Escape to Paradise/Newt, book 2

Chapter 8

"Come on Newt, let's see what you got." Alby smiled, handing him a wrap for his hand. Newt glanced back and forth between me and Alby.
"What do I do?" He asked calmly, looking at the long strip of fabric in his hands.
"You tie it around your knuckles and wrist. You want to protect your hand. It's not hard." Alby smiled, turning to wrap the fabric around his own hands. I shook my head.
"Here, the last thing you want is to do it wrong and break your hand." I explained, helping Newt as he watched, probably trying to memorize the way I did it for the next time. Then I realized he wasn't looking at my hands.
"Emmy, what are these from?" He said quietly, slowly reaching down to hold my arms. His thumbs traced the bruises, rubbing over the sensitive skin. I flinched, then froze.
"Oh...um. I kinda sparred with one of the kids from group C the other day. No big deal." I lied. Newt kept his brows furrowed, looking up at me with a serious expression. I pulled my arms away and kept tying the fabric around his wrist, but I could feel his eyes on me.
"Okay, you're all set." I finished, clearing my throat and stepping aside so Newt could look at Alby again.
"Let's see what your made of, Huh?" Alby smirked, motioning Newt to follow him towards the punching bags in the corner of the room.
His eyes stayed focused on me for a moment, before he pulled his gaze away towards Alby.
"Yeah, Uh...Okay." He said, shaking his head like he was clearing his thoughts and stepped up next to Alby.
"Alright, lets see what you can do." The older boy smiled, and the two of them started to punch the punching bag in front of them. Alby was obviously stronger, but Newt didn't do too bad at all.
"Emmy? Come with me, please?" A doctor appeared in a uniform behind me.
"What? Why?" I asked, taking a step back. The scientist frowned.
"Chancellor Paige requests meeting with you in testing room 5." The scientist said grimly. I shook my head, my heart sinking.
"Not again. I just went through it two days ago." I folded my arms over my chest, feeling goosebumps appear on my arms already.
"I'm afraid I don't have an option." The young woman said. Sympathy flashed in her eyes for a moment.
"I....I guess I could ask Chancellor Paige to postpone the test." The scientist said. I smiled, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank you. Even just a few hours would be great." I breathed. The lady smiled, the expression on her dark skin softening.
"Okay. I'll see what I can do." The woman said. She gave me one last, sad smile, and turned to leave. Her white jacket billowed our behind her as I turned back around to see Newt and Alby looking at me. The punching bags were still swinging behind them and their chests were both heaving. I frowned to myself, walking towards them.
"Sorry about that, how'd you do?" I asked. Newt took a deep breath, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.
"He did good. I could've guessed that though." Alby smiled, elbowing Newt in the side.
"Who was that?" He asked, his chest moving quickly as he unwrapped his hand.
"Oh, um, some scientist. It's no big deal, I'm behind on my report or something." I lied, for the second time in ten minutes. Newt nodded, slowly relaxing as he tossed the wrap for his hands into a bin.
"Alright. As long as that's all it is." He said, the sweat on his neck glistening under he bright lights in the room.
"Alright, our break is almost over, let's head back to the room." I said. Newt nodded, running a hand through his hair. The sweat made it almost stick up like there was hair gel, and I couldn't help the smile on my face. I'm not going to lie, he looked kinda hot.
"Already? Didn't we just get here?" Newt asked, he stepped towards me, reaching down to grab my hand. I nodded, smiling up at him.
"We did. But you need a shower." I laughed. He made a face, and scrunched up his nose.
"Is it really that bad?" He whispered. I made a dramatic motion of leaning forward and pretending to sniff his shirt.
"Yep. Not as bad as you and the others when we were in the glade, but you could definitely use a shower." I teased. He rolled his eyes.
"Mhm. Fine. Let's go then." He said, grabbing my hand as we walked out of the crowded training area and back toward our rooms. We went into his room first, the familiar white walls and boring interior. Newt kissed my forehead, letting go of my hand.
"Okay, I have to ask. It's been two days, what the blood hell is up with all the white clothing? I miss my sweater from the glade." He frowned, searching through the drawer next to his bed. I let out a chuckle.
"They're suuuper keen on cleanliness and all that klunk." I laughed. Newt nodded.
"Yeah, I can tell. These clothes don't seem to work as well as the clothes from the glade did. They're not nearly as warm." He complained. I shook my head.
"Alright, I get it. You miss your sweater. I'll ask WICKED to get you a new one, Okay? Now go shower." I laughed, pushing him towards the bathroom door in the corner of the room. He stuck his tongue out at me before he disappeared behind the closed door.