" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

twenty-three.

[CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE]

~

Eleanor never kept track of time in the Glade, for she really felt no reason to. Her schedule was quite simple: wake up at sunrise, eat breakfast, work at the Blood House all day, then go to bed when the sun set. She felt no need to keep track of the days- and the only time she knew was the time breakfast, lunch, and dinner was served, and that was told by the position of the sun in the sky.

For Rick, it was obviously different. The young boy seemed to always know what time it was; he had come up in the Box with a watch on his wrist (something that only the Runners usually sported). Eleanor was almost positive that he was the only Glader that kept track of exactly how many days he had been in the Glade, though she was never quite sure how he did so.

One day, whilst Newt and Eleanor sat at the familiar picnic table during lunch, a bubbly Rick joined them with a sandwich in his hands. Eleanor was sure she had never seen him so excited since the day he told her he was a Track-Hoe, so she was greatly confused when she saw him that day.

"Guess what?" asked the boy, smiling widely as he looked between the pair sitting opposite of him. "I've been in the Glade exactly a month today- and do you know what that means?"

"A new Greenie?" Eleanor asked, though she already knew the answer. Rick nodded in response, biting into his sandwich. "Do you really keep track of how many days you've been here?"

Rick shrugged. "The trees holding up my hammock seemed blank," he joked with a short chuckle. "They needed something, and the Creators don't exactly send up art supplies in the Box, so I decided to start carving how many days I've been in the Glade. Don't you?"

Eleanor shook her head in response. "I know I've been here for two months now, but not the exact number of days."

"Well, it's a good way to keep track of time," Rick said with a shrug, biting into his sandwich once more.

Minutes laters, the all-too familiar alarm that signaled the arrival of a new Greenie echoed through the Glade, and Rick was on his feet within seconds. Eleanor couldn't help but smile at the young boy's excitement, remembering how relieved she felt a month ago when she found out she was no longer going to be the Greenie.

"Calm down, shuck-face," Newt told the boy from beside her. "There's still about half an hour before the Greenie actually arrives."

Frowning slighlty, Rick slid back into his seat at the picnic table. Eleanor could feel the table vibrating as his leg bounced restlessly underneath it, and she watched in amusement as the boy's eyes remained glued on the Box in the middle of the Glade.

~

About thirty minutes later, Eleanor found herself waiting beside the Box with Newt and Rick. Several boys had already crowded around the large metal doors, waiting anxiously for the new arrival to come. Beside her, Rick shifted his feet anxiously, peering down at the doors that covered the Box hole with curiosity. Eleanor could see Newt watching the boy out of the corner of his eye, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly as she felt his arm wrap around her waist.

"Hey," she whispered to him with a laugh, leaning closer so that he could hear her. "He's been here a month, don't you think it's time to lay off the poor kid?"