The Girl

Chapter Five

  "Well, well, well."

I wake to the sound of Minho's voice. I open my eyes to see that I'm still wrapped in Newt's arms. I quickly sit up.

"Uh... Hey, Minho. Sleep well last night?" I desperately try to change the subject.

"Probably not as well as you did." Ugh, that little...

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"Well when neither you or Newt came to your beds last night I decided I should look around in the morning. And Alby was looking for you. You're getting your job today. And he wanted to speak with you about... well... last night...," Minho explains to me.

"Oh, okay. Then let's go," I say, gesturing for him to lead the way. He does. We arrive at a small hut, obviously built by the gladers. I've seen them come in and out of here. I assume that's where they have meetings. I assumed correctly.

"There she is!" Clint, the Keeper of the medjacks, shouts as I walk through the door. I grin and take a seat next to him. The room is full of Gladers. I can see Gally, Frypan, and Alby, as well as a handful of others whose names I haven't learned yet. The only gladers that weren't there, that I could tell, were Newt and Jonathan. All the Keepers were sitting around the room.

"Alright, now that she's here, let's get started. Is everyone else here?" Alby begins the meeting. Someone shouts Newts name in the crowd.

"I got him!" Minho says as he runs out the door. He comes back shortly after with Newt, who takes a seat next to him.

"Great. Let's get down to business. Keepers, how'd she do?" Alby asks.

"She's a great cook, we could use her in the kitchen." Frypan is the first to answer.

"No, we could really use her as a builder!" The boys continue to argue over me before Clint steps in.

"Guys, I hate to break it to you, but she's needed in the medjacks. I actually think she should take over the title of Keeper of the medjacks," He reasons.

"She hasn't even been here a week, how can we make her a keeper?" Gally interjects. I look over at Newt and he rolls his eyes jokingly at Gally. I quietly giggle.

"She's got fantastic skills. She did more in two hours than the rest of us have done in the entire time we've been here! The bottom line is she knows what she's doing. More than the rest of us. And she's our best shot at surviving griever stings. She's our best shot at surviving, period." The whole group goes silent.

"Any objections?" Alby asks after a while. The group remains silent. "Great. Beth, will you be our new Keeper of the medjacks?" I bite my lip before smiling and replying two simple words.

"I will."

The crowd erupts in cheers, and before I know it Clint has me on his shoulders. I laugh as the boys gather around and cheer. I scan the crowd for the faces of my friends. Minho is smiling and cheering, as well as Alby. When I see Newt, he has an almost angered look on his face for a split second before he realizes I'm looking at him and he brightens up. I try to let it roll off my back but it tugs at the back of my mind.

"Wait a second, wait a second..." Clint quiets the crowd. "Have we made her an official glader yet?"

"I guess we know what we're doing tonight," Alby says. The boys cheer again. I laugh. For the first time since I've arrived, I feel genuinely happy. And it feels good.