TRIS:
Different. That's what I feel I am to everyone at school. Sure, everyone is unique in their own way but there is one thing that they seem to have that I don't: freedom.
I have money, thanks to my father who is a CEO of his own company and the only family member I have now. And I have more of it than an average teenager needs. I have a house to live in and I have all there is that I need for school.
But the one thing I don't have, and probably never will, is the freedom I desire and yearn for. It'll forever be something I want. And I've only ever wanted it since my mother and older brother died.
Ever since their deaths, my father has hardly been home. He's always working. Most of my time at home is spent alone. I wake up to an empty house and sleep to one, too. It's almost as if he's nonexistent, and I would have thought so too if it weren't for the money he gives me monthly or the chauffeur that drives me around or even the professional chef that he hired to make my set meals, every single day.
Ever since their deaths, my father has been cautious. So cautious that he's even made me a schedule to abide by. Besides going to school (which took a lot of convincing to get his approval) I am not permitted to step out of the house. Our chauffeur is there to make sure of that.
We have other servants too but I only see them once in a while. I do know that they exist though. It explains why the garden is prosperous, why the house is always clean, why I never need to do chores like wash the dishes (not there ever is any).
It's irritating. But never had I ever (or ever will, I think) grow the courage to say anything to my father. He had already granted one of my wishes at freedom, which was to attend a public high school. If he hadn't, I would've been home schooled.
That alone would've been a nightmare.
It is, however, the most upsetting thing about myself. And that is my cowardice to speak up.
As my chauffeur drives me to school, I sigh as the school site comes into view.
I should be happy though. It's the only time I get to step outside of the confining walls of my home.
-xxXXxx-
Entering and walking through the corridors of the school has never been a problem for me. It's become routine to keep my head down and avoid getting into people's way as much as possible.
It is, however, probably insane that here I have a single moment of freedom, yet never had I ever taken it to my advantage. Never had I ever grasped it. I've never done anything with it and yet its just within my reach.
I haven't gained any friends. I haven't been able to express myself. Even now, I know that my peers probably think that I'm weird and perhaps even mute.
Don't get me wrong though. I have tried to talk myself into forming bonds with my classmates but nervousness had always gotten in the way.
My father never listens to me when I try to speak, so why would they be any different? It was my logic and my way of thinking.
If my father does this, they probably would do the same.
If my father thinks that, they probably think the same.
Entering and walking through the corridors of the school has never been a problem for me... except when he is walking through the corridors at the same time.
Four Eaton is the school's "bad boy". He's a troublemaker, from what I've heard, and also the heartthrob of Divergent High. (I wouldn't deny it either. I've seen him around school and he is kinda good looking).
The problem is, when Four saunters through the passages, he unintentionally leads a big crowd with him. That makes it even harder for me to avoid people.
As I quickly spot the massive group of people following after him, I swiftly step to the side, hugging myself closer to the lockers.
They don't seem to notice me as I did and steadily, a breath of relief escapes my mouth once they've passed by. Figuring that it was safe to continue, I resumed my walk down the hallway.
-xxXXxx-
As the end of school gets closer, I let out another sigh. Every other student loves it when time flies by quickly.
Every other student, but me.
When school comes to an end, so does my freedom.
The thought of it can be depressing sometimes. Homes are meant to be some sort of sanctuary for a person; mine keeps me confined.
Like a normal teenager would, I should be blaming my father for that. But I could never find it in my heart to do so.
His intentions were pure. I couldn't possibly be mad about that.
It's just other times, I wished he trusted me more often. Or at least, once.
As gym class begins, the whistle sounding, the teacher then announces that we will be playing number sports. And as always, I sit out on the bleaches.
Never had I ever participated in gym classes. And it's not like I'm completely pathetic when it comes to sporting events.
In fact I love to play basketball.
It's just... (you could probably guess) my father doesn't allow it.
I've always found it strange though, that my father has banned me from participating in gym class, considering that the schedule he wrote for me consists of 60 minutes of exercise everyday. I even have all the equipment in our mini gym to take part in sport.
However, after he had told me that, I realised that I would never understand my father's reasoning for doing what he does or for passing out the rules that he makes. It was puzzling to even think about it.
Just then, a scream causes my thoughts to halt. Zoning back to reality, the girls words ring loudly in my ears.
"WATCH OUT!"
Confused by this, I blinked once before noticing that a basketball was heading right my way. Not knowing what to do, I winced and closed my eyes, ready for the contact, when unexpectedly it never came.
Opening one eye, my breaths slowly returned to a normal pace. I jolted in surprise when seeing that the ball had frozen in the air, right in front of my gaze.
Relaxing a little, my eyes steadily glanced upwards and I froze at the sight.
In front of me, holding the ball that would've hit my face if he hadn't stopped it, was the Four Eaton.
He glances at me with an arched brow, instantly making me gulp under his gaze. Surprisingly, his mouth then quirks up in a small smirk, amusement written in his eyes.
"You alright?" he asks, his tone deep and masculine. Still stuck in my trance, I nodded in a very slow manner before remembering my manners.
"Thank you" I whispered out.
His smirk increases by an inch.
Anyone who was paying extremely close attention to him, would notice the slight change. Catching onto this train of thought, I inwardly gasped when feeling my face heat up slightly in realisation. I only prayed that the guy in front of me didn't notice.
And by the unchanged expression on his face, I guessed he didn't. Relief instantly washed over me. Abruptly, a male student then calls out to him, averting both of our attentions.
"Yo Eaton!" the black haired student called out. "You playing or what?"
"Yeah. Hold on" he quickly replies before looking back to me. His eyes narrow down on me slightly before he begins to walk off.
Lowering my head, I fiddled with sleeves of my jumper, glad that that awkward interaction was over with.
But just as I was about to relax my posture, his voice speaks up once more.
"Yo!"
Glancing up, his dark blue eyes met mine for a second and my breath is immediately caught in my throat when I realise that he was talking to me.
"I basically saved your life" he begins randomly, "so I want something in exchange." I had hoped that he was joking by that.
He wasn't.
"What?" I managed to squeak out, slightly nervous about what he was going to ask for. Shockingly, it didn't take him long to think about it.
In fact, he answered right away, though his brows were furrowed a little.
"Your name" he requests.
Pausing in place for the second time, I began to wonder if I heard right. After a moment of silence had passed, I composed myself and calmly replied, "Tris Prior."
He merely nods at this before running onto the court as if nothing had happened.
It was only then that I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding in. And then I smiled a little.
That had been my first time speaking to someone at this school.
FOUR:
Tris Prior. Now that's an odd girl. She was definitely different from everyone else at this school. Surprisingly, gym class wasn't the first time I noticed her. I remember.
The first time was when I was bored and staring off into space. We were in the corridors then and waiting for the bell to ring for homeroom to begin. As I kept to myself, my gaze suddenly landed on her unintentionally.
She didn't appeal to me much. She was just another student.
That was until I realised that not once had she raised her head to look up, while walking through the passages of the building. Even with her head down, she managed to dodge all the students passing by her, simply by glancing at the movement of their feet. Neither did she touch anyone. She was careful not to bump into any of the other students.
She either moved through the crowds swiftly or all in all, avoided them.
She never really talked and it wasn't until yesterday that I found out that she wasn't exactly mute.
After that, I had unknowingly kept a close eye on her and noted things down in my head.
For example, every morning a black Mercedes drops her off and then picks her up after school. At first I had assumed that the male driving her, was her father until I saw the man open the door for her. As I passed by them, I then heard him address her as "ma'am".
That had completely erased the father idea.
He was probably her chauffeur or something.
When that occurred, the realisation finally dawned down on me.
She was one of those rich kids! But that just puzzled me further.
If she was a rich kid, why wasn't she as spoilt, bratty and loud mouthed like the rest of them?
Nothing about her seemed to make sense after that. What was more confusing though, was that she intrigued me in the tiniest of bit.
She was a mystery. More of a mystery than me.
-xxXXxx-
My pen tapped against my desk as I sat in Psychology class. And then a few seconds later, my attention is snatched away when the teacher walks in and speaks up. The surprise was clearly evident in her voice.
"Mr. Eaton!" she starts, grinning a little. "You're actually early to my class."
"Why do you look so shocked?" I question, curiously.
"Perhaps it's because you're always late" she answers while setting up her laptop. In return, I offered her a small smirk.
"Well, I missed seeing your face" I reply, the class giggling at my comment. Ms. Reyes merely rolled her eyes at this.
"How charming" she responds before taking the attendance.
As class went on, my focus elsewhere (as always), I slightly straightened in my chair, when I noticed a blonde-headed figure seated at the very front, left corner.
It was her.
How had I noticed that she was in my Psych class?
When there was only 15 minutes left till class, Ms. Reyes then announced an assignment.
"Alright!" she begins, clapping her hands together. "Based on what you've learnt about 'Classical Conditioning', I want you to hold an experiment testing it's theory. I then want you to write a report on it, in poster form, and hand it back to me by next Friday. Yes, Fernando?" she then asks when seeing some nerd raise his hand.
"Do you want us only to write the results or-?"
"No" she answers, cutting his question short. "I want you to write the Aim, the Hypothesis, Procedure, the Discussion, the Limitations, everything. You will be graded on this so do the best that you can."
Another hand shot up in the air.
"Yes, Liam?"
"Are we working on this on our own?"
"No, you will be working in pairs" she responds. Immediately, excitement soared through the classroom. However, it quickly dies down when the teacher adds, "I will be assigning your partners."
Simultaneously, the class groaned. But Ms. Reyes didn't seem to care. Instead, she went straight into pairing people together.
As she did, my gaze landed on Tris Prior again. She seemed to be writing in her workbook and my curiosity is instantly piqued the more I watched her. With interest settling in, I didn't notice that my hand was raised until my teacher called out on me.
"Yes, Mr. Eaton?" she inquires. Pausing for a second in confusion, I then cleared my throat.
"I want to be paired with Tris Prior."
The said girl instantly stops writing in her notebook and everyone in the class snaps their head in my direction. Their eyes were wide and their jaws were on the floor, startled. But I paid them no attention.
"You're actually willing to do the assignment?" the teacher then questions, both in mockery and in awe.
I shrugged in response. "If only I get to do it with Tris."
My words causes her to straighten in her seat, her posture going rigid.
Ms. Reyes however shoots me a sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry Four but Ms. Prior always does her assignments alone."
"Why?" I ask.
She scoffs in reply.
"That is not up for discussion." Humming at this, a light bulb then turns on in my head.
"Then can I do my assignment alone, too?" I ask her. She narrows her eyes at me, obviously finding my behaviour odd before conceding.
"Only if you promise to hand in a full report." I immediately jumped at the opportunity.
"Deal."
-xxXXxx-
When school comes to an end, instead of rushing out of the school building like I normally would, I waited in the corridors.
I haven't seen her yet but I'm willing to continue to wait. I wasn't sure as to why. My body just seemed to moving on its own.
As I stood near my locker, I see my best friends walking towards me. Zeke's eyebrows are furrowed as he glances in my direction while Uriah speaks up, a grin plastered on his face.
"Four, you're still here!" he exclaims in awe. "I thought you would've gone home already" he states while shaking my hand.
Shrugging at this, I swiftly replied.
"Nah, I have something to take care of first."
"Like what?" Zeke asks this time, his eyebrows almost reaching his hairline. But right then, I spot the blonde strands of hair I've been looking for. Forgetting to reply to him, I moved past them and quickly followed after the girl. As I took off, I could feel the eyes of both brothers, burning into the back of my head in curiosity.
Catching up to her didn't take much effort. She was quite a slow walker. But as I caught up, unsure of what to say, I accidentally blurted out her name. "Tris."
Turning to me, her head jerks back when her gaze lands on me. And then she begins to walk off again, a bit faster this time.
"What do you want?" she softly asks me. I picked up my pace.
"I need to talk to you."
"Sorry I can't do that right now" she answers.
"Then when can you?" I inquire, not once slowing down.
"Never" she responds. "Please leave me alone."
By now, we've reached the double doors to the exit.
"Tris, wait" I say, while attempting to open the door for her. Surprisingly, she beats me to the door handle and instead of opening it, she keeps it shut. The action confuses me. Wasn't she just in a hurry to leave?
Slowly, she then turns to face me.
"You mustn't follow me outside" she whispers.
"Why not?" I question. Agitation steadily begins to show in her features, at my reply. She bites down on her lips in nervousness, almost as if she was worried, before sighing.
"Fine. I'll hear you out. What is that you want?" Before I could answer her, she adds, "Please make it quick."
Taking this as my only chance, I responded hastily.
"Be my partner for the assignment."
"You told Ms. Reyes that you wanted to do it alone" she states, her voice still quiet.
"I lied."
She instantly gasps. "You can't do that."
I scoffed upon seeing her reaction.
"You act as if you've never lied before." However, her expression remains blank at this. Disbelief starts to settle in. "Have you never told a lie?" I inquire, slightly shocked, though I did keep my expression and tone flat.
She swallows visibly before shifting from one foot to the other.
"Not that I know of" she answers softly. I scoff once more in amusement.
This girl was surely a saint if she's never lied before in her 17 years.
And why was she in such a hurry to leave?
Perhaps a curfew?
But then again, what kind of teenager has a curfew right after school finishes? The bell literally rang 3 minutes ago.
"Four" her voice then speaks up, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Please let me go. I need to leave."
Watching her for a second, I tried to come up with something fast when my brain suddenly clicks.
"Fine" I let out. "I'm sorry for keeping you." Nodding in appreciation, she's about to head out when I stop her. "Can I get a hug?"
Her cheeks go slightly red at the suggestion before she shakes her head vigorously.
Weird. No girl has ever declined an offer to hug me. Not that I've offered one to any but I know any sane girl, wouldn't...
Yet another reason, this girl's so different.
"I'm sorry" she says in apology. "I don't think that's a good idea."
A good idea?
She tries to leave in a hurry but I quickly grab her arm in determination. Pulling her back, she spins around and safely lands in my embrace. At the sudden action, another gasp leaves her mouth but it becomes muffled as her face comes into contact with my chest.
However, all the while, my fingers begin to move around her backpack. Successfully, they found the zip of the small pocket of her bag. Opening it slightly, I then removed my hands from around her.
As I let go, I shot her a charming smile. Again, it doesn't faze her in the same way it does to the female population. Instead, she looked down and attempted to walk off.
For the last time, I stop her once more.
"Wait, your bag is open" I point out, causing her to look over as confirmation. "Allow me" I offer.
Standing still, I inwardly smiled at the silent invitation. Opening the back pocket, I quickly grabbed what I needed before zipping it close, making the sound obvious.
"There you go" I tell her.
"Thanks" she replies, before rushing out to where her car was waiting for her. Not once does she turn to look my way but that didn't bother me. I had what I needed.
The minute she was no longer in sight, I took a look at her wallet.
A/N:
Hiya! Yes, it's a new story. Just another random idea that crossed my mind. And I know I probably should've uploaded this when my other story is close to coming to an end (which it isn't) but for some reason, I just had to get this up. Probably won't be updated often. Might even be deleted earlier but meh! Who knows?
Thanks for reading!