Prologue and Chapter One-
26th of April 2011:
A 12 year old, short and slim, shouted for someone to rescue her parents from this terrifying house fire. She sobbed uncontrollably while the flames licked at the air, consuming as much oxygen to get enough strength to demolish the house she used to call home.
Her 16-year-old brother, Caleb held her back, nuzzling his face into her long, dirty blonde hair. She screamed, yelled and screeched at people to no avail then collapsed back into Caleb when she finally understood. They are gone. Andrew and Natalie were gone. She thought nothing else would break her heart as much as the sight in front but clearly, she was proved wrong.
30th of October 2013
Two years after the fire, the day before Halloween, Caleb, her rock, her best friend, her guardian, died of lung cancer.
How, you might ask? Well, he was in the fire also and managed to escape but the symptoms did not show up until it was too late. His bold green eyes are forever haunting her and his funeral was the last time she cried. He got an apartment and cared for that girl when he turned 18, before that they lived with an aunt called Edith. That fire was four years ago and her brother's death was two years ago, three months after his 18th birthday. Crazy, is it not? Halloween however, is a different story...
21st of August 2015
Now she is just a 16 year old, moving from foster home to foster home because Edith did not want to take her in. Again. I mean, c'mon woman, your younger sister and brother in law will not be too pleased with you up there. Especially since, she is profoundly deaf. Luckily, they had homes on the ready, expecting something like this.
Oh, how rude of me, I did not introduce that young girl.
Formerly known as Beatrice Prior, Tris Wright (only to those outside of her personal life, but in the house, she is either Tris or Bea) is a brave, secluded and harsh with traits of her former self, such as kind and selfless that only emerge when her close ones are around.
Fact: Uses two hearing aids, perfect speech and relies on lip-reading or sign language. She alternates between ASL and BSL.
Let us begin.
She was sprawled across her queen-sized bed, scrolling through her Snapchat stories and chilling, like a normal teen.
"Tris!" Tori, her foster mother, yelled. The still minute and slim girl, scrambled off the bed, strode out of her room with her hair in a messy bun, casually went downstairs to the kitchen and plopped herself down at the glass dining table.
Cue the sign language:
"Sup, T?" You see, Tori was actually her mother's best friend. When she found out about the death of Caleb, (a while later) she took her in but as a foster child.
"You've been with me the longest, haven't you?"
"Of course, I have. For a year. The four other foster homes were just f***ed up. I stayed for 10 weeks in each of them and a week later, you rescued me, well, in the body of Hana! What is this about? It's not like we talk about this everyday...," Tris pointed out, raising her left brow.
"Urm...," Tori chuckled nervously.
"Oh, is the stoic Tori finally nervous?" she scoffed. She has not laughed for the last 4 years. Well, she has but with a certain someone.
Tori shook her head, amused and slid a stack of papers in front of Tris. Her eyes swept over it but one sentence nagged at her so she returned to it.
Would you like to adopt Beatrice Prior?
She lifted her head slowly, giving a curious glance to Tori. She gave a small smile and gestured for her to read on.
'Yes,' was the word that was written beside it. Tris is going to be an official member of the Wright family.
That reminds me, Tori is married to the President of America. That's wright (pun intended), she's the First Lady of America. Bud Wright willingly accepted Tris when he first heard about her. She now has the skills of: karate, tae kwon do, boxing, shooting, fighting, fencing and more. Including tattooing, gymnastics, and painting, singing, and playing a few instruments. What? A girl gotta have something to do in her free time.
"You're adopting me?" She whispered in shock, unable to sign due to the trembling of her hands. Tori grinned and nodded. Tris flew from the seat and trapped her into a bone-crushing hug. She let a tear slip from her eye before recovering her tough demeanour (doesn't break the streak of her two year of no crying) but unfortunately, Tori sensed the change in her attitude and pulled away.
"It's okay. You don't have to keep your walls up around me," Tori spoke clearly. Tris shrugged and pecked Tori on the cheek.
"So. School." Tris groaned.
"I don't wanna go high school. Why can't you just continue the home schooling?" The teen whined. Tris had never interacted with people for at least two years. She has been to a few important parties here and there but only for an hour before escaping to the roof of her mansion. In her foster homes, due to a huge predicament, she only socialised with the 'parents'.
The country knows of her existence, due to a few 'family' outings and when it was a special American day where the President and his family was required to make a public appearance, but they do not know of the whole past and she intends to keep it that way. As far as everyone is concerned, Tris is Tori's niece, who lost her parents and brother. Only a few staff know the whole story. Hana Pedrad, the magnificent maid, Amar Adedeji, the brilliant bodyguard and Max Owens, the peppy Presidential advisor.
"You'll go to Dauntless High School in September. Only for the sophomore and senior year." Tris agreed reluctantly, knowing there was no way out of this.
"You begin on the 4th and that is exactly three weeks' time." Also precisely 10 weeks and a day until the 2-year anniversary of hating Halloween. Then 1 week and 1 day after Halloween is Tris's 17th!
"So. Shopping?" Tori grinned at the fake enthusiasm Tris mumbled with.
The journey of experience the real world, properly this time, is about to begin. And who knows? Perhaps she will like it. Hopefully.
