Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent.
"Okay, settle down initiates!" A voice boomed over the whispered, giddy chatter coming from everyone who occupied the wide, dark hallway. "I said settle down!" The voice roared again, this time capturing everyone's attention. Everyone turned around to face him, silent except for the occasional shuffle of feet.
"Now that I have finally got your undying attention," the man begins dryly. "I am Amar and this is George for those of you who don't already know. We are going to be your instructors. Transfers with me and others with George."
We wait silently until George and the Dauntless born initiates are gone for Amar to speak.
"Okay transfers, I'm Amar incase you happened to miss it the first time round." He grinned widely, surprising the majority of us, since he had started out with a scary, disapproving look on his face. "Why do you all look so shocked? I am capable of smiling. I'm not the big bad Dauntless wolf. I leave that to the leaders." Some of us laughed along, relived.
Tobias nudged me with his elbow. "I like him already," he mouthed.
"Me too." I whispered in reply.
"Okay then, let's give you the official tour of the Dauntless compound." Amar smiled, leading the way.
. . .
"Okay, this is the Chasm. Anyone want to have a swing off the side of it? If you do just tell me beforehand so I can make funeral arrangements. Anyone get the point there? Yes that's right, no hanging off the chasm or doing anything irresponsible, because ninety nine percent of the time you fall and die." Amar said all of this cheerfully, as if he were giving a lecture on how to take care of kittens and not a lecture on what not to do if you want to survive.
He lead us down another hallway and out into a massive room filled with hundreds of people. "And this is the centre of life for us Dauntless - and you too if you survive initiation - the Pit. It's a great name right?" Amar laughed. "I know, it's a little daunting." Everyone laughed. Even I found myself catching on to his infectious, sunny behaviour. Maybe not everyone in Dauntless was that bad...maybe I could pass as a true Dauntless and not a person who got Erudite through and through in their aptitude test...
"And finally we have your sleeping quarters? Plush right?" Amar was smiling again, and since he had worn the same smile for the last hour, I couldn't figure out if he was joking or not. The room was small, with eleven beds pushed together and small lockers crammed into every spare space. If this was their definition of plush, I didn't want to see their trashed.
"I'm joking guys, this is pretty bad - but it's only for ten weeks." Amar shook his head in pity. "If you like this though, you are going to absolutely love the bathroom." I decided that there was no way that I wanted to see the bathroom. I felt kind of bad for Tobias though - he was from Abnegation, where modesty was pretty much crucial. How were we going to survive ten weeks in this dump?
"Okay, well that is pretty much it for the tour." Amar grinned. "Get changed into the clothes provided for you over there." He pointed to the end of the room where there was a big stack of black clothes. "And then come down to the dining hall. Hopefully you remember where that is." He chuckled to himself. "And I will see you all tomorrow morning for training."
. . .
Tobias and I were in matching black jeans and jackets. Well... pretty much everyone was in matching black jeans and jackets. We were getting ready to go down to the dining hall, which I had helpfully remembered since Tobias forgot.
"I can't believe I forgot where the dining hall was." Tobias groaned. "It is like... the only important place here and I forgot how to get to it." Tobias, like many others, thought that food was the most important thing in the world.
"Isn't eating like... selfish?" I asked amused.
"Yes and so is breathing..." Tobias muttered. "No, as you probably already know because you are a know-it-all Erudite, in this wonderful place called Abnegation, we only eat plain, almost tasteless food. I am looking forward to having something tasteful again." Tobias sighed.
"Again?" I ask despite trying to ignore my inner inquisitiveness. This is only for conversation Eric, you're not an Erudite and you know it.
"My mom..." Tobias muttered. "Before she died, on my birthday she used to sneak a square of chocolate how for me, providing my dad wasn't there." Tobias looked away and I didn't press the matter.
"So are we going to get some good food or what?" I asked, trying my hand at cheerfulness.
"Of course, I'm starving." Tobias gasped. "Can you not hear my stomach eating itself?"
"Let's get going then." I suggested, amused at Tobias' mood swings.
We were just about to leave when...
"Darn it!" I heard someone scream in frustration. "Why am I back here."
Mai was at the door, looking as if she wanted to destroy something.
"Hey Amity!" Someone called from the other side of the room. "Aren't you supposed to be all peaceful?" He and his buddies laughed.
"Cute," she called back. "You actually think that you are funny." She stomped into the room and I could hear her muttering words like "idiot" and "asshole" under her breath.
"Hey Mai, wait up!" Tobias shouted after her. "What's wrong?" I nearly groaned in frustration. Why, oh why, did he have to take an interest in the Amity girl?
"What's wrong? I am absolutely starving and I can't find the frigging dining hall!" She huffed, arms folded tightly across her chest. I hated to admit it but... she looked kind of cute... No Eric, she looks horrible, ugly, stupid!
"That's okay, I can't remember how to get there either but Eric does." He replied smiling. "We can all go together." He slipped his hand into hers. I felt myself become filled with rage and jealousy. How dare he touch her, how dare he hold her hand. I couldn't quite grasp why I was feeling jealous - I did not, under any circumstances, like her. She was a stupid Amity who should have stayed away from Dauntless. And Tobias? He was just as bad.
So I stormed out of the room, eager to clear to my head and leave the two people, that I had only known for a few hours, and I was already getting too attached with, behind me.
"Eric!" Tobias called. "Eric! Where are you going!" But I ignored his pleas and left them behind. Still holding hands, and still being nice.
. . .
I sat at the dining table, sitting down on the first free seat in sight. I ended up sitting beside Amar and some of the Dauntless born initiates.
"Hey, it's Ethan right?" One of the guys asked, I recognised him as Zeke, the first jumper.
"Eric," I corrected.
"Oh right... you up for a welcoming initiation - Dauntless style, after dinner tonight?" He grinned mysteriously.
"Yeah sure." I answered, I would look like a coward if I said no.
"Great, come with us after dinner then - it's going to be great fun. Bring some friends if you want." Zeke smiled. Then he leaned across the table to a girl picking at some bread. "Are you coming Shauna?"
"I don't know Zeke..." She answered nervously.
"Aww, come on. It will be fun, besides I need you to make sure that none of the guys decide to rig my harness and kill me." He grinned. "A lot of jealously going around since I was the first jumper." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "And you were the one that made me go first and cheered me on, so it will be aaaaaaaall your fault and you'll never get to see my handsome face again and-"
"Okay, okay, for the love of God. If I say yes will you shut the hell up?" She sighed exasperatedly.
"Why yes, I believe that that can be included in the deal." Zeke smirked at her.
"Good." She went back to picking at her bread.
"Michael my man," he turned to the boy beside Shauna. "Swap with me, my girlfriend needs cheering up so that she can be enthusiastic for tonight." He grinned.
"Whatever Zeke..." He mumbled, getting off his seat and placing himself next to me. "Hey..." He muttered over to me.
"Hi." I replied, picking up a burger and stuffing it into my mouth, showing that I was not looking to start a conversation but was indeed listening to Shauna and Zeke's one.
"What would Lynn think if you didn't do this at least once?" Zeke grinned, tickling Shauna.
"Stop Zeke." She laughed. "My baby sister has way too much control over my life. She is trying to convince me to buzz cut my hair so that she doesn't feel so out of place when she does hers."
"Really? Well I think that would look beautiful on you - everything seems to look great on you. Uriah is trying to convince me to get a tattoo of his name of my neck. I think not right?" He laughed.
I tuned out of the conversation bored, they were talking about their little sisters and brothers, who were still with them. Lucy was still stuck in the Erudite headquarters until she transferred to Candor in a few years. I would never see her again.
"Hey! Hey Ethan! Are you coming or what?" I was instantly pulled out of my thoughts by Zeke waving his hand across my face.
"It's Eric." I bit back a growl, what was wrong with this guy?
"Sorry," he shrugged. "It's just Eric is a hard name to remember." I tried not to glare at him. One day everyone would remember my name. In a Dauntless way, whichever that was, and not an Erudite way, which included inventing or discovering something.
I would be a true Dauntless. I will.