Newt's POV

"Newt?" I hear called. I sigh, but quickly inhale and stand up, walking out of my room. Leaving the door open behind me, I walked down the crooked stairs, making quite a lot of noise. At the base I see Alby standing with Minho.

"You need me?" I answer, looking between them. "And Minho- why are you here?" That's odd. He was supposed to be running today, with either Ben or Jake.

He smirked, and I instantly regretted asking. Bloody hell. I set this up.

"You want me gone, Newt? Your baby boy?" He laughed. I scowled. Alby rolled his eyes.

"The greenies coming today, and he'll be Minho's responsibility," Alby said.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Minho? He doesn't even know what responsibility is."

Minho stood up even taller, puffing out his chest.

"I don't recall a time I've not handled every situation with care and expertise," he said concisely, looking at me pointedly. I smirked. He looked really, really weird.

"Okay, you two will be jointly responsible for this sucker. Newt, if you don't think Minho is a fit, you should help him." And with that, Alby walked out of the Homestead and towards the lookout tower.

Minho and I looked at each other, instantly feeling guilty. We both know Alby only goes there when he's depressed, scared, or just tired. That's his spot- where he goes to find peace from the stress of managing the Glade. No one, except for the Greenie on their first day, is allowed to go up there.

"He'll be fine, Minho," I said, seeing Minho's puzzled expression. "Just, ya know, dealing with a lot."

Minho nodded. At that moment, the annoying alarm for the Box rang.

"We have a job to do, come on." I said, walking towards it. I wasn't in a hurry. The box came up around 20 minutes after the alarm went off.

I looked around the Glade, in all its glory. I saw the gardeners stand up, stretching their backs and wiping the dirt and sweat from their faces. They started walking over, too. I would be joining them soon, as a Track-hoe. Well, when Minho and I finished the tour for this shuck.

The builders, working on the bunk area, put their hammers down too, following suit.

I got to the Box first, and waited. Right now, the door panels were closed flat. In about 15 minutes, they'd slide apart, revealing a new, terrified, crying kid.

We all came up like this. I remember being confused, and really scared. It took me about five days to stop crying. I couldn't do this. I couldn't see another kid crying, like I was. My leg started to hurt, where my limp is. Shuck. I had changed so much, but I was still so helpless, so afraid. If anyone else died, I think I'd jump again. Living in this hell is bad enough, not being able to talk to anyone was worse. My leg was killing me. Newt. Stop. It's okay, I told myself. Stop. STOP.

"Newt?" Minho asked. I looked over at him. He was kind of freaked out.

I cleared my throat, feeling the panic swell down. After a second, I answered.

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

Minho narrowed his eyes, questioning my newly calmed demeanor. "Ummmm," he said, looking me right in the eyes, obviously uncertain. "I guess, uh, it's nothing anymore."

By this time, other boys had joined us. I looked away.

"Good," I replied shortly. I had to not show feeling. We had to be strong for everyone else. The keepers, the ones in charge, we had to be strong.

It's not like we didn't have feelings. At night, I would hear the boys crying, or I'd see them walk into the Deadheads to have more privacy. If I saw a boy crying, I would look away. That's not something we were supposed to see.

In that way, I guess the Glade is somewhat heartless.

Besides Minho, no one jokes, no one really talks either. We kinda just argue over bloody nothing, do our jobs, eat, and repeat.

We can't afford affection. That wall, with the names? Those people are dead. They were my friends. Nick? Tyler? They were good guys. I cried for days when they died, the same day. Nick died trying to jump down the box and Tyler was stung.

That's why we don't care. Or, we pretend we don't.

I heard snippets of conversation from the boys around me. They were trying to guess the shucks reaction, when he came up. They weren't trying to be mean, it was kinda the only form of entertainment we had, besides the monthly bonfire.

10 minutes.