Chapter 5

Four POV

The next morning Tris, jogs down the walkway to the jeep and hops in with a smile. "Good morning Four."

I smile back, can't help it. "Good Morning Tris. You seem like you're in a good mood today, what's the occasion?"

"No real occasion. I was just anxious yesterday I guess. Today I feel much better, knowing where my classes are and a couple people in each class. I feel lighter somehow. It's hard to explain."

"No, that makes sense. I forget what it feels like to be the new kid. I haven't been the new kid for a while now. We have always lived in Chicago."

"You're lucky. You haven't had to leave your friends behind and start out as a stranger in a strange land…"

"No, but you seem to have landed on your feet."

"My dad mentioned that your dad invited us to dinner with you tonight. That will be fun."

"Yes, I hope it will be." I pause, debating with myself if I should warn her about dinner with my dad. I figure that if our roles were reversed, I would appreciate the heads up so I take a deep breath, and tell her the truth, like ripping off a bandaid. "Tris, our dad's are trying to fix us up." By this time we are almost to the school parking lot and I don't say anything else until we are parked. "I didn't want you to go into dinner tonight and be blindsided by it, it didn't seem fair."

Her smile is gone now. I can't believe I ruined her morning by opening my big mouth. Why couldn't I just leave it alone? Now she probably thinks I am in on it too and she is trapped in this stupid car with me. "Tris, please say something."

"I am processing. I think you are right. My dad was way too excited to tell me about how he arranged for me to ride to school with you, and my mom didn't know anything about it, which was weird. I should have known something was up."

I can't help but ask, "Are you mad?"

She shakes her head slowly, "No. I appreciate you being honest with me. Parents try to fix their kids up all the time don't they? I mean, this is definitely a first for me, but why would I be mad at you about it? It's not like you saw me somewhere and went to your dad and asked him to get the ball rolling for you."

"Ha! No. That is definitely not how this happened, and to be honest, this is totally uncharted territory for me. Marcus has never let me date before, let alone encouraged it, and I am not saying I want to date you, I just.. Wait, that is not what I am not saying. Wait. Oh my God, what am I trying to say…"

Tris is laughing at me with her eyes and I can feel my ears turning red, perfect!

"I have no idea what you are trying to say, Four. You aren't using many words. What kind of newspaper writer are you anyway?" She teases me.

"No. Really, I am just digging myself a hole here. What I want to say is that I like you, but we only met yesterday. Both our dads are playing matchmaker, and I know that they have ulterior motives. I thought it was only fair that you knew too. Then we can both decide if we want to be friends, or maybe more than friends. No tricks, no schemes, no secrets. That is what I wanted to say." I finish and silently wish that I had found a smoother way to tell her.

"Thank you. I agree with you." Tris says simply and then turns to get out of the car.

I am dumbfounded, "That's it?"

She raises her eyebrows and I notice that she has on eyeliner today. Maybe she wore it yesterday too, but I didn't notice. It makes her pale grey eyes stand out as I search them for meaning between her words, "Yes, that's it. Our dads can want whatever they want. It doesn't have to influence our decision. I only met you yesterday. You seem like a nice guy, you have certainly been nice to me, but I don't want to rush into anything or go too fast. So, we go to dinner with our dads, and we carpool, and get to know each other better. Then we will just see."

Tris POV

About thirty minutes later we are both seated in Spanish class. Four leans forward and taps Shauna on her shoulder and suggests that she introduce me to some of the girls on the team before tryouts. Shauna turns to me and her eyes light up a little bit, "You play soccer?! Why didn't you say something yesterday?"

"Er, well, I had no idea until just now that you were on the team. Four didn't tell me. I will definitely be there for tryouts tomorrow. Any tips will be greatly appreciated, I know there will be a lot of competition."

"Don't sweat it. If you are halfway decent you will make the team. If you are good, you will get play time. What position do you like?"

I didn't have a chance to answer, because La Professora started class and we were only allowed to habla for the next hour. When class is over and we are waiting to file out of the classroom and enter the flow of kids in the hallway, Shauna punches Four in the shoulder, not so softly. He feigns injury and rubs his arm saying, "Hey! What was that for?"

Shauna just smirks and says, "For holding out on me. You had three classes with me yesterday and didn't say a word about Tris being a player."

"In my defense, One: I didn't know until yesterday after school, and two: you hit like a girl!" He smiles at Shauna's shocked expression then he darts off between kids in the hall and disappears. Shauna and I stand there for just a moment staring after him, then she turns to me and says, "That was weird."

"What do you mean, why was that weird? He's just being silly." I ask.

"You haven't known Four as long as I have, Tris. Four is never like that. He doesn't joke and tease unless he is playing off of Zeke and Uriah. He rarely smiles, and I have never seen him be silly or flirt. EVER."

"Flirt?" I do a double take, thinking back to our conversation in the car. Was Four flirting with Shauna? I thought he was supposed to like me.

The rest of the day passes in a blur of classes and faces that I am still trying to match up with the names. At lunch Shauna introduced me to three friends of hers from the soccer team, Marlene I already met yesterday in English class, and Lauren and Tonya: the two captains from last year. They're all in that TZR sorority with her and so is Christina. Christina is friends with Uriah and Will, but she seems a little cold to me. I can't really put my finger on why, but I just feel like she doesn't like me for some reason.

In art class, Al sits at my table again. The teacher gives an assignment to mix paint into custom non primary colors and match them to something in the room. It is an art studio, so there are plenty of options. I choose my lime green backpack, my grey converse, and the navy blue stripe on Al's shirt. He chooses the orange formica table top, the light blue color of the walls and the purple backdrop on the teacher's bulletin board. The hour passes quickly, and I am happy that it is simple and easy. Al is easy to talk to, and easy to sit with and not talk. I am just starting to pack up my backpack before the bell when Al gets my attention, "Tris, I know you're new. Do you think maybe you'd like to go see a movie this weekend? With me?"

Oh shoot, he just asked me out. What is going on today? First Four and now Al, I was never this popular back in Colfax! I want to think about my answer, but I can't take too long or it will look like I am stalling. I am not particularly attracted to Al, but I don't want to hurt his feelings or alienate someone on my second day of school. I don't particularly want to lie to him, but I think it may be my best option to let him down easy, "I'm sorry, Al. I am going to be out of town this weekend. I am going back home to visit my mom for the weekend. She didn't move with us because she is finishing up her nursing degree." There, that was simple and could be true.

His face falls at first and then clears up as I get further into my excuse, "Oh, ok. Well maybe next weekend?"

Shoot, I wasn't decisive enough, "Yeah, maybe we could all go."

"All?"

"Yeah, everyone from the lunch table? I'd like to hang out with everyone. I hear the new Avengers movie is supposed to be terrible. I can't wait to see it."

He looks confused, and a little deflated, but he says that sounds like fun. I hope that I have managed to get my message across without burning any bridges. The fact is, I am new here, and I don't have any close friends yet. I don't want to turn him against me, but I also don't want to get sucked into a date because I didn't want to hurt a boy's feelings.

Saved by the bell, and I am off to Anatomy. Phew!

I walk in and drop my bag next to Will at the lab table. Anatomy is in the same classroom I have for Biology. Instead of desks, there are two-person lab tables with a sink between every two tables. Will and I sit at the adjoining ends of adjacent tables. He has an empty seat and then the sink to his right. The space to my left is open. Will launches into a story about a dissection that he heard we get to do later this semester in Biology and I hear a familiar voice at the front of the room. I turn my head to see Four handing a slip of paper to the Anatomy teacher. I wonder what he is doing here, and I must have said it out loud, because Will glances up and says, "Oh, how do you know Four?"

"I have Spanish 2 with him and he is my ride to and from school. Our dad's work together. How do you know him?"

"We are on the baseball team together, and I know him from the newspaper."

'You play baseball? I thought Christina said you were on the swim and dive team."

"I do both. They don't overlap seasons so I didn't have to pick. I like swimming better, but there is only so much time a man can spend in a Speedo, you know?"

I laugh, because, well...no, I don't know anything about Speedos, "Actually, I don't. I am not a great swimmer myself. I mean, I can swim, but it's more of a survival flounder than anything for speed."

"Huh, I can't imagine. I grew up in Georgia on the coast, and my mom says she had me in water-babies before I could even walk. I've never not known how to swim. It's too bad the community pools will be closing soon, I could teach you how to swim."

Just at that moment, Four sits down on the other side of the sink from Will and he overhears Will offering to teach me to swim. The corners of his mouth turn up into an almost smile and I know he was listening. I start to blush, for no good reason and I am saved from having to answer because Will turns his attention to Four to say hello.

After the bell rings, Four takes his time packing up his backpack, and I go to my locker. I need to swap out books and grab my lunch bag before heading out to the parking lot. I beat him to the car and fish out my phone to kill a few minutes scrolling facebook for news. One of my friends from home, Susan, has posted a group photo of our old teammates and I feel a twinge of homesickness. All their lives have continued on exactly the path they were on last year, and mine is totally different. I am in an alien world, and suddenly I think that maybe I do want to go visit my mom this weekend. It's been a month since I have seen her in person, and I am sure that Gram and Pop won't mind if I come down to visit. I am thinking about logistics when I hear the jeep horn beep as Four unlocks it from about thirty feet away.

I put my phone away in my backpack and open the back door to put my bag on the floor. I am hit with a wave of superheated air from inside the car and it makes me take a step back. By now, Four is on the driver's side dropping his bag on the seat and he warns me that the leather seats will be hot when I sit down. I frown for a moment, wondering why they weren't hot yesterday. Four must have guessed my train of thoughts because he picks up the reflective heat barrier shield thing and mentions he forgot to put it in the windshield this morning when we parked.

Ah, that makes sense then. We ride in silence towards our neighborhood. I don't want it to be weird at dinner tonight, so I wonder how I can clear the air before he has to leave me at my house in just a few minutes. I can't think of a way to ease into the topic so I just say it plainly, "I don't want things at dinner to be weird."

He looks over at me as he eases up to the gate to wait for the automatic arm to raise and let us in. "Why would it be weird?"

"I don't know. Ever since you said what you did this morning I feel like you've been different today."

"I assure you, if anyone is going to make it weird tonight, it will be Marcus."

"Why do you call your dad, Marcus?"

"I don't call him that to his face. I usually address him as Sir, or occasionally as Dad. Marcus is very strict, and our relationship is very formal. A lot of time it feels like he is a commanding officer or a boss instead of a father. I rarely slip and call him Marcus out loud though, I didn't catch myself this afternoon."

"You've done it twice now with me. I didn't think much about it this morning, I was too distracted by the news my dad is moonlighting as a yenta."

"What is a 'yenta'?"

"It's from Fiddler on the Roof"

He just stares at me, blankly. "You've never seen 'Fiddler on the Roof'?"

Four just shakes his head as he pulls up in front of my house, "Nope. I have no idea what you are even talking about."

"Well, that is going on your list then."

"Ha, my list. My list of what?

"The list of movies you have to watch of course. Thanks for the ride, I'll see you later at dinner"