When Minho pulls me outside the sky has already darkened, a lot of people are gathering around the pile of wood that Gally was 'building'.
"Is this for the 'party'?" I ask Minho, while putting extra questioning on the word party. Just what are they planning? He just laughs and drags me towards it. I'm really not starting to like the dodging of my questions.
When we arrive at the group of boys I can see Gally and the rest of the Builders have been busy. In a big ring of stone stands a pile of wood, neatly stacked against each other. I'm guessing this is for a fire or something? A few meters away from that is a big rope in a giant circle with soft sand in and around it. Littered around the fire circle are benches and chairs to sit on.
Minho just leaves me standing by myself and walks up to another couple of boys, slamming their backs and calling them names. I debate going after him but I don't really feel like it, so I just stand around looking at the scene unfolding.
Once Alby arrives the boys all fall quiet. Looking towards their leader.
"Let me open tonight's bonfire by welcoming the Greenie!" He yells, walking towards me. "She may be a girl but she's to be treated the same! With a little bit more respect that is." The crowd starts laughing and I manage a little smile. "Now come! Let's get this started!" Everyone starts yelling, while some people grab some sticks and light them on fire. Gally pushes one of the flaming sticks in my hands.
"The honour is yours." He speaks. I just look at him. What am I expected to do with this? He just laughs and then quietly tells me to throw it into the big pile of wood in front of me. More yells erupt from the crowd and more flaming sticks are thrown into the pile. Soon enough there's a blazing fire spreading throughout the pile of wood, it's mesmerizing to see. People laugh and pull me in all directions, handing me food and drinks, introducing themselves. After a while they all sort of blur together and I excuse myself to go find the toilets.
Of course, I have no idea where they are and have to stop to ask someone. They laugh but walk with me and wait for me until I'm done.
Walking back to the bonfire I ask the guy for his name. "It's Dan, I was the Greenie a few months before you."
"What even is a bloody Greenie." He laughs but explains that with every month a new person comes up in the Box, a new Greenie. Most of them remember their names in a day but will still be called Greenie or Newbie until the next person comes around.
"Whatcha do now?" I eye him curiously. He's about a head taller than me, even taller than Newt. His hair is long and blonde and I wonder if it's that long because he wants to or because he just can't cut it.
"I'm a runner." He says, he looks happy with it. "Ah, cool." I have no idea what else to say. It is safe to say is that small talk is definitely not one of my strengths.
"Well here we are again, you gonna be okay?" I nod and he walks back to his group of friends. I walk around and notice a group of the boys standing around the sand circle. Curious to see what is going on, I walk up to them.
"Come on Gally!"
"You can do it Leo!!"
When I come closer the shouts only get louder and my curiosity grows. What the bloody hell are they doing? Just when I reach the circle a big guy falls in front of my feet, just outside the lines of the circle. The crowd starts cheering and yelling Gally's name. Some sort of fighting ring?
"Who's next?!" He shouts with his fists in the air. His eyes settle on me and he looks at me with one of his weirdly shaped eyebrows raised.
"How about you Greenie?" I look at him surprised. Really? I'm about to step forward when I remember my back. Suddenly this feels like a bad idea. So I shake my head.
Gally still looks at me, not backing down. "What Greenie ya scared?" I'm not but I stand my ground, even though he's getting really irritating. He walks up to me. "Come on! I'll go easy on ya, you being a girl and all. You'd be out of the ring within three seconds." All the guys around me laugh, which makes me uncomfortable but also angry. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm any less of a person.
"Or are ya just weak?" He's now standing right in front of me and I can see the gleam in his eyes. I suddenly don't care about my back anymore. I'm not going to stand here and let this guy, whom I've only known for a few hours, call me weak! I refuse to be called that. So I do the only logical thing I can do; I push him into the circle.
More guys start to gather around yelling encouraging things at either me or Gally while we circle each other.
"The rules are simple." Gally says. "We both try to push each other out of the circle and you try to last more then five seconds." The guys around us laugh but I try to tune it out and only focus on Gally, who's grinning like a maniac. He obviously thinks he's going to win but I'll give him a run for his money. At least, I hope I will. Adrenaline is a powerful thing but I have no idea how strong I actually am.
Gally then charges at me and I swiftly sidestep while he loses his balance and crashes into a few guys standing at the line. They laugh and push him back in while more guys start yelling "Greenie! Greenie! Greenie!"
Gally turns to look at me, no longer smiling. Obviously annoyed that I managed to outmanoeuvre him. I smile sweetly at him.
"What? Can't beat a weak, little girl?" I say while smirking at him. He yells and charges at me again. I manage to sidestep again but this time he's prepared, he doesn't lose his balance and immediately turns around for the second blow. He manages to grab me by my shoulders and pushes me back but I regain my balance just before I step out of the circle line.
"You're tougher than ya look I'll give ya that Greenie." I just don't react and now charge at his waist, hoping my speed or impact would knock him back somewhat. It doesn't, instead he starts pushing me towards the end of the circle. Because there's sand all over the ground, my feet can't find any grip but I manage to turn my body so that we both fall to the ground.
Lucky me, I land on my back. It hurts but it's more like a stinging pain and not nearly as bad as when I first got out of the Box. So I quickly stand up. I notice Gally's already standing, waiting for my next move. So I charge at him again but this time he knocks me sideways. Again I land on my back but with so much adrenaline coursing through me, I barely notice it and I'm not about to let his smug face win. So I wait for him to get closer. That's when I turn around as fast as I can and use my feet to kick his from under him. He lands with a hard blow on the ground and though he takes a second he does get up again.
A few blows later we're still both standing in the ring. Both out of breath and sweaty but also still not giving up. My back is stinging like crazy but I try my best to ignore it, with the adrenaline fading it's not going to take long before I need to stop. Gally makes a final charge at me but he loses his footing, I only have to wait for him to pas me and that's when I push his back as hard as I can and he stumbles out of the ring and falls onto the ground.
For a moment there's silence but then a roar of yells erupts through the crowd. Gally stands up and claps with them, obviously giving into defeat. Some guys walk up to me and hoist me on their shoulders. They start parading me around. A sense of euphoria wells up inside of me and I cheer with them. After a few moments they slip me back onto the ground and congratulate me. I smile at them while they pat me on my back. I grimace but don't say anything, not wanting to ruin the mood. I let out one last cheer and then walk away from the group to find a spot to sit.
There's almost no one on the other side of the bonfire, which is still blazing with glory. I decide to sit down on the grass and watch into the flames. My back is killing me but it was all worth it; winning from Gally gave me such a good feeling. I smile and pull my knees up to my chest.
I sit there for a while, grateful for the little bit of rest. The boys around me are still partying but do not bother me. Suddenly I feel someone sitting next to me. I turn my head to look at them and see it's Newt.
"I saw your fight with Gally," he smiles at me but also looks at me worried. I know what he's playing at.
"I'm okay." I say quietly. Newt shakes his head but doesn't press any further.
"I just didn't want to be seen as weak." I explain. He nods but still smiles.
"No one will say you're weak now; Gally's one of the strongest of us."
"So now that I beat him can I claim that title?" We both laugh but stop when we hear someone else walking up.
"Hiya Gally." Newt says.
"Hey Newt, Greenie." He nods at me, I nod back.
"Listen, you really gave me a run for my money." He says while smiling. I smile back at him and then look into the flames again. He sits down next to me.
"I'm just glad you're not a sore loser." I casually say. Newt bursts out laughing and I smile with him. Gally shakes his head but then notices something behind me.
"Holy klunk, what happened to your back?" He looks shocked. I look at Newt with an eyebrow raised. What does he mean? He looks at my back for me and shakes his head.
"You've got blood in ya shirt. Ya Shank. You're obviously not okay. Jeff or Clint should check this out."
"Honestly it doesn't hurt that bad, can't they just check it out tomorrow, there's a bandage over it anyways." I look at him pleading and he sighs but agrees.
"Did I hurt you while fighting?" Gally questions softly and when I turn around he genuinely looks concerned.
"Oh no!" I quickly say. "Clint and Jeff checked me out after I got out of the Box, apparently my back's bloody messed up but it's not your fault." He still looks doubtful but I rest my hand on his arm. "You didn't know and I chose to step into that ring."
He nods but still utters "I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you." I reassure him that it's fine and in that moment I decide that he's indeed not a bad guy.
He abruptly stands up and smiles down at Newt and me. "Time to wipe some other Shanks butt." And with those words he leaves.
Newt and I sit in silence for a while, it's comfortable. I wonder if I really knew him before all of this and how I know him. But there's no use in dwelling on that, it doesn't seem like anyone here has any answers and Newt's just as confused about it as me.
"So how ya likin' it so far?"
"It's tiring trying to keep up with everything but everyone seems nice. I'll have to go on rotation tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, you'll start with me so no worries there." I laugh and give him a punch in the shoulder. "Who says I like ya?"
"Well, given how we've been sitting here for about ten minutes I think it's save to say ya don't hate me."
"I guess I gave it away." I say with a smirk. Suddenly a yawn overcomes me.
"Are ya tired?"
"No, I'm fine." I lie, but I just don't want to go to sleep yet. I feel so happy and content in the moment, Newt's presence is very comforting.
"I should at least show ya to your room, ya don't even know where it is." He laughs and starts to stand up but I grab his wrist. He looks at me in surprise.
"Please can we stay here for just a little bit?" I widen my eyes and pout my lips. He laughs and sits down again, this time closer to me.
"Fine, but just for a little bit." He murmurs. "If you're not tired, I'm bloody tired." I laugh and lean my head onto his shoulder. Again this feels so familiar, it's like finding back something you lost so long ago. With the warmth of the fire and Newt's head resting on top of mine I quickly fall asleep.