(WICKED headquarters; 1 week until being sent into the Maze)
Newt woke up with a gasp as he felt something fall onto his stomach.
His brown eyes snapped onto the blonde girl on top of him. He sighed, "Kathy, did you really have to wake me up like that."
Rita laughed quietly and crawled off of Newt. "You know I did, Mikey."
A grin tugged at the corner of Newt's lips as he looked up at the open vent and shook his head slightly. "You're not supposed to call me 'Mikey'. You're going to get yourself in trouble."
"Then why do you call me 'Kathy' when you're not supposed to?" Rita asked with a cocky smile before laying down next to Newt.
"Because your face lights up in a bloody beautiful smile when you hear your real name," Newt rolled onto his side and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Rita's ear.
"Aw," Rita blushed slightly. "Aren't you just a charmer?"
"You know me," Newt planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. "C'mon now, you have to go back to your room. It's almost time for daily inspection, I suppose. I know that Sonya and Harriet won't tell anybody you're here, but it won't look good if Chancellor Paige and her lackeys find you."
"Listen to the guy!" The two heard Minho groan from below them, on his part of the bunk bed. "Your cuteness is sickening."
"Really, get out!" Alby agreed from across the room.
"You're all little fu-" Rita began to say with an eye roll before being interrupted.
"I'm only twelve!" Gally yelled from his bunk above Alby while covering his ears. "No swears!"
"Fine," Rita rolled her eyes again and laughed. "Lets see... how about shucks? Sounds just like the other word, but it's not a swear."
"Great, now get back to your room so us shanks can sleep," Minho grumbled while pressing his face further into his pillow.
"I said shuck," laughed Rita as she stood up precariously on Newt's bed, "not shank."
"Do I sound like I care?"
Newt laughed, "go on, Spider Monkey, crawl back into your little hole."
Suddenly, he gently pulled her back down onto the bed. He pulled her face closer to his and planted a soft kiss onto her lips. "See you at breakfast, love."
"See you," Rita grinned softly and planted one last kiss on the tip of Newt's nose before hauling herself back up into the vent, crawling back to her room, and dropping onto her bed.
She quietly placed the vent cover back into place.
After climbing down the bunk bed she shared with Harriet, she snuck a peek at both of her roommates and saw that they were still sleeping.
Rita grabbed her purely white uniform and a matching towel before walking into the bathroom and getting ready for the day.
When she got out of the bathroom, she saw both Sonya and Harriet awake and looking at door. Rita turned and looked where they were staring.
What she saw made her narrow her eyes in anger. Ava Paige stood before her, and then dismissed Harriet and Sonya from the room.
"Hello, Rita," Ava Paige greeted her with a sinister smirk that Rita had come to know and despise.
"My name is Kathy," She snarled. "You little bitch."
"Rita, I have put up with your defiance for far too long," Chancellor Paige said in a eerily calm voice. "You are starting to make the others question all that WICKED is about. We've come to a decision."
"You gonna 'eliminate' me? Just like you did to George and Nick," Rita hissed at the blonde woman before her as she thought of two boys who had up and disappeared days earlier.
"Not eliminate," Chancellor Paige smirked. "Just prepare for phase one in our trials."
"What trials?"
"You'll see," Ava's smile grew more sinister. "Guards, restrain her and bring her to lab room number three."
Suddenly Ava's lackeys lunged forward and seized her by her arms before practically dragging her from the room.
"Stop it!" The girl screeched. "Let go of me!"
"Rita?"
Rita turned her head around as the guards pulled her down the hall. She saw Minho looking at her and the guards, confusion and a bit of anger covering his face.
"Go back to your dorm, Minho," Ava said firmly to him as she followed Rita and the guards, her white heels clicking against the floor with every step she took.
"But-"
"Now!" Ava yelled and Minho turned and walked back to his dorm in a hurry.
Next thing Rita knew, she was being dragged into a pristine white room with a lab table and lots of machines.
"Sedate her," Ava said as two lab assistants helped her shrug on a scrub-like jacket that covered her clothing. She then pulled a mask over her mouth and nose.
"What?" Exclaimed Rita before she felt a stabbing pain in her neck and everything slowly faded to black.
(WICKED headquarters; Five days until being sent into the Maze)
With a bright smile that she felt hadn't graced her face for a long while, Rita walked into the dining hall and quickly spotted a group of friendly looking boys.
Her pace picked up into a slight jog as she made her way to the table. As she approached it a blonde boy shot up and pulled her into his arms.
Shocked, she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him and awkwardly patted his back.
"Kathy," he mumbled into her neck after placing a soft kiss on it, "I was so worried after Minho told us what happened. You were gone for days. I thought I'd never see you again like Nick and George. Then Alby, Zart, Siggy, Chris, and Eddie disappeared, too."
"Who's Kathy?" Asked Rita with a frown as she abruptly pulled away from the awkward embrace. "My name is Rita."
"Kath," The 'blondie', as Rita had silently deemed him, frowned. "Drop the act, I'm seriously confused and sort of scared here."
"Me too," mumbled Rita as she backed away. "Bloody hell, you're freaking me out, mate. Who are you? I just came over to introduce myself."
"Min," Newt turned around to face Minho, "what's happening?"
"I don't know man," Minho furrowed his brow in confusion. "I really don't know."
"Rita," Rita heard Ava Paige's voice from behind her.
She turned and smiled when she saw the woman. "Hello, Chancellor Paige, may I help you with something?"
"Yes dear, actually you can," Ava gave the blonde girl a sickly sweet grin. "Come along, now."
Rita smiled and followed the woman, not knowing that it'd be the last time she saw Newt and the rest of the boys before her memory was completely swiped. Five days later, Rita was sent into the maze.