Another longer chapter. This is TJ's (Tobias Jr.) viewpoint who'll be taking over the story for awhile. Pay attention to him and his observations! Remember to leave me a review with your thoughts. I'll be updating as it progresses. thanks for reading.

sorry for any typos. :-)

Chapter 10

TJ

I sit in the creaking metal chair facing the bathtub while my father runs the clippers through my hair. I feel his strong fingertips on my temples as he keep my head still and steady. He smells of coffee and the soap Mom bought for him that was made of honeycombs and sandalwood. I keep my eyes focused on my feet that are slightly dangling in the new black and white sneakers I got last week. The small clips of my dark blonde hair was cascading slowly down in front of my face and on the floor. I feel a few hairs stand on my neck as he moves the clippers to the base of it. The vibration of them is tickling and I grip the seat in order to not squirm.

The clippers shut off and Dad says "All done." I turn around and watch him slide open the small mirror revealing the medicine cabinet behind it. He places the clippers next to a bottle of rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. My father's head is shaven so low that I can see he scalp muscles stick out a little. He's wearing a white tank undershirt and it clings to his muscular frame. Through the thin fabric I can see his ornate back tattoos that have always intrigued me since I was a small child. He slides the mirror back and turns to me with a smile. His eyes are intense and his brows are thick like my sisters and my own. My father scratches his thick dark brown beard and yawns.

"You wanna look at it?" He asks me stepping aside from the mirror.

I rise out of the metal chair, it scrapes a little against the blue tile of the bathroom, and I go to the mirror. My hair is trimmed neatly and low to my head. I stare at myself for a few long moments, taking in my long nose and protruding lower lip. I grimace a little and then look away.

"What is it? Is it uneven?" My father asks me looking over my head. He never cuts it uneven.

"No. It's fine. Thank you Dad." I say looking in the sink. The faucet is dripping a little, each droplet of water runs quickly into the chrome drain.

He grins when I look at him and he asks "You nervous?"

I look back at myself in the mirror again briefly. I shake my head trying to convince myself I wasn't. When honestly I couldn't tell if I was scared or not.

"It's okay." He says placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Well…maybe I'm a little nervous." I breathe.

Dad laughs and says "Well don't focus so much on it. It's just high school. Not a big deal."

"What were you doing at fourteen then?" I ask curiously.

He scratches his head and looks out the window. He turns away from me and says "Well I was in school, but I was trying to figure out how to escape my father, to be honest. I knew I had two more years in that house before I could leave. I was trying to survive."

I say nothing to him. I know stories of my grandfather were something of a taboo in the house. He was barely, if ever mentioned. I didn't even know if the man was still alive or not. I never even met him.

Dad turns back to me, still smiling and says "Just be grateful you don't have choose a faction when you turn sixteen! That's something to be nervous about."

I nod. I remember the stories of the faction experiments he and my mother told me about. How there were five and how they exposed the truth behind them when they were around my age. I heard stories of the way Chicago used to be and apparently my parents were rather well-known. People would often stare at us when we were out, and kids at school were either very curious about them or very cruel. I'd experienced the latter far more than curiosity however.

"You'd better get downstairs, your mother has breakfast ready. You know how she gets when eggs go cold."

I walk toward the door and he stops me and pulls me into a hug. He kisses my forehead and says "I'm proud of you, Junior."

I smile as he releases me and rubs my head ruffling my hair. A few more strands of hair fall out and I leave the bathroom to head toward the kitchen. When I enter narrow hallway, I see my sister's bedroom door open. I pass by it and see her twin sized bed is empty and messy, her sheets and blankets tossed everywhere in a pile. On the floor by her nightstand are magazines, a pair of canvas sneakers and a candy wrapper. I peer inside to see if she's in there, but I hear her voice come from the stairs. I turn and face my own room across from hers and I enter it. I made my bed after I woke up and tidied up a little. On my desk sat a pile of chapter books and a newspaper. I looked around to see if I was missing anything important to put in my backpack.

I look over the room quickly and see near my painting easel, my sketchbook is open near the floor. That's where I left it. I dart across the room and pick it up quickly. I hear Mom's voice yell up the stairs.

"Tobias! TJ! Get down here, I'm not heating up these eggs, they'll be disgusting!"

I grab my book bag off my desk chair and hold my sketchbook under my arm as I exit and run down the stairs. I hear my father behind me yell out "Calm your horses Tris! We're coming!" I forgot how fast he was, he was nowhere in sight when I left out my room.

I walk into the kitchen and find my mother drinking a cup of coffee near the kitchen sink. The sun is pouring through the small square windows above it, making her short boyish hairstyle glow. My mother is effortlessly beautiful the way she stands poised against the sink and she presses her powder pink lips to her favorite orange coffee mug, taking a short sip of the steaming hazelnut brew. She's wearing a tailored black pantsuit with high heeled leather ankle boots. She's humming something as she taps her long narrow fingers against the counter.

As I walk in she smiles at me and points at the table where my sister is wolfing down eggs and toast. I recoil sightly at her when she nods her head up at me with a grin, crumbs sticking to her face. But then I can't help but chuckle when she mouths through her bites.

"Have…some…eggs…bro?" She says handing me the plate the fluffy yellow mass is piled on.

I sit down and turn to see my father fully dressed in a steel grey suit and black oxford shirt put his arms around Mom's waist and nibble on her ear. He whispers something and she giggles hard as she struggles free from him. She turns into him and kisses him on the lips, but then raises a mug of coffee up to his face. He kisses her on the cheek quickly and then comes to join us at the table.

Natalie takes a big swig of red grapefruit juice and sighs. She's wearing a gray t-shirt with her favorite band, The Candor Liars, on it. Their symbol is a broken black and white scale with a skull head on top of it. The shirt looks new. She must have snuck it in our back-to-school pile when we went shopping with our parents.

"You wanna slow down there? The bus doesn't come for another twenty minutes." I chuckle as I take a deep swig of my juice. I pile a mass of scrambled eggs on some honey wheat toast and take a bite.

Natalie shakes her head and her eyes are lit with excitement. "I could but I'm so pumped. Today's the first day of high school. Do you know what this means?"

I look at Dad who's smiling as he puts butter on his chocolate chip muffin and I shake my head. "No what's it mean?"

"Well." Natalie says clapping her hands together. "It means we're rolling with the big dogs now. We get to have all access to social events, parties—I mean after school clubs and programs…"

She winks at me when Mom raises a suspicious eye toward her. Dad laughs and says "You really think you're going to have the time of your life don't you?"

"Of course Dad. I mean aside from all the 'fun' -she makes air quotes with her hands - stuff we're gonna be learning, we actually get to have more of a social life. For instance, I think I'm going to join Archery Club. I mean, we've got to find something outside of the classroom you know? Something to make friends."

Mom purses her lips and says "Well I'm not sure I'm fond of you learning how to shoot things, but you're right. Joining some clubs won't be a bad idea."

Dad nods in agreement and Natalie looks over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What about you TJ? You could join the Wrestling Club, oh wait—I'm sure you'll be with the art weirdos. In Art Club right?"

I glare at her and roll my eyes. Dad smiles and said "Whatever you two do, I'm sure it'll be great. Besides I like the art weirdos. They sell some pretty cool work at the marketplace."

I smile at him. My father never made me feel like I was supposed to be anything other than what I wanted to be. Him and my mother never pressed my sister and I to do anything we didn't want to do. They let us simply be.

"Art club sounds a whole lot safer than Archery Club at any rate." Mom says turning to rinse out her coffee mug.

Natalie rolls her eyes and pops a whole muffin in her mouth. She chews it stiffly and her cheeks puff up and stretch as she struggles to swallow it.

"Are you storing food for the winter?" I tease and she narrows her eyes in a joking glare at me.

Mom looks up at the clocks near the back door in the kitchen and says "Alright you two. You've got ten minutes, start heading out."

I sigh and stare at my plate. There's a few eggs that are ice cold when I pick at them with my index finger. My sister raises out her chair and grabs her purple nylon backpack off the ground. She swings it over her shoulder and whistles as she walks to the backdoor.

"You coming bro?" She says looking at me.

I nod and get up, putting my bag on my back. Mom and Dad walk over to us, hugging us respectively. I smile at Mom who touches my chin tenderly.

"Head up, sweetheart." She says. I look at her warm face and she kisses me on my cheek. "There's nothing to worry about. You're smart, talented, and handsome."

I nod and Dad puts his hand on my shoulder stiffly. He beams at me and releases me and we turn to go outside.

We're walking down the front lawn of house, the dying grass and weeds crunching under our feet, when Mom calls out the kitchen window. "Have fun, stay out of trouble! Pay attention in class! Love you both!"

Natalie waves back to her and smiles when suddenly a pearl grey truck zooms in front of the house. We halt in our steps and watch the car's exhaust billow out in an acrid smelling smog. The truck vibrates loudly and the dark windows are slightly caked with dust and dirt. The passenger window rolls down and behind the steering wheel is our cousin Andrew, smirking behind dark square sunglasses.

"Get in freshman, I'm taking you to school." He chuckles leaning over so we can see his face better. Andrew is a year older than Natalie and me, so he's going to be starting his sophomore year today.

Natalie squeals with excitement and opens the passenger door, hoping in.

"Hell yes! I guess Uncle Caleb kept good on his promise, yeah? The truck is cool!"

Andrew grinned and hit the top of the steering wheel with his hand proudly. "He sure did. Got it for a great price. The gear shift sticks a little, but it runs fine all the same. AC doesn't really work though, definitely need to get that looked at. Hey, you think Uncle Tobias can give it a look?"

Natalie nods and looks at me through the window. "Get in TJ, we're gonna be late."

I walk toward the back door behind my sister and open it. In the backseat is Andrew's backpack, a lunch box, and a green windbreaker. I get in and the car smells of spearmint, Aunt Susan's apple pie, and whatever cologne Andrew had on, which was rather strong. Andrew honks his horn and strains his neck over Natalie in the front. I look out the window and see my parents faces appear at the window. Andrew waves happily at them and yells "Hi Aunt Beatrice and Uncle Tobias!"

"Hey Andrew!" Mom shouts out. "Caleb told me you got your truck. Be careful alright!"

He sticks his right thumb out the window and says "No problem! I'm a pro!"

His foot slips and he accidentally presses down on the accelerator making us lurch forward. Natalie's backpack falls off her lap and spills open in the floor. She glares at Andrew who laughs nervously. I see my father shake his head laughing and my mother's eyebrows are creased together and her lips tightened together.

"Oh hey Uncle Tobias, can you take a look under my hood after school? It's got a few kinks!" Andrew yells out the window once more. Dad nods and shouts "No problem! Don't kill yourself or my kids!"

Andrew laughs, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose a little. He pushes them back up and yells "Thank you!"

He speeds off down the street hard and then stops in front of our neighbors house, the Roths. Andrew jiggles the gear shift and struggles to pull it back in reverse. He backs up and turns around, then shifts back into drive. We zoom down our street and I get a glimpse of my parents before we turn onto the main road leading to the city.

We live about fifteen or twenty minutes away from the school but the way Andrew's driving we'll probably get there in ten. He's laughing and talking with Natalie in the front about this year coming up. All the windows are down except for the one behind Andrew's seat. The air is cool and brisk today, but it is still warm outside. I feel the heat from the sun still blast me in the backseat, making my back moisten with sweat. I see my sister hang her hand out the window, caressing the wind with her fingers as if she's trying to catch something flying through the air. Her hair is flying everywhere and she laughs hard at a joke Andrew made.

He hits the break roughly when we come into traffic. Two cars are ahead of us and one of them is a peculiar grey van with yellow letters emblazoned on the back that read 'D.G.D."

"Who are these clowns?" Andrew chuckles as the van pulls off after the brick red pickup turns right.

The DGD van turns left and we watch it go down the road. Andrew shrugs and keeps straight ahead toward the city. The school is right before the exit to that'll lead downtown and it's near several small office buildings. It's one of five high schools in the city. My mother told me as more people integrated from the fringe and from other states, the city needed more places, more jobs, more houses, and more schools. Even though it's been fifteen years, a lot of the city is still under construction. But those who've helped rebuilt it most are highly respected in the city. Including my parents. My father works as a city representative in one of the buildings downtown. He has his own office floor with about fifteen employees. After Johanna Reyes retired three years ago, she elected my father take her place. I remember the day when it happened, my mom threw him a big surprise party with all our family and friends.

Mom is an executive director at the Department of Integration and Relocation Services downtown. She works with Aunt Christina who's also on the executive board in the department. They both work close together to manage and oversee people coming into the city are well looked after. Mom is actually the reason why a lot of the apartments were renovated or added on to for the flood of people moving here. Sometimes, she'll take me and my sister with her on the weekends while she works.

I'm shaken out of my thoughts when we stop in front of the school. I peer out the window and look at all the kids running around the campus, sitting down on the grass with books, or loitering around the steps. A girl with curly auburn hair and coffee colored skin passes by Andrew's truck as we park. She walks over to a group of friends, one girl with a striped red shirt that reminded me of the peppermints Grandma Evelyn carries in her handbag, and a tall boy with messy black hair that was greasy. They laugh and the guy puts his arm around the girl with the curly hair.

"Well welcome to Chicago High School, Number 2. Keep your eyes focused and open, don't look too long at folks, do the bare minimum in class, and you'll be fine!" Andrew says opening his door. We all pile out of his truck and head toward the building. It is stone gray and made of graphite. The schools, including the elementary and middle ones, are all numbered to distinguish themselves from each other. Each family's children got assigned to whatever place they lived closest to.

"The building used to be a storage office for library books. My dad told me. They renovated it and converted it into classrooms and stuff." Andrew says walking beside me. I look at Natalie who's beaming around at everyone and everything. She's so happy I roll my eyes filling my lips press together in annoyance.

We enter the building through the metal doors that are painted red. The hallways are full of students by lockers that are either opening or closing loudly with slams. I look on the walls and see a glass case with the teachers and staff pictures inside. I don't study the faces for long because Andrew says "You'll want to go find your lockers. Freshman lockers are down the hall and to the left. Don't be late to home room. I'll see you guys at lunch. Everyone eats together. I'll find you."

He leaves and walks down the hall, brushing past a crew of talking girls by the lockers on the left. A boy with dark skin and bright white teeth calls out to him and I recognize him as Frankie, Andrew's best friend since middle school. Andrew turns back to us and grins, giving us a thumbs up. He rushes toward Frankie and they turn right down the hall.

"Well let's get on with it, shall we?" Natalie says excitedly looking at me.

I swallow and find my throat uncomfortably dry.

"New beginnings!" She says putting her arm over my shoulders, making me stumble a little from her weight. We walk down the hallway and I try to remember that this wasn't anything to be nervous about.

But why did I feel sick to my stomach?

The day went by in a surreal blur. Natalie and I had nearly all the same classes together because we had the same last name. There were a few classes that we didn't share however like my Art class, which I thoroughly enjoyed for the first day. We were painting a still life of wax fruit and other assorted objects. Simple and fun. My teacher, Ms. Bailon was impressed by my oil paint technique.

"You are a natural, Tobias! Wonderful! You know I run an art club after school and I would love for you to join."

I told the story to Natalie when we got to lunch after fourth period History, but she wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"See." She says grabbing a small blue plastic bowl with vanilla pudding from the lunch line. "First day the weirdos are already trying to recruit you."

"They're not weirdos. They're cool people." I say taking the tray full of turkey slices with speckled brown gravy pouring over it and a mound of mashed potatoes. Small steam wisps were rising up from the turkey and it smelled salty and processed. I prodded it with my plastic fork and wondered if it was real. Natalie and I made our way among the busy lunchroom full of students to the table where Andrew was sitting with Frankie. At his table were two other people, a girl with a long brown fishtail braid and freckles and another girl with asymmetrically cut blonde hair. She had dark makeup around his eyes and navy lipstick on that reminded me of the raspberry candies Mom used to buy for me when I was younger. The candy would stain my teeth, lips, and tongue and she'd immediately make me go brush my teeth after I finished.

Andrew looked up at us as we sat down, Natalie on the empty side of him and directly in front of me. I was seated next to the girl with fishtail braid and she smiled warmly at me.

"Kate, Jane, this are my cousins Natalie and Tobias." Andrew says introducing us to the girls. Frankie tilted his head up quickly in acknowledgement of us and grinned.

The girl with the dark lipstick smiled, her teeth were white and long. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jane."

I nod and Kate, the girl next to me held her hand out for me to shake. I quickly wipe the crumbs from the wheat dinner roll I was eating on my jeans and shook her hand.

"Kate." She grinned fluttering her lashes a little bit. Her freckles spread across her upper cheekbones and near her eyes. They were the color of spinach leaves and I noticed she was wearing some kind of smoky makeup on her eyelids.

"Tobias. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She says sweetly still eying me as she takes a bite of her salad. Andrew raises an eyebrow up at me and chuckles. "You suck TJ."

I stop halfway through forking another bit of mashed potato in my mouth and look at him confused and dazed.

"What did I do?" I ask slightly bewildered. Andrew only smiles harder and shakes his head. He turns back to his own tray and picks at the glazed carrots in a small square near his carton of milk.

"So." Frankie says. His voice has gotten deeper than from when I last heard it a summer ago. I noticed his chin was fuzzy and a mustache had grown in thick on his upper lip. "You two enjoying your first day as freshmen?"

Kate stabs another piece of lettuce with her fork and looks wide-eyed at me. "You're a freshman? You seem like you're our year. Maybe you're more mature than the freshman I'm used to."

Jane smirks at her and pouts her indigo lips out. I'm not sure if she was complimenting me or not.

"Aren't you only a sophomore though?" I ask taking a bite of the rubbery turkey. It is salty and the gravy doesn't mask the strange aftertaste that well.

Kate's eyes narrow a little and she clears her throat. Andrew looks at me and shakes his head in disbelief.

"Yes, but still, the freshman class last year was still a bit too rambunctious for my taste. Far too noisy. But I suppose this year isn't much better."

"It's only the first day." I shrug.

To this, Kate looks at Jane who looks at her, then at me with a slightly disgusted look on her face. I feel her stand up next to me and she carries her tray in her hands. She picks up the bowl of salad and places it in the space where her turkey stand half eaten.

"C'mon Jane. I want some more fruit. Then I think I'll get started on that Chem homework a little early."

Jane still looks at me with her mascara lined eyes and rolls them, then rises up with her own tray of food. They leave the table and I'm left sitting on the side by myself.

"Smooth TJ." Natalie says taking a long swig of her chocolate milk.

I didn't know what she meant or why Andrew and Frankie were laughing hard at me.

"What?" I ask incredulously as I jab at two rounds of the glazed carrots. I pop them in my mouth and they're mushy and sweet between my teeth and tongue.

"She was totally flirting with you and you sketched your ice cave around yourself again." Natalie says wiping her gravy stained fingers on the thin paper napkin.

"I did not! I…we…we were just talking." I said feeling my face flush red.

"Yeah and you ran her off. Both of them." Andrew chortled while Frankie giggled and snorted into his hand.

"You better market off those good looks, TJ. Mom and Dad mixed up well between us both. You're lucky you look mostly like him, all the girls will be eying you. They already are. They've been looking at you since homeroom."

I shake my head and say "No they haven't. I—

"How would you notice if someone was looking at you when your head is always down nose deep in that sketchbook of yours? It's like you don't see yourself beyond that thing. It isn't healthy, brother dear."

I flare my nostrils and glare at her. She rolls her eyes and says "It's true. Remember your old friends aren't here anymore, and you need a social life to survive this place. I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going to be your best friend here. I have goals to accomplish."

"Like what? Joining the Archery Club? Yeah, that's something high to aim for." I say stabbing another carrot round with my fork. The plastic prongs bend backward and the carrot slips off.

Natalie leaned over to me and said "Only the tip of the iceberg. I plan on actually making a name for myself, you know? People already know us cause of our parents, but hell, I'm my own person."

I looked at her shove a spoonful of pudding into her mouth as she finishes her sentence. I never thought being famous here was so important to her.

"What do you mean, know us cause of our parents?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes and Andrew says "Your parents are the legendary Four and Tris. You don't think folks know their children attend school here? Besides the fact of them exposing the truth of the faction experiment, they completely helped reform the city."

"But Uncle Caleb helped out too. So did Aunt Christina, Uncle Zeke, my mom and dad didn't do alone." I say shaking my head.

Natalie scraps the bowl of pudding with her fork and moves the remnants in a small creme colored pile.

"Well of course, but that still doesn't mean people don't know us." She says licking the fork with a smack of her lips.

"They don't know us. They only think they do." I say hotly.

"Yeah well. Once someone is attached to the idea of you." Frankie says rising from the table along with Andrew "They automatically see you that way. Forever."

Andrew nods and gives me a grimace. "Sorry TJ, that's the way it is."

The rise and walk toward the tray return conveyor belt and I watch them leave the cafeteria. My sister and I sit in silence watching the rest of the cafeteria move and talk amongst themselves. There's a few faces that look familiar to me and I see Carole Meyers sitting with a group of girls laughing hard. Her blonde hair is long in thin braids, the tips are dyed pink and lavander. I chuckle to myself and remember how last year she couldn't even barely wear lipgloss without her mother's disapproving looks. I guess things have changed since I heard her parents separated she and her sister, Carrie, now live with their dad.

"I'm going to get more pudding, you want something?" Natalie asks me breaking my trance. I didn't hear her at first, but then I shake my head. She gets up humming to herself as she walks toward the dessert line.

I sigh to myself and shift my tray over far on my right. I bend down and pull my sketchbook out of my bag and a pencil. As I flip through the pages, I see old sketches I've done. Some of them are of trees, cars, hands and feet, faces. But I find the picture of the Ferris wheel I'm working on for my parents anniversary. I like the sketch out the image first, then I'll paint it on the canvas Dad bought for me at the marketplace last week. I touch the tip of the pencil to the page and begin tracing over the lines and curves.

Then a light and sweet voice breathes in my ear.

"Nice. You're really good at that."

I jump a little and turn around to see a tall girl with porcelain skin, hazel eyes, and wheat colored hair styled into curled ponytails behind me. She's wearing a powder pink t-shirt that hugs her chest and stomach. Her skirt hit right above her knees and is black. I look at her oval-shaped face that this smiling at me with bright teeth and full lips.

"Thanks…" I say covering up my sketch with my arm. I feel my face grow unusually warm and my palms moisten.

The girl walks to the other side of the table and sits down in front of me.

She turns out and crosses her right leg over the other one, the skirt raising and bunching up above her thigh.

"So you're new. Tobias right?" She asks resting her pointed chin in her cupped palms.

I nod slowly. How did she know my name? She had to be an upperclassman, seventeen years old at best.

"How do you like here?" She asks sweetly.

"It's…alright I guess." I say scratching my head with my pencil in my left hand. "It's just the first day, so I can't accurately answer that I suppose."

She purses her bright red lips together then grins. "You're left handed."

I look down at my hand with the pencil and laugh nervously.

"Guess I am."

"You have a twin sister. Is she also left-handed?"

"No, right-handed. Why the interest?"

She throws her head back and giggles eerily. "You're symmetrical, the both of you."

I force a slow chuckle and peer over at the dessert line at my sister who's talking with a boy who's name I can't remember from our neighborhood.

The girl sighs and bounces her crossed leg, making the table bounce a little. She peers around the room slightly, pausing for a moment at a particular corner behind me. I turn around and see nothing but a table of students talking and eating near patio doors.

"What is it?" I ask turning back to her. She says nothing for several long seconds but then looks at me and smiles again.

"You're the son of Beatrice and Tobias Johnson, yes?"

I raise my eyebrows at her and nod.

"Are they nice people?" She asks. "I've heard stories about them. They're pretty legendary."

I feel my face turn into a smile and say "They're just Mom and Dad to me."

She uncrosses her leg and sits up straight this time. Her hazel eyes seem a little brighter and she leans in toward me and whispers.

"Where do they work? In the city?"

"Yes. What's with all your questions?" I say irritably. Suddenly she raises up and three very tall boys walk over. One of the boys is slightly muscular and his dark hair is cropped short to his head almost like mine, but his haircut makes his head look deformed. It is bigger in the back, his forehead is long, and slightly covered in acne.

He reaches an arm around the girl and kisses her on the side of her head. His friends, one of them bald with mahogany skin and the other with red curly hair and large teeth both glare at me. The boy with his arm around the girl, who's now smirking suspiciously at me, gives me a nasty look.

"Well look here guys. We got a freshman who thinks he can talk and make friends with my girl." He says darkly and the three of them, including the girl, all snort loudly. I focus my hearing and my vision to see that the whole cafeteria is interested in what's happening where I'm sitting.

I see out of the corner of my eye, my sister who's still in the dessert line.

"She talked to me first." I say simply looking the large headed boy in the eye. He scowls at me and then looks sideways at the girl who's shaking her head. The boys all look at each other and then at me. The boy releases the girl and steps forward slightly to me and whispers menacingly low "Well, I don't care if she tells you good morning, you don't speak or look at her. You don't even breathe her way."

He leans up and looks down at my tray on the right side of me. As the four of them begin to walk away, he flips the tray up, spraying me and my clothes with the cold remains of the lunch. The speckled gravy and last bits of mashed potatoes stain my light blue collared shirt and carrots rounds stick to my cheek. There's an audible resounding gasp from the lunchroom, then the laughter starts. It sounds like a cackle of wild birds in my ear and I feel my ears go red with anger that boils inside my eyes.

"Accident." The dark haired boy chuckles along with his friends. They walk away and the girl gives me a wink that makes me fill with rage. But I sit still covered in the salty smelling turkey pieces, cold potatoes, and carrots. People are still laughing and I fight back the angry tears I force not to fall.

Then I hear my sister walk past me.

"Hey, asshole." She says to the back of the boy's head. He spins around and then Natalie flings the bowl of vanilla pudding directly in his face. The lunchroom holds its breath and erupts in even louder laughter.

The boy clenches his fist tightly together and he moves toward my sister with his face covered in pudding. The girl yells as the thick cream got in her hair and on her too tight shirt. Natalie balls her fists up and raises them, when a stern voice calls out.

"Enough the both of you! To the office, now."

I don't see the teacher who tells them to leave, but Natalie stomps over to the table and picks up her backpack off the floor. I look up still covered in my lunch when she gives me a look of pity mixed with disgust.

She shakes her head and turns and leaves out the cafeteria.

Luckily, Andrew had an extra gym shirt to change into, so he gave it to me to change into. I threw the stained shirt in my locker on the top shelf away from my books and papers. The gravy smell was still hard to get off my hands even after I washed them several times over.

I waited by my locker for my sister who came out of the office down the hall. She walked out alone and her face was sullen. She said nothing to me as she opened her locker adjacent to my own.

"Heard you got detention." I say softly.

She opens the door and throws her history textbook inside forcefully. Natalie pulls out two notebooks and then slams the metal green door hard.

"I did. For two days. You honestly should be in there instead of me."

"Me? I didn't force you to throw that bowl of pudding at that jerk." I say incredulously.

Natalie sighs angrily and shakes her head. "You don't get it. You can't just let people treat you like shit TJ! You already know they look at us differently because of Mom and Dad. We're targets, they're going to try us whenever and however they can."

She turns and leans against her locker with her eyes closed. I watch her carefully as she slumps down slightly.

"You know." She says swallowing hard. "There's nothing wrong with defending yourself, Tobias. You need to stand up for yourself. You need to."

I shake my head and say "I don't need to beat up people to defend myself."

Natalie opens her eyes and glares at me. Her stare is cold and cuts through me.

"It's not that hard, TJ. God."

"For you maybe." I retort angrily.

She shakes her head and turns to go down the opposite hallway. Natalie mutters irritably "I can't always be there to watch over you."

"I don't remember asking you to." I say coldly looking at the lockers on the other side of hall.

Natalie rounds on me and presses her lips together in a tight line. Her eyes narrow and she shakes her head again.

"You're right. But I do. Cause that's what family does. See you in gym."

I think I hear her sob as she walks away, but it's her sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floors as she turns left and goes down the stairs near the locker rooms. I punch the locker door next to me, frustration filling my chest, and the metal makes a loud bang against my fist. I expect my knuckles to throb with pain after hitting a metal door, but surprisingly there is only a small sting. I prepare to follow after my sister when my eyes widen at the spot where I punched.

There is a deep dent the size of my fist in the metal. I shake my head and rubs my eyes to make sure I'm not dreaming. But there it is, the depression in the door that contorts and wrinkles the locker door together. There's no way I could've done that. Was it there before?

I look down at my knuckles now and see they are bright red and slightly split with small droplets of blood trickling out of them between my fingers. I look around the empty hallway and see if anyone saw. I peer around the corner near the trophy case and then down by the main office. I'm alone.

I hurry down the stairs and stop near the top when I think I see a mass of red curls and a flash of hazel eyes. A ghost of a giggle floats behind me as I race down the stairs.

I must have imagined it.

Next chapter will be TJ and there's some action scenes coming up real soon. keep reading and reviewing. hope you're enjoying the story. every dystopian series needs a good future child appearance. haha.