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Chapter X

The Gathering

"We have gathered here today to decide on the fate of our one and only greenie girl-"

"Harper."

Alby shot a pissed-off look in my direction, causing me to shrink into my seat, before continuing his monologue. "And Gally, who allegedly harassed and mistreated her."

It was dead silent in the Homestead as Alby went on about how no one should ever try to challenge or break the rules. All the Keepers were looking at him, almost mesmerized by what he had to say. Gally was sat on the other side of the room - did they really think he'd attack me again? - looking very ashamed of himself. Minho stood near to him, leaning against the window frame. I hoped Gally didn't see the nasty look on the Asian boy's face - he'd probably wet his pants.

I pretended not to notice the way he was staring at me whenever he wasn't beating Gally up with his eyes.

To my left sat a boy whose name I didn't know, but recognized as the Keeper of the Baggers. Newt was to my right, insisting he'd sit next to me. His leg bobbed up and down as his gaze was fixed on Alby, who was still ranting - making wild gestures with his arms.

"- and following our usual protocol, we will have to banish him." The leader finished, his eyes now on my face.

The room - which had been completely still before - now shoke with the uproaring Keepers.

"You can't just -"

"He deserves -"

"Slinthead's gotta -"

Alby slammed both his fists on the table, causing everyone to become silent immediately. His gaze burned holes through everyone's head as he looked around the circle. "The rules, shanks. Which we established at the beginning, to prevent things like this from happening. Breaking the rules leads to banishment. We all agreed to that!"

Though I didn't know what he was talking about exactly, none of the Keepers objected to what he said. He was right - a banishment was what would happen if one should break the rules. But it was morally wrong. Gally did not deserve to be banished.

I stood up from my chair, surprising everyone around me, and shook my head. "He shouldn't be banished."

"Sit back down," Alby said, narrowing his eyes. "What makes you think you can object?"

"Because I'm the victim?" I hesitantly said, ignoring his command. "I thought this Gathering was about me too?"

"Do you think, greenie, that you can just pop out of that Box, walk up here and tell me that there is something wrong with what we have arranged? What we have build up since we've been here?" Alby said as he leaned over the table, bringing his face closer to mine. The anger in his eyes caused my lips to tremble as I searched for words.

The room stayed dead silent, everyone's eyes on the two of us.

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I don't want him to be banished, because he's a good person. How I experienced it - he acted out of shame and panic, not out of aggression," I said, glancing at Gally slightly. Though his posture still seemed tense, his face looked slightly relieved by my words - which encouraged me to say more. "I provoked the attack. I mean, I attacked him first."

I heard some of the Keepers snigger, and saw Gally's face turn red. I shot daggers at the laughing boys, and they avoided my gaze as soon as they saw me looking.

Alby huffed. "He's over it. You'll have to walk around with this" - he tapped his nose, referring to my bandage - "for a while. If anyone deserves to be banished in this situation, it's him."

"Yeah, and I'll get over it too. What do you think I am?" I said. Now I was the one narrowing my eyes, and Alby the one taking a step back. "Do you think I'm weak? That I'm not good enough for you?"

"No one has ever said anything about you being weak."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not stupid. I see the way the boys look at me, like I'm some sort of joke. Like I'm a mistake made by the people who put us in here - the Creators?"

"And what did you expect, shuckette, that we'd just accept you into the group. You're different from any of us - you're a girl. Don't think that we know how to handle you."

Suddenly, the discussion wasn't about Gally's punishment anymore. It was about me. Though I had been angry before, him talking to me like this made me furious. Newt must have seen it, because he stood up as well.

"Guys, I think -" He said, trying to interfere, but I cut him off immediately.

"Shut it, Newt," I said, though not turning to look at him. In the corner of my eye, I saw him sit back down. "This is between me and Alby." I turned towards the rest of the boys. "Unless any of you would like to say anything in my defense?"

Some of the boys looked hesitant, like they might've actually said something if it hadn't been for Alby threatening them with his gaze. Gally looked down, avoiding my gaze. Newt looked frustrated, wanting to say something to help me, but also not wanting to upset me more. Minho just looked very amused, leaning back with his arms crossed in front of his chest and this smug grin sticking to his face.

"That's what I thought," I said, before turning to Alby, who had lost all the patience he had. A permanent frown was plastered to his face, and his eyes were filled with fire. "Well, leader, I think you're acting absolutely ridiculous."

Suddenly, Alby grabbed my shoulders, almost dragging me over the table. His face was only inches apart from mine, and I could see the small veins in his eyes trembling. "You need to have some respect."

I roughly pulled his hands off of my shoulders before taking a couple of steps backwards, away from the table. "You need to earn some respect," I said, clenching my jaw. "I'm done here."

And with that, I walked out of the Homestead.

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And that's what you get when you mess with our girl. So, things escalated pretty quickly here. What do you guys think Alby is going to do? Apologize, or keep the tension between them? Leave your thoughts in the reviews! No worries, Blankminds. She's named after Harper Lee :). Kinn Kyougoku, what an honour! I'm glad you like the story so far. I have to disagree with you on your thoughts on Gally, though - I think his actions are quite realistic for the situation he was in. (LITTLE BITS OF SPOILERS HERE) His hate for Thomas is logical - he was afraid of him because all of the things he had done to them. On top of that, some of his actions were controlled by WICKED. He did apologize later on and helped the Gladers in the third book. Of course, all of that isn't an excuse for his behaviour. It really sucked in the movie how they portrayed Gally as a bad guy - like he had no valid reason whatsoever to hate Thomas. (END OF SPOILERS) Guys - actually - tell me in the reviews what your opinion on Gally is! I'd also love to know who your favourite / least favourite characters are, and why. And if you're really feeling it, tell me what you think about our girl. Do you like her? Or not? AND WHY? I'd love to have some ideas on her, her relationships with other characters and the storyline from you guys.

Another thing I'd like to inform you about: I'm looking for a beta-reader! If any of you are interested, please PM me. I'll look over your beta-reader profile and decide if you're right for this story :). On another note, I'm available as beta-reader as well. If you're looking for one, please visit my profile for more information.

Until next time!

- paperkite