CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
TRIS POV
I was so glad for the school day to end. It meant I could finally go home and open the envelope that Lynn gave me from Tobias. I go up to my room and open the envelope and find there is a note in there. I open the note:
Dear Tris
I don't really know what to write. But when I found out that you were having classes with Lynn and Uriah I knew that I wanted to write to you.
I can just imagine how uncomfortable he was sitting in his apartment trying to write this.
Life in Dauntless is good although I do miss you a lot. I have even had times when I have missed Caleb. Never thought I would be admitting to that.
I can't help but laugh at that.
It's funny that you are becoming friends with Uriah and Lynn because Uriah's brother Zeke and Lynn's sister Shauna are my closest friends here in Dauntless. If I'm not working I usually hang out with them. Although lately I have felt like a third wheel because Shauna and Zeke have just started dating.
That's good, for a minute I was thinking he was going to tell me that he liked Shauna.
Shauna has had a crush on Zeke since before I arrived here in Dauntless but it took Zeke a while to catch on that she liked him. It's a bit like Uriah not realising that Marlene has a crush on him. Must be a Pedrad brother thing.
How are Nathaniel and Jessica? I saw dad at the last council meeting and he said that everyone was good.
I don't know what else to say, I'm not very good at this. Just that I really miss you.
Tobias
I really miss you too I think to myself. I get paper out of my school bag and start to write back to Tobias.
I can't believe how quickly the first month of school has gone. I think maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have proper friends now. Christina, Will, Uriah, Marlene, Lynn and I now have our own table in the lunch room. Caleb, Susan and Robert sometimes join us as well. Also Edward and Myra, they are from Erudite and are friends with Will, will come and join us too.
Lunch is just about over and we have all gotten up to leave the lunch room when Lynn stops me.
"Tris are you serious about transferring to Dauntless?" she asks.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well I was thinking I could help you," Lynn says.
"What do you mean?" I ask. Lynn pulls me away from our friends.
"Can you get me some Abnegation clothes?" Lynn asks.
"Umm, yeah, I suppose. What are you thinking Lynn?"
"Just get me the clothes and I will explain it all later. I don't want anyone to know what we are doing, so it will be easier if I explain it to you at your place," Lynn says. At my house? Lynn wants to come to Abnegation, I don't know I will just have to wait and see I guess.
TOBIAS POV
"Max I don't think we should have so many of our guards guarding the fence. Especially with winter coming. We could use more guards in the city," I say.
"Four our fence guards no what they are getting when they accept the job. They can handle a bit of snow," Max says.
"I understand that. But if we drop to twenty-five per cent of what we now have and put them at the fence for only three weeks at a time over winter we are going to have happier fence guards. We have Amity guards there as well, even if they won't carry weapons they can always radio our guys if they need to. We all know the factionless commit more crimes in winter, we can have extra guards throughout the city to help stop this," I say.
"That could work. Have you had any contact with your mother? I hear she is leading the factionless now."
"Natalie?"
"Sorry I forget that you think of Natalie as your mother. I meant Evelyn," Max says.
"No I haven't spoken to Evelyn in years. She came to Abnegation a few years ago and tried to have me leave and join her and the factionless. Obviously I refused," I say.
"It might be a good idea to take a few guards and do some sweeps of the factionless area. The factionless have been too quiet lately, maybe if you accidently run in to Evelyn she may tell you what they are up to," Max says.
I don't like this idea. I don't want to spend any time with Evelyn, I am still having issues with the fact that she left me with that monster. But it is probably the only way we will be able to find out what is going on. Crime in factionless areas is down fifty percent on five years ago. Something is going on.
"I'll see what I can do. I doubt she will open up to me but you never know," I say.
There is a knock on Max's door and Scott is standing in the door way.
"Just letting you know I am on my way to the high school," Scott says.
"What's going on?" Max asks.
"Some of our dependants are mixing with other faction dependants at lunch and the principal is not happy. They wanted to see the parents but I said I would go on their behalf," Scott says.
"That would be Uriah, Lynn and Marlene?" I ask.
"Yeah it is. How did you know?" Scott asks.
"I'm friends with their siblings. The faction history teacher decided that the students should learn more about each faction from working with each other in class. The students seem to be enjoying it," I say.
"That would be a first, isn't faction history the most boring subject they make them take?" Max says.
"Pretty much. You seem to know a lot about this Four," Scott says.
"Yeah. Do you want me to go down to the school for you?" I ask.
"That would be great. I hate dealing with the high school. I understand why our members don't want to go there for the meeting. They always make them feel like idiots," Scott says.
"No problem. What time is the meeting?" I ask.
"As soon as you get there," Scott says.
"Okay, well I'll see you both later. I'll let you know how I get on Scott," I say.
"Thanks Four. I definitely owe you one," Scott says.
"I'll remember that," I say with a laugh. I probably won't ever ask him for a favour, he is so easy to get along with that I don't mind helping him out.
Although he is really doing me a favour because there is a good chance I will get to see Tris.
"Oh and Four," Max says as I'm leaving the office. "Move the fence guards for a trial period. We will see how it goes. But try to get in contact with Evelyn. I don't trust the factionless."
"Ok I will but I don't trust Evelyn so it should be interesting," I say. "And Max thanks for the okay with the fence guards."
I jump off the train and I am making my way over to the school when I see dad and Mr Black.
"Dad," I call out.
Mr Black and dad both turn. Dad says something to Mr black and stops and waits for me while Mr Black continues into the building.
"Tobias not that it isn't good to see you but what are you doing here?"
"Good to see you to dad. I volunteered to come down and try and sort this thing out about the lunch breaks. Is that why you are here?"
"I didn't know Dauntless would send someone from leadership. I thought they were calling the parents," dad says.
"Yeah we have found that our members can feel uncomfortable dealing with an Erudite principal. So when it is numerous students involved we try to handle the situation. Less chance of violence if a leader comes down here," I say.
I thought Scott usually dealt with the dependants," dad says.
"He does but I am friends with the Dauntless students involved and knew what was going on so they sent me," I say.
"Plus you may get to see Beatrice?" Dad says.
I just smile.
"Come on we better get this over with," he says.
"Four."
I turn around and I am standing face to face with Jeanine Matthews.
"Jeanine," I say.
"Congratulations are in order. Andrew you must be proud to see that Four has become a leader in Dauntless," Jeanine says.
"Yes he has done very well for himself," dad says.
"Well if you ever need anything Four just let me know. It is always good to be able to help others in similar positions," Jeanine says.
"Thank you Jeanine. I will keep that in mind," I say.
"That's very selfless of you Jeanine," Dad says.
I have to stop myself from laughing at this. It looks like Jeanine is trying not to vomit in disgust.
"Well we have a meeting to get to. It was good to see you Jeanine," I say.
"Yes I will be attending the same meeting," Jeanine says.
"I didn't know you had a child Jeanine," dad says.
"I was very interested to hear what had been happening with the students. I thought it would be in Erudite's best interest if I sat in on this meeting. Also there are a number of Erudite students involved so I told their parents that I would attend the meeting on their behalf," Jeanine says.
I just nod and dad says, "so there must be something in this for you then Jeanine."
"Yes of course, our dependants are extremely important to me. They are our future Andrew," Jeanine says.
We get to the principal's office and outside the office are eleven students all sitting talking and laughing with each other. I see Tris and all I want to do is go up and hug her but that would be so inappropriate in this setting so I just give her a smile.
I then hear a girl in Candor colours say, "whoa who is that?" I have to stop myself from laughing.
"FOUR!" Uriah, Lynn and Marlene all call out to me.
"So that's Four, nice," says the Candor girl eyeing me off like I'm a piece of meat. Disgusting.
"What are you doing here?" Lynn asks.
"I'm here instead of your parents," I say.
"Where's Scott?" Uriah asks.
"How often are you in trouble?" I ask Uriah.
"What?" Uriah asks.
"Well how else would you know it is usually Scott who comes down here for this type of thing?" I ask.
"Not as much as Zeke was," Uriah says.
"Christina what have you been doing?" Shouts a Candor woman who is walking down the hallway towards us.
"Oh crap, she does not look happy," says the girl I am assuming is Christina.
Mr Edwards the principal has opened the door to his office. He seems to look a little shocked.
"Ms Matthews I didn't know that you would be interested in such matters as these," Mr Edwards says.
"Well Mr Edwards it seems that I have quite a few upset parents and I thought it was better if I came here and found out exactly what the problem is," Jeanine says.
Mr Edwards ushers us into his office and leaves the students playing in the hallway. We walk in to find there are five seats across from Mr Edwards desk. We all take a seat and wait for Mr Edwards to sit in his seat. He is looking extremely nervous and I have to wonder if it is because Jeanine is here.
"So what is the issues you need to discuss Mr Edwards?" Jeanine asks.
"Well it is just one issue. We are having trouble with the students that are now sitting in the hallway. We have asked them on numerous occasions to sit within their factions seating at lunch and these students are refusing. We cannot have this type of rebellion in the school," he says.
"I need you," he says pointing to the five of us sitting in front of him. "I need you to explain to them that this is unacceptable."
I can't believe this idiot. Like it's anyone's fault but the schools.
"I think it is because of your teaching staff that we have this problem," I say.
Everybody is looking at me like I have grown an extra head.
"Why would you think that Four?" Jeanine asks me.
"Obviously Mr Edwards here hasn't been taking any notice of what is being taught in his school," I say.
"How dare you. I am well aware what is being taught in my school," he says.
"Really? Well if you are so aware of what is being taught then maybe you could explain to us what is the problem here?" I say.
"What is being taught does not involve what is happening in the lunch room," he says.
"Well it does now," I say.
"Four do you think you could be a little more specific on why you think this?" Jeanine asks.
"Of course Jeanine. It seems Mr Rodgers who teaches faction history has been getting his students to work in groups. One student from each faction per group. Now from what the students have told me it is the most interesting class they have. Since the students have been mixing in class they seem to now be enjoy mixing at lunchtime," I say.
"Is this true?" Dad asks.
"Well I'm not sure. I didn't know that Mr Rodgers was doing such a thing," he says. "I will need to talk to Mr Rodgers about this."
"Maybe before calling so many people to your office for this you could have talked to the students. I am sure if you listened to where the idea came from for them to have lunch together, we may not have been having this conversation," I say. "Now what I really want to know is what is the problem? Does it really matter if they are having lunch together?"
"I agree with Four," says Jeanine.
"Y-you, y-you do?" Mr Edwards stutters out.
"I would be fascinated to see whether this has any influence on what these students may choose at their Choosing Ceremony. I would like to know if mixing with other faction dependants will carry more weight than their aptitude test results," Jeanine says.
Always looking to study something. Typical Jeanine.
"I thought Faction before blood was something that Erudite and Dauntless both took very seriously. Now you are advocating for our children to all mix," the Candor woman says.
"Stephanie I think we can still appreciate Faction before blood. But, I believe we have an opportunity here to study just how our dependants make their decision when they choose. For example, Four here had an Abnegation result. As you can see he chose Dauntless. Not only that, he exceled in training and became the number one initiate and has since gone on to become a Dauntless leader. Now I would like to be able to take this situation and instead of discouraging them I would like to see what happens as the school year progresses. I would also like to ask permission from each student's parents to interview them and see how this situation changes their perspective towards other factions," says Jeanine.
"Jeanine I would want to see exactly what you have planned for my children before I would consent to such a thing," dad says.
You can tell he doesn't trust Jeanine but you can also see his Erudite roots coming through. I think he would be interested to see the results of what comes out of Jeanine's study.
"Andrew I will put a package together for you and the other parents. I will also give each parent the results of what our findings are. Of course I will keep each child's name out of this. You must remember that this will not conclude until they have chosen next year. I would also like to interview Mr Rodgers and find out what he was thinking by changing the curriculum," Jeanine says.
"So for now Mr Edwards I think we are in agreeance that there is no harm in our children having a lunch break together. Jeanine I would appreciate that we are given all the information before you try to interview any of our children and that you do not interview any child that has not been approved by their parent for the study," dad says.
"Of course," says Jeanine.
"What am I supposed to tell the other students? There is going to be anarchy in my school," Mr Edwards says.
"Mr Edwards I think you are panicking over nothing. There haven't been any problems so far. If in the future and only if, then we can then re-evaluate the situation," I say.
"Very well," he says.
"Mr Edwards I will have someone from my staff contact you so that we can get these information packages out to the parents as soon as possible," Jeanine says.
"As you wish Ms Matthews," Mr Edwards says, sounding very defeated.
"Now if that is all Mr Edwards I would like a private word with my son and daughter," dad says.
"Yes of course I will go and get them for you Mr Prior," he says.
The other parents and Jeanine all leave. As I am about to go dad puts his hand on my arm and says, "stay."
Caleb is the first to walk through the door and then Tris. Caleb comes straight over and gives me a hug.
"Beatrice shut the door please," dad says.
"Good to see you, bro," says Caleb
"You too," I say.
Caleb lets me go and next Tris comes flying at me. I quickly pick her up and hug her.
"I've missed you," I whisper in her ear. I feel her shiver and it's good to know I have the same effect on her as she does on me.
I put Tris down but I don't let her go. We probably only have a few minutes before it will look suspicious that we are in here.
"So you two are causing all sorts of trouble," I say but I am laughing.
"We didn't mean to," Tris says.
"Sure you didn't," I say.
"Tobias we are going to have to go," dad says.
"Bye Tobias, I hope we can see you again soon," Caleb says.
"We will give you a minute," dad says.
"Thank you for your note," Tris says.
"Oh god, it sucked. I am really bad at writing," I say with a chuckle.
"It was really thoughtful Tobias," she says.
"We have to go," I say.
"I know," she says.
We stay there just holding each other when we hear a knock on the door.
"I wrote you back. Lynn has it. I didn't know I would see you today," Tris says.
"I can't wait to read it. I'll try and write back but I can't promise it will be good," I say.
"It's just nice to know that you are thinking of me," she says.
"Tris I am only thinking of you, always," I say.
"Me too Tobias," she says.
I give her a quick kiss on the top of her head and let her go.
"Come on back to reality," I say and I open the door.
We walk out of the office and dad, Caleb, Uriah, Lynn and Marlene are all waiting for us.
"It's about time," says Uriah. "What the hell were you two doing in there?"
"Come on you three, I think you can come back with me," I say pointing at Uriah, Lynn and Marlene.
"Yes, punishment is to be let out early from school. I could get used to this," says Uriah.
"Don't. Now start walking," I say.
I turn to Tris, Caleb and dad and say, "Bye." Then I drag the three misfits out of the building with me.
I jump onto the train with Uriah, Lynn and Marlene.
"I have this for you Four," Lynn says and she hands me what I am assuming is the note from Tris.
"Thanks Lynn," I say.
"So did you do it in the principal's office Four?" Uriah asks.
"Really Uriah? Get your head out of the gutter," I say.
"What? You were in there a while by yourselves," Uriah says.
I just shake my head, there is no use trying to talk to him.
"You're just jealous Uriah," Lynn says.
"Am not," says Uriah.
"Enough, seriously I've heard enough shit for one day," I say.
"So are we in trouble Four?" Marlene asks.
"No you're not Marlene. Mr Edwards has decided that you can continue to have lunch with your friends. Although there is a catch," I say.
"What's the catch?" Lynn asks.
"Erudite are going to be asking your parents if they can ask you some questions. They want to know if interacting with other children from different factions will have an effect on what faction you choose at your Choosing Ceremony," I say.
"Hell no. I'm Dauntless," says Uriah.
I can't help but laugh. I have no doubt that none of these three will be choosing anything but Dauntless. But they may influence others in choosing Dauntless. I don't think I will let Uriah know this though.
"Can our parents say no?" Marlene asks.
"Sure. They can't do anything without your parent's permission," I say. "Don't worry about it. I'll go and talk to your families when we get back so that they don't get any shocks. You aren't in trouble so don't worry Marlene," I say.
I don't trust Jeanine. I don't like Jeanine. But this could help to hide anyone who is divergent because it will be blamed on the activities at school. This could work in our favour. Jeanine may be a genius but it doesn't always work in her favour Thank goodness.
I have spent the last four weeks doing spot inspection of the factionless sectors with some of our guards. The guards have become my new best friends ever since I told them they only had to do a three-week stint at the fence over winter.
The conditions out there are nearly as bad as the initiates bathrooms. I seriously need to see about some upgrades for them. They are so appreciative that they can now come home to their own bed at night that I could probably ask them to stand on their heads for the day and they would do it. Not that I would but it is better to try and keep our members happy.
Plus, I am hoping to start a new training scheme for our members to keep their skills up. I can't believe that we don't have them training once they finish initiation. The fence guards really need to be treated better. The city patrols have a much better program that incorporates extra training. Maybe now that the fence guards are helping the city patrols we can have them in the patrols training programme.
I still haven't seen Evelyn out here on my patrols. If it wasn't for Max asking me every time I come back how it went I think I would stop coming.