A/N- Divergent rights belong to Veronica Roth
August 26th
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Tri-is, happy birthday to you!" Lynn's out-of-tune voice sings to me down the phone, ringing through my ears.
"I can't believe I'm eighteen," I sigh, whilst fiddling with the birthday card in my hand that I got from my dad and brother. It's a pretty card, with a bright bunch of pink flowers on the front covered in glitter, the bright purple "Happy 18th Birthday' words dominate the page. The card is signed in what I presume to be my father's handwriting, as Caleb's name is written in a different hand. His writing his fancy and professional, with sharp curls at the end of each letter. There was a hundred dollar bill placed inside, which I have tucked away in my jewellery box to save. I don't know what I'm saving for, but I've never had a hundred dollar bill before so I don't want to spend it.
"Cheer up will you," Lynn interrupts me from my reverie. "We're going to celebrate tonight!"
"What are we doing?" I honestly just feel like staying inside and reading a book, but Lynn would never let me do that.
"We're going out with Marlene and Uriah if that's okay? We'll go somewhere other than Faction Ave, can't be assed dealing with the others," when she says 'others', my mind automatically thinks about Four. I know that I shouldn't let his bad attitude affect me, and I should just forget about him now. But I still want to see him on my birthday. Something must be seriously wrong with me. I guess I like seeking out pain.
"No problem. What time are you picking me up?"
"Oh, I'm picking you up am I? You're very high maintenance," she laughs down the phone.
"Call me high maintenance again I can't guarantee that I won't slap you."
"Whatever! I'm picking you up at nine, be ready!"
"Wait, where are we-" I'm interrupted by Lynn hanging up on me. I was going to ask her where are we going and what should I wear, but looks like I'm going to get a surprise. It's only two pm now, so my mom should be back any minute. She was on an early shift this morning at the hospital so she left before I woke up. I still haven't gotten out of bed yet, for some reason, I always feel down on my birthday. Perhaps it's because the day is a reminder of how another year has passed without me achieving anything. Or that I'm one step closer to becoming an adult with responsibilities that I am in no way ready to handle. I eventually decide to wander downstairs and flick on the small portable TV that we have in the kitchen. It has pretty crappy signal, and only has about five channels, but I suppose it's better than nothing. I sit on the bar stool and stick my feet up on the table, while my hand reaches into the cereal box that's sitting on my lap. I'm wearing a large t-shirt, and get a chance to look at my bare legs…which I really should shave. However, at least for once, they're not pale. I hear the latch on the door open, and the sound of keys hitting the side table, I pull my legs down from the counter in record time.
"I see you!" My mom slaps my legs with the rolled up newspaper in her hands, "no feet on the table! How many times do I have to tell you?"
"Sorry," I mumble, my mouth full of cereal. She walks up to me and kisses me on the forehead.
"Happy birthday sweetie," she walks over to the end cupboard and pulls out a box and a package wrapped in brown paper. "Here you go," she smiles as she gives me the package.
"Mom, you didn't have to get me anything," I accept it off her and place it down on the counter. She puts the white box next to it, and lifts the lid off to reveal a small birthday cake covered in white icing, with happy birthday written across the top. There are three beautiful white butterflies made out of icing, they look as though they're taking flight away from the cake. It's pretty. "That looks so good, thank you!"
"Well, we haven't had cake since your last birthday. It's sponge with vanilla icing, Kathy from work made it for you." She closes the lid again and places the box in the fridge for later. Then she walks back to the counter, leaning against it and shoving the brown package towards me, "open your present!" I smile at her and greedily rip the brown paper open, revealing a pair of red and white plaid flannel pyjamas. They're super soft and look really warm, I slip the pants on immediately.
"Thank you so much, these are amazing!." They feel warm and comforting, pyjamas are my favourite clothes.
"Do they fit?" she asks, smiling at me, while running her hand along the material.
"Yeah, they're super comfortable. Thanks mom," I lean in and envelope her in a tight hug.
"You're welcome. I figured you needed some decent pyjamas since all you seem to be wearing lately is these worn out tshirts!" she tugs on the big t-shirt that I'm currently sporting, yeah, it has a few holes in it but still does the job!
"I do, I can't wait to sleep in these tonight."
"Good, well, we'll light the candle on your cake later, but first I've got to go pack."
"Pack?" I take the pyjamas off and fold them back up again.
"Yes, did I not tell you, I'm going away with Harold tonight. Just to accompany him on his business trip, I'll be back tomorrow night."
"No, you didnt tell me," I sigh, "Harold? Is this the same guy that you've been seeing?"
"Yes it is, he's very nice actually. We're staying in a hotel in the city centre, we're going to see a play tonight. You don't mind, do you? I figured you would want your space since it's your eighteenth. You can have people round here, but no mess and no boys!" She raises her eyebrow at me, giving me 'the look'. By saying 'no boys', what she really means is 'no sex'. Well, she certainly doesn't have to worry about that.
"No mom, it's fine. Have a good time, I'm just seeing Lynn tonight."
"Alright, well, I best get my things sorted out!" She walks upstairs, leaving me and my box of cereal in the kitchen alone.
…
Lynn ended up coming round to my house a couple of hours later. She did the birthday cake with me and my mom, before we all left the house. She gave me a card and a new CD that I wanted, we're currently sat in her camper van in her driveway listening to it. So far, it's shaping up to be a pretty relaxing birthday.
"I hope you don't mind chilling in my van all day, my parents are at home and they would just be screaming at us to keep the noise down."
"No, it's cool. I couldnt stand one more minute in that house anyway. It's nice to get out." I tie the laces that have come undone on my shoes. "Where are we going tonight?" I ask.
"Well, let's just say we're having a little camping trip, Chicago style."
"Chicago style?" I raise a questioning eyebrow.
"Yeah, me and Marlene found a few empty fields just outside the city. There's no light pollution there so we'll be able to see the stars pretty clearly. We'll also be able to blast the music and spark a couple doubies."
"Sounds good to me!" I stick my feet up on the dashboard as we continue to sing along to the tracks on the CD. We talk about our crazy ideas for the future, and go over various memories from when we were growing up. I still can't believe that I'm eighteen years old now, I still feel (and look) about fourteen. Although over the past few weeks I've noticed my hips and thighs have gained a bit of weight, which I am happy about. I suppose my body has more softness than it used to. If the clothes that I wore were more sophisticated, I suppose I could probably pass for my age. When it gets to about seven-thirty, Lynn decides to call Uriah and Marlene, and tell them that we're ready to head off. Uriah's SUV pulls up outside Lynn's house, and he jumps out wearing a black ninja suit, complete with mask. I let out a hysterical laugh and so does Lynn, Marlene carries a shameful look across her face, although she can't keep the small smirk at bay. These guys are crazy, and I love it.
"What-" Lynn tries to get out between breaths, "the hell-" she laughs again, "are you wearing?" Uriah smirks and kicks his foot out, flailing his arms around in the air in attempt to imitate ninja-like moves.
"I'm a ninja, can't you tell?" He turns to look at me through the gap in his mask for his eyes, "happy birthday Tris! I thought I'd put some effort into my attire for this evening," he gestures to his suit, wiggling his eyebrows. We all continue to laugh, and Lynn slaps him on the back.
"I told him no, but he insisted!" Marlene says, "happy birthday Tris, get anything good?" She hands me a card and wrapped present.
"I got some money of my dad and new PJ's," I take the card and present of her, "thanks, you didn't need to get me anything though."
"Oh sush! It's from me and Uriah. Open it now!" She smiles at me and I begin to open the card, it's got a joke on the front about how old I'm getting, and the inside is signed by both Marlene and Uriah. I impatiently tear open the paper for the present, to reveal a soft silk scarf with a paisley turquoise pattern.
"Wow, this is so soft," I run my hands across the material and drape it around my neck. "Thank you, It's perfect."
"No problem!" Uriah says, "come on, let's get going. We can get a burger on the way."
…
We travelled for about half an hour in the pitch black, until we reached a large field surrounded by trees. There are no lights around except for the moon and stars, so we have to trust the headlights on our cars to illuminate the area. We park in what looks to be a good spot in the middle of the field, and Lynn slides the side doors of her van open, turning the inside lights on. We set up a few chairs outside and Uriah sets up the music. We brought plenty of snack food, and we decide to play various card games, in between gazing at the magnificent view of the stars. We all have a joke and dance around, while consuming a fair amount of alcohol. I feel pretty drunk right now, and I'm presuming everyone else does too. The chilly night hair doesn't even effect me anymore, I feel invincible.
"Tris," Uriah asks me in an up-beat tone, "are you and Four fuck buddies?" I almost spit out my drink over everyone, choking on the burning liquor. Marlene laughs and pats my back firmly until I calm down. That was certainly a question that I wasn't expecting.
"No! He's just a friend, what makes you think that?" I shriek, my voice higher pitched than usual.
"Well, you both seem pretty close, and you could cut the sexual tension with a knife."
"Yeah!," Lynn interjects, "we all feel like we have to leave the room when you two are together!"
"He's pretty sexy though," says Marlene, "I wouldnt blame you if you wanted to get into his pants."
"Well," I reply, "I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't want to get into his pants. I mean, come on, I still look like a fucking twelve year old and I swear he could pass for twenty-five!"
"Oh shush!" Marlene laughs, "you're hot as fuck Tris. But I mean, you are like a whole foot shorter than him, so..." She starts to put her fingers together, demonstrating two people, "how would that work?" She starts to giggle and Lynn laughs, nearly falling off her seat. Uriah wipes a non-existent tear from his eye and leans his chair over to Marlene, grabbing her fingers.
"I think it's more like this," he moves one finger on top of the other, and slides them against each other. "Or maybe it would be better if you were on top Tris?" He goes to flip her fingers around but I lean over and break them apart, thankful that they won't be able to see the raging blush on my cheeks in this light.
"Will you stop it!" I shout, but my words are slurred. "Four doesn't even like me anyway. He seemed pretty mad the last time that I spoke to him."
"Nah," Uriah smiles. "That's just how guys act when they want to get into your pants."
"Alright, alright!" Lynn giggles, while walking into her van and routing through the drawers. She reappears holding a joint and shoving a little bag into her pocket, "that's enough with the teasing! Let's have some real fun! You can have the honour of lighting up Tris, since it's your birthday." She hands me the joint and a lighter, I light it up and take a drag before handing it back to her. She smokes it a few times, and offers it to Uriah and Marlene who kindly refuse.
"The alcohol is enough for me thanks," Uriah says, while taking another swig of his beer. Suddenly, his face goes from being warm and content, to looking like he's at death's door. "Oh shit, is that?" He gets up off his chair, "fuck, look!" He points in the direction of the other end of the field, where we see flashing lights approach us. Police. "Fucking hell Lynn! You better hide that shit! We're out of here!" He grabs Marlene's hand and drags her towards his SUV, however the police car has sped up a considerable amount and is now a few feet away. All I can do is sit frozen in my seat, we didn't do anything wrong, did we? Of course we did.
"Crap, come here," Lynn grabs the joint out of my hand, stuffs it into a cigarette box and launches it across the field. "Act sober!" she tells me. Her voice sounds panicked and instantly unaffected by the drugs and alcohol. Soon enough, the police car pulls up and two male officers step out.
"Good evening kids!" One of the tall officers bellows, his voice is deep and overly confident. "What we doing out here?" We all stare at them in silence, our faces illuminated with the headlights of the police car. Our visible breaths forming clouds in front of our faces in the night air. "You kids can't talk or something? Want to explain to me why you're setting up camp on private property?"
"We're sorry Sir," Lynn speaks up while the rest of us stay silent. "We were just celebrating my friends birthday. We thought that these were abandoned fields. We didn't mean to cause any trouble, so we'll just be on our way now-"
"Oh, you're not going anywhere," the officer spits. He's scary and intimidating. My knees are shaking and I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my throat. I might just choke on it if it beats any faster. "I wouldn't say that drugs and anti-social behaviour is what you call avoiding trouble." He walks up to her and begins to pat her down.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Lynn swats the officer away and jumps back, with an angered look spread across her face. I am paralysed.
"Assaulting an officer? That's not avoiding trouble either!" The other officer finally speaks up. His voice is high pitched for a male's, and If I weren't in this daunting situation, I would probably laugh. He continues to watch over the rest of us, before muttering in a quiet voice for us to put our hands up. I lift my hands away from my body and hold them up in the air, in line with my shoulders. They're obviously shaking like the rest of me. He shines his flash light on each of our faces, the blinding light causing me to turn away. The first officer continues to pat Lynn down, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a bag of weed, "well look what we got here," he sighs and shakes his head. I feel like collapsing on the floor, Lynn has gotten herself into deep shit. There's about 5 grams of weed in that bag, she won't get away with this one. Lynn continues to look at the floor, gritting her teeth. I start to wonder if it helps to cry in situations like this, if it makes them go easy on us. But I don't think I could force tears out even if I tried.
"It's not mine," she says. Her voice is steady.
"You were just looking after it for a friend, right?" The officer says, "I've heard that one before kid," he shakes his head and places a hand on her shoulder, which she shrugs off. "Didn't you kids ever get told not to do drugs? It's simple as, don't do drugs! No good comes out of it." He switches on his small flashlight and walks over to me, shining the light in my eyes. I flinch away from the bright light and he sighs again, "cuff these two for me Jones," he says to the other officer. My heart begins to beat rapidly in my chest when the officer walks up to me and takes my wrists, clamping the smooth cold metal around me. I feel suffocated and begin sweating. My mouth feels dry and I feel like I'm choking on air.
"No! Cuff me, not her. The drugs are mine, no one else's. Take me, not them," Lynn pleads.
"I'm sorry girl," the officer says, "but her eyes are about as red as the rash I got on my behind last week. We're taking you both in."
"You can't take her! She hasn't done anything!" Uriah shrieks.
"Give it a rest ninja turtle! Take your girlfriend and head back to your sewer, I'm letting you both off." He gets his notebook out and writes down the registration number on Lynn's van, stopping when he sees that Uriah and Marlene haven't moved an inch. "Leave, go home to your parents before I change my mind." He commands, impatiently.
Uriah and Marlene mouth their sorries to me before slowly backing away into Uriah's SUV, they drive off into the distant darkness. I desperately wish that I was with them. My body is trembling, releasing loud, shaky breaths. Suddenly, I don't feel so invincible anymore. My eyes are wide and tears threaten to spill over as the officers lock Lynn's van up and seat us into the back of the police car, pushing on our heads while reading out our rights. They're arresting us on suspicion of possession of class B drugs. I'm going to jail.
Sorry for ending on a bit of a cliffy. Before you think it's a bit unrealistic, she's just been arrested and will be probably held in a cell, she's not going to go to prison. This is what happens in my country if you get caught with drugs or drinking under-age/in a public area. I researched what happens when you get arrested in America, but it's different for every state and not as straight forward as here in the UK.
Stay tuned! How is she gonna get out of this one?! ... ;)
Thank you so much for the follows, the favourites, the reviews and generally just continuing to read this story. I spend so much of my time writing these chapters (I write ahead) and your support really pays off. :)