"Everyone up! Anyone who's not in the training room in seven minutes will be the reason you all will be running!"

I jolt awake to Eric's voice instead of our usual wake up from Lauren. It can't be later than six. Training shouldn't be starting until eight.

The room begins moving instantly when Eric leaves the room. No one wants to be on the receiving side of Eric's anger this morning. I don't even take the time to check my hair in the mirror as I throw it into a high ponytail.

As we make our way into the training room, we are greeted by the unsettling sight of Eric alone. We gather around him silently.

"It's come to my attention that I've spent more time working with the transfers than you. As you can guess, they need a lot more work than most of you."

His posture is so rigid it makes him slightly more intimidating.

"So, I volunteered to help this morning before my other duties. Shall we start?" He ask not leaving room for question.

"Partner up."

I look around for someone. My first thought is to go with Uriah, but he is already with Marlene. Before I know it every one else has a partner, except for me. How though? We have an even number of initiates.

Eric answers my thoughts before I even have the chance to say something.

"Jorden is in the infirmary. Apparently he was allergic to the paint last night. The stupid nurse won't let him out til' later. So it looks like your with me." His tone is bitter as I make my way towards him.

"We're starting with a simple dodging exercise. I want it at a fast pace. If you don't find this as a fitting warm up or choose a weaker intensity, I'd be fine with having you run." His voice booms over the room. "Jess and I will demonstrate."

I step up to him so we're only about a foot apart.

"Take some punches," he instructs just loud enough for me to hear him.

I pause a second shocked. Surely he can't be serious?

"I'm waiting."

I take the first swing to the left, unsure of the outcome. He ducks his head to the right, avoiding the punch.

"Again!"

I do the same thing but to the opposite side. He dodges it to the other side quickly. I continue to throw punches and he countinue a to avoid them.

He calls enough after about five and turns his attention back to the group of initiates.

"You may begin. If your looking for more of a challenge, add some kicks in the mix."

All around us pairs begin their exercise.

When he turns back to me, I'm not prepared for the kick he sends my way. I'm sent flying into my back, my knee bursting with pain.

"I wasn't ready!" I cry as Eric takes a step over me. His scowl tightens.

"Oh, but you were last night when you got in a fight with the smart-mouth? Letting your team and myself down?"

I don't answer, knowing it's better that way. Dauntless take winning Capture The Flag very seriously, especially Eric. I should have known that last night wouldn't have gone unacknowledged.

Eric hisses at me to get back up. Despite the protest of my aching knee, I stand.

A punch this time is sent my direction, but I successfully dodge to the side. He throws several punches in a row in silence as I successfully duck each time.

He stops momentarily, giving me a chance to breath. "What exactly happened last night? Molly told me her side, but I'm giving you the chance to tell yours." He acts as he's doing me a huge favor.

There's no point in lying since he seems to already know, so I tell him exactly what happened. I emphasize the part about Molly's taunts that lead to the whole situation.

When I finish with the story, I look at him, his eyes squinting.

"So what your saying is that you started a physical fight with another initiate and then abandoned your job in a very important training exercise and tradition?" He raises an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. You do understand that fights outside of scored training exercises are against the rules, am I correct?"

I take a breath before nodding my head.

"Meet me in my office during breakfast. I'm sure I can find someone who needs help from you after training. Perhaps the kitchen or the store rooms? Now, let's get back to work.

Eric releases us at 8 for breakfast. Although my body has gotten a lot stronger so far, it's still sore after our training this morning. Eric made us work on fight techniques until everyone had them nearly perfect. I'm thankful we don't have to put up with him the rest of the day.

But unfortunately for me, I still have to see him.

I stop by the dorm to fix my hair. The last thing I would need is my hair getting in my eyes on my last day of fighting. Once a secure it into a braid, I begin to make my way towards Eric's office.

By this point I have no trouble getting to the hallways which contains leaders offices. As much as I'd like to forget what happened yesterday, I can't.

When I arrive, I knock without hesitating.

"It's open."

Opening the wooden door, I'm greeted with the scent of wood. Eric sits behind a computer scrolling through a page.

"Take a seat."

On the side closest to myself, sits two empty seats. His office is arranged just like Max's only slightly smaller.

"As a consequence for your out of training fight, I'm giving you a week of work. Since I know yesterday was long for you I'm feeling generous; I'm letting you choose your placement. The options I have open are: helping Four and Lauren clean the training rooms, assisting the cooks in the kitchen with breakfast and dinner, helping Hannah stock the shops' shelves, or you could always help me run errands and file stuff."

I consider my options. The last thing I'd want to do is spend more time with Eric and I'd rather not be in a hot kitchen after hours of training. Four and Lauren would be fine, but I think I want some change of scenery after all day in the the training rooms.

"I'll help in the shop." I answer.

"I'll be sure to let Hannah know. Report to the store room an hour after training tomorrow. Don't be late." He begins typing into his computer immediately.

"What about Molly? Will she have to do this as well?" I blurt out.

"No."

Anger boils inside of me. This isn't fair. She's the one who started the fight. If it wasn't for her i would be downstairs at breakfast right now and wouldn't be stuck shelving stuff.

"What? She's the one who started it!" I spit out unable to contain my emotions.

"Now, she will get points docked from her score for not being resourceful, during the game, therefore letting the other team win, but no, she will not have further punishment."

I sigh internally. At least her score will get lowered.

"Is my score okay?" I ask nervously. The fear of getting kicked out suddenly has suddenly reentered my mind. I haven't exactly done great at anything other than knife throwing. It's a strong possibility that I'm near the bottom.

"You're above the line. Stage one ends tomorrow. You'll be fine." He nods, dismissing me.

I stand up,ready to head back to training.

"Wait Jess." I turn back around to face him.

"I got you a muffin." His face curves into a smile, and not just a smirk, as he reveals a muffin that he had sitting on his desk for me.

I take it as I mutter a thanks and exit the room.

Maybe he's not as awful of a person as he seems.

AN: I'm so sorry for that awful long wait! I hope you haven't lost interest in this story! I've been crazy busy with school and other stuff! I'll try to update again soon, but I wrote this on my phone so please let me know if you spot any grammar mistakes or anything! As always thank you so much for reading and I look forward to hear what you think!

-Em