Four days pass and nothing. I had been in the Glade for sixteen days, but there was still no silver lining, there was no revoluation, there was nothing. I was still just Greenie; the new girl without an identity of her own. Maybe that should be my name: Greenie. I've gotten so used to it. I still hate it though. My daily routine was simple: get up, go to work, relax in the Deadhead. The only people I really talked to was Clint and Jeff in the morning, Siggy at work and sometimes Joseph. I had expertly avoided Newt by taking the long way around the Homestead to avoid the Garden, I was lucky that food was now in storage and I didn't have to go there to pick up the next day's fruits and vegetables. Another tactic I had was merely running whenever I saw him, Just have to keep this up forever, I thought confidently. Ben was busy, rumor around the Glade was they were still working on the same theory out of the maze that had killed Nick. I thought it was best to give him some space, as for Jackson, I just never saw him. He didn't really come to meals anymore, if he did, it was only to grab the food and leave. I could have had more interaction with Gladers at their nightly groups around the bonfire, but I was just too scared to approach it.

Today was a big day, Siggy told me that one of the older older pigs at the Bloodhouse had a new batch of piglets. "That means were getting some pork," he sang happily.

"Wow, that sounds great," I smile at the thought of warm meat not in a stew.

"It should be just in time for the Greenie," he giggled. "I'm thinking of just roasting the pig whole, what do you think? Or maybe handing out personal pig cuts to everyone?"

"Definitely roast the whole pig," I giggle. "It sounds like it would be funny to see."

"Roast it is," Siggy said while wiping his hands on his apron. "Before you leave," he said and I internally groaned. So close. "Can you get me a new pail of water."

"Yeah sure," I grab the pail and head towards the pump. It was cloudy now, Zart said rainy season had started and would last a few weeks. It still hadn't rained yet, but he swears it will be any day. I hurry to the pump, ready for my downtime by my little red tree. I had been working the nighttime for Joe, who wanted to see what the other half was like. My tree was like a secret haven I had to escape from everyone else, not that there were many people in my life to need space from. I dropped of the water and skipped into the Deadwood, my smile brightens as I see my tree. I nestle underneath it and look at the sanctuary I had created, it felt like the safest place in the Glade. I knew it would be different when all the leaves were gone and the trees would be barren. I had noticed that my tree was losing leaves quickly, I don't know why, but every night I would take all the red leaves back to the Med hut with me and stash them. A shiver ran up my spine, it was getting colder quicker, the closer it got to the rainy season, I wish it was over already.

I stayed a while longer before heading back to the Med-hut, Clint was the only one there.

"Surprised you're here so early," he said.

"What can I say, it's getting cold out."

Clint nodded," It won't last long. Are you going to the bonefire tonight?"

I shrugged," I don't think so, maybe I'll go to bed early."

"That's boring," he scoffed. "You should come, it might be the last one before the rain."

"Last one?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to have a fire in the rain," he said sarcastically.

"Maybe I will...," I left my answer open.

"Okay, so let's go!," he put his jar down and stood up.

"Now?"

"Yeah, it's about time. I think Jeff is already there."

Crap... I guess I have to go now.

"Alright, lead the way."

Clint was right, the fire was lit and most of the Gladers were surrounding it.

"Time to loosen up," Clint passed me a cup.

"How much of this is there? You guys drink it like every night," I laugh.

"It's simple to make," he takes a long drink.

"Cheers," I clink his glass and take a long drink. Gross. Clint makes conversation with some of the Builders and I stay close by, it wasn't so bad. They were nice guys and I was starting to have fun. I went for a refill and saw Jackson, I should say hi!

"Hey!," I said loudly as I approached.

"Greenie! How are you?," he said happily, but his smile seemed non-genuine.

"I'm good. I'm good. I never see you anymore though," I giggled.

"Oh yeah, Sorry about that Greenie. It's been a busy couple of days."

"That's cool," I sip my drink. "What's going on?"

"Oh... you know? Just Bagger stuff," he rubbed his neck.

"Having fun 'patrolling' ," I threw up air quotes and he smiled.

"Hey, I am excellent at staying up all night."

"You were sleeping!"

"That is untrue," he laughed. "I was just.. just making sure that my eyes were fresh to see all the dangerous activity in the Glade."

We laughed together," Well, I feel safer knowing you guys are watching over us all." Am I yelling? It sounds loud.

"Well, tonight you will feel safe," he drank some more.

"You're on watch tonight?"

"Yep."

"Oh fun! I'll stop by after my jog. Maybe this time I can finish counting the stars," I giggle.

"Oh, well... That might not be-..." Jackson was cut off the loud cheering of the boys at the circle.

"Do you... do you do that? Play that game?," I fumbled over my words.

"Oh, not really."

"Looks kind of fun."

"You want to do it?," he asked.

"Oh no!," I laughed. "I would be destroyed." My head felt dizzy and I couldn't stop smiling.

"Greenie!," Clint called to me. I turned and saw him beckoning me back to his circle.

"Well, gotta go," I laugh and head back towards him.

"I didn't know you knew Baggers," one of the builders said.

"I know everyone," I giggle into my glass.

"They make me jittery," another Builder said.

"Yeah, I don't know what it is... They are just weird."

"Wait," I stop them," Jackson is really nice. He hasn't been weird to me at all." All the boys looked at one another, like they had a secret between them I didn't know. One of the builders even started to laugh. "What?," I asked seriously. The boys either avoided my eyes, looked lost, or sipped their drink. What are they saying?

Clint cleared his throat," Well, it's just that-..."

A loud rumble ripped through the sky, followed by a blinding flash. What the hell? I felt a drop of something on hand, I looked down and saw a drop of water. Where did that come from ? Did one of them spit on me? I felt another and then another.

"RAIN!," someone shouted and boys went scrambling for shelter. I saw a few stay behind to put out the fire while the rest rushed towards the Homestead. I felt more and more rain hit my arms, head, and back. This is rain. I held out a hand and watched it collect in my palm, wow. I knew what rain was, but...

"Greenie!," someone called to me, but I was too mesmerized by the drops of water bouncing in my hand and gliding down my arm. It's crazy, I thought to myself I've never seen this before, but I probably have... I just can't remember. I've probably seen so much... Another flash of light lit up the sky, wow... it's so bright.

Someone grabbed me by the hand, destroying the puddle of water that had formed. The pulled me through the thick wall of rain until we were no longer outside. It was dark, but I knew were in the kitchen. I work here, I giggled.

"You bloody slinthead, you know what could happen if you stand in the open like that," his voice cracked the air like a whip.