Staring at him, you can tell he's the archetype of the golden boy. Over the past few weeks Caleb has somehow managed to weasel his way into a friendship with Tobias. They're throwing a football around casually in the yard, apparently waiting on one of Tobias' friends to show up.
I go on my computer for a bit, scrolling aimlessly before my mom wanders up to my room, she somehow ends up having me convinced that I'll develop a Vitamin D deficiency if I remain cooped up in the house like I have been doing all week. Heading downstairs, I go out to the front yard and sit on the porch steps, watching Caleb and Tobias.
Caleb throws the ball towards me and I catch it, then proceed to throw back and forth with him. In my peripheral vision I can see Tobias looking intently at his phone.
"What have you been up to lately?" Caleb asks in an unusual attempt to make conversation with me.
"Nothing too exciting, I've been reading a lot but most of it's for school," I reply coolly, my eyes squinting slightly because of the direct sunlight.
"Well Tobias and I were going to meet up with some of his friends and go hiking if you'd be interested in joining us. He mentioned that his friend Zeke has a brother around your age," Caleb says, his voice easy going like his current demeanor.
Honestly it's nice to see my brother this relaxed, he's always seemed to be a little uptight for his age, which has made him a little alienated from his peers in the past. Tobias seems to pick up on it, but instead of making him feel outed for it, he just acknowledged it and moved on, which only adds to the admiration I have for him.
"Sure, that would be nice," I reply.
"Go get changed then, Zeke was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago but some accident over on Maple Ave has been holding him up," he says, motioning with his hands for me to go back in the house.
I run back inside, going up the staircase with purpose. I grab a t-shirt, sunglasses, athletic shorts and some tennis shoes, but put a bathing suit on underneath. Grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge and my car charger.
When I get back outside, it's gotten considerably warmer, the sun's heat having become more oppressive with each second that's passed. While both are wearing khaki shorts, Tobias is wearing a purple lacrosse penny, while caleb sports a grey tank top.
A large black Jeep wrangler pulls up in the driveway, neon kayaks strapped to the roof.
"C'mon Bea," Caleb says, gesturing to the car with his head.
Tobias kicks someone out of the passenger seat who hops out and promptly walks up to me with an extended arm and a blinding smile, "Hi, I'm Uriah."
I grab his hand and shake it, he seems easy to get along with.
"Tris, likewise."
Caleb, Uriah, and I end up being packed in the back. Zeke turns around from the front to greet us. Pointing at my brother, "Caleb, right?" Which gets him a small smile.
"Zeke, right?" Caleb replies.
"You're Tris?" He asks me and I smile.
"I'm Tris," I say in confirmation.
"Well, we were just gonna go to Scotts Run being that it's really close, however apparently you foreigners have never been to Great Falls so I figured we'd go there. Sound good? Well it better, I texted Shauna and Marlene, that we were going to the C&O side of the falls, just figured we'd hike the billy goat trail or something."
"Don't know what the hell you're talking about. Sounds good," Caleb says and I just sort of shrug in agreement.
Zeke turns on some rap radio station and seems to be really into it. Driving through McLean in a car other than my parents is different, in a way it feels less intrusive, more welcoming.
Uriah seeming to have gotten comfortable, places his arm behind me on the seat, though not touching me, his fingertips drum to the beat of the music and his actions put me at ease.
"So where are you guys starting school at in September?" Uriah asks.
"I'm going to Gonzaga, actually kind of how I got to know Tobias," Caleb replies.
"Nice, another Eagle in the Jeep," Uriah says with enough enthusiasm to make it come across as being sarcastic if he weren't so genuinely nice.
"I assume you're not going to Gonzaga Tris?" Uriah says teasingly, referring to the fact it's an all boys school.
"Nope, they wouldn't let me in. I'm going to NCS," I say, scrunching my nose at it. Uriah raises an eyebrow in explanation, like asking for an answer. I elaborate to help with his confusion, "As nice of a school it is, I don't like the idea of an all girls school, however the academic curriculum is too good to pass up so I'm sure i'll manage."
"Basically all of our girlfriends go there. You'll actually meet Shauna and Marlene today. Will's girlfriend Christina also goes there, she's a firecracker but really swee-"
"The word sweet doesn't apply to Christina bitchy? brutal? maybe loyal? Yeah she's basically a dog. Kidding, she's like the mom of the group and if you ever want to call someone out on their bullshit you can outsource all the dirty work to Christina." Zeke interjects.
"Why aren't Will and Chris here?" Tobias asks.
"They're up with Will's family in Connecticut for a wedding," Zeke answers and Tobias shrugs.
"Christina isn't actually a bitch, she's just very upfront with people whether she likes them or not," Tobias adds to the social commentary of the girl I've yet to meet.
"And Shauna's little sister Lynn goes to NCS, as well-" Zeke adds.
"Though she'd probably fit in better at 'zaga," Uriah says.
"Fucking bastard!" Zeke screams, slamming on the breaks. "We get it, you have a fucking Aston Martin and a great insurance policy because you drive like such a dick!"
Tobias turns around to the people in back, "he's a little temperamental when it comes to driving in this area."
We cross a bridge and after a couple more minutes of Zeke sputtering curse words under his breath, we get to the park entrance. I put in some ear buds since everyone's just sort of lingering, probably waiting for the girls they mentioned in the car.
I sort of jump when Uriah pulls a bud out of my ear and places it in his own.
"Not bad," he says approvingly of the indie rock I have blaring. We all just sit around in the car for a while then a white Volvo pulls up next to us. Out jump two girls, prettier than I could ever hope to be. The blonde looks at me curiously and makes her way towards me, Uriah gets up and rests his hands on her hips, leaning down to give her a kiss. She wraps her arms up around his neck briefly before turning her attention to me.
"Hey, I'm Marlene," she says with an easy smile.
"I'm Tris," I reply and even though I'm not usually this insecure I can't help but compare myself to this girl. We're both blondes but where mine is a dull ashy one, Marlene's is golden and lustrous. Her flirtatious smile is welcoming and makes it easy for me to understand why people seem to like her.
"Uriah said you're going to NCS?" She brings up and everyone starts walking but we keep the conversation going.
"Yeah, I'm excited. Not too thrilled about it being all girls, but I'll live."
"You'll love it, no one gives a shit, you don't feel pressured to wear makeup, if you need a tampon you can just ask the whole classroom it's a little weird at first but you'll love it," she says with a smile. I chuckle a bit at her excitement but understand it nonetheless.
"Have you received your schedule yet?" She asks and a brunette girl who I assume to be Shauna joins Marlene, walking on the other side of her.
"Yeah, I don't have it memorized though," I reply.
After what seems to be hours of walking and climbing various rock scrambles the guys decide to take seats on some rocks overlooking the falls.
I sit down on a large rock and my senses spike when Tobias sits down next to me, the miniscule brush of his thigh against mine is exhilarating but I remain quiet.
"Hard to believe that we're only fifteen miles outside of D.C. huh?" he asks me, a smile playing a beautiful song on his lips.
"Yeah, it's nice to take a break from suburbia," I comment which gains a smile out of him.
"Hey, do you want to come to a Nats game with us this weekend? It'll give you a better chance to get to know the girls, and Christina will be there," he offers.
"Normally I'd be all for a ballgame, but it's supposed to be so hot this weekend," I say, not quite sure whether or not I want to endure the scathing metal seats of a baseball stadium, regardless of whether I'll make friends doing it.
"Don't worry about that, we go to the President's club. Air conditioning, free drinks, I mean it basically takes everything people complain about at baseball games and offers a resolution," he replies.
"Well when you put it that way, I guess I have to go."
"Good," he says and puts his hand on my side, in a bold move unlike anything he's done before.
I grab my water bottle and take a long drink so I can avoid talking. Everyone starts to get up, alleviating me of having to keep a conversation, which I'm grateful for. We hike some more, and after watching Shauna's heavy breathing, I mentally praise myself for being so diligent with maintaining my workouts.
"Holy shit!" a guy screams from the front of the pack. I hurry to see what happened. There's a snake on the side of the trail.
"That's a fucking copperhead," Uriah says and Caleb shrugs.
"They're not that bad, they typically avoid human contact when possible, and though venomous, they're one of the least venomous pit vipers. Just keep walking guys, it's just trying to camouflage in the dirt, it doesn't want to be near you either," Caleb brings up, once again proving he's a walking encyclopedia. I walk past it and everyone else seems to follow. Well everyone except Uriah who still can't move, it's as if he's paralyzed.
"Just come on Uri," Zeke urges and Uriah does so, albeit hesitantly.
"I'm never hiking this trail again," Uriah grumbles and I stifle a laugh.
An hour or so later, we're back where we began in the parking lot.
"You guys want to just relax at my place?" Marlene suggests and everyone seems to agree with her idea.
"Tris, you should ride with us," Shauna offers and although I'm hesitant, I get in the back seat of the Volvo anyways, thankful for the break from the testosterone filled jeep.
Once we've arrived to the white brick house in Palisades, Marlene and Shauna nearly run inside, I trail behind the girls and follow them.
"We don't have time, Mar," Shauna tries reasoning with her about something I'm oblivious to. Marlene roots through her drawers and pulls out a floral cosmetic bag, though I'm caught off guard by what she reveals to be the contents. Her opulent bedroom is detracted from by the mirrored coffee table and the white powder that she's now dumped on it. Hell, I don't know anything about drugs but it seems to be a fairly generous amount of cocaine. Using a student identification card to smash the drug against the table Marlene eyes me.
"Tris do you want some?" she offers, and despite every rational instinct to run away from this obviously reckless thing I move towards it, "Sure."
She hands me a metal straw and shuffles a line of white into place in front of me. Now I've never done this, though I've seen enough through movies and media that I know how it's done.
I snort the line with haste, and my nostril is burning. Minutes later the back of my throat is numbing. I lean back against a chair in the room, watching as Shauna and Marlene continue to rail lines. I rejoin them and do a couple more, figuring that since i've already fucked up majorly I might as well enjoy myself.
There's a loud knock at the front door and the two girls practically flip. They clean up the paraphernalia and drugs putting them back home in the cosmetic bag and they then collapse giddily on the bed like nothing occurred.
"Honey I'm home," Uriah's voice booms through the house and up to the bedroom. Marlene runs off to a closet and returns clad in a white crochet bikini, whilst chucking a black set neoprene at Shauna's head.
"I'm going downstairs to make sure my man doesn't ruin the house. Tris, come with?" Marlene asks almost flirtatiously. Making me wonder if there's a such thing as platonic seduction.
I just follow her down the steps and smile, she grabs my hand loosely and pulls me. When we get downstairs, no one's in sight.
"Where'd they all go?" I ask out of confusion.
"They're probably just outside," Marlene says, so we walk outside onto the deck and Marlene's guess is confirmed. All the guys are out in the pool. Caleb, Zeke, and Tobias throwing a football to each other while Uriah scrambles to steal the ball mid air. Marlene just cannonballs into the pool, adding to the air of charisma that follows her around.
At first I didn't think the coke did much, other than leave an unpleasant taste in the back of my throat that wafted on my tongue like a mistaken sip of orange juice after having brushed your teeth.
Now though, I feel liberated. I decide to take Marlene's cue and I remove my nike shorts and t-shirt jumping right into the water. I surface right next to Tobias and greet him with an easy smile.
I swim over to Zeke and steal the ball out of his hand before tossing it to Uriah, "stop terrorizing your brother, it's inconsiderate."
At this Caleb starts laughing like crazy. I stare him down with an expression of annoyance. I was teaching Zeke manners and he has to make fun of me, fucking Caleb is so rude sometimes.
I hang on the edge of the pool and rest my head on the concrete.
"Marlene, where's the bathroom?" Caleb asks and she gives him mini directions, meanwhile Tobias is beside me.
"You alright?" He asks softly.
"Why wouldn't I be, with this weather and this pool. It's so beautiful out," I reply coolly.
"You just appear to be a little out of sorts," he says looking straight at me.
"Maybe you just don't know me as well as you think you do," I challenge.
"Maybe I don't."