Chapter 1: First Day
Tris POV
I guess it's natural for parents to cry on their kid's first day of school. But, you know, this usually happens when the kid is five. Yet I find myself standing in front of my house, my parents anxious and worried. I'm sixteen and until today, I was home-schooled. I know what you're thinking. Home-schooled kids are freaks, or that we're weirdly religious or something.
But my family's totally normal. Except that for the last 12 years both my parents have done charity work in Africa. I had a great life. But then my mom got offered tenure at Chicago University. So it was goodbye Africa and hello high school.
I walk through crowds of people to get into North Shore High School. Someone throws a football and it passes right in front of me. People's shoulders bang into me and they don't bother to apologize. I look around, already lost in more ways than one, and the bell rings meaning it's time for homeroom. As I walk into the classroom, I see the teacher and decide to introduce myself.
"Hi. I don't know if anyone told you about me. I'm a new student here. My name is Tris Prior."
"Talk to me again and I'll kick your ass. " The girl – definitely not a teacher – says. Some people laugh from their seats but I decide to ignore the girl. I go to take a seat in the front row but am stopped by a girl who was laughing. Her head is shaved and she looks kind of angry.
"You don't want to sit there." She says pointing at the seat and then at the girl I had just encountered, "Myra Hadley's boyfriend is going to sit there." As if on cue, a boy swept in and took the seat.
"Edward, baby." Myra greeted him and they began to make out. I looked away. PDA made me so uncomfortable. I see another seat and head towards it but am stopped when I see the boy who was laughing at me. He moves his cupped hand back-and-forth across his neck while shaking his head. Obviously warning me not to sit there. I stop and look questioningly between the boy and the girl.
The girl says, "Not near Al. He farts a lot," motioning to a large boy in sitting in front of that desk. I go to take the seat behind it but a boy sits down, not noticing me. I walk around the room looking for an open seat and not paying attention to where I'm going.
"Hey, everybody." I turn my head to see who spoke, but I walk right in to that someone.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry." I see I managed to spill the teacher's coffee all down her front and her papers go flying. There is suppressed laughter from the rest of the class.
"It's not you. I'm bad luck." She reassures me with a smile. Her hair is dark brown and runs to her shoulders, she wears glasses and a completely ruined blue sweater. She turns to face away from the class to take off her sweater, as she does so her t-shirt comes up with it.
"Ms. Wu?" A man asks as he enters the room. Clearly confused why she doesn't have a shirt on. He is middle aged, tall with dark skin and eyes. He wears a plain grey suit and his name tag reads Principal Max Duvall.
"My T-shirt's stuck to my sweater, isn't it?" she asks.
"Yeah." I say and pull it down.
"Fantastic." She responds sarcastically.
"Is everything all right in here Tori?" Mr. Duvall asks lowering his voice, clearly still concerned.
"Oh, yeah Max. Everything's peachy." I detect a note of sarcasm, and suppress a smile.
"Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that we have a new student joining us. She just moved here all the way from Africa. Her name is Beatrice. Beatrice Prior. Where are you, Beatrice?" he asks. I hate it when people call me that.
"That's me." I say raising my hand slightly. "And I go by Tris."
"My apologies." Principal Duvall nods curtly.
"Well, welcome, Tris. And thank you, Mr. Duvall." Ms. Wu says.
"Well, thank you. Good day, everybody." He says as he leaves the room.
The first day of school was a blur. A stressful, surreal blur. I got lost very quickly. The bell would ring, everyone would spill out into the hallways, shoving, pushing, running, yelling, and then in what felt like seconds, it would empty again. Leaving me, dazed, confused, and alone to wander aimlessly until I found my class. I got in trouble for the most random things. I had never lived in a world where adults didn't trust me, where they were always yelling at me.
"Don't read ahead!"
"No green pen!"
"No food in class!"
"Stay in your assigned seat!"
By the time lunch came around, I hadn't made a single friend. In fact I hadn't talked to anyone besides my teachers all day. As I entered the cafeteria, I looked around, hoping someone would offer me a place to sit. But as I walked by people went out of their way to place their bags on empty seats as if to say, don't even think about it. They looked me up and down and rolled their eyes. I ended up eating lunch in a bathroom stall. I had a lot of friends in Africa, but everyone I met herewas quite rude, or had laughed at me.
I walk up onto the front porch of my new house and see my Mom and Dad waiting there. "Hey. How was your first day? " My Dad asks. They smile, and I feel tears well up in my eyes. Instead of answering, I brush them off and run into my house. They'll know I'm upset, but they won't invade my privacy. For which I am thankful. Once I reach my room, I collapse in a puddle of tears.