Ineffable | Newt

4.

The day with Frypan was actually really good for Katie. Cooking was the one thing she was good at, and apparently Frypan thought so too.

"Shuck, Katie, this is amazing!" Frypan tasted her soup while a proud smile spread across Katie's face.

Newt was 100% right about Frypan; he was great. He was fun to be around, and Katie liked the kitchens; it was just her, Frypan, and two other boys she hadn't met yet. No one else disturbed them.

"Here," Frypan said, leading Katie over to where he was preparing some pork."Try my bacon; everyone loves it."

Katie blew on the bacon to make sure she didn't burn herself before she took a bite. One bite turned into two, which turned into her placing the whole piece in her mouth. The flavour was incredible; she could see why everyone loved it. Her taste buds exploded with happiness; afterwards, however, her mouth became very dry as a result of it. The pork stuck to her mouth in an unpleasant way.

Katie hummed contentedly towards a proud-looking Frypan.Then she made a hammering motion with a questioning face. Frypan looked confused.

"I don't know what you're saying, Katie." Fry admitted.

Katie thought for a minute, looking around the kitchen, before heading towards what she was looking for.

"I swear," said Frypan, "only Newt knows your signs by heart."

Katie sent Frypan a playful glare, saying he could learn if he tried, then grabbed the meat tenderizer. Realization dawned on Fry.

"And how was I supposed to know that you were saying to tenderize the meat?"

Katie laughed, and Frypan joined in.

The two then proceeded to make a few batches of bacon that were more tender, and Katie was introduced to the two other helpers in the kitchen; they seemed friendly enough. When the pork finished cooking, it was around dinner time, and the two cooks decided to try the new adjustment before serving the boys. They both made a sound of delight as they tasted it.

"You're a genius!" Frypan held up his free hand while the other held the bacon. Katie excitedly jumped up and high-fived his hand, considering he was especially tall.

Katie and Fry took another piece of bacon and stuffed it in her mouth. Then he called the other two boys to bring Katie's soup and the bacon to the counter for dinner. He then turned and grinned at Katie. "We make a good team."

Katie returned the smile and nodded her head.

The two then grabbed the bowls—well, Frypan grabbed most of them and Katie took the remaining ones—and headed to the counter. Some boys started heading in already, and Katie started pouring soup into the bowls for them. Everything was going well, and Katie felt really comfortable with Frypan. When a good number of boys had taken their share of the food, Katie noticed that Newt and Alby hadn't come to eat yet.

Katie then set aside some meat for them—and Minho, because Frypan hadn't yet arrived—and continued to serve the soup.A lot of the boys gave compliments to Frypan about it, to which he gave the praise to Katie, who blushed furiously and hid herself behind Frypan.

After everyone was served, Katie noticed that Newt and Alby still hadn't shown, and she felt a bit sad. The bacon was all gone, besides the ones she set aside, and she wanted to show them what she did. She looked at the counter and poked at the fire, keeping the pot warm.

"I heard you made some good soup, Greenie." A voice caught her attention. Alby stood smiling at her from the other side of the counter, with Newt and Minho beside him.

Katie grinned really wide and nodded her head excitedly.

She then ducked down behind the counter. The three boys stood confused and tried to peer over, but were surprised when she popped back up with three plates.

Alby, Newt, and Minho graciously accepted the plates and took a bite, their eyes widening and noticing the difference. Frypan slung an arm around Katie's shoulders; surprisingly, she let him and even smiled.

"That's right, Shankheads," Frypan said, "Frypan and Katie's pork has been perfected."

Alby nodded in agreement while Minho tried to steal another piece off of his plate. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten; I'll just put you in the kitchen now."

Katie smiled widely and offered a high five to Frypan, who took his arm off her shoulder. She then served each boy a bowl of soup and poured one for herself and Frypan.Frypan told her to enjoy the dinner and said the other boys would clean up the mess, then he went to sit with a couple of other boys. Katie didn't feel like meeting new people, so her eyes scanned the crowd. Newt was sitting against a log on the ground, with Alby standing in front of him. Katie smiled softly and made her way over to them.

"... anyways, I'll go talk to him." Alby finished his sentence and began to turn away, but first he sent a smile and a nod towards Katie. She returned it as he left, and she sat down beside Newt.

"Soup's pretty good, Shank." Newt brought his bowl to his lips and tipped the rest of the contents into his mouth. Katie smiled a bit.

Then she made her "don't want" motion.

"Oh?" Newt raised an eyebrow and placed his bowl on the ground beside him. Katie took a sip from her own soup. "Greenie?"

Katie shook her head and took another sip. She tipped the bowl and drank the rest, then placed the bowl on top of Newts.

"What do you want then?" He asked.

Katie thought for a moment. She honestly didn't know; she just didn't like "Shank," "Greenie," or "Greenbean." They were annoying and weird.

She just pointed at herself and placed her arms in her lap.

Newt noticed that today she was wearing a shirt that fit; she still had the black cargo pants, but her grey shirt actually fit her properly. Although he found it funny when she had the oversized shirt, he liked that now she was able to do things properly.

"Fine, just Katie." Newt stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. Katie followed suit and cleaned herself off. "Alby hasn't shown you the wall yet."

Katie's eyebrows furrowed as she mouthed "wall" in confusion.

Newt smirked and walked past her. Knowing he wasn't going to answer her question, she followed him. He walked at a leisurely pace in order for Katie to keep up, and she thanked him in her head. The two walked away from the other Gladers and towards the Deadheads. It was dark now; the sound of the maze changing and bugs chirping was all that could be heard. As Newt led her further away and into a darker part, Katie started to get scared. Silently, she grabbed onto Newt's shirt like she'd done a few other times when she was afraid and stuck closer to him. Newt chuckled a little at the action, but pried her hands off of his clothing and instead held her hand with two of his fingers.

A moment later, they reached an opening and a large wall of the maze. Katie was confused, but Newt let go of her hand and continued walking, meaning that Katie followed. He walked directly up to the wall covered in vine with rocks scattering the ground, and she noticed that engraved in it were various names; some were scratched out, but others were fine. They all had different handwriting, and Katie guessed that was because each person wrote their own.

Katie pointed to some that were scratched out and looked up at Newt, who sighed.

"We had some dark days." He said so solemnly, and Katie felt bad for asking. Instead of saying anything else, Newt reaches to the side of his belt and pulls out a large knife. Why didn't Katie have a knife?

He held out the knife to her, to which she took it, and he motioned to the wall. Katie looked for Newt's name; it was to the left of Gally's and below Alby's, but nothing was on the left of it. Katie wanted to put her name beside his, but it was too high for her to reach comfortably.

She looked around and found a large rock a few meters down. Katie handed the knife back to Newt and went for the rock. She had to work a little harder to lift it, but she managed to waddle back and set it down.She then took the knife back from an adorably confused Newt and stepped on the rock, which she could now reach. It took a few tries, but soon Katie was able to scratch her name in all capital letters beside Newts and place a small heart at the end. She smiled at her work and, still on the rock, turned to face Newt.

He had a smirk on his face, which was now almost at eye level with Katie's. His eyes glistened with amusement as he studied the girl. She wasn't like any other Glader sent up to the maze, and it wasn't just because she was a girl. There was something different about her, and he liked it.

"Is the heart necessary?" Newt asked as Katie stepped off the rock, and he was forced to look down at her.

She shrugged and looked up at Newt with her innocent brown eyes. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.