Chapter 11
Exchanging glances, Alby and Clint asked simultaneously, "Frypan?"
Clint continued, "You alright there man? Are you sure you want to be named after a kitchen utensil?" Frypan was practically jumping up and down with glee. Despite the awkward looks he had gotten from his friends, he was still excited to finally have a name other than shank or Greenie.
"Is this what you guys did when you heard me coming up?" Frypan asked Clint. In the last three weeks, Frypan had grown closer to Clint. This was probably because Minho was always out in the maze, so only Gally and Alby knew him well. As for them, they were always discussing future plans for the glade. Frypan and Clint were the only normal ones, the only civilians, the citizens in the Glade. Now, Frypan had finally graduated from his Greenie status and could call whoever was coming up a Greenie.
Clint nodded as they sped up and ran towards the Box. As usual, Gally and Alby opened the doors and as usual, Gally jumped in, helping the new Greenie out. Despite the Greenie's obvious awe towards everything in the Glade, he still looked rather bored. Was it something to do with his long face? Or maybe it was due to his droopy eyes? Whatever it was, this Greenie just looked extremely uninterested. What really stood out was the stench emanating from his person. It was something similar to the smell of expired milk together with that of...fart?
Trying as hard as possible to restrain himself from pinching his nose, Alby stepped forward and said the usual introductions. The Gladers introduced themselves one by one, and Alby walked off with the new Greenie, probably to ask the usual questions. Alby had expected the Greenie to overflowing with questions, just like the other Gladers had. Instead, the Greenie was practically silent throughout the whole tour. Finally, at the end, he spoke up. Even then, it was to ask Alby about his name. Apparently the Greenie was not too enthusiastic about anything.
The next day, as the daily routine started once again. Instead of finding the Greenie bugging Alby or Gally for something to do, this new Greenie was different. He had automatically gone straight for the gardens, as if he were attracted to them like a moth to a flame. The entire day, all he did was tend to the crops, without stopping, except for meals. To Gally, this new Greenie was very mysterious. He shows up, barely says anything, and just starts tending to the crops. He did not seem the least bit worried about why he was here. It was strange.
"Hey shank, any progress on remembering your name? Any clue to what it might be?" Gally asked as they were sitting around the campfire eating dinner that night. Swallowing the food he was eating, the Greenie muttered, barely audible, "Yeah, I guess you could say so…" However, Clint was rather fed up with the Greenie constantly muttering and never speaking any louder. He nudged the Greenie, "Hey, you gotta speak up man, none of us can hear you."
"I remembered my name this morning while I was gardening. I don't know how it just came to me like some idea. So yeah, my name is Zart." This time, although it was still rather soft, everyone heard his name clearly. Gally uttered to Frypan, "You mean Zart the fart? I mean, that smell." Frypan giggled to himself.
However, Minho's reaction was slightly different. "You remembered your shuckin name this morning and you didn't tell any of us? I mean, yeah sure, I've been out in the maze all day, but you didn't tell them? Come on, man, I-"
"Calm down Minho. Zart's just a little… reserved that's all. I'm sure he'll open up to us eventually. What's gotten into you? You've been rather irritated lately," Alby said, "Nevermind, we'll discuss this later. Tonight is about Zart!" Zart smiled meekly, and continued eating.
That night, as everyone else was about to drift off to sleep, Alby approached Minho. He had seemed rather exasperated for the past few days, but Alby had waved it off as mood swings. However, tonight, Minho had snapped at Zart, which to Alby, was treading dangerously close to unacceptable.
"Minho, what's up with you? Yesterday, you refuse to try Frypan's new stew. Just now, you snapped at Zart. Is everything alright? You know you can just tell me if there's anything wrong," Alby started.
Sighing, Minho looked up and replied, "It's just… I've been running the shucking thing for what, 2 months? In those 2 months, do you know what I've found? Nothing. Well, not nothing persay, it changes everyday, but…"
"Wait, what changes everyday?" Alby asked, ears perked up.
"The maze. Everyday it changes, moves. That's why my mapping is all the more important. Say today I take the first left. Tomorrow, the exact location where I turned left, it's gone. Poof. It's just a wall. This is hopeless Alby. If this place moves everyday, how in the shucking world are we going to get out? It's impossible. I'm memorising the directions and mapping it out, but it's going nowhere."
So this was what had been bothering him. Minho was losing hope. Hope of ever getting out. Hope of finding a better life than being trapped here. Hope of… anything really. Alby sat down next to him, and patting him on the shoulder, said, "Minho, I know it seems bleak now. We will get out of this. Just persevere a bit more. Don't lose hope. I know, you should take a break from your job. Spend a few days here in The Glade, it'll do you some good. How about that?"
Lucky for him, Minho brightened up. Smiling, he said, "Thanks for the pep talk Alby. But, I just feel like if I take a break, I won't ever get back to it. Thanks for everything, really, but I'll just keep at my job. That's one of our rules, isn't it?" Minho placed his head back in his hands and all Alby could do was retreat to his hammock and sleep. He had told Minho not to lose hope. But how could he tell Minho to do that if he himself could not?
A/N: What do you think? OH YES next chapter is when Newt comes up :3 I'll probably publish it on Thursday, so keep an eye out for that! I would be really grateful if you leave a comment/suggestion/general review down below! Thanks! :)
