Chapter 7
A lot of you are like, "Skip to the Olympics"
I didn't say Olympics. I said Olympic Trials. There is a very big difference. So don't go thinking they both make the Olympics. Maybe one of them. Maybe both. May be neither. Don't jump to conclusions because I can surprise you.
TRIS POV
"Why are you here today?" the man says.
"I, I was signed up for the Olympic trials" I say, nervously. Anything I said in the next five minutes could determine my future, "And I slapped another player"
His eyes widen and then a look of confusion crosses his face, "Why did you come to tell me?"
"I wanted to inform you the reason I slapped the player" I say, my fingers playing with each other.
"Who was the player, may I ask?" he asks, and I suck in a breath.
"Peter Hayes" I say, releasing it "but, the only reason I slapped him was because he was saying bad things about my team. It made me feel down. I know I'm not supposed to listen to the bad things people say, but Peter can't mess with my team. I slapped him, and then he punched me"
I watch. I watch someone whisper something to the man, the head of the Olympic Committee, and another woman. And I see lots of nods, and whispers, and I simply sit there, twiddling my thumbs waiting for an answer to get back. I bite my lip. I was basically alone, for the most part. No one there for back up or anything. Just me.
The man turns to me.
"I know you want your spot in those Olympics, Tris. And I know Peter does, too. He told me his side of the story earlier, but I'll make you a deal. Let's say we're playing soccer" I nod, to show I'm following, "The players have cards to turn. Green, then yellow, then red. Let's just say, your green card just turned yellow. I'll let you play, but try not to do anything to make you end up in red. Same goes for Peter. I'll contact him, and tell him the news." I can feel a smile find its way to my face. And I want to hug the man for his generosity, but I just can't seem to move.
"Thank You for your honesty, Ms. Prior" the man says, which is my cue to leave.
Before I do, though, I say, "Thank you for your kindness" I add a smile in to the mix, and I walk out the door.
I sigh. I was only lucky, because the Candor side of me decided to show up. I haven't really seen Peter, since I slapped him, which was a week ago. I only have a month and a week left, until the Olympic Trials, and I wish it could come faster; I am so ready.
Tobias and I have been a little distant in the past few weeks, because he was so busy, but we have a beach gathering today. Sunday is the perfect time to have a beach gathering, and maybe I'll get to talk to him.
I drive home, and put on the mint green bikini I bought last week. I throw on some shorts, and my jersey, and I walk towards the beach, looking at the sun. The bottom of the sun is touching the ocean, and the day is still bright. I sigh at the sun. It looks so plain to me now, because I see it almost every day, but those moments when I just look at the sun, I realize it's actually a beautiful thing.
I look back at the sidewalk, and find everyone munching on some chips, and throwing sand at each other. I put my bag down, and Christina greets me.
"Want to go in the water? I don't want to go alone, and Will wants to chill for a while" she says, a hint of begging in her voice.
"In a few minutes" I say, plopping down next to Uriah.
The only people, who aren't here, are Tobias and Zeke. I sit in the sun, and check my phone for anything and Christina slides next me and says, "How was the Olympic Committee? Did they kick you off?"
I shake my head, "No. If I do one more bad thing, then I'm out. It's like those cards in soccer. I'm on yellow" I hear Christina sigh, "Thank God, or else all that hard work wouldn't have paid off!"
I chuckle slightly, and see a shirtless Zeke and shirtless Tobias walking over to our bench, and Christina says, "I'm going to go get a smoothie"
I roll my eyes, and yell, "Grab me one, too"
I walk over to where Shauna and the others are and I listen to Erin talk. I can tell she's talking about Tobias the way her voice is dreamy.
"He definitely likes me" Erin says, "I'm sure of it. He told me I had a very nice voice"
Erin must've heard the wrong tone. Perhaps he used sarcasm. She didn't exactly have the nicest voice ever. What is it with Erin and Tobias? Erin obviously likes him, but I have feeling he doesn't like her back. But who am I to get in the way of a developing relationship?
I look over at the ocean, and see that the people are hurrying out to get home before the sun goes down, which leaves the beach nearly empty. I hear a squeal, probably Erin, and toss my head to the side and see Tobias and Zeke finally reached us. I put my phone away, and he walks over to me.
"Going swimming?" he asks, sitting next to me.
"I was planning on swimming" I say, as Christina hands me a smoothie, and I mutter a thanks to her.
"Want to swim, now?" she asks, and I smile, and nod. I take off my shorts and jersey, and see that Tobias smiles, "I'm coming, too" he says. Tobias takes my hand and drags me to the water, as I laugh. The beach is almost empty, and I smile at him, and when the water hits my toes, it sends chills through my entire body.
We all swim farther out, and we just float on our backs, and Will eventually joins Christina, bringing her to the shore to make out. Tobias and I just float around, and his hand finds mine once again.
"Hey" he says, pulling my arm, so I can float closer to him, which causes me to let only my head bob above the water, my toes not even nearly touching the bottom of the sea"Remember that one time during camp, when we all went swimming, and then Bailey was there, and she tried to drown you?" he asks, and I nod and say, "Of course, she liked you, and she thought you liked me" I laugh, "I don't ever think hurting someone is the way to get something you want"
He stared at me, averting his eyes, and his lips parted, and it seems like he's searching for something in the water. His eyes suddenly meet mine, but they are more frantic.
"Get out" he says.
"What?"
"Get out of the water"
I stare at him for a moment.
Then a very sharp pain in my leg, and I scream. Did a thousand needles just decide to plunge into my skin? I clench my teeth. I feel a burning sensation in my calf, and my hand dives for it, and Tobias' arms wrap around me, pulling me out of the water. Tears threaten to fall out of my eyes, but I try to hold them back.
What the hell is making so much pain? I close my eyes and try to block out the pain. It doesn't work of course. Tobias drags me towards the lifeguard tower, without any words of motivation. The lifeguard, who is a guy named Robert, whom I know as Susan's brother, says, "What happened?"
"I saw something in the water" Tobias says, worriedly, "I think it was a jellyfish" I don't understand why Tobias seems so frantic, it's not like I'm dying, I just feel like a thousand needles are plunged in one place. Which doesn't sound any better.
"Don't touch it" Robert says, as he walks over somewhere, and grabs something. I can't really see, because at the moment, I'm clenching my teeth, with air hissing through it, and my eyes are shut, because trying to block out the pain is lot harder than it looks.
"Tobias" I say, "It hurts. Please do something!"
He crouches down next to me, "All I can do, is give you comfort" he says. He sits behind me, and his warm arms wrap around me, making me feel only a little better, and Robert finishes grabbing what he needs to, and he says, "Try not to move"
I try not to, but I want to shake my foot. Tobias squeezes me tighter, reminding me to stay still and something is plucked from my skin, and I sigh. There's still some lasting pain, but it doesn't hurt as much.
"It was a jellyfish sting alright" Robert says, putting the tentacle in a plastic bag, "You may want to get that checked out by the doctor"
I finally open my eyes, and see that it's only Tobias, Robert and I in the lifeguard tower. I sigh and feel the lingering sting of the jellyfish, and I immediately say, "Will I still be able to play?"
Tobias nods, "Jellyfish sting pain doesn't last longer than twenty minutes. It probably vanish by Thursday"
His lips touch the top of my head, and a sigh escapes me. Robert smiles at me, and examines my leg, and Tobias whispers,
"When we get back to the beach, there's something I really have to tell you"
Okay, I decided I would publish that Divergent Selection Crossover. :)
It might be a little wait, though, but may be with your nice comments, I'll publish sooner :)
Also, I finally have an update schedule! Kinda….
I decided I would update AT LEAST once a week. If I feel like it, maybe I'll post more. School has started. I know. So soon!
Anyways, this is like my second priority. (First is school…) So I try to get as much done as possible.
Since I have some time I'm going to start typing the Divergent/Selection Story, so yay!
Until we meet again pansycakes ;)
Isi
