Disclaimer: I don't own The Maze Runner.

Chapter Three

For some reason, Athena had just assumed there would be other girls. After coming from the Rust, where there weren't any boys at all, she hadn't even considered the idea that maybe this maze would be a completely male maze.

No wonder Newt had been surprised to see her.

"That…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say. Okay, so it would've been nice to know that fact, so she could prepare herself, but it didn't change anything. This maze was basically a complete opposite of her own. The Rust was all metal and steel and broken alleyways and destroyed civilization while this place seemed to be made of grass and stone and ivy vines and farm lands and trees. And boys.

Yeah, that was a big opposite right there.

"I should've told you earlier," he said. He watched her closely as she took a couple steps away from him, toward the wall. "Are you all right?"

"My maze was all girls," she said weakly. "I think…you know, I'm just going to sit down for a minute." Her back hit the wall, and she slid down until she was folded up at the base of the stones, her staff resting across her knees. Athena closed her eyes and summoned all of her rationality, practicality, and levelheadedness.

She wasn't the type to panic. Well, she had panicked earlier, but that was a momentary flash of fear and anxiety. She couldn't break down again, certainly not where all these people could see her and automatically label her as weak. She was the medic for her group, and she was certainly not weak. In a moment, she would get up and face this new reality with composure. She just needed to catch her breath.

When she opened her eyes, Newt was kneeling a few feet in front of her. He seemed to be tying the laces on his shoe, but he was also blocking her from anyone else seeing her. Was he doing that on purpose and giving her a moment to herself?

He glanced over at her and gave her encouraging smile. "Better now?"

"Yeah. Thanks." She stood up and brushed herself off as he got to his feet as well. "So. All boys."

"Mhmm. You're the first girl, and you arrived a weird way." He pointed over toward a metal contraption in the distance. "We usually get one guy with the supplies that come up on the lift once a month, and it's just been a couple weeks since we got our last greenie."

"Greenie?"

"New guy."

Ah, green because he was fresh and new. Got it. The Courtyard members didn't have a term for new girls besides 'newbies'. Apparently they weren't as creative with slang terms as these boys.

There was the sound of shoes slapping the ground, and Athena turned to see a couple more boys come jogging into the green place. Glade. Yeah, that. One of them was muscular with olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes while the other was tall with shaggy blond hair. Both of them slowed down, breathing deeply as they stopped at the mouth of the maze to catch their breath. The dark-haired one glanced over and nodded at Newt.

"Back already? Thought you'd get back after us today."

"Yeah, well, something came up," Newt replied and gestured toward Athena. "Something really quite unexpected."

The other boy's eyes widened, and the tall guy stumbled back, completely caught off guard. Athena stared back at them evenly, unwilling to show how unsettled she herself was. The last thing she wanted was for them to think she was some kind of frail creature.

"Shuck it, is that a girl?" the dark-haired boy asked, "Where'd you get her from, Newt?"

"Yes, and I can speak for myself," Athena said. She made a mental note to add 'shuck' to the list of weird boy vocabulary.

"Where'd she come from?" the taller guy demanded.

Newt looked to Athena, making her glad that at least someone realized that she was capable of talking. "Newt found me in your maze."

"She says she's from a different maze," Newt offered, "One that's all girls."

"Ain't that nice." The dark-haired boy whistled and ran his hands back over his spiky hair. "This is going to go over sooo well." Sarcasm dripped off his words, and Athena smiled a tiny bit. She could imagine the same situation in her own maze and the chaos it would cause. He stretched out a hand to her and gave a grin. "The shank right there is Ben, and I'm Minho."

"Athena," she said, shaking the offered hand. Shank?

"Have you taken her to see Alby yet?" Minho asked Newt, who shook his head.

"We just got here," he said, "Can you do me a favor? Can you go get him and bring him here?"

"What, don't want to cause a scene?" Minho said, "Y'know they're all going to gawk at her eventually. First girl in ever."

Ben was already gawking at her, staring at her as if she was an exotic creature. Athena shifted her weight from foot to foot and crossed her arms over her chest even though it was already hot here in her coat and thick clothes. She didn't want to think about an entire group of boys staring at her like that, even if they didn't mean anything by it.

"Just do it, would you?" Newt said.

Minho smirked. "Sure, sure. Be back in a bit." He smiled at Athena again and tugged on Ben's arm, startling from his staring episode.

"They're all going to be like that," Newt said after they were gone. He turned to Athena, his back toward the rest of the Glade. His dark brown eyes were concerned and serious as he looked down at her.

"Do you mean the staring or Minho's sense of humor?" Athena asked.

"The staring," Newt said, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Minho's the only one with that particularly dull sense of humor." Athena got the feeling that he was actually good friends with Minho.

"So I guess I'm going to cause some problems," she said with a sigh.

"We'll get it sorted," Newt said, "It might take everyone a while to adjust, but it'll be all right."

"I might not be here long," she said, lifting her chin. "I'm going to try to get back to my maze tomorrow."

Newt lifted an eyebrow. "You think that's going to work?"

"Maybe." She couldn't help by try. It wasn't that she wanted to be stuck in a maze, but if she had to be in a maze, she preferred one where she already understood the rules. And where she wasn't the only girl out of twenty or so teenage boys.

Newt looked at her for a long time. "You're sure you're from another maze?"

"Yes," she said, bristling a little at being asked about it yet again, "Where else would I be from?"

"I don't know," Newt said with a shrug, "I just know some people are going to think about the people who put us here when they find out how you got here."

Athena scowled. "Wait, hold on, you think I'm one of them?"

"I didn't say that. I don't know who you are yet," he said, "Though I'd rather you were just from another maze. I'm pretty sure I believe you, just based on how you acted earlier, but I can't speak for the others."

"So what do you think they'll do with me?" Athena asked. Today just got better and better, didn't it?

"Alby'll be fair," Newt said with certainty. "We'll talk to him and try to figure things out. Just answer all of his questions, okay?"

"As long as he answers all of mine."

Newt sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. "Great…"