Quick note: I published this story a long time ago and now I am rewriting the old chapters, and I will be continuing to write new chapters. Please let me know what you think in the reviews!
Chapter 1
Tris
"Would you hurry up?"
"Just chill. I'm almost done." I kneel down to finish painting the k to finish the word dick. I set my jaw as Robert moves the flashlight. "Robert, stop moving the light."
"Sorry. I'm just nervous. I can't get arrested again. You know that." I roll my eyes at him.
"I know. I know, you keep reminding me every three seconds." I snap.
Robert's flashlight and the moonlight filtering through the dark windows provide minimal lighting for me to complete my masterpiece, or as close to a masterpiece as a spray painting of the lovely words "David is a dick" can come to.
I smile when Robert grabs my hand. He has always been like my brother since Caleb left three years ago. I haven't heard from him sense. My spray painting slows as I get distracted.
"We need to go before they get here." Robert reminds me.
"Yeah, we sho-" I'm interrupted by the lights turning on, casting an odd, sickly glow in the school hallway. At the door stands two police officers causing my heartbeat to pick up. I drop the spray can slowly without taking my finger off the trigger causing the k to freakishly stretch down from Headmaster David's office door to the floor. I turn to run, but two officers are behind me. We're surrounded. God, mom and dad are going to kill me. I look to Robert, but his eyes are downcast. I take a deep breath and Robert mutters, "Shit".
Mom looks incredibly tired. She shakes her head at me but stays silent. She has the exact same look on her face as she did the night we found out that Caleb had left. My dad paces around the living room, looking as if his head is going to explode. "Seriously Beatrice. You've just turned sixteen. You need to be an adult. Enough is enough. What are you trying to accomplish?"
"Dad..." I start. I feel bad, I really do. This is the only time the really look at me, after they bail me out of jail. It may be a look of disappointment, but at least I get these few moments with my parents where they actually look at me like I am their child.
"Don't Beatrice. Just don't. Just be quiet and listen." He takes a deep breath and I prepare myself for the usual lecture where I am told they are very disappointed in me, we all cry, and then I promise to do better and even bring my math grade up to an A (which will never happen and we all know it). "We are going to send you to a new school. A boarding school."
"What? What happened to the 'we are very mad at you, try harder next time' speech?" I try to keep my usual nonchalance that I normally have during times like this, but on the inside, I am freaking out.
"Just listen. It's called Faction Academy and it specializes in kids like you." I hate the way he says "kids like you". Dad just doesn't want to admit that he has never been here for me, especially after Caleb left. "You will be away from your so-called 'friends'," he continues, "like that bastard Robert. This is not a choice. You will leave tomorrow."
"What? Summer just started. School just ended for the year."
"Yes, but this is a year-round school."
"Anything but this. Please," I plead, tears welling in my eyes. Mom just stares off into the distance, looking like she is somewhere else completely.
"You're going and it's final." The tone in his voice told me I crossed a line that he didn't want me to cross. I'll go to this stupid school, break a rule, then be sent home. I sigh, defeated, I slowly walk to my bedroom. Fifteen steps exactly. Caleb, my brother, taught me to count things to help me calm down before he left. One day, he was just gone. After that I got arrested, three times. I was never the same person. My parents forget that they have two kids, not just Caleb. They forgot about me.
I think about Caleb as I try to fall asleep, but I end up counting my breaths instead. I count my breaths until I fall asleep. I get to two hundred and thirteen when sleep takes me away.
I wake to the sunlight streaming through my window. I sit up rubbing the sleep out of my eyes thinking of what I can do today. I could go see Robert, go for a long run, or... oh yes, I'm going to boarding school today. In the middle of fucking summer.
My suitcase is already packed sitting beside my bed. I sigh as I get up to get dressed. I put on a lavender colored, casual dress. I might as well look my best. I grab my suitcase and head downstairs and makes a loud noise on every step, announcing my presence before I'm down the stairs.
My parents are waiting for me in the living room. None of us speak as we get into the car. We don't have to. We drive for hours and I start to count the trees because I have nothing to do. My dad took away my phone and my laptop. The city eventually turns into farmland.
Finally, after about five hours, my dad turned onto a dirt road. It leads to dense forest and we stopped at huge iron gates. For a long minute, nothing happened. "Do you need to push a buzzer or something?" I whisper. Before anyone could reply the gate make a low rumbling noise. They slowly open inward with a squeaky noise. Our car lurches forward into the forest. Behind us, the gates lock with a shudder. My throat starts to close up. Welcome to your new home Tris. I focus on breathing, trying to shake the sense of dread.
After about a minute or two we pull out of the trees and into broad daylight. The school is made from dark red bricks and has a jagged roof that juts out sharply in peaks and turrets. The building is four stories high and looks like it came from a different time period. It looks like a fortress. "This is quite impressive." My mother states.
"Yes, quite." My father agrees. We pull up to the school, or the jail. The moment the car stops a woman walks out. She is tall with long legs, olive skin, raven black hair, a splash of freckles on her nose, and green eyes. She looks like she is in her mid-twenties and is wearing a casual, loose, light blue high low dress with a cream colored cardigan and peach colored sandals. "Hello, Natalie and Andrew. I hope the drive wasn't too bad. Traffic can be awful. At least it's a beautiful day." My parents smile at her like they are best friends with her. She turns to me. "You must be Beatrice. I'm Tori, the headmistress at Faction Academy." She smiles easily.
"I prefer Tris," I state cooly.
"Okay, Tris. Once you say goodbye to parents I will take you to your dorm so you can get settled." She smiles once again.
I awkwardly hug my parents and they give me a small smile, but I don't return it. Our goodbye is not heartfelt. I follow quickly follow Tori as she heads into the ghastly building. She leads me inside to the entrance hall. "You will find that this building seems simply endless." The entrance hall has a domed ceiling with stained glass windows. There are tapestries with different pictures; the sun, the moon, flowers, rocks, and water. "The west wing holds the classrooms and you are allowed in there only during class times. The east wing contains the dormitories. You are not allowed in the west wing after class times without special permission." She leads me off to the left and thorugh a second foyer. "Ah here we are. This is the girl's dormitory."
She turns into a long hallway with many doors with numbers. "We have put you in number 4610. It is on the top floor, so you certainly will have a nice view" she says as she walks. "Oh, here you are." She stops and opens a door. The room is rather large with lilac walls. There is a small desk, bed, closet, and bookshelf. One wall is composed of a floor to ceiling window that looks out to a large forest with what appeared to be ruins peeking out of the tops of the trees. "As for some rules, finner is at 6:30 PM sharp," Tori recites as I stare at my room, "You can only wear what is provided in the closet while on Faction property, as they are your uniforms. There is also a group called Divergent. They are our best students who do more excelled work. Talking about this group is not allowed. Anyone who discusses the Divergent Program answers to me. Those are just some of the rules we have here, the rest are in a folder on your desk. Christina Williams, your guide, should be here any minute to show you around." She nods goodbye and turns to leave. "Oh and Tris," I look up, "I think you will fit in here very well. Also please come see me in my office if you need anything." She leaves.
I flip through my closet and find skirts with polo shirts. A knock on the door interrupts my examination of the room. I open the door and a tall girl with dark skin who looks about my age. She has warm brown eyes and chocolate brown hair that is a little bit shorter than mine. "Hi, I'm Christina. You must be Tris. It's soooo exciting that someone new is here! We never get new kids in the summer only the fall." Christina waves her arms around as she talks.
"Why?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Well because only kids who are legacy attend the summer courses." She must see my confusion because she continues, "You know, like your whole family has gone to Faction," Christina states matter of factly.
"No one in my family has been here before and as far as I know..." My voice trails off.
"Hmm. That's interesting. Oh well, we are going to be best friends. Come on let's go to dinner, I'm starving."
