"Ow." I winced when Jeff pulled a splinter out of my finger. "Ow."
"Ow, ow, ow, will not let the pain disappear." Gally snapped from behind, mimicking me slightly.
"Ah, you shut up, Potato Head," I replied, already annoyed by the kid. "You asked me to help you."
"With carrying some wood, yes! You're the one that's so dumb to get splinters." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Can't believe how they even decided for you to be a Builder."
I clenched my jaw. "Yeah, and I can't believe how Fry hasn't cut off your nose yet. You know, because it looks like a goddamn potato?"
His face twitched into anger as Jeff chuckled under his breath. "Have you looked in the mirror?"
"No, because one, we don't have mirrors." I held up my free hand, counting on my fingers. "And two, if I did, I would've fallen in love."
"Stop acting like you're Minho."
"Stop acting like you're a potato."
Gally did not really look like a potato... only his nose was a bit big, but he couldn't change a thing about that. His eyebrows were weirdly curved, yet that didn't make him unattractive either. He wasn't the ugliest, I had to admit.
His dark blonde hair was always buzzed, making me wonder who cut his hair, since Gally said he had been in the Glade for a year already. I had been there for about five months, maybe more.
Jeff laughed again. "Val, I think since you talk about potatoes so much, you must like them a lot and you say Gally is a potato, so..."
"No, absolutely not." I snapped. "Are we done here?"
The thing was, I was a Builder, and Gally was a Builder. We had this love-hate relationship, but most of the time hate, though we could be nice. Since the moment I came up in the Box things just didn't go well between us, so working with him every day was the worst.
I didn't even want to be a Builder in the first place. I was terrible at it! But since I was terrible at all the other things too, and Newt convinced Alby it would be sexist to make me a Slopper, I somehow became a Builder.
"Almost done," Jeff assured. "Excited for the new Greenie? They're arriving today, but they're late."
I exhaled deeply. "As long as it's a girl."
Every month the Box, basically a sort of elevator that would deliver things, would bring us a new kid, most of the time a boy, except for me. I was the only girl.
"Yeah, hopefully a nicer one," Gally commented.
"We talking about looks or personality here?" I fake yawned.
I honestly had no idea what I looked like. Newt, my friend, described me as a redhead with lots of freckles.. something everyone teased me for. People really had a problem with red hair.
"Both." He confirmed.
I laughed out loud. "Talk for yourself."
Gally didn't reply and crossed his arms sternly. I hoped I impressed him enough to stop bothering me and finally leave, but he didn't do the last thing.
"Why are you still here, Gally?"
"Someone still needs to help me with that wood."
I shook my head. "I couldn't do it half an hour ago, you think I can suddenly do it now?"
"No." He admitted, averting his eyes from me. "I'm just saying that... that... that someone has to help. The others are annoying."
"And I'm not?" I scoffed.
"Alright then. I'll leave because you want me to so badly, Ginger." Then he stumped away.
"I told him not to call me that," I muttered. "You done, Jeff?"
"Hey, don't come at me." He chuckled. "Almost done. Tonight is a bonfire, by the way. Because of the Greenie we don't have yet."
"Yep." I immediately got up once Jeff told me he was done. "Thanks, Jeff."
Then I rushed away, hoping to see the new Greenie before all those big and tall guys jumped in front of me.
Another disadvantage in the Glade; the boys. Most of them were stinky, arrogant, and called themselves better than me. Especially the Builders did that, so sometimes I wished to have a different job, like Track-Hoes, Runners, or Cooks.
Newt spent most of his time in the gardens, when he had nothing to do. He was the Second-in-command, just a row below our leader Alby. Both of the guys were nice, but I preferred Newt.
I wasn't in love with him, but he was one of the only guys that appreciated me a little bit, just like Jeff and Clint, the Med-Jacks, aka doctors, and Frypan, our one and only Cook, also the Keeper of the Cooks.
And Gally was the Keeper of the Builders, meaning he could boss us around all he wanted. Winston of the Slicers, basically slaughters, Zart of the Track-Hoes, which I just called Farmers. Those idiots apparently found the name 'hoe' fitting for working in gardens.. weird, but hey, they gave me food.
And one of the most important jobs, the Runners. Minho, a half-friend and half-stranger of mine, was the Keeper. Every day they would go into the maze, a big labyrinth that surrounded the Glade. The Glade was a big field in the middle of it. They would try to find a way out, but had been doing that for three years already.
I was losing hope, and started to think they sent me into the Glade to expand it, but I would rather die on my own than that. Those guys were disgusting.
Though we had showers! But they barely cleaned themselves, or it was just the constant working every day, week, and month that made them sweaty. I couldn't tell.
While I was lost in my thoughts, the familiar ringing alarm of the Box went off. I didn't hesitate to rush over to it, staring down into the metal cage with excited eyes.
But sadly, it was another boy. His hair was black and straight, brown eyes confused, and ugly as shuck, in my opinion.
Feeling my stomach drop, I slanted away to get dinner. Frypan, the sweet, dark-skinned Cook greeted me happily. His chubby cheeks looked even cuter when he smiled happily at me.
"Yo, Valerie." He handed me a plate with some meat and mashed potatoes. "Nice Greenie?"
"Nah." I shrugged and quickly thanked him for the food before looking around.
Another annoying thing was the way the jobs decided your whole life in the Glade; if you were a Builder, you spent your days with the Builders, so even dinner. That's what it was like for every job, except for Newt and Alby.
Alby just wandered around to help during meals, and Newt just appeared everywhere to sit, so I was lucky if he once sat with me, but that barely happened. I had a feeling everyone was scared of the Builders, because they indeed were big, mean-looking guys.
"Mike, move please," I asked the Asian. He kept his back turned to me as he scooted to the side, never stopping his talk with Gally.
I sighed and sat down, taking a quick look around. Dan, a tall blonde sat across from me, Hank, the same-looking boy but then brown-haired next to him, and Carl, a kid with a kind of deformed face. Others sat there too, but too many to describe.
"How happy you look today again," Dan commented.
I just hummed and slowly started eating, not feeling the most comfortable I had ever been. Actually I was never comfortable in the Glade. Being locked up with at least forty teenage, sometimes hormonal, boys, scared the shit out of me.
Later, Gally started talking about the bonfire again, letting me remember why we hated each other.
It started when he invited me for a fight. Surprisingly enough, and I don't know how, I won, though I was suspecting that was because I was quite supple, and Gally wasn't.
He simply wasn't happy with that, called me some names, made me call him names, and then it started. Lame, I know, but it was just his arrogance that caused it all.
"Will you, Valerie?" Mike elbowed me in the shoulder. I shook out of my thoughts, staring at all the boys that were looking at me for a few seconds.
"Sorry, what did you say?" I peeped, my cheeks turning red in shame. I always embarrassed myself in front of them, and I hated it.
"If you will try to beat Gally again tonight," Mike explained.
With my mind half with them, I blurted out the next thing, "With what?"
I did not mean that in a weird way at all. I just wasn't paying attention to what I said, until all the boys laughed and used their dirty minds.
"She wants you, Gally!"
I bit my lip, ignoring the things they shouted. "No, I will not fight Gally."
"Why not?"
"Scared you'll lose?"
"I didn't see any of you winning either." I snapped. They all 'oehhd' at me.
"Did you just admit that Gally is the strongest?"
"Why deny when we all know?" I mumbled. They cheered again. Ridiculous. "Random, but eh, is it possible to change jobs?" I then questioned.
"What? You gettin' tired of us?" They laughed.
"Just answer my question."
"No, you can't. The rule is to do your part." Carl summarized.
"But maybe if you give Alby a treat you're allowed to change!"
I clenched my jaw at that comment. The other things they said, fine, could be funny, but once they started sexualizing me or anything that had to do with the fact that I was a female, it was over with the fun.
"Don't go cry again, Valerie. It was a joke." Some laughed again.
"Enjoy your food." I roughly got up from my seat, thinking I might've been overreacting, but I was so pissed.
Some whistled when I walked away, toward my hut. At least I had that thing. Every Keeper, Alby, and Newt had a hut, because apparently, they were more important. And since I was the only girl, they decided it would be better for me to get a hut too, in case anyone would try something.
I sat down on the ground, looking around in the hut for a second. A small bed was in the corner, a wooden and quite dirty desk next to it, some drawers, and a mini closet. Not that bad, and it was the nicest thing the Builders ever did for me, make the hut.
I ran a hand through my red hair, annoying myself with how tangled it was. Frustrated, and with rough hands, I brushed it. My clothes followed. At least I had the chance to wear something that would make me feel more confident at the bonfire.
I chose for black shorts, a dark pink top, and a black with grey squared button-up, that I would wear open, so the top was visible.
I looked down at the outfit, hoping it wasn't too revealing. But my shoulders weren't visible and the shorts were long enough to not make my whole butt visible, so it must've been okay.
Later, I heard cheers coming from somewhere in the Glade. That was my sign to reveal myself again, so I walked over to them.
A Builder was wrestling with Gally, and the coworkers stood around it all. The Cooks were cooking as usual, most Runners just sat somewhere, talking and eating, just like the Track-Hoes.
"Hey, Val!" Newt gave me a pat on the shoulder. His brown eyes, which I honestly found beautiful, got lit up by the fire. His blonde hair was messy as usual, and also as most of the time, he wore a light-colored tank top.
"Hey, Newt." I smiled.
He raised his eyebrows. "Everythin' all right? I saw you walking away at dinner."
"And you didn't go after me?" I frowned jokingly, but then laughed at his absurd face.
"If I did, they would've... well, you know, say things, and make up rumors." Newt sighed. "They be forgettin' I only fancy boys."
"Or that's because you only told me you're homosexual and no one else," I replied.
"But isn't it obvious?" He whisper-screamed. "Look at me." He twirled around.
"Nah, I wouldn't think you were gay, Newt," I confirmed. "Have we got food?"
"Of course we've got food." He took my arm and pulled me over to a table full of food. I took a bowl filled with some sort of salad and followed Newt to a log, where we sat down.
"Is it possible to change jobs?" I wondered again. "I'm getting annoyed by these Builders."
"I'll try to talk to Alby," Newt assured. "What would you want to be if you could change?"
I mentally thanked him for helping me.
"I don't know.. just anything that will let me work with normal boys."
"I don't think they exist here." He responded, his British accent very noticeable, especially at the word 'exist'. "Except maybe me, Minho, the Med-Jacks, or Fry. Zart is a possibility of."
"Do Third-in-commands exist?"
"I think they do, but I know Alby won't do that. It's not personal but eh... he only allows people that he trusts with his life to do that and at this point, I've got the feeling he barely trusts anyone, even me."
I exhaled deeply. "If you could talk to him that would be awesome, Newt. Thanks." I got up and motioned at my empty bowl. "Imma put this away. I'll be back in a second."
I walked away, past the wrestling ring, maybe the worst idea ever. Dan bumped into me when Gally pushed him with a lot of force, sending me to the ground.
The bowl dropped out of my hands as I tried to catch myself instead of face-planting. It worked, something like that.
"There she is." With heavy breaths, Gally put his hands on his hips as the boy that fell on top of me crawled away. "What do you say? Wanna see if you can still do it?"
"Uhm, no, I- hey!" I got pushed into the circle. The boys shouted my name, yelling for me to fight Gally. I palmed my face in shame, not expecting Gally to already attack me.
A fist got slammed in my stomach. I groaned, feeling the air get kicked out of my lungs. Gally grabbed me by the torso and tried to push me out of the circle.
"I never agreed to this, you Shuckface," I grumbled.
"Don't worry, Ginger. I'll go easy on you." He chuckled annoyingly.
The anger rose in me. I didn't want to fight, but once I did, they shouldn't be going easy on me only just because I was a girl.
Before I realized it, I kneed Gally in the crotch and pushed him to the ground, jumping on top of him.
"You're really pissing me off, Gally," I said quietly.
He smirked slightly. "If you're angry, why not use it for your benefit?"
I grunted and balled my fist, ready to hit him, but before I got the chance, he grabbed the fist and pushed me off him. "Nice try."
Quickly I stood straight up again, feeling more anger grow in me as he teased. The cheering boys around us didn't even matter anymore.
"Come on, hit me," Gally said quietly enough just for me to hear. I swung my fist, but Gally bent down right before I hit him. The Gladers yelled for us both.
"Seriously? You can do better than that, Ginger." He added in a whisper, eyes twinkling. I grunted and jumped forward to punch him again, but failed as he moved his head away from me.
What he didn't expect, is me swinging my legs to his. Gally fell to the ground and before he even got the chance to get up, I punched him in the face.
He did not approve of that and punched back even harder. Something thick and wet trickled down from my nose. Blood.
"Hey!" Newt shouted once he noticed it got more violent than just wrestling. I punched Gally a few more times as he worked on my stomach.
I roughly got pulled off Gally by Alby. He held a tight grip on my shirt as Alby's other hand reached for Gally.
"This is a game, not a fight between a Griever and a shuck Runner, Slintheads." The leader spat out. "Now go to your huts before I make you spend your pretty hours in the Slammer."