Ineffable | Newt

3.

Newt watched the girl, Katie, as her legs moved feverishly to keep up with Minho. He stayed back this morning before running for something with Alby, and Newt was supposed to show her the tree groves. Minho stopped walking, causing Katie to bump into his back. Newt laughed and leaned on the rake he held. Minho spoke to the girl, and Newt could see her shoulders relax. The boy pointed his finger towards Newt, and Katie looked at him. Newt sent a wave and a sideways smile as Katie turned back to Minho and nodded before heading towards Newt.

Katie shuffled in the grass towards the plants where Newt stood. His eyes fixed on her while hers stared at the ground in front. She stopped a few feet away from Newt and shyly clasped her hands behind her back, but she still wouldn't look at him.

She gestured her left leg out like the day that they first met, which Newt understood. too short legs to be running.

She then kicked at the weeds in front of her and waited for Newt to say something. He didn't, though, and instead leaned farther into the chair as he looked over the girl. She wore black cargo pants with pockets all around and a grey long sleeve that seemed too big on her; maybe she accidentally took another boy's top. Regardless, she was suitable for gardening.

"Here." Newt shrugged and handed Katie the rake he was leaning on. Katie looked at the tool for a second before nodding and taking it.

Newt showed Katie what she needed to do and went on the other side of the tomato wall. They worked silently for a few minutes, Katie raking paths for seeds and Newt picking the ripe tomatoes. The other boys were either out getting fertilizer or chopping wood. Eventually, he got tired of not talking.

"What kind of jobs have you tried, Greenie?" Newt asked and peeked through the vines at Katie. She looked like she was having trouble raking in a straight line; her paths were messy and all over the place. Not to mention, her shirt covered her hands, so Newt couldn't tell how she was able to hold the rake straight.

Newt chuckled and walked around the bushes towards her; he grabbed the rake from her and proceeded to fix what she did, sending glances upwards so he could catch what she was doing.

Katie held out one hand in front of her and motioned with the other like a hammer.

"Builder," Newt said, and Katie nodded.

Then she held her left palm towards her and used her right to show a wrapping motion.

"Medjack."

Next Katie grimaced, and Newt laughed a bit.

"Slopper." Newt smiled and nodded. Newt complimented, "You're getting good at acting."

Katie straightened up a bit to show that she was proud, and her grin widened.

"Now you're in the garden." Newt looked down to find that all the lines were fixed. "Pick the ripe veggies, would ya?"

Katie nodded and moved to where Newt was a few moments ago. She could tell when a fruit or vegetable was ripe, and this pleased her because so far she had failed at everything she tried.

"Where are you tomorrow?" Newt asked as he watched Katie.

Her finger pointed towards the kitchen.

"Frypan's fantastic," Newt said, wiping sweat from his brow, "you'll love him, we all do."

Katie smiled a bit; if Newt said Frypan was great, then she believed him. Some of the boys were not so nice to her, meaning they thought they could be a bit more comfortable with her than what she was okay with. They never harmed her—because it was against the rules—but they did sometimes wander with their eyes, move a bit too close to her, or place an arm or hand around her, and Katie wasn't a brave or confrontational person. It scared her, so Alby let her have her own room in Homestead; she appreciated it greatly.

Speaking of boys, a couple started walking towards Newt and Katie. They had smirks on their faces; one had a heavy bucket and the other had large sticks in his hands. Approaching from Katie's side, the vines blocked them from Newt's vision, so he was unaware of their presence.

"Well, look at that," said the one boy with the sticks to Katie."Greenie's with us today!"

The two boys took a few steps closer to Katie; she turned her back towards the vines to look at them. The boy with the bucket reeked of a foul odour that made Katie's nose scrunch up involuntarily.

"What do you think we should have her do?" The boy with the bucket stood dangerously close to her; he dropped his bucket, but the smell swirled around him like a shield.

"Because I'm bloody second in command," an accented voice said from next to the tomato plants."How 'bout you get back to work, Shank?"

"Oh, come on, Newt." The boy in front of Katie smiled innocently, although Katie could tell he had no innocent intentions. "We're just having fun."

Newt didn't look amused as he stood with his arms crossed. Katie was intimidated by his glare, even though it wasn't directed at her. She could only imagine how the two boys felt.

"Come here, Katie." Newt commanded her. She nodded and rushed to his side to pick up the basket of vegetables. His side was a lot less scary. Newt looked at the two boys and addressed the bucket boy before he walked off. "Take a shower, Sean. You smell like shite."

Newt walked off, and Katie followed him; he led her back towards the centre of the glade. As he walked, Katie paid close attention to his limp, and she grew curious.

Katie adjusted the basket so she could catch up to Newt and tapped on his arm. When she had his attention, she pointed to his leg and motioned her finger in an arch that mimicked the sun with a questioning look on her face. His jaw clenched slightly at the question.

"Three months ago." He said curtly that he hated lying but didn't want to tell her why or how he hurt his leg.

Katie's palm then turned upward as she furrowed her eyebrows. Katie seemed so innocent, and she was; it made it hard for Newt. He sighed a mute sigh.

"I was a runner and hurt myself in the maze." It was a simple answer, not a lie, and not the whole truth. It was enough for Katie, though; she seemed satisfied, which Newt was thankful for.

Katie noticed that Newt led her to the kitchens, which made sense considering she was carrying a basket of food. She felt a little silly for not having guessed it. The place smelled of meat cooking, which made Katie a little hungry. Newt brought her to a kind-faced boy wearing an apron and standing behind a counter.

"I brought some stuff for you." Newt smiled at the boy and motioned towards Katie, who took it as a sign to place the basket on the counter.

The boy grinned widely and took the basket, inspecting the contents and placing them on the counter.

"Thanks man." He said simply, then his eyes landed on Katie, who shyly stood beside Newt. He offered her a kind smile. "Name's Frypan. Nice to meet you."

He offered his hand out towards Katie, who furrowed her eyebrows for a second and looked at his hand. Newt gently nudged her, and she shook his hand before slyly moving behind him.

"She doesn't speak." Newt explained, and Katie nodded in agreement. "But you'll get used to her actions."

"Katie'll be helping you, Shanks, out tomorrow." As Frypan handed back the empty basket, he said.

"That's good," the boy said, leaning against the counter."We could use another hand in the kitchen."

Newt then proceeds to say goodbye, and Katie nods at him. Frypan begins arranging the foods they brought in various locations.Newt hooked two of his fingers under Katie's arm and led her outside, where the sun was starting to set. His fingers detached themselves, and he readjusted the basket.

"You weren't that bad today, Greenie," Newt informed her with a smile. "See you at dinner."

He then turned on his heels and started walking away. Watching him leave, Katie had an enormous sense of dread suddenly wash over her, as if she were being exposed. She didn't like it one bit. As quick as her legs could carry her, she ran back to Newt, who gave her a deeply confused look.

"What's wrong?" He asked and placed the basket down with others of its kind.

Katie didn't know how to explain it, but being with Newt made her feel safe. She guessed it was because of his high position in the glade and his continued assistance to her.She simply looked up at him.

Katie made two fists and pulled them to her chest, palms facing in, while shaking her head.

"What don't you want?" Newt asked.

Katie pointed to herself, then gestured her arms at full length, palms outward.

"You don't want to be alone."

Katie shook her head in agreement.