Chapter 13
Choosing ceremony day (a year after Tris's) Four and Tris have got together and she knows his real name and they are living in Tris's apartment together.
"Wake up Tobias. We get the new initiates today. Up and at 'em." I say.
"But I don't want to get up." Tobias whines and I just laugh.
"Well you have to. We get to scare the living crap out of the initiates today!"
He shoots up at this and says "I'm getting ready. You can do most of the caring today Tris."
"YAY!"
TIME LAP TIME LAP TIME LAP TIME LAP TIME LAP! FIRST JUMPER!
A flash of grey comes down and lands in the net. I offer my hand and she takes it. "What's your name?"
"Uhhh…"
"If you want to change it you had better make it good because you don't get to pick again." I say. I think I recognise this girl from Abnegation but I am not sure who she is.
"Becca."
"Four make the announcement." I say and then I turn and smile at Becca.
"First jumper… Becca." Crowds of Dauntless appear and start cheering. Another grey blur falls down "What's your name?"
"Ella."
"Second jumper.. Ella."
I am finding this ridiculous because the transfers for this year are: 7 Abnegation, 3 Candor, 2 Erudite and 5 Amity. There are 5 Dauntless-borns this year. Me, Four, Christina and Uriah are going to need to put them all in to one group for the whole of initiation. The names of this years initiates are
Becca, Abnegation, girl.
Ella, Abnegation, Girl.
Lola, Abnegation, girl.
Kate, Abnegation, Girl.
Talia, Abnegation, Girl.
Ryan, Abnegation, Boy.
Theo, Abnegation, Boy.
Jackie, Candor, Girl.
Harmony, Candor, Girl.
Joe, Candor, Boy.
Freda, Erudite, Girl.
Freddie, Erudite, Boy.
Sophie, Amity, Girl.
Harriet, Amity, Girl.
Light, Amity, Girl.
Nathan, Amity, Boy.
Harry, Amity, Boy.
Ashley, Dauntless, Girl.
Kloe, Dauntles, Girl.
Ray, Dauntless, Girl.
Will, Dauntless, Boy.
Ali, Dauntless, Girl.
Almost all of the initiates this year are girls. Overall we have 22 initiates of which 10 will get into Dauntless. We start training tomorrow and we wil split up the initiates into groups and each take one group. I agreed to take any Abnegation and Amity transfers there are so I have 12 initiates to cope with. I am getting Uriah to help me with mine. I would go for Tobias but I don't want us going out to interfere with the transfers.
"Hello, I am Tris. This is Four, Christina and Uriah." I say gesturing to each of the others in turn. "We will be your instructors. Dauntless-borns are going to be with Four. Abnegation and Amity transfers are going to be with me and Uriah. Candor and Erudite transfers you are going to be with Christina. Has anyone got any questions?" when nobody puts up their hand I carry on talking. "So we will give you a tour of the compound so you know where everything is. Four and Uriah will take care of the tour and Dauntless-borns will go around as well but feel free to zone out." When they are gone I turn to Christina. "Hey Chris."
"Hey Tris. You and Uriah have the Amity and Abnegations then."
"Yeah, I was late getting to that meeting remember so I got the Abnegation and Amity transfers. To be honest I wanted the Abnegations and wasn't too fussed about Amity. Are you happy with the Candor and Erudite?"
"Yeah I wanted Candor and Erudite because my home and Will's."
"They are all meeting us back here any minute now so we can take them up to the dorms. Here they come." I see the colours approaching us and I notice that we are one transfer short. I ignore it because of Tobias's meaningful look. "Right, me and Christina are going to take you up to the dorms now then we will take you all to the cafeteria for dinner. Move it." When we arrive at the dorms we have to put the Candor and Erudite in the Dauntless-born's dorm as well as the dauntless-borns. This was not exactly ideal but we have to make do because we have a record high of transfers this year.
Next morning…
"EVERYBODY UP NOW!" I shout. The Abnegation and Amity are more than willing and so are the Dauntless but the rest aren't so much.
"Why?" Whines a Candor transfer.
"Training starts in 1 hour and in that time you have to get dressed and get breakfast and get your lazy butts down to the training room. Up, washed, dressed, breakfasted and in the training room in 1 hour or else you're cut." I say harshly but the Abnegations and Amitys look unphased in fact they are already dressed so I take them down to the cafeteria. I am surrounded by the Abnegations and my friends go and sit on the other side of the hall.
"We know who you are Tris." Says Becca.
"Well, I figured you would find out. You don't use Beatrice here ok. Here I am Tris. I think I can tell who you all really are and which of you changed names. Rebecca Traes, Eleanor Wells, Lola Paera, Kathleen Croin, Talia Downs, Ryan Grae and Theo James. Correct?" They nod in response. I hesitate when I say Kathleen. I have bad memories of her. But I always liked Becca and the two boys. "Can I ask you a question please?" I say
"Sure." Says Becca.
"Why did you all transfer?"
"Well I transferred because of my family. They were constantly fighting and then there was one time when I went to try and intervene when he would hit me." Says Becca. Then she lifts up her top slightly so we can see it.
"I left because I didn't fit in." says Kate
"I left because I didn't like it there. I wanted to express myself and be the person who I have always wanted to be." Says Ryan and I am surprised because he is not the type to say that.
"I left because I wanted to be me." Says Talia
"I left to because my Best friend from somewhere transferred." Says Theo.
"I wanted to protect people. I think that's important." Says Ella. Then I feel a pang of heat in my heart because that is exactly what Al said last year.
"I moved because I didn't want to be that little Abnegation girl who everyone looked down on." Says Lola.
"And we all moved because we had hope. We all moved because you gave us hope Tris. We knew that if you had the courage to do what you did then we had hoped to be able to make it in to dauntless and follow in your footstps. But now having found out that only the top 10 will make it through initiation."
"Me and Four are going to try and change that. Do you recognise Four?"
"Sort of. I know that he was an Abnegation – Dauntless transfer from 3 years ago but I don't know his name. I wasn't allowed to go to that Choosing ceremony." Says Becca.
"I know who he is." Says Talia and then Lola, Theo and Ryan nod aswell.
"Okay those of you who do know meet us at the train tracks tonight at 8:30 and those of you who don't know may as well come too so you know not to call him that here." I say
"8:30 train tracks tonight. Okay." Says Talia. With that I go and see Tobias.
"Four I need to talk to you. Like now." I say and he gives me a questioning look. "Okay I'm coming."
"The Abnegation transfers. They all know who I really am and Four of them know who you are but they all recognise you. We are meeting them all at 8:30 by the train tracks tonight. Ok?"
"Yeah that is more than okay Tris. Will you come with me for a minute I need to talk to them."
"Yeah Sure." We walk over to their table
"Right so how many of you recognise me?" They all nod "How many of you know my name?" Theo, Ryan, Talia and Lola nod. "You can't use that name here. Here I am Four. Don't tell anyone what my name is okay!" They all nod.
"Are you the Eat-" Four cuts Becca off with a look.
"Yes I am but do not tell anyone. May I ask how you knew?"
"The eyes. They are like his."
"That's weird. That's how I knew who he was. I knew who he was from the Ferris wheel incident last year. I could see your eyes sparkling in what little light there was." Then I get up and shout "INITIATES FOLLOW US TO THE TRAINING ROOM. TRAINING STARTS NOW!" we all head off to the training room and then 20 minutes later the Candor, Erudite and Dauntless borns come in. "I'm glad to see that you have decided to grace us all with your presence. Now get to work."
"But we don't know any of the kicks or punches. How are we meant to do it all?"
"Well I would suggest asking Christina that but you would know had you been here 20 minutes ago when training actually started. Uriah help Christina with her lot."
"Mmmmkay Tris." Uriah goes over and takes a beating from Christina to demonstrate the kicks and punches.
"Tris, could you help me please?" Kate says.
"Yeah sure. What do you need help with Kate?"
"I can't get the bag to move at all."
"Show me how you do it." I look at everything about her. "Right that's your issue. Watch me do it and compare yourself to haw I do it." I demonstrate.
"My posture isn't as good as yours. Does that make a difference?"
"Yes a lot of difference. Now try it with good posture." The bag moves a bit. "And I would also try using your knees and Elbows if you are finding it difficult. Got it all?"
"Yes. Thank you Tris." I still don't like Kate but what she did to me wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"Tris, could you help me please?" Says and Amity boy, Nathan I think.
"Yeah sure. What do you want help with?"
"Well I was wondering how you would knock someone out because if we have to win fights to earn our spot in dauntless we will have to won't we." I am shocked that an Amity transfer asked that first but I have to answer.
"I will demonstrate on Uriah. Uriah, get your butt over here. I need to show the initiates something."
"I'm coming Trissy Poo." He comes over and I start to demonstrate then I whisper for him to pretend to go unconscious when I punch him in wither the jaw or the temple. He nods and we start fighting properly. All of the other initiates are watching now. And Four and Christina. I punch him in the jaw and he falls down and then gets back up to keep fighting then I slap his ear and he loses his balance and then I punch him in the jaw (Not very hard but so it looks hard) and he fakes unconsciousness. He stirs a few seconds later and everyone exhales.
"Can I ask a question?"
"I believe you just did but you can ask another one if you wish." I say.
"Are you and Uriah dating?" Light, one of the Amity girls, asks me and I look at Uriah and I laugh.
"No. me and Uriah aren't dating. Besides I already have a boyfriend."
"Who?" She asks.
"Well," I look at Four and he nods his head slightly. "I am dating Four…"
"What, that Four? The Four in this room?"
"Uh yeah. Anyway back to training. You all saw what I did there right?" They all nod. All of the Dauntless-borns knew about me and Four so it was just the transfers that were in shock and the Abnegation transfers aren't that shocked because they know who we really are. Unfortunately, everyone elselooks at him and me in a few hours it is lunch time. "LUNCH IS NOW MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE BACK HERE IN 1 HOUR OR YOU ARE CUT." Yells Christina over the talking. I notice that after announcing that me and Tobias are together that the boys from all of the factions apart from Amity and Abnegation look anoyed and Freda, Jackie and Harmony, the Erudite and Candor transfers, look a bit put out at hearing that me and Tobias are a couple. I would've be a bit disappointed had Tobias been dating when I first met him. "Hey Four." I say.
"Hey Tris." He replies. "I thought we were going for Six this year. What happened?"
"When I saw the amount of Abnegation transfers I wondered why there were so many and then thiswhen I sat with them and I asked them why they transferred. Some of them had family issues, some wanted to be free and express themselves but they all transferred because I gave them hope. They saw me move last year and then they decided that if I could do it, then they could to. I never wanted to be the reason that so many Abnegation transfers become factionless."
"Well, actually I have had some new to tell you. Walk and talk." We start walking and he continues "So I work in the control room and I recently installed a program on every computer in Dauntless so that I can see what they are doing and I can look at the files. I talked to Max about doing this so it is all clear with him and he knows what I have installed. But anyway I was inputting some stuff that would alert me if anyone was receiving or sending anything that they shouldn't and less than a minute later my laptop went crazy and I looked to see what was going on. One of thethings that I put in was for it to search the computers for file origins from outside the compound or for internet sources, Eric's computer was the culprit. I am going to see Max now. Will you come with me and wait outside for me to come back out with either good news or bad news?"
"100% Tobias. Let's go."
Tobias's POV
"Hello Max."
"Hello Four."
"I have some bad news Max."
"What has happened?"
"Well, you know that program I put on every computer in Dauntless? Well it has picked something up."
"Well that's brilliant. Isn't it?"
"Well yes and no. yes because I can say for sure that it was this person but no because it was coming from someone who is very high up in Dauntless."
"Dare I ask who it was?"
"Well, it was… Eric." I show him the evidence and he nods.
"Thank you for telling me. He will be made factionless and, would you like to become a leader and take Eric's place?"
"Well, only if I can change something about initiation as my first act." I say smiling a bit. Max nods. "I would like to take out the rule that only the top ten will get through. I think that everyone should get through to being a Dauntless member."
"I agree. Tell the initiates after lunch. They will still be ranked though, even if it is just so that they can choose their jobs at the end of initiation fairly. Okay."
"Okay. Bye Max." I say as I walk out. I see Tris out there and I kiss her after the door has shut. "There are going to be no more cuts. Everyone will get through to becoming a member. I need to tell Max one more thing. Be right back Tris."
"Max. when will we tell the rest of the compound? About my new position?"
"Now if you want. Eric is on his way over so I will make him factionless when he gets here. I would get out before he gets here. If you wait outside for me then we can go to the cafeteria and tell everyone about your new position and you can then tell everyone about your new training method. Okay."
"Yup." I walk out of the room just as Eric gets outside. Eric then walks in. we hear shouting "You'll find out in a minute Tris." Then Eric comes out and we go to the cafeteria.