[ She watches Thomas carefully as he jokes, however lightly, at his friend's expense, wary of any malice in his tone or on his face. Finding none has her relieved, so she snorts and nods and says, ] I'll take your word for it. [ It's not like her and her friends from the maze go easy on each other either.

But then she rolls her eyes, exasperated not with him but with the sentiment. ]

Just like nobody had ever seen the- [ wait, what would the boys' maze call them? ] you know the monsters in the maze? And survived? I think I hated that the most. Thinking that because no one's done it before that it can't be done. [ Her expression hardens as she looks away, jaw set. ] Living in fear of something you've never even seen, and just accepting it.

[ She shakes her head. It's not something she can do, she's found, just bending to the pressure of how something has always been. ]