The Girl Glader (Updated, edited and revised version)

Chapter 8-Explosion Time

Reaching up, I pluck yet another of the ripe apples off the tree above me. Zart smiles when I hand him the basket of fresh fruit.

"You did great this week, y/n!" he exclaims, taking the basket.

"Thanks, Zart," I smile before walking off, finally done for the day.

"See you at dinner!" he calls.

Making my way to the Deadheads, I roll up the sleeves of my shirt. I head to my little creek, just like I have every day since I discovered it. I lay down on my stomach, arms pushing me up slightly. After shifting from my stomach to my back, to a few other positions, I find myself sitting cross-legged, itching for something to do. Finally, after switching to a few other positions, I start doing pushups. More and more, I find myself itching to go into the Maze. I need to run; to be free. One-hundred pushups later, I stand up, stretch and start jogging the perimeter of the Glade. One lap, two, three. I keep going until I hear Frypan calling us for dinner.

"Hey shank," Minho greets as I approach.

"Hey shuckface," I respond as he hands me a plate full of food. I look down at it in surprise.

"Hey, y/n," Newt greets as we get to the table.

"Hey Newt," I greet, sitting down, sure that my ears are tinged with pink. Thank goodness Newt and Minho are too busy eating to notice anything. Shoving a forkful of food into my mouth, I tune into the conversation.They are talking about Minho's day in the Maze. Once he stops talking about his day, Minho turns to me.

"So, y/n, how was your last day in the Gardens?" he asks.

"Yeah, are you ready to start in the Kitchens tomorrow?" Newt chimes in.

"Today was good. I weeded out the garden and plucked the ripe apples off the trees," I explain. "And no, I am not ready for the Kitchens tomorrow." I laugh. "I don't think it will go well. Something is bound to go wrong." This earns a chuckle from the boys.

"I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow," I hear Alby say behind me. I turn to see him and Gally take a seat on either side of me.

"I guess we will see." We fall into a silence until I burst into laughter. The boys raise their eyebrows as I gasp for air.

"Care to explain what's so funny?" Newt questions, sniggering a bit.

"Yeah, I think we must have missed something there," Gally adds, eyebrows furrowed.

"I was-I was th-thinking," I laugh even more. "What if-what if I-accidentally." More laughter. "Accidentally blow the kitchen up?" I ask, gasping for air. Minho gives a surpressed laugh, soon followed by Alby and Gally. Newt isn't even trying to hold back his laughter. The rest of the Gladers are watching us like we have lost our minds but we don't care; we keep laughing.

Moments later, still chuckling, we finish our food. Soon, Minho is the only one left eating. He is speaking to Newt, his attention completely focused on the conversation. Indicating for Alby and Gally to keep quiet, I lean forward, snatching a piece of meat off Minho's plate and shoving it into my mouth, holding back a laugh. Minho looks back at his plate to grab a bite of food before looking at me, disbelief written all over his face.

"Y/N, did you take my food?" he cries. Mouth still full of food, I shake my head.

"Mm...Nu uh...Nope," I swallow. "Why would I take your food?" The others laugh. Minho stands up and starts chasing me around the Glade. Somehow, I always manage to stay a few steps ahead of him. Eventually, I run into the Deadheads, losing him through the trees. I climb up into a tree and hug my legs to my chest to avoid letting them dangle as I stifle a laugh. Slowly, I doze off, letting exhaustion take over my body.