TRIS
I automatically know the first day of training will be hard. I always had this idea of how training in Dauntless would be and while growing up I made sure that I would be ready. When I was younger, my mom would teach me to throw knives while Aunt Natasha would sneak me out and show me fighting moves. But my favorite activity was with Uncle Nate, who would take me along on his morning run. Three days a week we ran three miles, and we never skipped a day. A year ago my uncle died of heart failure after an incident in which one of the Factionless stabbed him. We were all devastated. My aunt stayed with us for a week and in that time, never spoke and hardly ate. My mom says it's a whole different experience when you lose a twin. She said it felt like a part of her was missing. The three of them had been close ever since birth and although my mom transferred, her brother and sister were still by her side. Despite the law, family always came first for them. They even had matching tattoos. My mom, the oldest, has hers on her left ankle because she was on the left side during my grandmother's pregnancy and was delivered feet first. Aunt Natasha, the youngest, has her tattoo on the lower right side of her abdomen. Mom says it's because that was her favorite spot to kick all through the pregnancy. Lastly, my uncles tattoo was in the center of his back, big and bold so you couldn't miss it. He was in the middle of the two girls and was the biggest. I envied the close bond they shared because it seemed so unique. My dad was even envious of their connection, though he never said it aloud. After my uncle died, I didn't know if I would ever run again now that he wasn't with me. I thought it would be too painful to continue, but as our running day hit I found myself still waking up at our time and unable to go back to sleep. The thought of keeping up our tradition made me feel slightly better, which is why I got up and ran. Every three days I continued to run, and still today at this very moment, I'm running.
When I get back to Dauntless, I notice Eric walking my way from the training room. He's shirtless and looks as though he's just come back from a workout. His face is hard as he looks at me, his lips parted and his body tense as we approach each other by the chasm.
"Hi," I say to him.
"What are you doing up so early initiate?" His voice is calmer than I expected and I feel more at ease to speak freely.
"Initiate? I thought we would be on a first name basis now," I lightly tease.
"I don't recall agreeing to that," he said.
"With many initiates around, it seems easier to acknowledge a person by their actual name. I thought we could be friends since I never attempted to talk to you back when we went to school together,"
"I'm not Rob, and I don't need friends. This place isn't about friendships," he cuts in.
"I never said you were. The two of you are like day and night. I just think it'd be good if we were friends. You're just about the only person here than I know and..." I don't know what else to say. I can't tell him I've always had this deep admiration for him without probably freaking him out. I also don't want him thinking it has anything to do with Rob. Maybe I came out too strong and should have just kept my mouth shut.
"...Look if you want to be friends then fine but like I said, I'm not Rob. I'm also not good at being a friend so forget about any expectations you might have because I won't fit the bill. Just remember, when we're training you're the initiate, and I'm your leader," he says.
"Really," I say surprised, but happy.
"Don't get all girly on me. Get back to your bed. You still have three hours of rest and trust me you're gonna need it," Eric says.
"Alright," I reply. Without thinking, I collide with him and wrap my arms around his abdomen. He stands frozen with shock, and immediately I break away, realizing what I've done. My face turns red, and I bite my lip as my eyes hit the floor. I just hugged Eric...and I liked it way more than any hug I had ever given a guy.
"Tris," he murmurs. It's the first time he's used my name, and the sound of it makes my heart jump. I look up at him, and he's staring at me looking lost and unsure. It's utterly adorable, but I would never tell him that. The situation is already embarrassing enough.
"Sorry, it's natural for me to hug my friends," I reply since that's the only excuse I'm able to conjure up. He keeps staring at me and doesn't reply. I'm too nervous to continue speaking, so I quickly say bye and walk off. I can feel his eyes watching me, and it makes my pulse race. I hugged Eric. He and I are now also friends. We are friends, and I hugged him. Now I can't wipe the huge smile off my face. There's no way I'll be able to go back to sleep.
ERIC
My mind is at a blank. Ever since I felt Tris's arms wrap around me I've been...confused. That was one of the very few moments I was off my guard and I'm not sure what to think. The dauntless part of me is saying that Tris is trying to get on my good side to make allies and strive. However, the erudite in me says something very different, something that can't possibly be true. Coincidence is probably just what it is because it doesn't make an ounce of sense why she would care for me. Tris doesn't know me because I never allowed her or anyone to know the real me. So, what was it? Did I remind her of Rob and that's who she's pining over? It would make sense. I'm sure he had feelings for her and was most likely pissed when she chose Dauntless. My younger brother is a true Erudite who believes that all the other factions can't compete with the powers of the mind. He sees Dauntless as nothing but lower class and thinks we're simply animals that lack a full mental capacity. Rob said this during my initiate year during the family visits. I replied by punching him hard in the nose, and he hasn't visited since. That is the one memory that always makes me smile. I wonder what Tris would think if she knew that.
The first day of training is always the hardest for people. They're so concerned about being impressive that they mess up and give off the worst performances. I hate training initiates, but I do it because I want to have a say in who gets to make it into Dauntless.
"Quiet down initiates. Playtime is over. As Four already explained yesterday, you will undergo three stages of initiation and ranking will be based on your performance. Those who are behind the red line by the end of stage 3 will not be Dauntless,"
"What will happen to them," Tris's Candor friend asks.
"They'll be Factionless," I answer.
"What!"
"Hey! That's not fair. No one told us that before," says another girl.
"If that's something you're worried about then you don't belong in Dauntless. You chose us, and now we get to choose you. If you don't like it, then you can leave, but there's only one place you can go because I doubt any of your families will be able to take you back. Remember, faction before blood," I say. Everyone looks at each other, but no one moves to leave.
"This is a total lose-lose," the Candor girl says to Tris.
"Not if you make it through initiation. I suggest you all start working on your confidence. If you can't be confident, then you can't be brave and have the courage to fight through your obstacles. Plus, you are also competing against the Dauntless-born. There is a total of 45 initiates, 25 transfers, and 20 Dauntless-born. Only the top 30 will make it into Dauntless, so I suggest each one of you work hard to make sure you're not below that red line. For stage one of your training, you've been partnered up at random. You and your partner will be responsible for helping one another with combat and skills training. I don't care if you don't like your partner, I don't care if you want to switch and if you decide you aren't going to work with your partner, then both of you can join the Factionless. Are we clear,"
"Yes sir," everyone says.
"Good, Four will call out partners," I say handing him the chart.
"Cristina and Will, Molly and Drew, Peter and Tris-
"What!" shouts Peter. I give him a hard glare, and he looks away in embarrassment. Tris isn't as pleased either but I know being matched up with Peter will make her stronger. Everyone underestimates her, but I know if she's pushed just right, her real potential will come out.
"Alright, now that that's out of the way, everyone spread out. Thanks to Peter's little outburst you all get to do 20 push-ups,"
"What the hell,"
"Nice job idiot,"
"Ok make that 60 push-ups," I say.
"What, why," says Al.
"Because I don't tolerate any complaints. Dauntless don't whine, and for that stupid question you can all now do 80." Looking around, I see everyone sneering in anger. They all drop and get in position but start before I can even give the order. "I didn't say begin initiates. You go on my word, not before." Whispers and murmurs go around, and the air gets tense as I feel everyone's irritation. It looks like I'm going to have to bring on the heat. This is going to be a day no one ever forgets.
"I see we are still having a problem with complaining. Maybe 120 push-ups will cure that. What do you think Four?"
He shakes his head. "120 doesn't seem like enough," he says.
"I guess I was too nice. You'll do 140 push-ups then. If I hear one sound, I'll double it." The room falls silent, and all eyes are on me waiting for me to give the signal. Now it seems the initiates are starting to get the flow of exactly how I operate.
"Good. When I say down you will go down and count 1. You will then come back up and hold your position until I say down again, then you count 2. If you mess up, we will start over, and if you're not loud enough, we will start over again. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir," they shout.
"Down," I call.
"One," they reply.
"Down,"
"Two,"
"Down,"
"Three," they all say.
"Al that last one wasn't a push-up. Everyone start over," I say. Everyone groans in frustration.
"Excuse me? I believe I said if I heard one sound I would double the amount. We're now doing 280 push-ups unless you all want to do more," I say. Again no one speaks. Now let's see if it stays that way.
TRIS
300 complete push-ups later, we all fell to the ground exhausted. We started over three times, first because of an Amity boy, second because of Al, and the third because of Cristina. It would have been four because my knee bent when we were coming up after our 40th push-up, but Eric wasn't looking my way. Peter saw and glared at me when both of us realized that Four had also seen me. Eric turned back around to face us and even though he made eye contact with Four, not a word was said. A part of me felt relieved but then another part felt as though I had cheated. I was tempted to admit that I had messed up, but I also knew it wouldn't help our group if we had to start all over again.
When Eric gives us a break, I spend five minutes still on the ground trying to catch my breath. My body hurts, and my arms feel like jelly. Four comes up to me and tells me to get up, but I don't have the strength even to put myself in a sitting position. Four helps/pulls me up and keeps me steady, so I don't fall over. I take a step back because his body is way too close to mine and glance around to make sure no one is staring.
"Don't ever lay on the floor. You look weak, and Eric is watching you," he says.
"Sorry," I answer.
"Drink some water and sit down Tris, we've only just begun," he tells me before walking away. The bottle of water he hands me is cold and feels amazing as it goes down my system. Cristina is over by Will and Peter is with his friends, Molly and Drew, staring at me and shaking his head. Eric is walking around giving comments to some of the other initiates. He compliments Peter but tells him he's also deducting points because of his outburst. "I partnered you up with the stiff so live with it," Eric says.
"Yes sir," Peter replies. He rolls his eyes as soon as Eric leaves his side. I walk over to the corner of the room to sit on the bench, but Eric calls my name before I can get there. When I turn around, he is already in front of me, giving me his regular cold expression.
"I'm sorry," I say.
"For what?"
"I messed up when we were doing push-ups, and I didn't say anything," I admit. Even though I had initially planned to keep it to myself, the words slipped out unconsciously before I even realized it. Lying has never been my strongest suit. Eric is surprised by my declaration but doesn't show that he is mad. He looks over his shoulder then back towards me.
"Did Four see you?"
"Yes," I answer truthfully. Eric stays silent, and I watch him nervously. I hope he's not going to cause a scene. "Should I do more push-ups?" I ask.
He looks back at me as if I've asked something ridiculous but shakes his head. "Don't worry about it," he replies. He's gone before I can even say another word.
After 20 minutes, we begin our first lesson in striking and blocking. I can't believe I'm partnered up with Peter of all people, but maybe it's for the best since he thinks I can't amount to anything other than being a stiff. Four's gives the lecture while he and Eric demonstrate and I watch in awe as I see Eric move with perfect speed and rhythm. Soon we break apart and practice what we've learned. Peter says I can strike first which is typical since he isn't expecting me to do much of anything.
"Come on stiff don't be shy," Peter says.
"How about we work on being teammates rather than you putting me down," I say.
"Show me how good you can strike, and I'll think about it. Hopefully, you can fight better than you do push-ups," he says.
We get in our stanza, and I remember my training about breathing from my aunt. Peter taunts me with his eyes, glances over my shoulder and smirks. Eric and Four are probably watching to see what happens and Peter seems prepared to begin what he thinks is my humiliation. However, he's in for one big surprise.
"I hope you're ready," I tell him. It's time to show everyone just how Dauntless I can be.
