The First Glader

16

Night had fully settled over the Glade, the sky a deep indigo scattered with silver stars. Most of the boys were already asleep or wrapped in blankets around dying fire pits. George had disappeared to his bedroll, and Nick was doing one last walk around the clearing.

Ada stayed awake.

She often did.

She sat at the edge of the gardens, legs folded beneath her, fingers absently tracing a crack in one of the wooden planter boxes. The air was cool, soft against her face, but her mind refused to quiet.

She didn't realize Alby had approached until the grass rustled beside her.

"You look like you're solving the whole world in your head," he said, sitting down next to her without waiting for an invitation.

Ada smiled faintly. "Someone has to."

Alby huffed a quiet laugh. "No, you just think you have to."

Ada nudged him gently with her shoulder. "You're one to talk."

He shrugged. "Maybe. But you take it harder than I do."

Ada looked down at her hands. "I was here alone. At the start. I had to learn fast. Had to grow up fast. It's hard to break habits."

Alby was quiet for a moment, then said softly, "You don't need to apologize for being strong."

Ada blinked. "I'm not apologizing."

"No," he said, picking a blade of grass and twirling it. "But sometimes you talk like you wish you weren't."

Ada exhaled slowly. "I just... I don't know if I'm doing any of this right."

Alby nodded. "Neither do I."

She looked at him, surprised.

Alby cracked a small smile. "I hide it better than you."

Ada snorted. "That's debatable."

"Maybe." He leaned back on his hands, staring up at the sky. "But none of us know what we're doing, Ada. Newt's scared. George jokes too much. Nick thinks too much. Gally—well, he's trying to look tough, but he's a mess inside."

Ada's voice softened. "Yeah."

"You're the glue," Alby said simply. "You're the one who pulled us together. That's why we follow you."

Ada swallowed, unsure how to hold the weight of that truth. "You make it sound like I planned it."

"You didn't have to plan it," Alby said. "You just led. That's different."

Ada looked out across the Glade, the firelight flickering across the clearing. "Do you think they'll send more people soon?"

"Probably," Alby said. "Seems to be their pattern."

Ada hesitated.

"Do you think..." she started, voice barely above a whisper, "...do you think they'll ever send another girl?"

Alby sat up straighter, surprised by the vulnerability in her question.

"You want them to?" he asked.

Ada twisted a loose thread on her shirt. "I don't know. I've gotten used to being the only one. But sometimes..." She exhaled shakily. "Sometimes it feels lonely in ways I can't explain."

Alby nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

"And with Gally here now," Ada continued, "I... I don't know what that means. Or why he looks so much like me. Or why it feels so—familiar."