Chapter 10

- Tobias -

I find myself lounging around in the basement of the Pedrad's house on the first free Saturday I have since the past several months. Now that work is over for me, I can spend Saturday chilling with my friends.

The Pedrad's basement is our go-to place when we just want to hang out at somebody's house. They've got a home theatre system, video game consoles, old board games, a ping pong table, a pool table, and just about anything else to keep us entertained. It's the type of place any teenagers would want in their house. Three of the walls are lined with posters of bands and movies that Uriah or Zeke are into. The last wall is mounted with framed certificates and medals belonging to their dad—an honourable firefighter who passed away several years ago.

Zeke, Will, and their respective girlfriends are at the ping pong table. The rhythm of the ball bouncing back and forth on its table is loud and irritating. It persists even over the rapid gunfire of the first person shooter game coming from the giant speakers in the room.

A wide grin spreads on Marlene's face as she headshots another opponent in the video game. Out of all the girls in our group, Marlene probably looks the most feminine and innocent—like she grew up playing with Barbie dolls and teacups. And maybe I was being just a tiny bit sexist but the first time I saw her play a first person shooter, I was definitely surprised—especially when she beat every one of us at it too. Uriah had secretly admitted to me that was why he liked her. I believe his exact words were 'she's adorable but she can kick ass.' And of course, that's in a very literal sense since she actually has a black belt in karate.

"I'm bored," Uriah whines beside me. One cheek is resting on his fist in a universal 'I'm bored' manner. "We should do something. It's always boring around here."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes because it's so wrong to hear that in a room screaming 'entertainment', but I suppose people who grow up with stuff like this tend to forget they have it.

"We just went to a dance last night," Tris reminds him, not looking up from the book she's reading. Her legs dangle over one of the armrests as she sits sideways on the armchair.

"Yeah, but that was …meh. School dances—no booze, no dirty dancing, no fun." Uriah yawns as if to stress his point. "I mean, did anyone else notice Matthews glaring at our backs? That was creepy. She should've been dressed as Mona Lisa, what with her eyes following us everywhere."

Marlene giggles as she shoots someone else and fake blood splatters on the screen.

"So what's your point?" Christina counters from across the room.

"The dance wasn't that great?" Uriah suggests. "We ought to have a party of our own."

"Let me guess, with booze right?"

"And cake! Don't forget the cake!" Zeke shouts. He catches the ping pong ball heading his way, causing the other three players to look at him in mild confusion. "And you know what the best occasion for cake is? A birthday."

I groan at Zeke's implication.

"Oh! Your birthday is coming up, Four. What is it? Like …the tenth?" Shauna taps at her chin in thought.

"The seventh," Will corrects. "That's Friday, right?"

"I don't celebrate my birthday," I tell them as they gather around, taking the unoccupied spaces on the couch or sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table.

"You should," Marlene says cheerfully. "You didn't even celebrate last year."

"What's so special about last year?"

"Um, sweet sixteen?" She answers, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"There's nothing sweet about being sixteen," I scoff. "And isn't that a girls thing?"

"Oh…"

"Well, just for once, we'll throw you a party." Uriah grins mischievously.

I open my mouth to retort but Christina interrupts me.

"C'mon, Four. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, it's now or never," Will adds with a smile. "Who knows where we'll all be next year, after graduation."

I see Zeke's grin mirroring Uriah's, and I sigh. "I don't know…"

Tris finally looks up from her novel. She watches the scene carefully as if still deciding which side of the argument she wants to be on. The rest of my friends look at me expectantly. Uriah even starts giving me the puppy eyes.

"Look, I can't," I say finally. "You know how things are at my house. I can't throw a party."

"You can do it at our house." Zeke shrugs. "No biggie."

"No, forget it. It's too much trouble."

"But—"

"Actually," Tris pipes up, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Marcus won't be home this weekend."

"Huh?"

"They've got some work thing out of town. Dad said they're leaving Thursday morning," she says casually while I stare at her in disbelief. That's news. But then again, when has Marcus ever told me anything? I never know when he's gone until I find a brief note on the dining table, that is, if he bothers to leave a note at all. "Sounds like the perfect time for a party," she adds slyly.

"Great," Will says, clapping his hands together. "Looks like we'll be throwing Four a much needed birthday party." He smirks at me and I roll my eyes.

Christina conjures a notepad from somewhere and starts scribbling things down. I squint, trying to make out her messy writing and see that it's a list of 'things for the party'.

"I'll get the booze," Zeke announces smugly.

"How, exactly?" Shauna lifts a skeptical eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I have my sources."

Christina scoffs but writes Zeke's name down next to 'drinks' on the list. The rest of them continue to rattle off about things they'll need for the party and I try to tell them it's not necessary—that if they throw me a party at all, at least keep it small.

But no one listens to me, so all I can do is glare at Tris while she smiles innocently at me before going back to her book.

-x-

"Therefore, the enthalpy of this reaction is…"

I stare at Ms. Matthews' carefully cropped blonde head as she writes a mix of equations and numbers on the blackboard. I spin my pencil in one hand while my thoughts drift to my supposed birthday party.

My friends spent the rest of Saturday party planning much to my dismay. They forbade me from helping in any way except for making up the guest list—which I wanted to keep short. I didn't want to throw a big party and it's not like I have a lot of friends to invite to begin with. It started out easy, with people I'm actually close to.

Caleb, because even though we're not the best of friends, I've known him since childhood. And it seems weird not to invite him when Tris would obviously be there. Shauna's sister, Lynn, because we all adore her and she'd bite my head off if she found out she wasn't invited to my party. Some guys from the basketball team—even though I don't play this year, I'm still good friends with them. A few people from my comp sci class who I actually get along with.

All in all, there weren't a lot of people, and that's fine. Except Zeke suggested I invite Lauren and suddenly, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea to invite more people. It's stupid—throwing a big party to impress a girl, but that seems to be the plan now. It's not hard considering I'm friends with Zeke and Uriah who knows just about everyone. The list of people ended up pretty long though I generally know everyone. Zeke said he'll spread the word but ordered me to ask Lauren myself.

I agreed. It's strange but I don't feel too nervous about it. Maybe because I'm not really asking her out, just inviting her to a party. Or maybe it's because she said 'maybe next time' the last time I'd asked. It's already Tuesday and with the party just a few days away, I'll have to make my move soon.

Since my friends won't listen to my opinions at all, the only thing I requested is a no presents rule. Somehow, the thought of receiving presents from other people without giving anything back is uncomforting. It'll be even worse considering a majority of the guests will be mere acquaintances—people I'm not even close to. So we came to the agreement of no presents, though the gang agreed they'll split the party expanses and that'll be their present for me—a party.

"Tobias."

I blink at Ms. Matthews, who's quietly watching me.

"Your answer?" She taps a piece of chalk beside the equal sign on the blackboard and flecks of white flutters the ground.

"Uh…" I look down at my notebook as if to check my answer, but it's useless because I stopped writing in it half an hour ago. There's nothing there that will teach me how to solve the question on the board—wait, what was the question again?

Tris' elbow nudges me almost imperceptibly and without lifting my head, I steal a glance at her notes, praying Matthews won't notice.

"4.39 kilojoules," I say, looking up at Ms. Matthews.

Her lips form a thin line while she scrutinizes me. Then she nods reluctantly. "Good, very good," she says, though she sounds displeased.

Ms. Matthews turns around to write the answer on the board and I can't stop the crazy grin from forming on my face. She expected me to answer incorrectly but I didn't, and I barely, just barely, escaped her wrath. Thank god for best friends.

I try to pay attention again but since I've already zoned out for so long, nothing makes sense to me. Instead, I let myself get distracted with watching Tris write. Her brow is creased and her lips slightly pouted. Her grey-blue eyes are awake and vigilant despite Matthews' boring lecture. Tris writes in neat blocky letters that are small but legible. The equations are aligned perfectly on her page in a way that also conserves space. I've never had to worry about missing classes growing up, knowing I can always borrow Tris' well-written notes.

When the bell rings for lunch, Uriah and Marlene are the first ones out the door even though we sit near the back of the classroom. Uriah leaves with a quick "see you in the cafe" as they bolt past me. I'm guessing I won't see them unless I happen to walk by that obscure hallway in our school where couples spend their time making out.

I grab my books and wait for Tris to pack up. When she's done, she gives me a smirk.

"I think you owe me."

"Owe you for what?" I ask with nonchalance.

"For what?" She huffs in mock irritation and swings her backpack on. "4.39 kilojoules," she hisses.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay." I laugh, guiding her out of the classroom with a hand on her shoulder. "I actually think we're even now."

"Even?"

"It's your fault I'm having some stupid birthday party."

Tris' eyes glint with amusement. "Wow, your friends are throwing you a party. What a nightmare."

"Well, it's weird." I run a hand through my hair. "Letting them throw me a party…"

"First of all, I think they just want an excuse to have fun," she says honestly. "But really, Tobias, it's okay to let other people do things for you once in a while. You deserve more than you think."

Tris wears a wistful expression as if she guards a secret I'm oblivious to. My throat feels constricted and I'm unable to come up with a reply. I don't want to tell her she's wrong, because there's a part of me, the selfish part of me, that wants to believe she's right.

"I'll make sure they don't go overboard and burn your house down," she jokes.

I sigh and mumble, "it's not my house." I continue walking but then I notice Tris is no longer beside me. I turn and she's standing a few feet behind, hesitating.

"Tris?"

She points to something over my shoulder and when I look around, I see Lauren at her locker with a group of friends.

Tris shrugs, taking a few steps backwards. "Good luck," she says with a small smile.

Before I can even utter a syllable, Tris is walking away, turning the corner, and gone. And I'm left standing here staring at the spot where she was just seconds ago. My pulse races, but it's different from the usual nervousness that occurs when I'm about to talk to Lauren. It's more of a panic feeling, like when something slips from your fingers and you anticipate the clink of it hitting the floor while trying to catch it at the same time.

I shake my head to rid it of my random thoughts and head towards Lauren.

"Hey," she greets, waving at me.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Um, yeah." Lauren gives her friends a pointed look, clearly asking them to go away. A few of the girls looks at me suspiciously though one of them actually smiles at me.

I don't feel too nervous, but I remember how I said no to her when she asked me to go to her friend's party with her. Now, I'm asking her to go to my party and I wonder how she'll think of me for that. I swallow the lump in my throat and ask anyway.

"I'm having a party this Friday," I tell her.

Lauren tilts her head curiously. "Any special occasion?"

"Uh, my birthday…" I rub the back of my neck.

"Oh, okay. Cool, I'll …be there, I guess," she says with a modest smile.

I feel myself smiling too, because that went much easier than I'd expected. I give her my address and the details for the party, making sure to mention the no presents thing. Lauren laughs and teases me for the silly rule and I wave it off, telling her with mock seriousness not to be a rule breaker. We lapse into comfortable conversation as we head towards the cafeteria together.