(By the way, yes, I know that Teresa is the first and last girl to come into the Glade, but let's just pretend that we don't know that.)
Elizabeth woke up to the sound of boys chattering loudly. Groaning, she sat up and blinked a few times to adjust to the bright light. About forty to fifty boys were looking down at her, some smirking, some looking confused for some reason.
"It's a girl?"
"What the hell?"
"What's she doing here?"
"What?" Elizabeth croaked. Her voice cracked, like she hasn't spoken in a long time. She cleared her throat, then continued. "Have you guys never seen a girl before?"
A tall boy with blonde hair raised his eyebrows at her. "What's your name, Greenie?"
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "Why should I tell you? I don't even know who you guys are!"
From somewhere in the crowd, she heard a boy shout "Feisty!"
Elizabeth was surprised to see that the blonde boy was smiling. "Name's Newt," he said, extending a hand out for Elizabeth to shake, who hesitated before taking it.
"Elizabeth," she replied, and let Newt help her out of the strange box that she arrived in. A dark skinned boy pushed his way through the crowd to stand in front of Elizabeth and smiled at her. "I'm Alby. The "leader" of this place. Newt here's second-in-command." Newt grinned sheepishly at the mention of his name.
Elizabeth nodded. "So, what is this place, anyway?"
"Well, this place is called the Glade. That thing you just came out of," Alby gestured towards the strange box, "is called the Box."
"Pretty straightforward name," Elizabeth muttered under her breath, eliciting a small chuckle from Newt.
"The Box sends us supplies every week," Alby continued. "Food, water, clean clothes, you get it. Every month, it sends up a Greenbean."
Elizabeth cocked her head to the side. "Greenbean?"
"That's what we call newbies," It was Newt who answered this time. "Anyway, you're, uh, the first girl to come here, so..."
"D'you have any memory of what happened before you got sent here?" Alby asked. Newt shot him a curious look. Elizabeth shook her head, suddenly realizing that her head was empty of memories.
"Speaking of memories," Elizabeth started. "Why can't I remember anything?"
"Don't worry, Greenie," Newt replied. "Neither can any of us here. The Creators probably tinkered with our brains before they sent us here."
"The Creators?" Elizabeth asked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"The Creators." Newt repeated. "The people that created this place, the people that put us here. For whatever reason."
"The Runners are back!" Someone yelled, and all heads turned to one of the four gaps in the walls that surrounded them. Three people came running in; two of them went straight to a building with an iron door, but the remaining boy just stood there, panting, drenched in sweat.
Alby left Elizabeth's side and ran over to the exhausted boy.
"Love at first sight, eh?" Newt's voice snapped Elizabeth back to reality. She didn't realize that she'd been staring at the boy.
"N-no, sorry, just..." Elizabeth coughed. "Anyway, what's a R-" she stopped mid-sentence when Alby came back.
"Newt, get her to the Homestead, tuck her in, blah blah blah. Make it quick. Minho says he's got interesting news for us."
Newt looked confused for a split second, then nodded and took Elizabeth's arm, leading her to a tall building made out of wood, that looked like it could collapse at any second.
"Hey Newt, it's a bit early to get it on with the girl, don't you think?" A boy yelled at them. Newt turned to scowl at him, then turned back and muttered "shuck-face" under his breath.
"Who was that?" Elizabeth asked.
"Gally," Newt replied. "Only the most annoying shank in the whole world."
Shank? Shuck-face? Elizabeth had no idea what these words meant, but decided not to question Newt about it.
Once they reached the Homestead, Newt pushed open the door, led Elizabeth up the stairs, and stopped abruptly in front of the last room down the corridor.
"Alright, then, Ellie," Newt opened the door and nodded at Elizabeth. Her cheeks flushed red at the nickname, but Newt didn't seem to think too much of it.
"T-thanks," Elizabeth answered. Newt smiled and began to walk away. No, limp away.
"Why d-" she cut herself off before she could finish the question, deciding to save it for some other time. Newt turned back to look at her, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah?"
"Nothing. Sorry."
The boy shrugged and hobbled away. Elizabeth went inside her room. It looked pretty bad, truth be told. She sat down on the bed and began to take off her shoes.
I hope Newt comes back soon. I have so many things to ask him.
Sighing, she slid under the covers and drifted into a dreamless sleep.