The Reason

Going Soft

She woke up the next day and cautiously poked her head out her door. Noise filtered in from outside the house, the rest of the residents clearly up and working already. She wandered the house until she found a bathroom, it was grubby and stained but she didn't have any other options. She washed her face and fixed her hair before venturing out to find Gally and figure out what she was doing today. It was a bit nerve wracking to walk out there all by herself, not knowing where her safe people were at and who she might encounter before she found them.

"Excuse me, Minho?" She called out to the first person she recognized.

He spun around at the sound of her voice, his eyes disappearing in a smile when they landed on her.

"Hey Greenie," he greeted her.

"Hi, have you seen Gally?" She asked as several boys walking by whistled at her.

"Uh, yeah. How about I take you to him?" Minho suggested as he eyed the boys sharply.

"Thanks," she sighed in relief. They walked in silence for a moment but it felt kind of awkward. "So, how come the new people can't try out being a runner when they get here?"

"It takes a lot of training," Minho shrugged. "You have to be fast enough, have enough endurance. And be able to memorize every turn you take so you don't get lost."

"Because the doors close every night?" She ventured.

"Well, that's part of it. You definitely don't want to get stuck in there when the doors close, that's for sure," Minho said, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.

She decided not to press him about it any further. "Well, I don't think I'm much of a runner, unfortunately" She said with a small laugh to lighten the mood and kind of change the subject a little.

Minho laughed in return. "That's alright. As much as I'd like to work with you, I think it's better you stay in here where it's safer."

Well, that was a clue, if he thought being the lone girl in a glade full of boys who'd never seen one before was safer than a maze. Finally, they got close enough to spot Gally and she thanked him for walking her. The contrast between Minho and his smiling eyes and Gally's cold stare was staggering.

"Nice of you to join us finally," he grunted as he checked his watch.

She bit back a scoff, wanting to remind him she didn't have an alarm clock or prior knowledge of when work started. "Sorry," She apologized instead. "Would it be possible for me to get a watch or something to help me be on time tomorrow?"

He just stared at her for a moment before sending a boy off to get her a watch, then gave her a task to work on. She was supposed to build a table and a chair since they were short a seat for eating meals now that they had two greenies at once. It seemed simple enough but she was still surprised that he left her to do it on her own, then she found that it was slightly more difficult than she'd anticipated. It took her a little longer to figure things out, but she only started a task once she'd reasoned it all out and found the smartest way to do it. Gally was not impressed by the time it took her to accomplish it.

She was a little disheartened by his attitude and feared he could use that as an excuse to kick her off of his team. Luckily, she found a way to earn some redemption points. She over heard two other builders complain about not being able to reach something they were supposed to repair. She took the risk of approaching them and offering to help since she was smaller. She managed to fit into the cramped space under the kitchen sink and repair the pipe with just their verbal instructions. Sure, they had made some bad jokes about pipes at her expense but she ignored it and focused on getting the work done, just glad they were at least keeping their hands to themselves.