Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
The following day Eleanor woke up early, eager for once to do some work. After a quick breakfast she made her way to the gardens, loving the fact that Zart wasn't there yet. In fact, mostly everyone was still back in the Kitchens.
She could see that Alby was giving Thomas the tour, could see the scowl on his face even from where she was standing. That amused her. She didn't envy Thomas one bit.
The alarm took her by surprise. 
She quickly shifted her gaze towards the Box. 
That couldn't be right. The supplies had arrived just the day before. She had never heard of them arriving two days in a row.
Soon enough, the rest of the Gladers had exited the Kitchens and were already making their way towards the sound. 
She followed suit, confused as to what was happening. Everyone else seemed to be feeling that same way.
When she was close enough she spotted Newt. She opened her mouth ask him when-
"Newt, what's going on?"
Thomas had arrived with Alby, who was already giving out orders. 
Newt walked towards Thomas and she followed, drawn to his calmness in stressful situations.
"Means a Newbie's coming up the box." He spoke when Thomas got to him, "Right now."
That's not possible.
She had finally reached them and was about to enquire more.
"So?" Said Thomas. 
Now that she observed him closer, Newt clearly didn't look calm. He was just very good at hiding his emotions.
"So..." Newt replied, took a look at her but turned back to the most pressing matter. "Greenie, we've never had two Newbies show up in the same month, much less two days in a row."
Before she could even utter a word, Newt had ran off, probably to gather the older Gladers.
Eleanor sighed and, knowing the box took a few minutes to come up and not feeling like answering Thomas' questions that she didn't think she could answer, she made her way towards Zart. She felt suddenly eager to do something to kill off some time... Something wasn't right.
When Alby and Newt reached the crowd again, she quickly made her way back to the Box. Finding a spot near the front wasn't easy but she managed to, while letting the older boys work the doors. 
The Glade felt silent, aside from the rattling of the Box. 
She could almost touch the tension around her. 
No one knew what this meant, nor who or what would be inside that elevator.
Soon enough, the metalic sound of the Box arriving came and Newt and Alby took positions on opposite sides, opening the heavy doors. 
Eleanor held her breath as Newt leaned over trying to get a look inside. She did so too, as much as she possibly could.
"Holy..." Newt breathed, looking around and stopping as his gaze crossed hers.
"What?" She managed speak through the nerves.
Why was he looking at her like that?
"No way." Alby murmured, not shifting his gaze away from inside the opening.
"What?" She asked, louder now, looking from one boy to the other.
A rumble of questions erupted around her and she was pushed forward as everyone tried to get a look inside.