1.
Welcome to Dauntless
"Wait a second," an Erudite girl pipes up, looking from the ledge to Max. "You want us to Jump?" She bats her long lashes in disbelief and licks her big lips.
"Are you surprised?" Max looks as if he is about to smile. The Erudite girl, however begins to shift from foot to foot.
"What's down there?" She asks so many questions. I don't know what she's expecting. This is Dauntless. They don't just give out answers. Here, you earn them.
"Who knows?" Max is almost imploring us to jump as he raises an eyebrow; to take that leap of faith.
The crowd of initiates grows silent then suddenly there are two crowds. I look around. Everyone is occupied with cleaning their fingernails or finding lint on their clothes. No one wants to be the first to jump. No one wants to jump
I find myself staring at a boy several inches taller than me with black hair that shines in the light. His skin is flawless and his high cheekbones should seem feminine, but they give off a more angelic look on him. He's biting at his knuckles and looking at the ground when I propel myself forward. I'm unsure if the beating in my chest is from the brief eye contact we just shared or what I'm about to do.
This is just a part of initiation I think as I walk up to Max, passing the other initiates. I feel eyes scrutinize my tiny figure, but I don't care. I am proud. And even though pride is dangerous, right now, it gives me courage, so I won't apologize.
I tug on my jacket as I approach the ledge, wanting to feel the wind on my bare arms.
"Careful, Stiff. Wouldn't want you to ruin your clothes," says Molly, who's standing by the angelic, dark haired boy. Peter, I think. I hear other phrases that include the words "stiff" or "abnegation", but I'm not completely listening. My focus is on Peter, as he remains quiet, but his eyes are glued to me, watching as I shrug the sweater over my shoulders. I toss it to Molly, hitting her square in the face and drawing what I think is the hint of a smile to Peter's lips. But when I blink, it's disappeared.
"Here," I say, smoothing down the grey t-shirt I'm left in. "You're gonna need it." I turn, nod to Max, and decide a running start is the best approach. I don't look back.
My body feels backwards as I plummet towards the ground. My stomach rises into my chest and my brain pounds into my skull until suddenly, the wind is knocked out of me. For a few moments, I forget how to breath. Then, I'm lying completely still in the middle of a huge net. I reach up to wipe my brow and notice my hands are shaking. I just jumped from a rooftop.
Surrounding me, are hands reaching out; welcoming me. I grasp the hand nearest me and pull myself off the edge of the net, then I fall to the floor.
"Woah, there. You alright?" A deep voice rumbles from above me. I shake my head and begin to stand up.
"Alright from jumping off the edge of a building or from my graceful dismount?" As I stand I notice that the body this voice belongs to is definitely masculine and built. He begins to say something, but is cut off by another voice.
"No way." She says, sounding enthusiastic. "A stiff? Jumping first? That's" she stammers. "That's impossible."
"Impossible, Lauren?" The man in front of me turns his head to the side to look and the woman behind him. "She had a reason for leaving" I notice that he has almost no upper lip, but his bottom lip makes up for it.
"Everyone does." Lauren sounds condifent in her faction. "But is it the right reason?" The man in front of me just shakes his head and turns back to face me.
"What's your name?"
"Be-" I pause. I don't know why, but Beatrice Prior suddenly seems like somebody else. Somebody I don't want to be. Not her. Not here.
"Take your time," He says, a glint in his eyes that hints at mischief. "You only get to choose once."
I don't want to be Beatrice anymore. I think it's time for a change.
"Beau," I say testing the name on my tongue.
"Beau?" Lauren asks behind the man in front of me.
"Beau," I say, nodding. This is the name that I want. No more Beatrice.
"But, isn't that a boy's name?" Lauren sounds unsure, but the man in front of me just raises his eyebrows in a question. I nod again.
"Alright, Four. You know what to do." Lauren sounds enthusiastic again.
The man in front of me - presumably Four - turns his head to the side and shouts.
"We have our first jumper!" I hear hoots and shouts and I can't help but grin. "Beau: A transfer from Abnegation." Not six seconds after my name is called, Christina is screaming her way down to the net. I laugh, and I feel so free while doing it.
Four puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles down at me. I feel a shiver creep up my spine. I'm not used to such casual, physical contact.
"Welcome to Dauntless, Beau." I shrug out of his hold.
"Thank you, Four."
Author's Note: I know this was a weird place to start. If you guys decide that you like it, I'll start from the beginning. Otherwise, I'm just going to keep going from here.
Oh, and Beau is pronounced "Bo". Please, don't kill me for changing her name. D: