Shauna is at Zeke's apartment when I arrive. I hand him the bowl of questions and we grin at each other like conspirators. Shauna looks back and forth between us, and when we refuse to explain, she mutters something about going home for some more layers. We just laugh and continue setting out snacks and drinks for our friends.
Tobias is the next to arrive, which does not surprise me at all. The Abnegation are very serious about punctuality. Being late is a form of disrespect and is considered very selfish because it means that you are wasting another person's time. It is typical of the Abnegation to arrive five minutes early for everything - even earlier if the host is a good friend who might be able to use some help. The Dauntless rarely recognize Tobias' Abnegation traits, but I do, and I love their familiarity and dependability.
Uriah arrives next, and Lynn and Marlene come a few minutes later. Will and Christina are the last to arrive as he had to wait for her to get off work and change clothes before they came over to Zeke's. Once the group is assembled, Zeke hands out shot glasses and fills each one with a golden liquid.
"Initiation is over, kids," he begins. "You're full-fledged Dauntless now! Drink up!"
We toss back the shots, and the liquid burns its way down my throat, making me cough. Tobias pats me on the back as the others smirk at me.
"Your first alcohol, Tris?" asks Uriah.
I nod and swipe at the tears that gathered when I coughed. We laugh, and when the attention is off me, Tobias leans over and speaks softly, close to my ear.
"You might want to be careful. Alcohol's effects are different based on how much you weigh and how much experience you have drinking. You don't have either, so it won't take much to get you drunk."
I nod, and turn to look at Zeke, who is grinning at the closeness between Tobias and me. I blush. I don't know how much longer Tobias and I will be able to keep our relationship quiet. Now that initiation is over we don't really need to, but neither of us really want the scrutiny or attention on our personal lives.
"Zeke, my friend," I call as I step away from Tobias and toward the ancient sofa in Zeke's living space, "would you like to share with everyone what we'll be playing tonight?"
"Of course, my friend," says Zeke in a playfully formal tone. "This evening we will be playing an expanded version of Candor or Dauntless."
Shauna cuts in with a wary tone. "Zeke, what are you doing to us?"
Zeke feigns insult and raises his hands in surrender. "It's not me, I swear! This is Trissy's idea!"
"I swear to god, Zeke, if you call me Trissy again you will be my personal target for the entire game!" I declare through gritted teeth.
Zeke pretends to protect his crotch from attack and laughs.
"OK, everyone, take your seats and I'll explain," he says. "We will be playing Candor or Dauntless," he pauses for effect, "or Abnegation, or Amity, or Erudite."
Everyone looks around, confused. Zeke and I must grin a little too big, because they start to look genuinely afraid.
"So, uh, what happens if I pick, say, Abnegation?" asks Christina.
"If you pick Abnegation you have to do an act of service for the person asking the question," I explain. "And if you pick Amity, you have to do something affectionate or artistic, like singing a song or hugging someone you hate. If you pick Erudite, we have a bucket of intellectual questions, and the person asking will pick one of those for you. As always, if you refuse to do something or are unable to correctly complete it, you have to take off an article of clothing."
At the end of my explanation everyone is looking more comfortable, and I see a few sly smiles on the transfers' faces. Will, in particular, looks confidant. I pick him to go first.
"Will, which faction would you like?"
Will grins at me. "Let's see if I can still handle Erudite."
I grab a question from the plastic bucket and open it up.
"Will," I begin, "when was gunpowder invented, and where?"
"I know it was on the other side of the world," he says, a thoughtful look on his face, "in a place called China. But when? Um, let's see… I'm going to say about 700 CE."
He looks at me with a hopeful face.
"Nope, but close," I say. "It was China, but it was the 9th Century, so the 800s CE."
Will makes a growling noise and throws his jacket into the middle of the room.
"Uriah," says Will, "what faction do you want?"
Uriah grins at Will. "I'll try being Amity."
Will considers this for a minute. "Ok, then you have to paint a picture of, um, Marlene. Naked."
"I have to get naked and paint a picture?" Uriah asks.
"No," says Will, "you have to paint a picture of what you think Marlene looks like naked."
Marlene launches a pillow at Will and glares at him.
"Let's do it!" calls Uriah.
We make him sit with his back to us so we can see the painting taking shape on a sheet of green construction paper. It looks like something a six-year-old would paint, only the subject is nude. We laugh as the painting appears on the paper.
"My boobs are not that big," says Marlene with a huff.
I see a blush creep up Uriah's neck, but he keeps his back to us and finishes his "art." In the end he signs his name on the painting and presents it to Marlene.
"I'll hang it on my fridge," she growls, and we all laugh.
"Four," calls Uriah, "which faction?"
"Um, Abnegation," says Tobias.
"Is that your faction of origin?" asks Uriah.
"I picked an Abnegation task," says Tobias, "not a Candor question."
Uriah sticks out his lower lip in a pout.
"Ok, then, you may serve Master Uriah by getting me some Dauntless cake from the cafeteria. A big piece," says Uriah with a grin.
"Your wish is my command," says Tobias with an exaggerated bow as he makes his way out of the apartment.
While he is gone we talk about our new apartments, Christina's first day at her new job, and how soon the rest of us will be starting our jobs. It only takes a few minutes before Tobias appears with a large black box.
"The Abnegation go above and beyond the call of duty," says Tobias, lifting an entire chocolate cake from the box, "so I brought some for everyone."
With whoops and cheers we jump out of our seats and cut into the cake, passing out large portions to one another and digging in with typical Dauntless abandon. Once we're back on the sofa I notice that Tobias has his own plate of cake.
"You know," I say to him, smirking, "a true Abnegation wouldn't have had any cake for himself. They believe that eating things just for the enjoyment of them is selfish. An Abnegation would have denied himself the cake so there would be more for others."
"Well," replies Tobias around a mouthful of cake, "I'm not Abnegation, am I?"
"Nope," I say, putting a big bite on my fork, "you're a Dauntless prodigy."