Newt started his day in the Glade with a light breakfast of crushed corn that grew in abundance near the Deadheads. The meal wasn't exactly what Newt would call appetizing, and he pushed it away after eating 5 spoons of the mush. He went off to meet Alby at the Gardens to begin his first day in the Glade.
Alby was tending to the grapes that grew on the vines, the thin tendrils curling around the wooden supports. "Good morning, Newt. You could come help me and cut off the weeds. I'll just go open up the water tap at the other side of the garden," Alby instructed before dashing off.
Newt stared at the tall winding vines, absolutely clueless about how to tend to them. He examined it, and brought the shears to a vine that had a different texture and colour. He cautiously snipped it, wondering if that was what Alby called a weed.
Alby returned not too long after and was proud of Newt's progress. "You seem pretty good at this, huh? The grapes are looking good!" Newt was astounded. He didn't even have a clue about what he was doing! "Uh, thanks? I didn't know if I was cutting the right things though!" He chuckled.
They continued tending to the crops for the rest of the morning and Newt met the Keeper of the Gardens. His name was Zart, and he was very good with plants. Alby had named those working in the Gardens "Track-hoes", and those in charge of the various jobs "Keepers". "It's because they track the growth of the plants with their hoes, digging up rotten roots and weeds, and people like Zart keep watch of the whole place and make sure everyone working does their job," he explained. Newt couldn't quite understand what that meant, but he nodded in agreement anyway.
They stopped for a lunch break, served with another portion of Frypan's stew. "Do you like working in the Gardens, Newt?" Alby asked. "Not really. It doesn't seem that interesting to me. I mean, you spend the entire bloody day taking care of plants. How fun could that be?" Newt scoffed. "I guess you're not gonna be a Track-hoe then. Too bad, you seemed pretty shuck good at taking care of those plants."
The next place Alby brought Newt to was the Bloodhouse. Newt found a muscular boy with an acne-filled face standing in the middle of the Bloodhouse, a pig hanging from a hook attached to the ceiling. The pig was already dead, but the sight of blood spewing out from an open gash at the pig's throat made Newt's stomach wrench and threatened his lunch back up. Newt had to turn away from the scene to prevent himself from throwing up. When he turned around, he met Alby's concerned look. "You alright there, shank?" Newt weakly nodded, his face still scrunched up.
The duo didn't spend much time in the Bloodhouse as Alby quickly figured that cutting up meat wasn't Newt's forte. Instead, they went back to the Homestead and found Gally digging up a patch of grass. "Hey Gally, what are you doing? Another of your little projects, eh?" Alby asked in a playful voice.
"Just making something like a prison. It's about time we have some form of punishment around the Glade. We can't afford Greenies coming up next time and shucking up everything we have done. Not talking about you, Newt!" Newt put his hands up defensively, a sign of 'nope, no offense taken'. Gally continued digging, his shirt wet with sweat. The muscular boy scrapped at the soil, making a small circular hole just big enough for a person to sit in. "If you don't mind, could someone help me get some wood to surround the place? There should be some in the Deadheads." Gally asked.
Alby nudged Newt. "Newt, you go. You're here for us to see what job you are suitable for anyway." He nodded in understanding, hurrying off to the Deadheads. A pile of chopped wood lay in a neat pile in the middle and Newt quickly gathered some.
Newt spent the rest of his afternoon with Gally and Alby building what Gally coined the "Slammer". He wrapped the long wooden poles together with twine to make a door while Gally and Alby drove more wood into the soil. The three boys finished building the Slammer just as the sun started setting.
A/N:I'm sorry if the story seems a little boring now, but the next chapter should be a little more eventful!