Scout stood next in line. She bounced on her heals and her arms shook in nervous anticipation.
The Gladers all stood in one large line, most gathered in clusters, laughing and pushing each other around. Scout could hear Newt and Minho behind her, speaking in hushed whispers about what they had seen in the Maze that day. Scout decided not to concern herself with that, at least not for now. She brought her eyes back to the chair in front of her and began bouncing from foot to foot. She watched as Alby stood up and then strode off in the direction of the Homestead.
Scout scrambled up into the waiting chair and placed her hands neatly in her lap. Frypan stood in front of her with a sharpened knife; he smiled and raised his eyebrows at her apparent eagerness. She looked at him then raised her shoulders up a little, trying her best to look older.
Frypan grabbed a lock of her muddy brown hair in between his fingers and brought the knife in close, pointing away from her neck. Scout shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Wait!" she called out frantically, an idea coming into her mind. Frypan stood frozen, surprised by her sudden outburst. Several of the boys in the front of the line stopped their conversations as well and she could feel Newt's eyes suddenly focused on the back of her head.
Scout looked up at Frypan, fidgeting with her hands and worrying away at her lip. He looked down at her expectantly.
"I want you to cut it all off" she stated, a little too loud and a little too quickly. Frypan's eyes grew wide as she watched him burst into laughter.
"You want me to do what?" Scout worked her eyebrows together and felt her face flush a bright pink.
"I want you to cut it all off" she repeated, "If I'm gonna be a runner I can't have it bein' in my face the whole time" she added, becoming distressed. Frypan kept his smirk on his face, looking down into her blue eyes.
"But you're a girl" he reminded he, giving her hair a little tug. She pulled away from him and slapped his hands away. She began to feel the warning signs of tears pricking at her eyes. She felt anger build up inside her, and felt her hand shoot up to grip his knife.
"If you won't do it then I'll just do it myself!" Scout exclaimed. Frypan had easily maneuvered the knife out of her hand and was now holding it slightly above her head, out of arms reach. Scout began to jump up and down in an attempt to grasp it, becoming infuriated at Frypan's entertained giggles.
Scout heard a voice behind her.
"Alright that's enough." Her body automatically sat back down in her chair, and only a faint smile was left on Frypan's lips. Scout saw as Newt came to stand in front of them both, forgetting that he had been standing behind her the entire time.
"What's going on?" Newt asked, shifting his gaze between their two faces. Scout's eyes were glued to the floor; she hugged her arms tightly and brushed away the few tears that had managed to escape.
"Frypan wont cut my hair" Scout whined softly, she felt Newt turn his head in her direction but she still would not look up. She heard Frypan scoff but saw Newt hold up a hand to silence him.
"Now I know that's not true," Newt reported, although his voice had softened some.
"She says she wants me to cut it ALL off" Frypan said in a mocking tone. Scout felt her shoulders slump down as she let out a huff. Newt sighed.
"He's not gonna cut all you're…" Scout didn't let him finish.
"Then I'll just do it myself!" she snapped, making her point by stamping her foot against the ground. Newt just stared at her, his arms crossed against his chest and his eyebrows knitting together. "If I'm gonna be a runner I can't have…" this time Scout was the one being cut off.
"Again with this runner klank!" Scout slipped down a little more in her chair, Newt didn't usually yell. "You're seven years old for crying out loud, and you're a girl," he added, "you go out there and you're dead in the first five minutes". She shifted in her seat. "Is that what you want?" he asked, "huh?" Scout shook her head furiously in both directions and felt as real tears began cascading down her face.
"I am gonna be a runner! I am I am I am" she chanted in between sobs. Newt looked a little taken back and Frypan just twirled the knife around in his hand. The boys behind them had quieted and Scout did her best to reign in her sobbing.
"You just forget about his runner stuff for now and let Frypan cut your hair or I'll let you go have a little talk with Alby" Newt explained. "And then you can come back and let Frypan cut your hair, understood?," he added when he saw her begin to open her mouth.
Scout kicked at the ground with a scowl on her face, wearing her shoes into the thick, yellow dust. She felt a large hand cup her face and bring it upward. Newt's face was staring right into hers, his eyebrows raised far above their usual position.
"Understood?" he asked again, this time assuring that Scout would answer.
Scout thought about her next move for what seemed like minutes, before she made the entirely wrong one.
Wadding up all her saliva in her mouth, like Chuck had taught her to do off of the lookout tower, Scout put all her might into spitting a particularly large amount of it right into Newt's face.
"No!" Scout insisted as she quickly twisted out of his grasp, and ran sobbing into the thick, dark woods.