FIFTEEN.
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As hard as we tried to keep the news of Alex's Banishment from spreading, it was useless. The Gladers knew exactly what was happening as soon as Alby hauled the boy off to the Slammer in the morning. He was the center of all gossip, and soon absurd rumors started to spread as people tried to guess exactly why he was being sent out.
One, he used up all the soap in the shower at once. Supplies were precious here, and boys were drama queens. Two, Alex had killed someone. Not true. Three, he got on Gally's bad side. That one was correct but not the reason for his Banishing. Lastly, he had tried to make a move on me.
The last became the most popular, probably because it was the easiest to believe, and everyone latched onto the "news" like leeches. Eyes and whispers followed me everywhere I went until it was almost unbearable.
I wasn't even aware of the rumor until I had passed by a group of fidgeting thirteen and fourteen-year-old Builders. One of them - a short, stick-thin boy with black hair named Quincy - asked tentatively, "What did Alex do to you?"
I stopped short, my eyebrows creasing as I looked down at him. "What?"
Quincy turned pink in the cheeks. He looked like he wanted to run away, but his friends stared him down from behind and silently urged him to go on. "Um, people are saying he did something to you and that's why he's being Banished. Since, you know, nobody does that..."
"You can tell everyone who's spreading that rumor that it isn't true," I told him calmly. "That's not why he's being Banished, Quincy."
The small boy nodded and darted off to the others, who immediately started interrogating him. Their eyes occasionally darted to me as they whispered amongst themselves. I tried to ignore it as best as I could, but Quincy's question dug under my skin.
"Get back to work!" Gally instructed as he strolled past the small group of younger kids. His eyes followed them until they darted toward their appropriate stations. Then, surprisingly, he stopped beside me and folded his arms across his chest as he surveyed his Builders.
"Did you hear about the rumor?" I asked him casually.
"The one where Alex mooned someone?" Gally questioned with a snort. "Yeah."
Okay, well, I hadn't heard of that one before. "Um, no."
"The stripping one, then?"
"What? No!"
"Table dancing--"
"No."
"Getting all the little kids drunk?"
"Would you just listen?" I exclaimed in an exasperated tone. I wasn't sure if half of the things Gally had just said were actual rumors, but considering the ones I had heard, it wouldn't surprise me. "I meant the one where Alex did something to me."
Gally whistled lowly. Before I could shoot a glare at him, he replied, "Can't say I'd heard that one yet."
"Quincy just told me," I explained with a sigh. "It just makes me wonder what else is floating around. What are people saying about me? Do they really think I'd..." I found myself unable to continue, the words blocking my throat in embarrassment.
"Who cares what people think?" Gally chortled with a shrug. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised. "People say stuff about me all the time and I don't care. What matters is what's true. Then you can care."
"THE SHUCK DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU PIECE OF KLUNK? I WILL BEAT YOUR SORRY BUTT INTO NEXT GREENIE DAY, YOU SHUCK-FACED SLINTHEAD!"
Gally and I turned in sync to see Clark screaming at an older boy who was laughing at him while two others held the tempered redhead back. The Keeper was red in the face; I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Either way, it was enough for him to scream and disturb half the Glade.
Winston came rushing over from the Blood House as fast as he could. He stood between the main boy and Clark for a second, presumably trying to get them to say what was up. Then he started shouting, and the other guy was shouting, and everyone was fighting to be heard over one another. Gladers were dropping their things to watch.
"Ugh, I'm gonna go see what this is about," I grumbled to Gally, who waved goodbye and saluted me sarcastically as if I was going off to war. It fit, considering everyone was still yelling when I hobbled my way over there.
"You take that back!"
"How can I if it's true?"
"It's not, idiot!"
"Then why are you getting so defensive?"
"Because it's not true! I'm going to denounce something that's not true!"
"What's going on here?" I demanded as soon as I came within slight voice-raising distance. The small crowd surrounding the boys broke apart to let me in. I noticed with confusion that some of them were hiding snickers with their hands. Their eyes glinted with cruel amusement.
"Nadia, go!" Winston tried to shoo me away immediately, waving his hand toward the Homestead. I refused to follow his instruction and instead planted my feet firmly on the ground. Or, as firmly as my bad leg would let me.
"Not until I break this up," I declined sternly. "You're disturbing the entire Glade. What is this arguing about?"
Clark was still trapped in the arms of two Sloppers named John and Lou. The Indian boys had identical triumphant smirks on their faces- they were twins, which made it even more unsettling. I felt the circle closing behind me and wondered if coming here had been a very, very bad idea.
"Go on, Clark," Lou taunted with a jab of his elbow into the redhead's side. "Tell her."
The poor boy couldn't even look at me. Instead, he focused his eyes on the grass at his feet. "Zeke thinks..." His eyes squeezed shut as if the words physically pained him. "He thinks..."
Winston took over for him. "Zeke thinks that you had a threesome with Alex and Clark."
I was stunned silent. Any background noise reduced to nothing as my mind processed the words. Me. Alex. Clark. Threesome. It felt like a punch to the gut to know that people actually thought I participated in things like that. And to know Clark was gay made it so much worse- the poor boy was probably drowning in embarrassment even more than I was.
"It isn't true," I found myself declaring in a wavering voice.
"It is!" someone in the crowd shouted.
I whirled around to face the source. "It isn't! And you know what? It's sad that you all have nothing better to do with your lives than make up inappropriate rumors that you have no proof of. Grow up."
"No proof?" Zeke stepped forward with an eyebrow raised tauntingly. His stance screamed arrogance- from his set shoulders to his careless stride. The ice blue of his eyes had never unsettled me more than they had at that moment. "Whole Glade heard Clark last night. Ask anyone."
To help the situation, the crowd around us starting nodding their heads. I didn't know if it was the fact that it had gone on for so long or if people claiming truth to the false claim, but for some reason, Clark finally lost it.
"Goddammit, I don't even like girls!"
Silence. Clark slapped his hand over his mouth with his eyes wide and full of unrelenting fear. Everyone was frozen in shock as every eye zeroed in on the Keeper of the Raisers. Because Lou and John's grips had loosened, Clark managed to slip out of their arms and bolt away, pushing through the crowd as he high-tailed it back toward the Homestead. Hushed whispers broke out after he left.
"Don't think I won't have you reported." Winston pointed an accusing finger toward Zeke, Lou, and John.
I spun on my heel and started cutting across the Glade after the boy. "Clark!"
"What happened?" Nick asked as he jogged up to me, practically coming out of nowhere. Concern filled his eyes as he noticed my mixed expression of hurt and anger. "Garret came and got me, said some people were fighting."
"Rumors," I replied, figuring that if I elaborated, I'd burst into tears. "Bad ones. Clark - um - came out of the closet accidentally."
Nick's eyes widened in surprise before he bit his lip in concentration. I could tell by the look on his face that he was forming a plan. His face was covered by a symbolic shadow that closed him off from the rest of the world while he stayed deep in thought.
"I'll talk to him," he offered after snapping back into focus. "I think sharing some personal experience will help him cope."
I tilted my head to the side. "Personal...experience?"
A wide smile stretched across Nick's face before he ruffled my hair. "I swing for both teams, Nadia."
As I watched him retreat, I wondered what it would be like to 'swing for both teams,' as he put it. Could I? Did I? How could I know if I was surrounded by boys? I had always assumed I was only attracted to them, but somehow Nick had opened a new door to me. I wanted to explore it- if we ever got out of this stupid place and I was granted the opportunity.
I looked back at the disbanding crowd of Gladers that Winston was shooing away. Lou and John were laughing to themselves as they lumbered back to their jobs, while Zeke still appeared glued to his spot in shock. Good. I hoped he felt remorse for what he had started. If he would have kept his mouth shut, then Clark wouldn't have felt pressured to say what he did.
My eyes swept over the Glade until they settled on the person I was looking for. Luke stood by a cow and tended to it as one of his friends spoke to him over his shoulder. Suddenly, he went stiff as a board. I had a gut feeling that they were talking about Clark. If Luke knew...
A yell caught my attention, and I shifted my line of vision to see Garret clapping his hands and telling everyone to continue working. He had quickly taken charge while Clark was gone for the meantime. In a way, it reminded me of Nick. He had the same type of tone and body language that made people want to listen to him.
I checked my watch. The digital face read 11:20, meaning I had forty minutes until lunch to spare. The desire to walk aimlessly was gone. Minho was in the Maze, so I couldn't talk to him. I felt a tug at my heart. I wished Minho was there more than anything. I would be able to vent to him without worrying about him judging me. Then again, he'd be punching everyone in the face, so maybe it was a good thing he was gone.
Alex's Banishment was scheduled for the next evening because it would take too long to set up the supplies. Plus, with Alex behind bars, it was less likely he'd try to pull something. He was much less dangerous in the Slammer.
Clark didn't show up for lunch, but he did join us at the Keeper table for dinner. I could see every inch of worry and embarrassment on his usually masked face. It made my stomach twist for him.
"Hey, buddy," Nick greeted the redhead when he went to sit down across from me. The boy merely grunted in response and didn't meet the eyes of anyone, almost as if he was ashamed to do so.
David cleared his throat. "Just wanted to say that what's goin' around doesn't change the way I see you. You're still just Clark. No different than yesterday."
Other Gladers nodded their heads in agreement to his statement. Clark tilted his chin up and looked around at the smiles on everyone's faces. Even Gally was trying his best at a grin.
"Thank you," Clark responded, his cheeks flaring up. "You have no idea how much that means to me, David."
"We are Keepers," Nick said in a soft yet firm tone. "And us Keepers stick together no matter what. We have each other's backs."
Clark's eyes shifted to me. I widened my smile for him, which he looked down and bit his lip at.
"Um, Winston and I only told you the half-truth earlier." He spoke like a ball was lodged in his throat, as if the words were cutting him from the inside and didn't want to come out. He shared a look with Winston, who nodded his support. "Zeke...he...uh...his first" - he covered his face with his hands - "I'm sorry. This is so hard to say. Okay. My initial, uh, scream that I'm certain you all probably heard, and I'm not gonna repeat it if you didn't, wasn't because of the rumor. He hadn't even declared it yet. I had overheard Zeke..."
Winston saved him once again. "Zeke called you a name, Nadia. One I don't feel comfortable repeating to you. Started with an 's'."
Oh.
Oh.
I stared down at my dinner plate, suddenly not interested in the burger in front of me. Even if it hadn't been actually stated to my face, the word stung as if someone had lashed me on the back. It shocked me more than anything at first, but then I could feel it drilling into my brain. Someone started it. Worst of all, people believed it.
"I'm going to give Zeke a piece of my mind," Minho growled before shooting up from the table. His eyes were dark and filled with stormy anger that made me visualize lightning within them. A fork was clutched in his clenched hand.
Nick stood up after him. "Wait, Minho. The best thing we can do is stop the spreading. If you overhear anyone - anyone - spreading a rumor, then you march right up to them and tell them it isn't true. Scare them if you have to. Ritual says I'm supposed to wait until the Banishment to state Alex's crimes. However, if it comes down to it, I'll stand on a box and scream them halfway through the day." His eyes drifted across everyone seated at the table. "We are Keepers. Like I said before, we have each other's backs. Right now, that namely means Nadia and Clark."
He sat back down. Grudgingly, Minho took his seat as well with the fork held so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were white. I gingerly unclenched his fist and set the utensil back on his plate. He glanced at me and let his eyes travel across my face. Why, I wasn't sure, but he faced forward again when he had finished.
"If anyone wants a cookie, they're on the top shelf in the cupboard above the fridge," Frypan said from where he was cleaning pots and pans behind the counter. He hadn't said a word since dinner started, which was highly unlike him.
"Thanks, Fry," Nick replied with a smile. He addressed everyone in the room after that, his expression now serious. "Tomorrow is going to be tough. But, I want you all to face it, to band our arms together to shut this down. I believe in you all. You can do it."
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nick, clark, and nadia are the most precious beans in the universe please protect these bbys.
now it has been revealed that nick is bisexual!!!! yay!!! (and nadia is, by the way, but there are no girls around for her to realize it).
-kristyn