୨⎯chapter eleven, greenie.⎯୧
⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅
𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀 month since madelyn arrived in the glade, a whole month since her life was flipped upside down. it's hard to believe she'd been here for that long already, time felt like it was slipping through her fingers whilst she was here. she remembered coming up in the box, a scared girl surrounded by forty boys. when she thought back to it she would've never imagined she'd be where she is now, it amazed her how much could change in just a month's time. madelyn had finally found her place in the glade, she was no longer the greenie girl she was now the glader girl. the boys now thought of her as one of them, like a mother figure, someone too make sure they were okay and keeping themselves well-fed and rested. when someone needed cheering up, they would come to madelyn, she would stop everything she was doing to console them. even though the boys thought the girl was a bitch sometimes, they knew she kept the glade together.
madelyn had found comfort in her new friendships, newt especially. something about him made her feel different to when she was around the other boys. they spent most of their days together just talking, madelyn learned the things he did when he was upset, he would sigh and rub his eyes with his palms. when he was angry he would clench his jaw and spread out his hands. when he was happy he would smile and not stop talking. the girl enjoyed finding more things out about him, it was like collecting small distant memories. she learnt the things he wanted to do when they got out of here, he told her he wanted to live by a beach, he said that was one thing he could faintly remember, he liked to hold onto that memory for a small bit of hope. on the nights the two couldn't sleep they would sit under their tree and talk for hours on end as they watched the glade, but most of the time she ended up watching him.
madelyn still continued to have her weird dreams, every time she had one it felt more and more familiar, like an itch at the back of her brain. every time she had one she would tell newt about it and he would always be there to listen to her. madelyn admired the boy a lot, he always put others before himself and would always make sure she was okay before anything else.
gally, minho and chuck became her best friends, gally and madelyn continued their tiring training sessions, the girl had improved a lot. minho and her continued to annoy everyone with their sarcastic remarks. chuck and her still played small pranks on the boys. they all watched out for each other, thats what she loved.
finally, that brings us to today, greenie day.
𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 gally and some of the builders set up the bonfire for tonight for the new greenie. the box hadn't come up yet, she was excited to not be the greenie anymore but also felt bad for whoever the new greenie may be, as she knew what they would have to go through.
the girl sighed deeply as she watched gally and a few other builders try to tie the branches together with a rope. madelyn wacked gally's hand away from the rope as she spoke to the frustrated boys. "that is not how you tie a knot, you stupid shank, let me show you."
the girl began to tie the branches together properly as the boys watched dumbfounded with their mouths hanging open.
gally scoffed. "yeah i could've done that easily, i was just showing the boys how not to do it you know?" gally stuttered as the girl bruised his ego by doing something better than him.
"sure gally, sure." madelyn rolled her eyes and backed away again, deciding to leave them to it.
"hey, maddy." she heard a deep voice from behind her, she turned around and saw alby and newt walking up to her. madelyn smiled at the two boys whilst trying to keep a blush from creeping onto her cheeks when she locked eyes with the british boy, he always seemed to make her nervous and she never knew why, no one else in the glade did. "make anyone cry today?" he asked.
"not yet, bruised gally's ego though." madelyn giggled as she watched the boy mid tantrum.
"what did you say to him this time?" newt chuckled, he never knew what the girl would come out with.
"i told him off because he wasn't tying the rope right, he's such a big baby." she shrugged casually like it was a daily occurrence.
the boys chuckled at the thought of madelyn telling gally off, they enjoyed it when she did because she was the only one gally would listen too.
"i don't know what we would do without you, madelyn." alby remarked whilst shaking his head as he looked at the boys who were still tying the rope wrong.
"you wouldn't be able to survive, obviously." madelyn spoke in a sassy tone as she stood with her hands on her hips.
before the boys could open their mouths to protest at the girls statement a loud alarm blarred through the glade. madelyn's hands flew to cover her ears. "what the fuck is that?" she asked the two boys who didn't seem to be as bothered by it as she was.
newt sent her a sympathetic smile. "it's the box, the greenies comin'." he grabbed the girls hand that was covering her ear and began to lead her over to the crowd of boys that were already surrounding the box. just seeing this made all the memories of her experience a month ago flow back into madelyn's mind again. her heart dropped at the thought of someone else having to go through that, and this time she'd be on the other side.
all the gladers were huddled tightly together, all anticipating the new greenies' arrival whilst peering down into the hole in the ground as the familiar screeching sound came to a halt. madelyn pushed through the crowd of boys and made her way to the front, newt following behind her. they all let the girl through as she was the smallest and couldn't see from the back.
"alright, open it up." alby instructed gally. madelyn looked at him and saw his stern expression, his jaw was clenched and his arms were crossed, making him seem like the big scary leader he wanted to be. the truth is madelyn knew alby was just as nice as the rest of them, it just took a little more to make him show it.
newt on the other hand had a curious expression sat on his face, he stayed calm as always, his arms where dangled by his sides as his hand was still gripping onto the girls. he gave her hand a small squeeze as she turnt to him sending him a small smile showing him she appreciated the action. newts presence always seemed to make her more relaxed.
gally gripped onto the metal wire doors and swung them open before jumping in. madelyn peered down into the box and saw a brunette boy covered in sweat, she couldn't see his face very clearly as he held his arm over his eyes trying to not get blinded by the light source. a few boys behind her let out a few slight chuckles at the slight of the terrified boy. madelyn glanced around to them shooting them stern looks, they immediately stopped when they noticed.
gally crouched down and grabbed the boy's shirt. "day one greenie, rise and shine." before the boy could react he was forcefully pulled out of the box by gally and roughly thrown to the ground in the middle of the circle.
madelyn shot an annoyed glance at gally, the boy could be an asshole sometimes. gally noticed the girls expression and threw his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to make the girl forget about his actions, she scoffed and quickly shoved it off before looking back down at the scared boy who was still on the floor. he scanned the crowd that surrounded him before his eyes locked onto madelyns, he froze for a second before turning away again. the boy's face had ignited something in the girl's head, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"he looks like a slopper to me."
"i could use some help in the kitchen!" frypan smiled down at the boy.
the terrified boy made an attempt to get on his own two feet as he pushed through the circle of boys, making a sprint away from them. "we got a runner!" zart yelled as more laughter erupted from the boys surrounding madelyn. the boy then stumbled on his own two feet and tumbled down to the ground. madelyn let out a small chuckle at the boy's poor attempt at running away.
"take him to the slammer!" gally announced. madelyn shot him a stern glare as he looked down at her again. "what?" he whisper-yelled, trying to act like a leader. she couldn't be bothered to argue with the boy so just rolled her eyes and moved her gaze back to the boy who was now being dragged away by a few boys to the slammer, he tried to get away from the boy's grip but failed.
the group of boys started to disperse back to their usual jobs, madelyn and newt stayed in the same spot as they saw alby make his way over to them. "well that went, well?" the girl spoke, trying to lift the mood.
"you could say that." alby sighed with his hands resting on his hips. he looked like he wasn't sure what to do next.
"you should go talk to him alby, the poor boys probably terrified." madelyn suggested, feeling bad for the new greenie.
"she's right, alby." newt nodded agreeing with her.
alby let out an exasperated sigh. "alright." he spoke as he began to walk away.
"can you help me get some of the stuff out the box?" newt asked while looking down at the girl who was already glancing up at him innocently with her green eyes.
"yeah, you go in and pass them to me." newt nodded and let go of her hand before jumping into the big box. he began passing her heavy crates of food.
"i'll go take this to the kitchen. will you be alright to do the rest by yourself?" madelyn asked peering down at the newt in the box.
"yeah, don't worry maddy." newt smiled at the girl, reassuring her. she quickly nodded and began striding away to the kitchen.
"delivery for frypan!" madelyn yelled as she arrived in the cluttered kitchen. frypan was washing some dishes but turned around in surprise when he heard the girl's voice.
"jesus madelyn, not the whole glade needs to know." frypan shook his head as he took the boxes from her arms. madelyn sighed in relief and began to shake her arms as they were starting to ache.
"sorry fry. watcha making?" madelyn asked as she peered into a few pots.
"i'm not making anything, that's gally's." he spoke, reminding the girl of the disgusting drink.
"you know i wouldn't be surprised if gally just pissed in a pot and called it his special drink." she stated as she screwed her face up at the liquid.
frypan spat out a laugh. "now that you mention it, that is a possibility."
madelyn giggled in response. "have you seen the new greenie yet?" she asked, she had almost forgotten about him and his dramatic arrival.
frypan raised his eyebrows as the girl asked about the greenie. "alby's taken him on the tour i think, you'll be able to talk to him at the bonfire." he winked at the girl teasingly.
"ew frypan! that is not what i meant! he's ugly as shuck anyways." madelyn spat out with an annoyed expression on her face, she knew frypan was only trying to wind her up, but it still irritated her.
"newt would not be very happy about that anyways." frypan shrugged as he continued to clean a few plates.
"what? what are you talking about? newt can't control who i speak to." madelyn protested.
the boy turnt to face her again. "you're so blind madelyn! do you not see the way he looks at you? everyone knows that he likes you." he stepped towards her his pointer finger in her face. "and i have a sneaky feeling you like him too." he shrugged innocently before backing away again.
"that is so not true frypan, you're delusional!" madelyn spat out, not believing her own words.
"its okay to be in denial madelyn.." the boy spoke before being hit with a rag. "alright! alright! i'll shut up about it." frypan raised his hands in the air, surrendering. he enjoyed annoying the girl, as she had a short temper it was quite easy.
"thank you." madelyn said trying not to make it obvious she was curious about his words. did newt like her like that? surely not. "i better get back out there it's getting late, i don't even want to think about what those stupid shanks have been doing whilst i wasn't there."
frypan chuckled. "alright, see you later maddy." the girl sent him a small wave before exiting the kitchen again.
as soon as she stepped outside into the evening air again she heard shouts from near the maze doors, madelyn spotted a few figures begin to run over so she followed closely behind.
"hey don't touch me!" the new greenie yelled at gally, who looked angry with the boy.
"whoa, take it easy!"
"just relax!"
madelyn finally arrived with the crowd of boys, she spotted the new boy backing away from everyone, he looked like a lost puppy. "what the hell is wrong with you guys?!"
madelyn's gaze moved to newt as she saw him walking towards the boy with his hands out in front of him. "just calm down, alright?"
"no!" the terrified boy exclaimed. "why wont you tell me what's out there?"
alby appeared in front of the brunette boy. "we are just trying to protect you man, it's for your own good."
madelyn stood in silence watching the strange interaction go down, she decided not to get involved, alby looked like he had it under control as usual.
the boy kept shaking his head. "all right, you guys can't just keep me here!"
"i cant let you leave." alby raised his voice.
"why not?!"
before anyone could answer the boy's question, the walls did it for them. the boy turned around when a loud rumble erupted from the maze and he realised the walls were moving. everyone stood in silence, letting him take it in by himself.
"next time, i'm going to let you leave." gally stared down at the boy before pushing past him, slamming his shoulder into his.
"gally!" madelyn raised her voice at him, he didn't have to be so harsh. gally threw his hands up in surrender as he continued to walk away. the girl shook her head at the boy, all he did was walk away. gally deeply cared for the girl, her opinion mattered to him but because of his ego he dismissed her.
madelyn's gaze was ripped away from gally as alby spoke again. "welcome to the glade." he announced before turning around to walk away. all the boys followed, going back to what they were doing before the whole scene broke out. newt stood still standing in the same spot as he admired the girl who was standing in the last few rays of sun.
"why are you staring at me?" madelyn asked with an eyebrow raised as she began to walk towards him.
"cause your pretty." newt replied with a small smirk and shrug. the girl rolled her eyes pretending to be irritated by him but she couldn't help her lips upturning to a small grin and blush creeping onto her cheeks. she playfully shoved his shoulder and they began to walk back to the homestead.
"can you try to be nicer to the greenie?" madelyn bluntly asked as she glanced to the new boy who was heading back to his hammock.
newt nodded, he didn't want to upset the girl. "yeah, i'll talk to him later."
"thank you goldie." madelyn beamed up at the boy whose hair was blowing slightly in the evening breeze. she spotted gally sat down on a bench he looked deep in thought, her brows furrowed as she turned back to newt who had followed her gaze so already knew what she was about to say.
he nodded with a small smile. "i'll see you later maddy." he spoke before walking off towards where the bonfire was still being set up.
madelyn made her way over to the boy sat on the bench and plopped herself down beside him.
"hey mads, how you holdin' up?" he questioned the girl.
madelyn raised her eyebrows. she knew something was up with him and she wanted him to know he could talk to her about it. "i think you should ask yourself that, how are you doing gal?"
"fine, why are you asking me that?" he spoke with a slight irritation in his tone.
"because i care about you gal, you've been acting strange lately. you've been tense." madelyn spoke in a sympathetic tone.
gally rubbed his face with his hand and exhaled a deep sigh. "somethings off mads. i can feel it i just- i don't know what it is."
"how long have you been feeling like that?" she asked while placing her hand gently on his broad shoulder.
"since this morning." gally responded truthfully, he knew the girl wouldn't disrespect his thoughts, he knew she would understand.
she nodded. "you think it's the boy?"
"maybe." gally spoke with uncertainty in his voice. "you haven't seen him in those weird dreams of yours, have you?"
madelyn took a second to try and remember if his face was in her dreams, but they all seemed a blur. she knew she recognised the boy from somewhere though, but decided to keep it to herself. "i don't think so, you think he's bad news?"
gally shrugged. "i don't know, hopefully not. i already have enough on my plate. i don't need to be babysitting him."
"you could be a bit nicer gal." the girl suggested. "he's just scared and confused."
gally was silent for a second as he considered the girl's words. "yeah well, he needs to toughen up a little."
she rolled my eyes at the boy's arrogance. "come on gally, on my first day you weren't like this, you were nice. where is that gally?"
"dead." the boy chuckled but stopped when he saw that the girl didn't find it amusing. "fine, i'll try be nice to him."
a smile appeared on her face as she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck as he was still sat down, they were almost the same height like that. madelyn felt gally's hand grip onto her back softly as she felt his energy shift into a more sad one before pulling away.
she held her hand out to him. "now come on, we have a bonfire to attend to, and i sure as hell know it won't be any fun without you and your drink there." madelyn spoke to the boy with a small grin, trying to cheer him up.
he rolled his eyes letting out a small chuckle and gripped onto the girl's hand as they began to walk over to where some of the boys were already starting to gather near the bonfire.