Miles: One of the control room supervisors

Leeann, Bekah, Abilyn, Kelly, Angie: Hana's roommates

Chaz: Leeann's boyfriend

Nick and Eli: Leeann's brother and cousin

Rob: (Mentioned) Angie's boyfriend

Thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. I love reading your comments and appreciate your feedback.

And of course thank you to Bahrfamily for keeping me on track, and taking the time to Beta read this chapter. Multiple times...

25 Cake

I follow the pathway through the Chasm back to the Crevice. When I squeeze through, I see Natalie walking through the door she told me I don't have a key for. Dressed in gray with her hair pulled back, she looks like the perfect Abnegation member. "Hi!" she says brightly, and begins to undo the hooks and buttons on her over-shirt.

"Hi." I find myself wondering why she's taking her shirt off.

Underneath her gray shirt, is a black top, not the gray under-shirt that she should be wearing. "Either you're early, or I'm late," she says, as she pulls off her gray pants, revealing a tighter pair of black pants under those.

"I'm a little early, but not much."

"I must be running late, then." She pulls the bobby pins out of her bun, pulls something out of her pocket, and then clips in a section of purple hair at the base of her pony tail. I watch in fascination as she braids it. So that's how she puts the streaks of color into her hair. "I lost track of time, sorry." There's a slight blush to her cheeks when she says that. I wonder what she was doing?

"No problem. Why are you bothering to change into Dauntless attire?" I have to ask.

Natalie laughs. "I want to show you something, just in case you need it. That's why we met here." She rubs a lotion into her right arm, then takes a long sheet of a clear, almost plastic-like substance and lays it out on her arm. She rubs it with her hand, then slowly pulls it off. Colored flames dance along her arm where she pulls it off.

"So that's how you do the tattoos."

Natalie smiles at me. "That's how I do it."

I look at it again; it looks so real. "Any chance I can do something like that, to fool Leeann?"

Natalie laughs. "I wish you could, but no, that's something that comes from the outside." She's silent for a moment then snaps her fingers. "But I bet if you talk to Tori, she could draw something on you with her ink. It would last longer than this does, but if you look like you have a tattoo, it won't cause the uproar like it would if I did!"

"That's true. I wonder if Tori would be willing to do that?"

"If she's not, I'm sure Bud would. Especially if he knows it's to play a trick on the Pedrads. Throw Nick and Eli in there, and I'm sure he'll do it! How do I look?" Natalie questions me.

"Dauntless."

"Good. Let's head up to my old room. I want start tonight by showing you how to disable the camera by the door, so you can get in there if I'm not around and you need to."

Disabling the camera from outside of the room turns out to be very simple. All you have to do is make sure the hallway is empty, and twist a knob that is hidden in the light. Getting out is just a little trickier: you have to check the hallway using the camera in the light and the tablet. That's why Natalie was so picky about the time frame when we first met: since the tablet can only be on for five minutes before someone can track it, the window to get in had to be shorter than that.

As soon as she's shown me that, Natalie heads over to the recliner and sits down, throwing one leg over the arm of the chair. "You know," she begins, "one of the things I like about meeting with you is that I get to be a real person again."

I look at her funny.

"On the other side of the fence," Natalie begins softly, "there are no factions, no unwritten, unspoken rules that people expect you to live by, because you don't have a specific title."

I shake my head. It's such a foreign idea to me. "How do people know how to act, then?"

"Oh, there are expectations, but they are almost the same for everyone, and they aren't little things like how you sit in a chair." This time it's Natalie who shakes her head. "Anyway, that's not why I wanted to meet with you. Being able to sit how I want is a bonus." She smiles.

"So what did you want?" I decide to sit on the edge of the coffee table. If she can sit the way she wants, I can try sitting on the table, like I always wanted to try at home.

"Feast Day has been set."

"Feast Day?" I question. "I've never heard of that."

Natalie smacks her head with the palm of her head. "It would be Fast Day, to you."

"Oh?" Why is the name different?" I wonder aloud.

"I'm not going to tell you much about it. You need to ask the right questions of the right people when everyone starts telling you about it. If you don't, they'll think it's odd. Anyway, when they start trying to get people to work on Feast Day, I need you to volunteer for the day shift. No one will want to, and I could really use your help that day."

I shrug. "Okay." Missing a holiday I've never heard of doesn't sound too bad.

"Here's the deal. It will be a twelve hour shift, and the cameras are divided more like an overnight shift. One person has Amity and Erudite, one person has Candor and Dauntless, and one person has Abnegation and the Factionless sector. They'll give you Amity and Erudite that day." She takes a deep breath. "You're going to have to work with a couple of different drives. I have several places I want to try to get into while everyone is celebrating." She pulls a piece of paper out of her pocket. "This is a list of the times I should be in a given area and the drive that goes with each one. You'll need to memorize it."

I take the paper from her and look over it. It doesn't look too complicated, and yet... "Five drives?"

Natalie nods. "Switching drives will probably be the trickiest part, but I really need to get into all five locations to try and get the information I need."

"Is there any way you can get me a couple of drives that won't do anything, so I can practice with them?"

Natalie's green eyes twinkle. "We even think alike." She stands up and pulls two drives out of her pocket.

I hold out my hand for them. "Thanks." I transfer the drives to my pocket. "So why do you need all that time and to be in all those places in Erudite? Can you tell me that?"

Natalie thinks for a minute. "I can't tell you everything, but I think Norton has something to do with the problems we're having with the Divergent."

"Is that why I kept seeing you outside of his laboratory?"

Natalie laughs and nods. "That's why. I need to figure out how far everything goes. His top ten…" Natalie pauses like she's trying to decide if she's about to reveal too much.

"Tori's mom is in his top ten, she told us a little bit about it on Visiting Day."

"I need to know how much those ten people, who are most likely to take over when he dies, know. Norton's getting older. It would be nice to know if his death will end everything, or if it will continue on after him.

I nod. Then a troubling thought crosses my mind. "So Jeanine, she was an initiate this year, did she make the top ten?"

Natalie looks at me sharply, and then slowly starts nodding. "She's the one I'm most worried about."

"How likely is she…" I start.

"She dropped everyone down a ranking. Most likely, if something happens to Norton, she'll be taking over," Natalie shares.

I take a deep breath. "Tori and Bekah don't like her."

"Neither does Andrew." She says it so quickly that I don't think she meant to. Her eyes swing to mine with a guilty look about them.

"Andrew?" I pretend I don't remember exactly who he was. She doesn't respond right away, so I decide to prod. "I don't remember an Andrew when I was in Abnegation. Was he the guy there with you and Grace when you dropped off the barrels for clothing?"

Natalie nods, looking a little relieved about the way I remember him.

Andrew and Natalie. I was right, there is definitely something going on there.

It's another day before I hear Feast Day mentioned again. This time it's at work.

"It's that time of year again," Miles announces at the start of our shift. "I need volunteers to work Nuptials Day and / or Feast Day."

"I can work both," I quickly volunteer.

Miles looks at me a little funny. "You don't have anyone possibly getting married?"

I shake my head. "Sister's already married, brother is younger than me."

"And you don't mind missing Feast Day?"

"I don't even know what that is."

Miles shakes his head. "Okay, I'll put you down for the day shift on both. Any other volunteers?"

After work that night, Bekah, Abilyn, Kelly and I decide to play cards. There is a commotion outside our apartment. "What's going on out there?" Leeann asks, looking around. She and Chaz are curled up on the couch. Even though they are by far the closest to the door, it doesn't look like either of them intends to get up.

I stand up from the table where we are playing cards, and walk over to the door. "Maybe we should just open the door and find out."

Leeann scrunches her nose up at me. Everyone else laughs.

Nick and Eli are at the door, jostling each other for position. Angie stands behind them, her hands full.

"I said I'd get the door for her." Eli gives Nick a playful shove.

"I saw her first and offered to help before you did." Nick smiles and uses his shoulder to knock Eli away from the door.

I look at the two of them and shake my head. "I got the door."

Both guys stop shoving each other. "Guess she showed us." Eli's voice is sheepish.

"Leeann, the commotion is your family," I announce.

Leeann quickly changes her position on the couch. She sits next to Chaz, instead of draped over him. Since Chaz makes no comment, I have a feeling this change is due to the guys showing up.

I walk past the guys to Angie. Automatically, I reach to take one of the pans she is holding out of her hands. "Looks like you could use some real help."

"Thank you." Angie smiles and moves the other pan so it looks like it is less likely to fall at any moment.

"Hey!" Eli interjects. "I was helping! Nick just got in my way."

Angie and I walk into the apartment, followed by the guys.

"I thought you were out with Rob." Leeann looks at Angie, puzzled.

"I was supposed to be, but I got a chance at work that I couldn't pass up."

"Bet Rob wasn't too happy that he got stood up for work." Chaz grins at her.

"Oh, he's okay with it. In fact, he's on his way over here now, I imagine, to see how it went."

I look down at what I'm holding. It's a pan of cake. "Is this what it looks like?"

Angie nods. "One of these pans is my first attempt at making chocolate cake; the other came from a certified cake baker." Angie sets down her pan, and I set mine down next to hers. "I'm supposed to have you guys taste them both and tell me which one you think is which." Angie shifts from one foot to the other.

"What are you nervous about?" Abilyn asks her.

"How did you know I was nervous?" Angie asks.

"You shift from foot to foot when you're nervous." Abilyn shrugs. "It's something I've noticed about you."

Angie sighs. "The results from you guys and the other testers determine if I'm ready to start making cake or not. You only get to try it four times, and then you don't get to make cake. It's kind of a big thing at work."

"No wonder you guys followed her home," Leeann says to Nick and Eli as she gets up off the couch. "Let's dig in!"

Chaz nods in agreement. "Looks like I picked the right night to hang out here!"

I move to the cabinet and start counting out plates.

"So, Amity thinks they know when they'll be through with the harvest, and Feast Day has been set," Angie starts off as she and I cut the cake to serve it.

"What's Feast Day?" I have been waiting for someone here to bring it up so I can ask. I didn't want to ask at work.

Every pair of eyes swings to me. "You don't know what Feast Day is?" Nick is the first one to recover enough to ask.

I shake my head. "Never heard of it until they asked for volunteers to work it today."

Leeann groans. "And you volunteered, didn't you?"

I nod. "Why wouldn't I? I don't know what it is!"

Eli picks up a plate that already has cake on it. "I thought every faction celebrated Feast Day."

Abilyn nods. "Candor does."

"Erudite does too," Bekah confirms.

"So, what is it?" I ask again.

"It's a big celebration about a month after Amity gets through with the harvest. They bring extra food to all the factions, and everyone gets together with their families…" Abilyn's voice trails off as she remembers that she no longer has a family to celebrate with.

"Or friends," Leeann jumps in quickly. "Which reminds me: Aunt Taylor is expecting all of the transfers at her apartment for the meal. Angie, Kelly, she expects you to stop by for dessert, at the very least."

"Miss Taylor's desserts?" Kelly asks mischievously, then takes a bite of cake. "Only if it's for this cake! Angie, is this the one you made? It's delicious."

"Don't know," Angie answers. "They put a letter on the bottom of the pans after they've cooled. You tell me which letter you think is best, and I bring in the results from that. No one who brings a cake home knows which one is which."

"Tell your aunt thanks," Bekah says softly.

Abilyn nods in agreement.

"You," Leeann turns on me, "are expected as soon as you get off work." She shakes her head and mutters, "I can't believe you volunteered."

"So," Eli turns to me, "what does Abnegation do with the extra food, if they don't celebrate Feast Day?"

"I'm guessing Feast Day matches up to Fast Day."

Leeann groans. "Is that what it sounds like?"

"If it sounds like we fast, don't eat, that day and take all the extra food to the factionless to help them, then," I shrug, "yes, it is what it sounds like."

Eli grins. "If you were equating Feast Day with Fast Day, I can see why you volunteered to work!"