The sun was beginning to rise above the walls of the Maze. Another fantastic and wonderful day had begun in the Glade. Obviously no, it was not fantastic or wonderful because the transition to summer always brought days of sweltering heat and I hated that. Anyway.
A ray of sun permanently hit my face; it was very annoying. I am trying to squeeze in a couple more minutes of sleep, since I had worked late yesterday, thanks to the fact that the slinthead of Thomas did not want to lend me a hand. In the end, the sun defeated me and made me open my eyes a little. I rubbed them with my fists, then snapped them shut again, for the light was too bright for me. I got up, sitting in the hammock that I used as a bed, leaving my feet dangling without touching the grass. It was comfortable and too cool for me to get up now. It would probably be half past six or seven in the morning. I stretched out my arms, quite a bit, and let out a big yawn. I scratched my head a bit and groaned a bit. I didn't like being awake.
I took a quick look around the entire perimeter of the Glade. All the gladers were sleeping peacefully. That caused me a mixture of feelings, between anger and envy. I complained loudly and got angry. I swore several times and let myself fall on the hammock. In a matter of several seconds, I was lying down again, this time on the opposite side to where the first rays of the sun were falling. I closed my eyes again and tried to reconcile myself with my dreams. A slight mischievous smile invaded my face. I was super comfortable.
Fifteen minutes later I began to hear a voice in the distance. In my dream.
It was Thomas's voice calling me. My dream was being wonderful, I was in a pool, lying on my back on a unicorn-shaped float, sunbathing without a shirt, with sunglasses while I sipped a pineapple and mango slush through a straw, which was surmounted by a small parasol and a small doll with Thomas's face on it; and I submerged my left hand a little in the water.
"Newt!" Thomas said. I've been looking for you.
"Well, do me a favor and pretend you haven't seen me and keep looking," I said in a slightly borderline tone as I raised my sunglasses a bit to maintain eye contact with him.
—Yes, man, why am I going to look for more if I have already found you? Thomas said between laughs.
"Well... what a remedy," I said sipping some of the slushie.
"Can I go in the pool with you, Newt?" the boy asked with a big smile.
That upset me because I knew very well how Thomas jumped into the pool, bomb. That idea did not please me at all.
"Here I come," Thomas said, ripping off his pants.
That caused my cheeks to turn a little red, sporadically because I could only yell at him:
"What are you doing, shuck-face?" I yelled at him very upset. Luckily it was only for a second because I could see that he was wearing a blue swimsuit with yellow stars underneath.
"Ha, ha, ha," Thomas laughed out loud. You should have seen your face, Newtie, it was a poem," he said as he took a running start to jump.
-No, no, no…! I yelled at him trying to avoid him jumping, but it was too late.
Thomas jumped, as he tossed his shirt, bomb. He landed right next to me, causing the float I was lying on to tip over. The sunglasses and glass sank to the bottom and the pool turned orange as the mango from the slushie mixed with the water.
The tipping of the float meant that I woke up suddenly. I was on the ground, and he had hit me, nothing serious, but it was annoying. I looked up between groans, scratching the back of my neck where it had been hit, and saw Thomas laughing.
"Hey, stop laughing and help me, slinthead," I blurted out for him to help me in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Come on Newt!" he exclaimed. If you fell by yourself," he continued, laughing as he held out his hand.
I grabbed his hand, and he helped me up, pulling me up.
"You weigh a lot," the young man continued.
-Come now! I replied annoyed.
"And you're going to get wrinkles as long as you keep getting angry," he blurted out again between small giggles.
"Finally," I sighed. What happened that you stole my summer sleep and the extra five minutes of complimentary sleep? I asked, intrigued but annoyed at the same time, arms crossed.
"I don't know, you tell me," Thomas was saying, pulling away from me a bit.
I glared at him as he went on with a mocking plan.
-That I what? I replied.
Thomas stretched out in the hammock while I watched him, not quite sure what he was doing. He drove me crazy, especially when he was hungry and hadn't let me sleep a little longer.
"Oh, Tommy, come and kiss me!" Come on Tommy! He imitated me in a terrible way, between laughs and gestures stretching out his hands as if to try to grab my face. You were like that a few minutes ago —he told me as he stuck out his tongue at me.
I suddenly blushed. Unbridled shame washed over me at the imitation of Thomas. He wanted to kill him right there, hand him over to a Griever, or just kick his idiot slinthead face. I did nothing more than turn around and hide my face, so he wouldn't see me red with embarrassment.
—In 'tomato' mode again? Come on, let's go have breakfast because we have work," Thomas said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey stop!" I exclaimed again as I turned to smack him, then ran off, limited by my limp, to the dining area on the other side of the Glade.
"Ouch!" Thomas said as he scratched the right side of his head.
"Come on, the last one to arrive, help Frypan to pick up and wash the dishes," I yelled at him, a little distanced from him.
"That's not worth it!" Thomas yelled as he broke into a run. You better not limp too much because you're going to have to work overtime," Thomas was shouting from the distance, the words carried away by the wind.
I tried to run as long as my limp allowed me. I knew it was a difficult mission, but I gave it my all. I was extremely happy, happy that I had prodded Thomas into a rage. Although we get along quite well, it's always cooled to savor that feeling of being able to play a prank on your friend, a feeling that tasted like heaven to me, that is, it tasted like a hazelnut cheesecake, which is much more appetizing than Frypan stews.
"Newt!" —Thomas shouted in the distance, although he noticed how his words were closing in on my ears, as he was getting closer.
"This time I'm going to beat you, Tommy," I gasped without looking back, trying to dodge the obstacles that came my way as if they were Thomas' minions to prevent him from beating him.
We were about to reach the great dining room when Thomas pounced on me, like a lion on his prey, as if he were enraged. We both ended up rolling on the floor a bit, entering the dining room between laughs and some groans. The gladers stared at us, stunned, as if they had seen some kind of ghost appear out of nowhere.
"Hey, you shanks," Minho said, sitting with Winston, Gally, and Chuck at a table roughly in the center, sipping cereal with milk from a spoon just enough to scoop it back into its bowl and stir to mix the cereals again. You do the little hands in your rooms, where you can't be seen.
"But we don't have rooms," Thomas said, confused.
"Okay, Thomas, back to the absurd comment," Minho said, chewing cereal and with his mouth full, which choked on words and made it difficult to understand what he was grumbling about.
Suddenly several laughs were heard in the distance, Minho's comment had attracted too much attention from the rest of the Gladers, and the laughter echoed throughout the room while I died of embarrassment, turning redder than a tomato.
"Er... Minho..." I snapped at the Asian boy, a bit annoyed by his comment and with my cheeks still slightly reddish.
-Yes Boss? He replied by act.
"Have you no more maps to draw today?" —I said pretending to be interested in his work.
"Right, we're going to map," Thomas said as he got up and went straight for the door in a haughty pose.
"That's a fantastic question, my dear Newt," Minho was saying with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. But it will be not.
"How not?" asked Gally, who was sitting on the other side of the table.
"Well, we literally went there first thing in the morning, as usual, and we found a stone sign that said: 'the Maze is closed for holidays, come back in two weeks,'" Minho said angrily.
"Hahaha." I started laughing non-stop, as did many of the Gladers, including Thomas, Gally, and Alby.
"Then climb up a bit," Thomas whispered sarcastically, trying to think out loud the first thing that came to mind, wanting no one to hear him.
"Thomas, I love how much you've brought to the table lately," Minho said angrily as he shot him a dirty look.
"Okay, calm down…" Thomas said, a little embarrassed.
The morning went on. The four large doors that led to the gloomy, narrow corridors into the Maze were closed. On all of them appeared the inscription that Minho had detailed for us. A certain breeze of calm filled with traces of tension and expectation had taken over the Glade. We didn't really know how or why the doors stayed closed. Once again, the creators forced us to consider absolutely our entire existence and our purpose in this Maze, well, if those damn doors were closed, what were we going to do? I just concentrated on my work and tried to forget all about the closed doors.
I began to cut a couple of branches from the trees in the forest area, to be able to use them as fuel for the bonfires. The limp made it a bit difficult for me to work, but nothing I couldn't deal with. My idea was to cut a few large branches with the machete, which Alby had personally sharpened for me, and then tie a couple of ropes to make like a backpack so I could transport them in one trip to the cabins in the Glade. The machete sank into the wood of the tree while the dry blows it gave sounded: clack, clack, clack. It was a bit of tedious work, but I couldn't do anything else because lately we were having a lack of fuel and it was difficult to keep the Frypan fires and the nightly bonfires lit. I continued hitting the branches of the trees hard with the machete, so much so that I even got a small wound on my right hand. I only let out a slight moan, unimportant.
I loaded the logs, previously tied to the ropes, which were made with quite resistant vines, coming from the vines inside the Maze. A bit strange, but it worked just the same. I counted to three: "One." I firmly gripped the handles of the makeshift backpack with the logs. "Two". I picked them up with all my might, gasping and slipping and falling. "And three". I carried the weight, which could be between ten and fifteen kilos, on my back, while I held on to a branch to use it as a walking stick and to make walking more enjoyable, despite my limp.
The heat was beginning to take its toll on my physique. I felt exhausted and the beads of sweat traced a very annoying trail on my face, as if they were pricking me with small sharp points. I only had to make one more effort to complete the journey that had meant an investment of about fifteen or twenty minutes, approximately.
I put the logs down on the ground while panting. I was very thirsty, but the first thing I did was approach a mound of leaves, which were piled up in great quantity, forming a mountain of greenish and yellowish colors, and I suddenly fell on them. I wanted to take a little nap. I settled on the sheets and in a matter of minutes fell into a deep sleep, like some kind of trance, hypnotic but nice and desirable.
It took a few minutes, maybe an hour or two, until I woke up. The shadow of the wind whistled in my ears like a hypnotic melody of pleasant sensations. I rubbed my eyes for a long time, enjoying the pleasure of waking up again so calm and serene. I yawned as I stretched out my arms, spreading them wide for a few seconds. It was such a pleasant sensation, so much so that I wanted to go back to sleep just so I could wake up again. I couldn't. Something caught my attention and captivated me in a strange way. I did not like it.
I glanced at the Glade. There was no movement, as if the whole world had vanished, by magic. There was really a calm and pleasant atmosphere, although I felt dwarfed by the immensity, although scarce, nature that surrounded me. I also didn't hear any conversation, so I deduced that they could all be in a Meeting. "Had they forgotten about me?" I thought coldly for a few seconds, although having fallen asleep in that mound of leaves might have meant they hadn't found me. I was puzzled and upset, but brushed it off, sat up, brushed dust and leaves off my pants, torso, and shoulders; and I set out to continue working a little.
I carried on carrying branches and some logs for at least an hour. It was quite tedious, but he coped well. The Sun radiated from the top of the sky, imposing, a ball of fire embraced the entire Glade and made me sweat profusely. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the sleeves of my T-shirt, barely. I really missed having some scoundrel helping me with this, but I didn't think about it too much. It must have been close to noon, between twelve and one in the afternoon. I left the last load of wood in the area where I had been leaving the others and went straight to one of the log cabins located on the right side of the Glade. He was hungry and thirsty, above all, thirsty. I was dying to get a good drink of water after such a hard day's work.
I walked for about four or five minutes until I reached the dining area and the kitchen. I noticed that this area was also deserted, with a deafening silence that penetrated my ears and caused me a feeling of apathy and discouragement. My stomach began to growl, as if demanding that I put worries aside and feed the beast that seemed to complain inside of me. I approached the kitchen door, which was in the far left. I walked between the tables and chairs, most of which were placed on top of the wooden tables themselves. I miss the least. I ignored him again. I was about to open the kitchen door when I saw a sign, written in Frypan 's handwriting, which read: "I'm taking a break. I'll be back whenever I want." I smiled slightly and a small laugh left me instantly, I was very amused by the comment "I'll come back whenever I want". Although that was more fitting for Minho to say.
I grabbed a crystal glass, from one of the countertops, then I bent down to pick up a bottle of water, which was in some kind of pack, stacked together with others, under said countertop. I uncorked it and set it on the table, tilted the bottle and filled the glass, almost to the top, and took a small sip. It wasn't very cold, but a wonderful sensation went through my whole body, as if I were floating on a cloud and soaring through the sky. That drink of water after a hard day's work was something wonderful. I also took a couple of pieces of bread, before making sure that Frypan was not in the area, since he did not want to get a reprimand from him. I bit into a piece of bread and grabbed some cheese from the fridge. I closed the door and ran away, just in case.
I went to the forest area with the water and the pieces of bread. Everything was still calm, as if someone had erased all the Gladers and left me alone. Anyway, I tried to downplay the situation and focused on my food. It took me a few minutes to get to the forest, compared to when I was carrying that wood. It was a relief to feel the soft breeze that was blowing at that moment. I closed my eyes to notice how he caressed my face, as if it were nature that was embracing me at that moment. I sat under a big tree, which looked very old. Its tall branches and lush foliage covered much of the sky, casting a deep shadow just below, ideal for getting some sleep. I sat in the shade, crossed my legs, and bit into another piece of bread along with some cheese. I savored the intense flavor that the piece of cheese gave off on my taste buds. It felt great to be able to satisfy my hunger that way, relaxed, with a soft breeze and eating something so delicious.
It took me a quarter of an hour to finish the meal. It really filled me up much more than I thought, or maybe it was that hunger had caused me to exaggerate too much. Whatever it was, I got up again, stretched my arms up above my head and walked to my bed area. Along the way I could see Thomas, in the distance, I couldn't make out him very well, but I could almost be sure it was him. He was talking to someone, probably Minho, but he couldn't make out him because his back was turned, and I didn't have the vision of an eagle to confirm it.
I ran towards them, glass in hand. He really needed to be with someone and talk a bit, since he had been alone too long already. I kept running for a few seconds until I managed to catch up with them. I was really surprised because my limp had given me that small but long-awaited truce, or perhaps because when someone wants something they always find strength where there is none to achieve that goal.
"Hello Newt," Thomas said with a big grin from ear to ear.
-Where have you been? Minho snapped.
"Hey…guys…" I gasped. I've…been looking for you…" I went on. I haven't…seen anyone…in a while…" I said as he put his hand on my chest to control my breathing, shaken by the short but explosive run he had hit me.
"What do you say, Newt?" Thomas asked.
"Yes, Tommy, I've been alone for a couple of hours, maybe three. I've been carrying firewood to the cabin area and the kitchen while you guys were hanging around. Come now! I said a little indignant as he crossed his arms.
"Everything has its explanation," Minho said, gesturing to try to be more convincing.
"It's better for you... because you already know that Alby doesn't like things left undone and that we spend hours doing nothing," I answered a bit more annoyed.
"Yeah... I know... but we'll talk about that later..." Minho explained, subdued by nerves while he looked at Thomas to try to help him.
-Really? Is that all you have to say? I asked pointedly. You guys are up to something... and I just want to know what it is.
"Maybe so..." Thomas replied jokingly. Or… maybe not. He finished with a shrug.
—Well, if you're not going to tell me anything, I hope you'll at least give me a hand to prepare the planting areas and bring water to the kitchen.
"Done deal," Thomas finished, giving me a genuine smile in a pleasant tone of voice.
The three of us continued arguing for several more minutes, perhaps because no one wanted to get to work at that time of the morning, almost in the afternoon. The sun was shining overhead, but already showing signs of weakening. Its great power, manifested in the imposing summer heat, was waning little by little, indicating that the late hours of the day were approaching. The heat subsided and led to better working conditions for the three of us. It's not really like we went to work much as Thomas and Minho kept making jokes and making comments to me.
"But Thomas, I don't think we should ask Teresa that," I said thoughtfully.
-Why not? the young man insisted.
"Let's see, you, greenie, do you seriously think she'll agree to do that?" Minho replied between laughs.
"Well, I don't think Gally believes us, and it might be fun if she's the one to help us complete the prank," Thomas was trying to explain his plan.
—That's fine, but we'd also have to ask Frypan to prepare the cakes for us, and I don't think they'd take it very well that we're going to throw them away, directly, and not eat them —I tried to explain the inconvenience.
—You see, the last time we made a prank with food... Frypan left us scalded —Minho finished between laughs as he seemed to remember said anecdote.
"He gave us quite the kicking, but it was worth seeing Alby's face," I said, laughing too.
The three of us went on to tell some funny and funny stories about life in the Glade, most of them obviously where stories Thomas hadn't lived through, but just looking back on them made me rethink many of the good times I'd had these past few years. The fact that the creators were on vacation really gave us time for all of us to get to know each other better and we could share time together. The rays of sun that hung over the Glade were less and less intense, and a beautiful orange color with purple and blue traces dyed the sky at that moment in which the Sun was hidden behind the horizon of the walls of the Maze. The spectacle of lights and color was majestic, we really did not usually stop to contemplate the colors that the sunsets left us, because work was always the order of the day, although it was comforting, a good rest always felt great.
Wonderful, yes, until our conversations were interrupted at the moment when our stomachs began to rumble, like beasts demanding prey. We were hungry, and it was not only because the sunset indicated that it was time for dinner, but our bellies, and the sound of some gladers that rattled through the dining area, became latent at that moment.
"Thomas, what's wrong with you?" Minho asked after hearing his stomach growl. It looks like you've eaten a lion ha, ha, ha" he commented while laughing a lot.
"See Tommy, calm that beast ha, ha," I snapped as I laughed along with Minho.
"Yeah... well... I'm a little hungry, so what?!" Thomas asked angrily and with obvious symptoms of him feeling embarrassed by it, both by the tone of voice and by the gestures to try to get out of the way.
"Nothing, nothing," I said while still laughing.
"Come on, let's go get something to eat with the rest of us," Minho snapped as he gestured for us to follow.
"Yeah, let's go," agreed a hungry Thomas who grabbed my shirt for me to follow.
"But guys…" I said as Thomas led me away.
"Yes, Newt?" Thomas asked.
"Um…Tommy, the kitchen is on the other side," I replied as I wriggled free of him and pointed to the distant kitchen and dining room cabin directly in front of me.
"That's true, my friend," Minho replied.
I was getting a little annoyed, but I ended up burying it in my own being, so as not to lose my composure, because I really had no idea what these two slintheads had planned. He was really intrigued, especially given the idea that it had been two or three hours since he had seen any gladers work and take care of pending tasks.
"Ahg, alright," I said with a low growl. But then I want to see you all work, okay? There's a lot to do, and I haven't seen anyone taking care of their chores in a while," I said calmly, arms crossed, pouting and surrendering to Tommy and his plan.
"Yeah, whatever you say," Minho said in a mocking tone, which is quite normal for him.
"At least let me follow you, you don't have to catch me Tommy," I said growling more.
"Wow, the leader of the Glade has been grumpy," Thomas said, looking at me with a grin. Come on, okay, but follow us, please, Newt," finished our greenie as he released me and invited me to walk beside him with a warm smile.
We walked for a few minutes, through the Glade, until we reached some log and wooden cabins. It was where the provisions, clothes and some weapons that CRUEL used to provide us with were stored. It was the largest room in the entire Glade, and where we used to have some parties and meetings, very occasionally. I suddenly thought that everyone had been too busy celebrating and having a good time without me, without remembering me. At that moment I became frustrated again and a series of negative emotions ran through my being from top to bottom. Minho and Thomas didn't seem to have noticed my discomfort, although they were a little ahead of me since my limp didn't allow me to walk faster. I listened to the laughter and the comments of the conversation that both gladers were having, especially I liked hearing the naturalness with which the new executioner had adapted to living in the Glade.
"Okay, miss, you go first," Minho told me sarcastically, bowing for me to go through the door first.
I had not realized we'd gotten to this point.
"How funny you are, Minho!" I said sarcastically as I put my hand on the door to open it.
The door creaked and creaked a bit, quite usual for wooden things, I guess. Inside the room it was all dark, but I had a small feeling that there were people watching me. He was with all five senses on high alert. Minho and Thomas followed my lead, and the hangman was the last to enter the apparently warm room. I think Thomas was the last to enter, but I couldn't appreciate it very well because the darkness clouded his face and embraced his entire figure, which prevented me from distinguishing the features of his face. The last rays of sun, which slipped silently both through the open door and through the small cracks between the wooden logs, predicted that it would soon be dark.
My eyes were trying to get used to the dark. I opened and closed them many times to try to dim the pupils to better perceive the darkness. Suddenly a flash blinded me at once and the room light came on, illuminating everything in front of me. I covered my eyes to avoid being dazzled, but I couldn't stop my astonishment when I saw all the Gladers shout and celebrate at the same time:
"Happy birthday Newt!" they all said in unison with a great festive atmosphere and throwing brightly colored balloons and confetti into the air.
-But what is this? I said, shooting a look at Thomas, trying to get answers in the face of the perplexity that came over me at that very moment. I don't understand anything, I...
"How come not?! Minho replied, interrupting my sentence as he gave me a hug. It's your anniversary since you came to the Glade two years ago. It is the only thing that we could define as a "birthday".
"Well, I know you've arranged everything with great care, but don't you think it's very strange?" I asked in a mixture of conflicting feelings and emotions. I don't know, celebrating that I've been trapped in this place for two years...
"Enough of that pessimism, Newt," Winston snapped.
"Right, Winston is right, we're going to enjoy ourselves and not worry about what we can't do now," Teresa added.
Together they managed to lift my spirits and take me to their land. My face began to outline and overflow with happiness. The guys were right, there was no reason to be sad, besides, the creators were on vacation, and we could continue our rush to find a way out of the maze for another two weeks.
"Come on, Newt, the pie is waiting for you," Thomas said as he took my arm to a large table with a large box covering something on it.
"Uh... cake?" I said between surprise and resignation. Please tell me she didn't make it Frypan." I recited my prayers as I tried to stop Thomas from dragging me to that place.
"Of course, I do, Newt. The cake is my work," Frypan said from behind that big box, sticking his head out of the top, standing on a chair, and greeting me with a smile. Happy birthday, by the way.
I swallowed hard because I knew it could be a double-edged sword. I think all of the gladers looked at each other, surprised and scared, although Frypan was not a bad cook, we all doubted his skills as a pastry chef. I think nothing good could come out of that box.
"What's with those long faces?" asked the cook somewhat indignantly.
"Nothing, nothing," I said with a fake smile and with the palms of my hands facing him and at the level of my neck, as a sign that nothing was happening or to reduce tension.
"I've tried really hard, huh, Newt. So, you better try it, okay Newt?" Frypan asked, pointing at me with a metal whisk.
Chuck walked over to me and offered me a glass of raspberry coconut juice. It looked very good.
"Here, Newt, for you," said the young glader as he held out his hand to give me the glass.
"Thanks Chuck," I said to the boy, flashing him a friendly smile as he picked up the glass for me to take a sip.
"You're welcome, boss," Chuck replied, smiling back at me as he also took a sip from his glass of juice. It's strange though, isn't it? We have never planted raspberries or collected coconuts.
"Trade secret," Gally commented from afar as he winked at me.
"We've also made some appetizers, mostly cheese, which we know is your favorite food," Alby said fondly. It's not much, but enough for a special moment —he finished smiling.
-Thank you so much guys. From my heart," I said, trying not to shed any tears down my cheeks.
At that moment I was hugged by Thomas, while Minho gave me a couple of pats on the right shoulder, while the other Gladers surrounded me with cheers, shouts of joy and expressions of affection.
"I think it's about time for the main dish, don't you think?" Frypan snapped.
"Come on!" Thomas and Teresa said at the same time.
"What enthusiasm," replied Frypan. Anyway, Newt, it's your turn to do the honors.
"Okay," I said as I walked over to the table where the cake was, to edge it.
I got on the chair, where Frypan had previously been, and lifted the red box that was on the table which, to my surprise, was quite light. When the inside was uncovered, a large chocolate cake was revealed, with a biscuit base and strawberry-vanilla frosting. Then they all shouted together:
"Happy birthday Newt!"
Frypan divided the cake and gave portions to all the gladers, in a small clay-colored ceramic plate and, next to it, a small fork. Mine was a little bigger, although the cook almost forced me to take it, since the day was mine and the best part of the cake, too.
When I tasted a piece, a feeling of happiness and pleasure invaded my palate and slid down my throat. The taste was wonderful. I had never tasted anything so delicious. I devoured my portion in the blink of an eye, so fast that I could only keep sucking on the plate, as well as my fingers. I broke into a big smile and licked my bottom lip a bit. It was the best he had ever tasted.
"You've outdone yourself, Frypan," Winston said.
"Right, I think it's your best dessert, though that wasn't too hard to beat," Alby said between wryness and several laughs.
"Well, it has a secret ingredient that makes it very special," replied the cook while he finished cleaning the table.
"You don't eat?" Thomas asked Frypan.
"What is the ingredient that makes it so special?" Chuck also asked, in an innocent tone, but with great curiosity in his words.
"Do you really want to know?" Minho asked both Gladers.
"Of course," I replied.
"Well, okay, but then don't back down," Frypan replied haughtily as he slapped his chest.
"Let it go now," Teresa snapped.
"Good. The secret ingredient is… a bit of Griever drool," she explained as she tried to contain her laughter.
"What!" We all yelled at once. "Yuck!" We said as we threw the plates on the floor and made disgust at what we just ate. We couldn't believe that the cake had anything like that.
"Hahaha," Frypan laughed out loud.
"You'll see when I catch you, you idiot shuck, you're going to swallow your creation," Minho replied rather angrily.
Minho started chasing Frypan around the room, trying to beat him up after the slop he had given us to eat. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until as was logical, Minho pounced on Frypan, almost flying and knocking over tables and chairs that crossed his path. Only a few sobs could be heard, coming from Frypan, as well as the demands of Minho, who was trying to get him to eat the cake, and laughter from the rest of the gladers who seemed to enjoy the show.
"Well, all's well that ends well, right?" —I said giving you, readers, a complicit wink, while he smiled.