I stand with the others by the net. I can hear Max talking to the initiates from down here. This reminds me of my time as an initiate two years ago. I was the weak, frightened boy from Abnegation, only transferring to Dauntless to escape the wrath of his father. Stiff. That's what they called me. In my year, I was the last one to jump. You could barely see the bottom from up there. They force you to jump, not knowing what's down below. But of course, that's what the Dauntless do.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize someone had jumped. Just in time, I look up. I see a patch of grey. Grey. Abnegation. Before me, no other Abnegation has ever transferred to Dauntless. A faint giggle comes from inside the net. Immediately, I reach out into the net with the others. That's when I feel a small, warm hand grab onto mine. A girl. Definitely Abnegation. I pull her out of the net and catch her as she stumbles. Her eyes are greyish blue. She isn't a typical girl you would call beautiful, but she isn't ugly either. She's just… normal. I feel like I should know her from somewhere, but can't seem to remember where. Then it clicked. She was at my mother's funeral, well, her fake funeral, as I learned a few months ago.
"Thank you," she says.
"Can't believe it. A Stiff the first to jump? Unheard of," Lauren says from behind me.
"There's a reason why she left them, Lauren," I reply and turn back to the girl.
"What's your name?" I ask her. She hesitates, and I smile.
"Think about it, you don't get to pick again," I say, and grin as I think about my own nickname.
"Tris," she says, and that's when it hits me. She's Beatrice Prior, daughter of Andrew Prior. He used to work with my father.
"Make the announcement, Four," Lauren says. I grin as I look over my shoulder.
"First jumper – Tris!"
The Dauntless around me cheers and celebrates Tris, the first jumper from Abnegation. Soon, another person follows and jumps, screaming the whole way. Everybody laughs. I look back to Tris.
"Welcome to Dauntless," I say to her and wait for the rest of the initiates to jump.
My name is Four. I am not Dauntless or Abnegation. I am Divergent.
