Her laugh could be heard throughout the Glade. It always seemed to be that way. Sometimes, working with her closest friends was a challenge. There were days Emma would get no work done because of Zart or Jack. They would mess around, not taking their work seriously.
Today was one of those days. Emma tried to do her work but failed miserably. Even Newt was struggling to concentrate. Normally, he would yell at them to go back to work, but the last few weeks had been stressful. It was nice to laugh and have fun while working.
But eventually, the work ends. It was too early to eat; Frypan had yet to finish dinner. The girl wandered the Glade for a bit before venturing toward the animals. It's not a place she often visited.
Emma had her arms resting on the fence. She watched the pigs as they walked around the mud. They screeched, huffed, and oinked as they ate. It was hard to be around the animals knowing they would be slaughtered for food. The Glade had to eat, but still, pigs were living animals. It made her feel sort of guilty.
"Hey," a voice said. Having been lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the person approaching. She jumped, yanking her arms back. Her elbow hit the wood post, causing her to gasp. Gally snorted, shaking his head. "You okay?"
It didn't hurt, luckily. "Fine, you just scared me."
Gally crossed his arms. "What are you doing over here?"
Emma sighed, "don't know, really. Just walked, ended up here." She ended up staying, letting her mind wander as it commonly did. The girl rested her hands on the wood but felt a prick in her palm. "Ow," she whimpered, rubbing her hand. Gally raised an eyebrow at her, not understanding what happened. "Splinter."
That didn't surprise him. "If you could go five minutes without getting hurt, that would be great."
Emma playfully glared at him. "Slim it." There was a pause. "What are you doing over here?"
Again, a pause. "Dinner bell rang." Gally never spoke his entire thought. It was always half of what he was thinking. Emma had started to learn that. When he said, 'dinner bell rang,' he meant, 'dinner started, and you weren't there.'
"It did?" She hadn't heard it. How long had she been in her thoughts? It was darker now, so she assumed her mind had wandered a bit longer than intended. "I didn't hear it. Thanks for coming to get me."
At the same time, they turned away from the pens and walked toward the Kitchen. Gally's actions were unlike himself. Typically, he wouldn't care if a Glader missed dinner. That just meant more food for everyone else. Why did he care if Emma missed? But he knew why. He didn't want her to go to bed hungry. It was important to eat.
They walked the rest of the way in uneasy silence, both caught up in their minds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why are you staring at Gally?" It was the first words Emma had registered since dinner started.
Her face flushed. "What?" She stuttered nervously. "I'm not."
Newt chuckled. "Really? Because I just saw you." He used his spoon to point at her. "In fact, I've noticed it quite a bit. Always dazing off, glancing at him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're admiring him."
"Slim it." But her cheeks only darkened. Newt smirked victoriously. "I'm not admiring Gally." The last thing she wanted was for him to hear. Emma was not admiring Gally. It was a ridiculous comment for Newt to make. If Gally heard her, he would be upset.
"Oh, does our Glader Girl have a crush?" Zart sat down in front of her.
She never had a chance to respond. "Emma has a crush?" Jack had overheard the conversation.
"Oh my," she groaned. "I do not. Newt's being a Slinthead."
Newt nodded, the conversation growing louder. "I was just messing with her." Jack and Brandon nodded in understanding. They also enjoyed messing with the Glader Girl.
There was a moment of silence when a new person approached. "Hey," their voice was shaky.
Emma looked up to see Chuck standing nervously at the edge of their table. She had invited him to eat dinner with her two days ago but was always too nervous. It seemed he was finally able to join. "Chuck, hi." The others stared at him. "I invited the Greenie to eat dinner with us."
He nervously sat down beside her. "Why? Are your Slopper friends not that much fun?" Chuck stared at him, not knowing what to say.
"Relax," Brandon laughed as he sat down. "He's kidding. We know you're just sitting with us 'cause we're the best in the Glade."
"The best in the Glade?" Minho had overheard the conversation as he was passing by. "A bunch of Gardeners? No way." He sat down with a smirk. "Listen, Greenbean. The Runners are the best of the best. Don't let them fool you."
"Ignore him," Emma spoke to Chuck. "Minho's head is Jacked. Running in the Maze all day has melted his brain."
Minho gasped, placing a hand on his chest dramatically. His actions caused Chuck to relax, even making him laugh. That was his intention. As much as Minho prided himself on being a tough, sarcastic Runner, he was incredibly caring. Always wanting to make people laugh and feel comfortable. "She has no idea what she's talking about." Minho slung an arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer.
Emma laughed at his childish antics, shaking her head. Her eyes, as they did without her mind realizing, flickered in the direction of Gally. To her surprise, he was already looking in her direction, a scowl on his face. Noticing, she frowned, wondering what was bothering him. Emma found herself tilting her head to the side. Gally caught her eye seconds later, his features softening. Not wanting to seem creepy for staring, she smiled. Gally blinked, cheeks darkening as he awkwardly smiled back at her. Quickly, he looked away.
She bit her lip, focusing her attention on the conversation around her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma let the stress of the day melt off of her body. The shower's cold water would typically bother her, but it didn't today. It soothed her aching muscles and flushed out her thoughts.
She needed to stop getting lost inside her head so much. It was becoming an issue. The what-ifs and questions she constantly had were paralyzing her. All she thought about were pointless, meaningless things. The Glade was her home. She had to live with that and not an endless list of possibilities.
No amount of wishing would make the Runners find the exit faster. No amount of curiosity would give her an answer to the questions that plagued her mind each night.
With a sigh, she turned off the water.
Emma used a towel to dry her hair and body. The shower stall Gally had installed gave her an extra layer of protection in the showers. There was still a lock on the main door that had yet to be tampered with since the first incident. They never found the culprit. Emma knew they never would. She had started to forget but never fully trusted her surroundings in the shower. Every time she made sure to check the lock.
Once she was dressed, she combed her finger through her hair as she slowly walked toward the door. Without much thought, she unlocked it and yanked the door open. To her surprise, there was someone outside. Gally flinched, not expecting the door to open. His hand was extended, still frozen in the air, as he reached for the handle. "Gally," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey."
"Hey." He yanked his hand back. "I didn't realize you were in here."
"Well, I'm not now. Showers all yours." A few drops of water remained on her skin. Her face was flushed from the cold water. The water drips from her hair, creating dark patches on the front of her shirt.
"Right," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he kept his eyes on the ceiling.
"Everything ok-"
"How's the door lock?" They spoke at the same time.
Emma giggled, deciding to answer his question. "Great. I feel much safer. Thank you, Gally." She gently placed a hand on his arm, her cold fingers touching his warm skin.
"Yeah," he responded, an odd sense of calm in his tone. "I'm sorry we never figured out who it was." But they both had their theories.
"It's okay," Emma promised. "I try not to think about it." When she thought about it and what the unknown Glader's actions meant, she felt afraid. "It's just easier, you know?"
Gally clenched his jaw. "Yeah."
She dropped her hand, letting it fall limply to her side. "Well, I'll let you shower in peace. I promise I didn't use all of the cold water."
He chuckled at her words, knowing they only had cold water. "Thanks." With a nod, Emma brushed past him and headed toward the Homestead. The entire time, she felt Gally's eyes on her back.