After I'm done roughhousing with Zeke, I go buy some more pop tarts and, while eating one, go to Lynn's room. Before I enter I hear two words coming from Marlene – "Uriah" and "party". I figure they're talking about the lame Candor Festival, so I let myself in and both Lynn and Marlene flinch.
"Hey girls." I say, popping the rest of the pop tart in my mouth.
"Oh, hey. Can you answer a question for me without asking any return questions?" Lynn interrogated.
"Err, OK. What is it?"
"I said no return questions!"
"Alright, alright."
"Did you hear anything before you came in?"
"I heard 'Uriah' and 'party'. So you were either talking about my comment on the Candor Festival or complimenting me because I'm a party animal."
"Okay. So what's up?"
"Zeke was acting strange. If he really took my last pop tart, he would either not tell me or not be trying to hide it. Instead, he was all protective."
"I wonder why." (Authors Note: That's an inside joke for me and my friend.)
"Uriah, this is kind of private, could you leave?" Marlene pleads.
"No prob, sweetcheeks."
"What did you call me?"
"That is just not working out for me today." I say as I leave the room and go back to my room to store the pop tarts. "Hey, I'm going to the Pit." I say directed at Zeke.
"NO! I mean, you can't."
"And just why not?"
"It's being, uh, renovated. It's dangerous to be down there."
"Last time I checked you were Dauntless. What happened?"
"Just don't go down there okay? Remember your trainer – there's a difference between bravery and stupidity."
"OK, whatever. I'll go see if Lynn and Marlene are done." As I walk out the door, Marlene is walking in. "Wassap, I was just gonna go see you. What is it?"
"Oh, I was just going to tell Zeke that the coast is clear, the COAST IS CLEAR!" OK, obviously it's something serious.
"What's clear?"
"Zeke was going to go the fear landscape room. And you know, he needed to make sure nobody was there. By the way, do you want to go to the Pit?"
"Aren't they renovating?"
"They just finished, let's go!" Marlene yanks my wrist and I follow her down to the Pit. Once I enter, I hear a chorus of uneven notes. I make out the words as "surprise Uriah". Once they're done, one end of the banner that says "Happy Birthday Yuriah" unclips and falls. Whoever did the banner must have failed spelling. Wait. It's my birthday? I never really put thought to my birthday, since all the time my parents either forgot about it or they couldn't afford to get cake or presents or a party. I manage to get some words out.
"This… is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen… I LOVE YOU GUYS!" I immediately run over to the Dauntless Cake. Make that cakes. Someone was smart enough to make 2, since they know I'd eat at least half of one. Assuming one is just for me, I take a huge bite out of the cake whole. "Bess pawwy eva." I grumble over the pieces of cake in my mouth. I scan the room to see who is here. Marlene, Lynn, Zeke, Will, Christina, Shauna, Lauren, Tris, and Four. So this is what they were hiding! I look to my right and see a table with presents. "YEAHUH!" My friends know me better than to add cards. They know I wouldn't read them. But that's why they love me, right? Let's see… I got some notes. From Christina: "The cakes are your present!" I didn't know she could bake. From Zeke: "You didn't expect me to get you something, right?" From Marlene: "You'll see." And a smiley face. I wonder what that means. I also got a new pistol from Four, a darts thrower from Lynn, and a picture of Jeanine Matthews from Tris. I guess the picture is supposed to go on the darts board. "You guys are awesome! Now let's hit the dance floor!" Someone put colored plastic cups on showcase lights to light up the dance floor, and someone else put on a playlist of awesome music. After raging on the dance floor for a while, someone started a game of truth or dare. Shauna and Zeke decided to be spectators while the rest of us play. The rule was, whenever you decided to skip a truth or dare you had to take off an article of clothing. Now it's a real party.