The next morning, Emma woke up early enough to shower. There were a few people eating breakfast. Walking toward the showers, she knocked on the door five times. It was her signature knock. The Gladers always knew it was her, and they knew to shout how long they would be. Waiting a minute, she realized nobody was inside.
Emma pushed open the door, holding her raggedy towel in her left hand. She closed the door behind her, locking it. As she took a step away, she realized there hadn't been a locking sound. Confused, she turned back around. Grabbing the handle, she pulled the door handle. It opened.
She looked at the lock, which was locked, but the door wasn't locked. It was open. Emma twisted the lock, closed the door, and tried again. Nothing happened. The door wasn't locked. "What the Shuck?" Tossing her towel on the sink, she inspected the lock. It appeared fine—nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, if it weren't for the missing click, she wouldn't have known anything was wrong.
Emma was puzzled. The lock wasn't broken, but it wasn't working either. Sighing, she opened the door and walked back toward the Homestead. If she asked, Newt would watch the door for her while she showered. After, she would ask someone to fix the lock.
It was a quick walk to Newt's room in the Homestead. Standing in front of his door, she knocked. "Just a minute," was his response. It sounded groggy. Emma hoped she hadn't woken him up. There was shuffling on the other side. After a full minute, the door opened. Newt blinked a few times, surprised to see her. "Emma? What are you doing here?"
"Hey, did I wake you?"
"No, no," Newt assured her. Although, it didn't sound truthful. "What's going on? Everything okay?" Emma had never shown up at his door before.
"Yeah, everything's fine," she promised. "The lock on the bathroom door isn't working. Would you be willing to stand outside the door? I don't want anyone walking in." She was embarrassed about asking but feared someone coming in. People always tried to come in, unknowing she was inside. The lock stopped them. They always apologized, but it wasn't their fault. They had no way of knowing.
"Of course," Newt happily agreed. "Yeah. Come on."
"Thank you." They began walking.
"It's no problem." He meant his words. "The locks broken?"
Emma shrugged. "I guess. It isn't working."
Newt rubbed his jaw. "Gally just put that lock on." It was new. It should be working.
"I'm not a lock expert," she added a laugh to lighten the mood. "I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe just stuck or something."
Arriving at the bathrooms, Newt began inspecting the lock. He attempted to lock the door a few times, but as Emma said, it didn't work. "You're right. It's not working."
"Told you."
He rolled his eyes. "I'll stand guard, but I want Alby and Gally to come by after. Something's not right. The lock looks fine."
Emma wasn't sure what was wrong but agreed. "Okay, I'll shower quick. Thanks again."
"Take your time." With that, he walked out the door. It slammed closed, bouncing once. Emma sighed, trying to relax. She was thankful that Newt agreed to stand guard but annoyed that Gally would have to fix the lock. He already hated her. Now, she was making him do more work. As he stated the previous day, he had a long list of projects. Taking a deep breath, she turned on the shower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma stood to the side, body hunched as she watched the three stand around the door. Newt had gotten Alby, who then retrieved Gally. The Second-in-Command made her wait by the door, which she did. Now, they were taking the lock out to determine what was wrong.
Emma realized she was a very observational person rather quickly after entering the Glade. She wasn't sure if it was a skill she had before or something she developed inside the Glade. Truthfully, how she acquired the skill didn't matter. When Gally first arrived, he had his signature scowl. It was as if the entire situation was inconvenient for him. It was like that the whole time, deepening when Alby instructed him to get his tools and take the lock out.
The girl felt guilty, of course. Gally was being forced to do extra work that he didn't want to do. Why couldn't one of the other Builders fix the lock? Newt seemed to have noticed her uneasiness and said Alby wanted Gally to repair the lock since he installed it.
But his expression shifted as he inspected the lock, which was now removed from the door. Any annoyance he had dissipated upon inspection. Luckily, she wasn't the only one who noticed. "What is it?" Alby was curious.
Gally looked up at her. Every time they locked eyes, he was annoyed. Even during the bonfire. His expression was the furthest from happy. That night it was annoyance and confusion mixed with something else. Right now, it almost appeared to be concern. Gally looked concerned. It was a new expression for him. "It's broken," he said plainly—his attention now entirely on Alby.
"We know," Newt waved his hand. "We got that far."
Gally held back from rolling his eyes. "You see this?" He held the lock, which he had taken apart. "The mechanism was taken out."
"Taken out?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "The outside looks fine, but the inside isn't. It won't lock."
Emma shifted, pushing off the wall. "What does that mean?"
"Wait," Newt said, disregarding her question. "Are you saying this was done purposely?"
Gally never had a chance to answer. "And be sure," Alby wanted him to be sure. "Is there any way this could have broken on its own?"
"No," Gally was sure. "The entire locking mechanism was taken out." Someone had broken the lock purposely. Emma blinked a few times, realizing what that meant.
"Great," Newt snapped. "Now we have some creepy Shank out there trying to spy on her."
Emma's cheeks darkened, her eyes remaining on the ground the entire time. The situation was not her fault. She knew that. Still, it was embarrassing. "How did you even know it was broken?"
All eyes went to Emma. She forced herself to look up but couldn't look any of them in the eye. "It," her voice failed her. "It usually makes a clicking sound. I didn't hear it."
"Can you fix it?"
"Yeah," Gally said. "But I can't guarantee it'll stay fixed."
Newt was angry. Emma didn't think he was capable of being angry. He was always calm and collected. "Who would even do this?"
"Some messed up Shank," Alby responded.
"With access to tools," Gally added. However, everyone had access to the tools once the sun went down. They sat in an unlocked shed.
"A Builder?"
"Possibly, but it could be anyone. Once they got the lock out. It would have been easy to take the mechanism out."
"So, anyone in the Shucking Glade." Emma crossed her arms over her chest, unsure what to do. "Emma, do you know who did this?"
"Has anyone given you a hard time? Any issues?"
She wasn't sure what to say. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The entire situation humiliated her. The Glade had gone out of their way to install safety measures for her, and now it was causing issues. "No." It was the only thing she could say.
"You sure?" All she did was nod. Newt raised an eyebrow. His anger faded as he grew concerned. "You okay, Greenie? You're looking a bit pale."
"Yeah, fine." She was being dramatic. Newt opened his mouth, but she kept talking. "It's really not a big deal. I'll just put a chair in front of the door or something." They all stared at her. "Don't worry about it."
"Emma-"
"Can I go help Zart in the Gardens? He's probably struggling with Brandon and Jack." Alex, another Track-Hoe, was there, but she didn't bother to name him.
Newt sighed, "sure."
"Good that. Thanks again." Quickly, she walked off toward the Gardens, wanting to forget the situation entirely. It wasn't worth making a big deal over.
The three boys watched her walk away. "That was odd," Alby commented.
"Yeah," Gally agreed, his eyes still on her.
"She's probably upset."
"I'll fix the lock," the Builder promised. "It'll be installed by the end of the day. Don't worry."
"I don't think that's what she's worried about," Newt responded rather rudely. "She's probably more worried about some Jacked Shank trying to catch a glimpse of her showering." The blond began walking after her.
"Newt," Alby called out after him.
"I'm just going to check on her," he explained with his back turned. The Second-in-Command began rushing after the only female Glader. His limp slowed him down slightly, but Emma had stopped walking fast. "Emma," he called out once close enough.
Emma stopped walking, knowing it was pointless to keep going. She turned around. "Yeah?"
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, really," she said. "It's not a big deal. I don't want to make it one. I've caused enough problems-"
"Let me stop you," he responded. "You haven't caused any problems. Don't think that. It's not your faulting the Shucking Creators sent you here. You didn't ask for it." Emma stayed silent, her head down. "It's not your fault some Shank's being creepy either. You know that, right?"
"I know that." And she did know that. "I just-" she stopped herself. "It just sucks."
Newt huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, it does, but Gally's fixing the lock. It's not a problem."
"And if it happens again?"
"Then I'll stand guard. Scare of any Slinthead who gets close." Newt wasn't scary, but the image of him trying to scare some poor, innocent Gladers made her laugh. "It'll be okay. We'll figure out who did this."
Emma didn't want to think about what would happen if the person was caught. The key word was if. It could have been anyone. She had no idea who either. "We should really help Zart. I doubt he likes doing our work."
Newt nodded, patting her back. "You're right. Let's get to work."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
News traveled fast in the Glade. One person told another, and then things spread like wildfire. For most of the day, Emma was embarrassed. What happened humiliated her. She hated that everyone knew, but then, she didn't. All of her friends were furious after learning. Zart, Brandon, and Jack wanted to throw the culprit in the Pit forever. Minho and Dmitri wanted to hunt down the poor Shank and drag him into the Maze. Their caringness made her smile. It made her feel safe and protected.
Emma didn't want special treatment. That wasn't her. All she wanted was to be safe and comfortable. Was that too much to ask for? It seemed it was. Even with her friends by her side, she couldn't help but wonder who would do such a thing. Did they really think they could enter the showers without her knowing? She would see or hear them.
"You okay, Em?" Zart questioned from across the table.
She nodded, shifting in her seat. "Fine, yeah."
Zart looked as if he wanted to say more but didn't. "Hey, guys." It was Jordan. He didn't get a cheerful greeting. Barely anyone acknowledged him at all. "Everything okay?" He sat between Emma and Newt.
"Yeah," Jack responded for the group.
Newt ignored Jordan, focused only on Emma. "Gally replaced the lock. He said he would put a bolt on the inside if you wanted."
Emma looked past Jordan at Newt. "Really?"
"Yeah, said it wouldn't be a problem."
"Lock on what?" Jordan didn't understand.
"The bathrooms." He shot Zart a perplexed look. "You haven't heard?"
"No, I've been the lead Slicer all day since Winston cut his hand. What did I miss?"
There was a pause. Nobody was sure what to say. Emma cleared her throat, speaking up. "Someone broke the lock in the showers." She didn't want to make it a big ordeal.
"Why?" His voice was shaky, full of concern.
"Why do you think?" Brandon replied. "Man, if I find the Shank who did it, I'll-"
"They'll be dealt with," Newt stopped him from finishing his sentence. He could tell Emma was getting uncomfortable with the ongoing discussion. She didn't like being the center of such a controversy. "Keepers will decide."
That seemed to end the conversation. All of them could tell the subject was bothering her. Jack quickly changed the topic, talking about the rotting stands holding the fertilizer. They spoke about how Gally had started building new stands, which they should have in a few days.
Emma pushed her stew aside, resting her head on her hand. Her mind distanced itself from the conversation. She kept thinking about the lock. She wanted to know why. She didn't understand. Why would someone do that? It seemed unlikely she would ever know why. Whoever had broken the lock would most likely never be caught.
The conversation continued without her. If anyone noticed her sudden silence, they didn't say anything. Emma appreciated that.