and while I wanted to be with them, I chose to sit with Aris. He was alone in the back, not sitting in line with anyone and I felt bad. Aris would always sit with me when I was alone and it was my turn to return the favor. He smiled a little as I sat down but didn't say anything about it.
I could hear Newt, Thomas and Minho's small conversation from where I was, despite the other murmured voices filling the room. When Rat-Man cleared his throat though, everyone shut up. Janson stood up, closing his book and smiled as he looked at all of us. "Thank you for all coming together in an orderly fashion. It makes it much easier to talk to all of you."
