Ineffable | Newt

7.

The rumbling of the box stopped with a clang, and the alarm went off. All the Gladers knew what to expect next, as most of them rushed towards it. Gally got there first; he opened the doors and jumped down. Katie, along with Frypan and Fred, moved towards the cluster of people.

Katie pointed at herself and looked up at Frypan, who had an actual view of what was going on. Katie could only see backs everywhere.

Frypan shook his head and looked down at her.

"Boy." Katie suddenly lost interest in whoever was sent up, he said.She turned on her heels and started walking back to the kitchen.

What would Frypan ask them to make tonight? After all, it is the bonfireo make tonight? After all, it is the bonfire. And Katie also learned to say a couple words to Frypan and Minho, but only when they're one-on-one; if anyone else was around, she couldn't do it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was pushed forcefully to the ground. Her face collided with the dirt, and she heard cheers from the boys behind her. Katie lifted her head and wiped her face with her sleeve. A retreating figure of a boy she'd never seen before zoomed away. He was really fast.

"Look at the Slinthead go!" The boys shouted, and Katie sat up on her knees to dust herself off.

"You okay?" Newt kneeled down beside her. Katie nodded at him, then turned to spit a bit of dirt out of her mouth. Newt snickered a bit.

Katie pointed to the boy who was already on the outskirts of the Deadheads; within a second, he disappeared. Newt nodded with his eyes on the trees.

"He could be a runner." He stood up after saying this.He smiled down at Katie and joked that if we found him, he'd sign.It made her laugh a bit.

Newt offered his hand down to Katie, who accepted it, and Newt pulled her up easily. He wore only his tank top today, but his long sleeve was tied around his waist.His eyes went down to her chest.

"You're filthy." He said.

Katie looked down at herself—Newt was definitely right. She had dirt embedded all over her shirt; she frowned and tried unsuccessfully to wipe it away.Newt chuckled at her attempts to clean herself.

"Here." He said this and removed his shirt from around his waist. He handed it to her, and Katie looked up at him confused. "Put it on and wash your shirt; the boys and I'll look for the green bean."

Katie made a small noise of understanding and took the large shirt from him.

She smiled, and Newt nodded, then turned around and rounded up the boys into search parties.

Katie went in the opposite direction, towards the stream, picking up a washboard on her way. No one should be here; it wasn't laundry day, she thought as she moved through a couple of bushes.Still, to be perfectly sure, Katie looked all around her. When the only sounds she heard were the wind and bugs, she knew it was safe. Katie removed her shirt and replaced it with Newt's, which was far too big for her, but it would have to do. One side of the collar dropped off of her shoulder, so she pulled it back up and bent down to the stream.

Katie proceeded to clean her shirt. She was thankful her job wasn't a slopper; cleaning was such a tedious task and she hated it.

She huffed and tucked her hair behind her ear, finally finished. Katie stood back up and walked towards the common areas. She noticed Alby talking with the mystery boy beside the tree grove with Newt; she guessed he was done running. Katie wondered how many boys ran when they first came up in the box as she placed her shirt to dry on the line and headed to the kitchens.

Frypan was there beginning dinner when she walked in, and he greeted her. Then his eyes did a double take, wondering why her attire seemed familiar, but he went back to chopping.

Katie pulled the side of the shirt back onto her shoulder. She walked to her usual station, and Frypan dropped a slab of dough in front of her.

"Meat pie." He grinned. "Special night."

Katie nodded and rolled up the enormous sleeves on Newt's shirt. Frypan noticed her doing this, and something clicked in his head.

"That Newts shirt?" Frypan smirked.

Katie nodded, not removing her eyes trained on the dough, and her eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated.

"And you have it?" Frypan prompted.

Katie nodded once again and slammed the dough on the table. Frypan nodded, but no one saw because they were both focusing on their tasks.

~*~

A few hours later dinner was served, Katie had her own shirt back on, and the Greenie was over his shock.

Katie was with Minho, who was drinking a weird-colored liquid that Katie disliked the taste of. The boys danced, sang, and wrestled around them, but the two sat in silence.

"How come you're so quiet?" Minho sat on a crate, and Katie sat cross-legged on the ground.She looked up at him, ignoring the patterns she was drawing in the dirt. Katie raised an eyebrow towards Minho, knowing that he knew why she was quiet.

"But why?" Minhos's eyes flickered to the wrestling circle, where a builder and a slicer were battling. "Talking can be fun."

Katie furrowed her eyebrows. How in the world could talking be fun when the thought of it made her want to cry?

Katie turned her body to face Minho now, interested in his logic. He placed the now-empty jar behind him as Katie motioned for him to go on.

"Well," he scratched his chin and considered an explanation."You can tell jokes, share stuff about yourself, and tell people how you feel."

Katie shook her head, not being persuaded. Newt had signed a joke earlier in the day, but context was needed.

Minho sighed and bit the inside of his cheek. Then he got off the crate and sat on the ground next to Katie. He lifted one knee up and rested his arm on it as he looked at her.

"What did the leader of the glade say when the maze flooded?" Minho asked.

Katie raised an eyebrow at him. The Maze flooded once? How did everyone survive? Before she could ask anything, Minho spoke again.

"All right, Alby, dammed."He smirked. Katie looked at him, puzzled for a moment before realizing it was a joke.She let out a giggle, and Minho seemed pleased.

"See? "Talking can be fun," he shrugged. "You try."

Katie adjusted her position. Her laughter stopped as she looked around at all the boys around them; she couldn't speak in front of them, and Minho knew that. She stretched her legs out and leaned back, using her arms to hold her up. She looked at her feet and swayed them before looking up at Minho and shaking her head apologetically.

"It's okay," Minho assures her, standing up. "We'll go out of earshot and then try."

Katie looked up at Minho; his eyes were already on her, waiting.

Katie stood up and brushed off her pants. Minho led them towards the hammocks and trees, where it was darker, so it was unlikely that anyone would be here when the fire and music were elsewhere. Still, as a courtesy to Katie, Minho looked around the trees and hammocks, counted all the boys around the fire to make sure everyone was there, and even spoke to see if they could be heard. When he was done, Katie felt more comfortable knowing that no one could hear them, and she looked towards Minho to send him a thank-you sign.

"Is this better?" He asked and sat down beside her.

Katie nodded.

"Now, tell me about myself." Minho said, and Katie giggled.

"Well... You make me feel safe." She whispered, still anxious in case someone came closer to hear them. She turned her attention to the boys away from them, scanned the crowd around the wrestling circle, and pointed towards the cooks. "So does Frypan, and Newt."

Her finger moved towards the blond boy standing with Alby and the new guy. They were speaking, and Katie watched how the fire made Newt's hair look orange. She placed her arm back down, and Minho nodded beside her.

"Why's that?" He asked and crossed his arms casually. Katie shrugged.

Her eyes went back to Minho. "I trust you."

"Well, that's good." He said so, and Katie nodded. "You know, you're not expressive when you talk, but when you use your signs, you've got a hundred different emotions on your face."

Katie smiled and looked at the ground.

She agreed; they were two different languages, one of which she was clearly more comfortable."I don't like talking."

She looked back at Minho, who sent her a lopsided smile.

"If it really makes you uncomfortable, then it makes sense to use your signs."