Feeling much fresher and certainly less gross I pulled the soft fabric over my head, once again pulling my dark hair into a ponytail, if this morning was anything to go by the least I need is my hair getting in my way. The boy's, already ready, were now resorting to arm wrestling each other over my bed. The other initiates where still getting ready, some getting changed, and others still stepping out of the shower.
"Ready?" Quinn asked as I finished tying up my laces giving her a nod. The quicker we get there the better the impression we make.
"Let's go!" Mike grinned as Artie rubbed his arm aggressively his ego clearly knocked.
"You can't take your elbow off the bed" He grumbled as Quinn shot me a knowing look her hair still damp from the shower.
"Here let me get that" I gestured, holding up the towel to Quinn who's top now seemed slightly damp as the drops fell on her shoulder.
"Thanks" I stepped behind her wrapping the ends of her now darkened hair in the towel and squeezed vigorously, taking as much moisture out of the ends as possible. "I would've dried it if we had more time; I got held up in the shower. I don't know about you but if stepping out of that water after that run isn't bravery I don't know what is"
Trying not to laugh I shoved her in the shoulder slightly heading towards the door. Artie and Mike following closely behind still arguing quietly between them.
We got to the training room relatively quickly seemingly the first to arrive, seeing as though we were the first to leave the dorms. Sam still with Jordyn presumably, they're practically inseparable.
"Where are the rest of you?" B asked as soon as we had approached the table set out in front of her, now full with guns.
"On their way" Mike confirmed "we're going to use those?"
"No, you're going to paint a picture of them" she glared back and I stifled a laugh, that didn't go unnoticed by the blonde who's eyes skated over to me.
"Here, this one's for you" stepping forward I placed a tentative hand on the handle of the gun in front of me pulling it up but underestimating the weight of it, as I quickly pulled the my other hand under the barrel to support the weight. "And the rest of you any one on the table will do" wondering why I had to have a different one I raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "You're the only leftie" I nodded slowly still not understanding why that made a difference. "Your Safety catch and bolt handle are on the left side. It makes it easier than having to adjust to your right" I still had no idea but to avoid sounding stupid I settled for an enlightened response.
"Oh, thanks"
"First you want to learn how to hold it correctly, holding it with a proper grip is crucial in making sure you don't do yourself some serious injury or others..." B uttered, now wondering between us holding her own as our eyes stayed trained to her movements, although my gaze never ventured higher than it needed to. Avoiding eye contact with her is essential to not making a fool out of myself. "It allows you to keep it in control, improves your shooting and will probably make sure you don't hit yourself in the face. Understand?"
We all nodded awaiting the next instructions as the rest entered the room. "Pick one up and follow carefully" She Instructed to the rest who did so swiftly, Noah making it his mission to stand on my foot on his way past with all of his weight, grimacing slightly at the shooting pain all I could do was glare at the back of his head as he fell into place next to Bree and Morgan. "First of all, there is a safety leaver on the Right hand side of the Gun directly above the trigger. At the moment this is engaged meaning it's pushed towards the sky or upright whatever you want, just make sure it stays this way when you're not on the range." I glanced to the left hand side of my gun, noting the safety was in fact upright.
"First of all you want to grab the fore front of the rifle with your weaker hand, and your stronger hand on the pistol grip just behind the trigger with your index finger held just outside of the trigger guard" B waited as everyone pulled the gun into position. I noticed Artie and Mike already had the stance and grip down, presumably an Erudite thing, they'd probably read more books on it than I care to know. "Make sure when not shooting you hold the gun barrel down, and safety on. I don't want to have to clean up any accidental deaths." Now everyone was holding their guns correctly B wondered between us correcting small details and giving better posture advice on how to keep our weight distributed evenly to give better stability. The blonde lightly stepped behind me reaching over slightly as I felt her body brush mine, readjusting the 'stock' as she called it against my left shoulder.
"Don't put all your balance on one foot it'll make it harder for yourself, but good work" I exhaled the breath I was holding as she once again stood to the side of us all.
"Now these guns aren't loaded at the moment but you're going to need to learn how to do that before we go up onto the roof. I've already put all the bullets in the magazines that are on the table so you're going to need to replace your empty ones with these full ones. If you look at the front of the trigger guard there is a small latch. You should hold your gun, pointing away from everyone, with your weaker hand again at the forefront and use your right hand to grip the magazine, you can then use your thumb to compress this latch and detach the empty magazine. Once you've managed this I want you to hook the empty magazine back into place until you hear it click." Once everyone had successfully managed this B called us up one at a time "San, you first come here"
Doing as she instructed making sure to keep my gun facing towards the ground I approached the table where the magazines lay full. "Don't load it yet, I want you to do that on the roof, just take a magazine and a pack of bullets and head over to the door at the far back, there's stairs, keep going till you see a door and that'll take you to the range up top"
"Quinn" I heard B call as I followed her instructions emerging onto the roof top the light so bright I needed a few seconds for my eyes to adjust properly, it wasn't long until we were all arranged on the roof in a line behind sand bags facing bright orange body shaped targets approximately 30 metres away.
"Now you can all load your full magazines" the blonde shouted. "When you've done so, you need to keep the gun in the position you held earlier and pull the bolt to the right hand side back towards you. Push the safety leaver down and when you're ready, look down the sight at the end of your gun and squeeze the trigger. Like this"
The swiftness she loaded and fired her gun was almost graceful, the precision being marked by 3 bullet holes one in her target's head and two to the chest. She was intimidating in her words but she sure had the capabilities to back it up. "You won't leave this roof top till I think you're good enough and I assure you, if you can't hit the target that makes you a target. Don't be a target" B's words were softly spoken yet I'm sure I even seen Noah flinch as she walked close behind him waiting for him to shoot. He didn't disappoint, with his first shot piercing the dummy in the left arm.
Shots started to emit from every initiates gun, some missing while others were successful, clicking the loaded magazine into place and pulling the bolt on the left hand side towards me I raised the stock to my shoulder, staring straight down the sight at the end, my finger gently pressing against the cold metal of the trigger slowly, squeezing the trigger just as she had showed, I felt the gun recoil back into my shoulder forcefully throwing my aim of balance and the trace of the bullet nowhere to be seen. It took me another 3 shots to become accustomed to this recoil, now aware of the motion and force of the gun I stared down the barrel again this time adjusting my weight accordingly holding the gun as steady as possible and squeezed the trigger this time hearing the loud bang followed by the thud of it hitting its target leaving a hole in the stomach area of the dummy.
"You know you're not too great at this San" Mike grinned, his target scattered with marks already, highlighting his competence and ability while mine lacked something to be desired. Bullet holes to be exact.
"You think?" I grumbled sarcastically, while yet again another of my shots hit the wall behind instead of its target.
"I think Amity might have a better shot" Right of course, peace lovers who probably throw up at the sight of guns would have a better shot than me. Glancing over at Jordyn to in fact see if he did I found his target scattered with bullet holes, Sam's not far off his as well.
"Keep talking and we'll see if a live target is better suited for me" Mike only laughed at my playful threat while I steadied myself for another shot.
We continued like this for 10 minutes, some targets more noticeably destroyed than others, Mikes, Arties and Noah's to be precise. Everyone else had hit it plenty though, except me.
"Right, those who I think don't need any more practice for today can leave now and take some free time before lunch. Noah, Mike, books, Jordyn, Bree and Sam you can all leave after you've disengaged your guns and emptied your magazines" I felt anger sweep over me, not at the others but more at myself, I look weak, I look pathetic compared to the others, my target barely hit in comparison and only a sore shoulder to account for my efforts was embarrassing.
"Look you're just not adjusting your body correctly; it's throwing your aim. Hold your gun steady even when the recoil kicks back be expecting it and account for it. The best way you can do that is with your body positioning. Try again"
Loading a bullet into the chamber, I propped the gun against my shoulder aiming directly for the target's head I pressed the trigger swiftly, keeping my eyes on the target instead of blinking. Expecting some form of congratulations I was instead met with the back of B's head as she walked towards Quinn. Needless to say my next 10 shots all found their target.
"Right the rest of you can go, but I want to see an improvement next session" Ignoring the clearing to leave I carried on shooting the target.
"San you coming?" Quinn asked from somewhere behind me.
"No, I want to carry on a little longer; I'll catch you at lunch!" I shouted over the sound of my gun as everyone else left the roof top.
"Ok, see you later"
I could almost feel her blue eyes on me; the thought left me nervous at the close inspection and yet thrilled at the opportunity to impress the blonde. I don't know why I want to impress her so badly, maybe it's because I want to prove to myself I belong here at Dauntless and what better way to do that than proving it to the bravest Dauntless here. Or maybe it's her tough demeanour, her piercing eyes and words that spur me to be better. All I know is I can't fight the small smile emerging at I hit the target square in the head for the 6 shot in a row, not even the pain in my shoulder would stop me.
"Whoa tiger, easy, wouldn't want to go damaging my target now would we" B chuckled as the pressure on my trigger released and I pushed the safety up on my gun. Unclipping the magazine and pulling the bolt back as no bullet fell out. Leaving the gun safe to place on the table to my left. "You can go now, better though S"
Raising an eyebrow at the abbreviation of my already abbreviated name I grinned slowly, shaking my head and choosing to not mention it, firstly I liked how she felt comfortable doing that and mentioning it would only make her conscious to not do it next time. "Don't you need help carrying all these down to the training room?"
Her laughing stopped instantly and her expression was replaced with her vacant stare she carries around the compound "Are you saying I'm not capable of carrying some guns?" she uttered and I immediately regretted asking. It's lucky I'm tanned otherwise I'd be as red as Quinn during this morning's run.
"N-no I just thought you might want some help?" I shrugged looking anywhere apart from at the blonde.
"I'm kidding San" The blonde chuckled lowly as I glanced upwards relief spreading over me. "Get as many as you can and I'll grab the rest"
"You're really intimidating sometimes you know that?" I tried, shaking my head disbelievingly as I checked the guns were safe before grabbing five, determined to carry the same amount as her, as I headed down the stairs not waiting for a reply, nor wanting to hear it.
"I am what I am, I don't mean to scare you San" B snickered from behind me as I focused on putting one step in front of the other not wanting to fall. It's hard to believe this B Is the one who barks orders at everyone with a stare that could kill and stay's quiet when not doing so.
"You don't scare me" I frowned placing the guns on the table in the training room where they first began.
"What about now?" B practically whispered as I literally stared down the barrel of her gun. It didn't scare me one bit, it's her, and she wouldn't shoot me, if anything it thrilled me.
"Would it dent your ego if I still said no" I grinned as she shook her head slowly placing the gun on the table.
"Careful S" not quite sure why she's telling me to be careful I nodded compliantly, twisting my fingers together in front of me, she's still my trainer, still my superior, I can't get above my place. I have my friends, I'm sure B has hers. "Lunch is usually about now" she stated diffusing the tension in the room as she glanced at her watch "come on"
"Do they have Burgers?" my eyes widened as I fell in to step next to her.
"If you seriously get that tattooed on you I'll personally remove it with my knife" she grinned as I smiled back, so she was listening. "You need to be careful around Puck by the way, I've seen boys like him before and trust me he'll stop at nothing to make it here."
"Puck? Oh you mean Noah? He's a dick anyway."
"I guess Noah was his name before, all he told us was Puck. Regardless be careful around him" I nodded and we fell into step walking slowly towards the eating hall until B once again broke the silence. "You're not just called San right?"
"And you're not just called B?" I smirked feeling more at ease in the blonde's presence only receiving an amused smile.
"Santana Lopez" I answered her curiosity knowing she wouldn't answer mine, but it doesn't matter. It's just nice to know someone cares enough to want to know instead of walking straight past me, overlooking me.
"Sounds exotic" she laughed. "It's nice, why San?" I felt my cheeks warm slightly as we approached the eating halls doors wondering now if she would blank me.
"I don't know, I just thought I could be remade here you know, change my life completely starting with my name"
"It makes sense. I prefer Santana though." B stated simply as we walked between the tables and I'm sure my smile beamed brighter than the Candors robes. I hovered slightly behind the bench that she had just taken a seat on. "Are you just going to stand there Lopez or are you going to sit down" Taking a seat next to my trainer, next to her friends made me feel out of place, completely. How I made it here I don't know, but at least Quinn and Mike where only sat 5 spaces down.
"San" Cass smiled at me from across the table and I glanced up from my lap, returning her smile. She was sat next to a much older looking Dauntless who had more piercings than B had mood swings. "Blake this is San, first jumper" I must have blushed as he stuck his hand across the table and I shook it gently.
"There is much worst things you can be remembered for believe me" He muttered and leant back to Cass who was chuckling quietly to herself before she gripped his hand between their plates. My relationship experience or rather lack off was embarrassing as I envied the ease of the action but also intrigued to watch the way they interact with such carefree nature, not confined by rules. Growing up in abnegation meant forms of affection came few and far between after the age of 12; in fact the only boy's I've ever hugged were my father and Sam. I had not the faintest idea of how relationships here worked but I'm fairly sure it was anything goes based on the rest of their protocols. In fact I swear I saw two people pressed so close together by the chasm they practically blended into one.
"What? Like pissing yourself during the fall?" B grinned shaking her head and my eyes widened. He couldn't off.
"We're not all brave like you B" Blake uttered shaking his head with embarrassment as I felt a nudge to my side. Glancing to the blonde to see what she wanted my attention for, I found her gaze still focused on Blake as they bickered between one another, yet the pressure of her arm was still lightly pressing against my side. I felt hot, I felt practically dizzy yet a part of me wanted to move closer. My inner turmoil oblivious to those around me as I took my attention to the food in front of me and began to eat quietly.
"Everyone's got their fears Blakey no need to get upset about it" B mocked and I smiled into the sandwich I was currently using to occupy my nerves.
"Yeah B's weaknesses tend to come in the form of brunette girls" Cass retorted as they both laughed. Wait I'm brunette...B isn't scared of me is she? "San you've already got an advantage" Cass grinned across the table at me.
"Ignore them" B muttered to me as I nodded compliantly as the blonde shot Cass a look that could kill. "I hate you sometimes, and no before you get any wise ideas it's most definitely not like that and I can assure you , it never will be, now shut up and eat" B growled, as I felt relieved that the subject of the conversation was not me. Feeling nervous and slightly out of place I glanced to my left finding Quinn's eyes who was presumably laughing at something Artie had just said. I wanted to be over there with them, where I can actually speak without being afraid of messing up a couple of word in a sentence, I felt on edge over here and Quinn could probably tell as she beckoned me over with a nod of her head. Before I could even excuse myself to move I felt more pressure against my side and leg, that almost burned with heat as B yet again moved closer to me, looking up once more her gaze this time directed at me. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have too. I could tell she wanted me to stay here, or rather I hoped that was what her actions were indicating, and so I did. I loved her being this close to me. It made me feel nervous for reasons I can't quite comprehend, and yet more relaxed than I'd ever been in my life. I smiled as I looked down at my plate, something about her letting me sit next to her, her being so close to me, made me feel special and it was a feeling i didn't want to end. Feeling suddenly bolder i shifted slightly to my right my thigh now pressed against B's leg. I could feel her eyes on me as i glanced up receiving only a trace of a smirk that elicited a thousand explosions in my stomach and a warmth that spread across my body leaving me helpless to everything about her. I don't know what Cass was referring to earlier, but i think blondes that go by the name of B might just be my weakness as well.