Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent.
Chapter three: Day one, Don't call me stiff again.
"Andy." I rub my eyes and look around without moving. "Andy." I hear the whisper again. Never have I been waken up like this, either a raging father or a brother shaking my shoulder and almost yelling in my ear. "Andy!" I shot up from bed with the blanket held against my chest. I am facing the wall. I turn around and I see Christina at the foot of my bed. "You sleep in your bra?" She asks curiously. "and what's on your back?" I shift and sit across from her and hold the blanket to cover my chest better.
"Not normally. I have a have a night gown at home." She nods.
"What's with the burn? It hasn't been that hot yet." I look around the room. Everyone is focused on changing. I slept a little too late. But they are focused.
"I burn fast." I lie as I look around.
"Andy, don't lie to me. I can tell when people lie." I look back at the girl and sigh.
"It's a long story I wish not to be repeated." I tell her. She nods and crawls closer to me. "It's a frying pan burn." I tell her quietly looking to the wall next to me.
"Why would you have a frying pan burn on your back?" She asks in a whisper. I look at her and don't want to tell her. I stare at her for a moment. "I can't think of a way to get it unless you fall on it or someone hit you…" she gets quiet. "Oh…" I cover her mouth and pin her to the bed.
"You can't tell anyone. I will kill you if you do." I whisper harshly. She just looks up at me and nods. I remove my hand and let her sit up. No one noticed it.
"Wasn't going to." She says quietly. "Does Tris know? She is after all from your district." I shake my head no.
"No one really knows other than the Erudites because of the newspaper articles." I tell her in a sad voice.
"IS that why you cut Myra off yesterday and asked for respect?" I nod and look around as I fix the blanket. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I'm here now. Can it be our little secret?" My voice seems quiet again. Still haven't gotten a high yet.
"Of course. It's good that someone knows and can talk about it with you. That is the best therapy." Christina smiles. "If anything is too much I can also think on the fly and get you out of things."
"I thought people from candor can't lie." I ask her with some sarcasm.
"I'm not in Candor." She smirks. "Plus, anything for my friends." I can't help but smile. "Need help putting on your shirt?"
"Yeah. I take a little bit to put on the shirt. Plus it's tight." I tell her regretfully.
"It looks hot on you though." I roll my eyes as I look around for my shirt. It's not on my bed, so I look over the edge. On the ground is my black shirt. Must have fallen off during my throw down with Christina.
"Hey, Al!" She half shouts. Al walks over from his bunk with his clothes on and looks up at us. "Her shirt fell and I need to hold up her blanket." She tells him. Al starts looking around and finds my shirt and hands it to her. "Thanks." I take the shirt from her and she hold up the blanket to shield the view. She's nice. I take as much time to change my bra and slip on the shirt I need too. Hell, I even change my pants and underwear. I flex able enough to do it in such a small space. Thanks to the broken bones I had gotten when I was younger. "Are you done yet?" She asks a little annoyed. I grab the blanket and yank it down.
"Yes, thank you." She laughs.
"You had to fully change." She mumbles as she crawls to the ladder. "Let's go eat." I follow her down and slip on my little grey shoes and follow Al and her out the door. We meet up with Tris right outside of the bathroom and make our way to breakfast. I look at my watch as I follow the others. It will take forever to remember the walk, so why try right now. The time is seven thirty. So we have a little bit of time to eat.
000
"Muffins, Muffins and more muffins." I mumble as I eat my chocolate muffin as we follow Four to where ever it is he is taking us. Now we look a lot alike, from what Christina tells me.
"Tell me about it. But their good." Tris says. "I have never had something this rich before."
"Neither have I darling, but you don't see me complaining." I tell her. "You're the one that left because of the food." She laughs.
"True." Christina hasn't left my side much. Watching me and making sure I'm ok. I regret telling her now.
"I keep forgetting you eat simply." She says as she walks in pace with me.
"It only has been two meals, Chris. I don't expect you to remember yet." I tell her. Four stops and opens a door to the left. Inside is really different then what I'm used to. There is a table full of guns and then there are lanes with a board at the end of them.
"The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to win a fight." Four says as he picks up the guns and hands then out. I'm the last one in line and eating a muffin. So I finish it quickly and take the gun he almost shoves at me. Our eyes meet and I feel some familiar feelings. I don't know what they are, but they're there. "Thankfully, if you're here, you already know how to get on and off a moving train, so I don't need to teach you that." He says as he looks at me. He steps away from me and scans the group. "Initiation is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress in each round and rank you accordingly to your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighed equally in determining your final rank. So it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time." This little speech seems rehearsed. "We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear. Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental." Four deadpans.
"But what…" Peter speaks up with a yawn. "What does firing a gun have to do with…Bravery?" Four's reflexes are fast. He flips the gun in his hand and presses the end to Peter's forehead. I hear a soft click.
"Wake. Up," Four's voice is sharp and menacing. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it." I shake my head and look at my gun. I could tell it was loaded, but makes me nervous holding it now that he said it. I never held a gun and I was so willing to take it from him. Is there something wrong with me? I am Abnegation at heart yet I am willing to hold a loaded weapon that is meant for offence and defenses. Defenses are for selfish people. Which I still don't understand how I got Abnegation. I defend myself all the time. Four removes the gun from his head and talks more. "And to answer your question… you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself." He changes fast between emotions. Is that because of the training here? It's kind of freighting that he was willing to put the gun to Peter's forehead, even though he in mean. I would never be able to do that. "This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch me." Four turn and lifts his gun at the wall with the targets and stand in what I learned was a power position. Meaning, a stance that will give you strength and balance the weight evenly so it's harder to be moved. What Four does is have his feet shoulder width apart and arms almost straight as he holds the gun with both hands. Then he fires. My cover my ears and shut my eyes as the loud noise goes off. Slowly I open then and see where he hit on the target. Four hit the middle red circle. His aim is good. That's when he steps aside and we are directed to our lanes. Tris is on one side of me and Christina is on the other.
"That was amazing. I don't think I can do it." Christina says as she tries to mimic his stance. I look at Tris and she just starts shooting. She doesn't seem to be trying. I don't know. Christina starts and I am the only one that hasn't even started. I look at the heavy little thing in my hand. It's almost freighting holding. I set the gun on the small table/counter in front of me and look at it. All around me, shots are being fired off. My hands trace the handle of the gun and I find a button. I press it and the bottom pops out. Interesting. I pull it out and I see that is where the bullets are located. If I'm going to be a dauntless, I will have to learn to shot this thing. So I push the bottom back in and pick up the gun. There is a little thing in the back of the gun that sticks out. I push on it and I hear the same click that Four made his gun did. Peter got really nervous after that, so I'm guessing the gun is ready to shoot.
"Are you going to examine the pistol all day or are you going to shot?" I hear a sudden quiet voice in my ear. I drop the gun on the table and freeze. That's when I hear the chuckle.
"Damn it Four. I have a gun and I'm jumpy. Don't do that." I mutter out as I go to pick up the thing again. I feel a hand pull my hair off my shoulder and over to my back. His hands grab the gun in my hand and he leads my other hand to the gun.
"Legs, shoulder with apart." He says as he sticks his knee in between my legs and making me separate them. That was different. "Now aim the gun." He says as he lifts the gun in our hands and points it at the board. His finger move to point to a little notch on top of the guns barrel. "This is the sight. Aim the center of the circle in this and shoot." His voice is quiet and calm. I narrow my eyes and move the gun up with his hands still on it with me. His whole body is around me and I really don't mind much. "Now pull the trigger, Andy." I do it as soon as he tells me. The kick back of the gun isn't bad, but the noise was. Four's hands leave from around the gun to my shoulder. "Decent, just don't shut your eyes and don't be afraid of the gun. It is ok to defend yourself." He says before moving over to Tris. I look at the target and see I made it in one of the inner circles. Not the center, like him. But I'm close. I look at the gun in my hand and I feel adrenaline running through me again. Here comes my high, pre-say. What I mean is that my body is ready to do anything it needs to. Like stand up to my father. I aim the gun again and shoot. Right in the middle. A smirk appears on my face as I start shooting over and over again. It's not long before the room goes quiet. Guess we all need to reload. Without much thought, I push the button on the side and the bottom falls out again. There is a little box on the table full of more bullets, so I fill it back up in the way I saw before and click it back into place. I'm the first one to start shooting again. I was the only one to figure out how to reload, oh well. I just keep shooting. Christina is the next one to figure it out. The room soon gets louder and louder with the passing of time, but I don't care. I just shoot until we are told to stop a few hours later. Great time to work on aim.
"Great job." I hear Christina tell me as I strip the gun. Pulling the bottom out and make sure there isn't a bullet in the gun. I look up and around until I find her.
"Oh, thanks." I return to my gun and slip the remaining bullets into the box. Not really paying attention.
"No, really. You shot most of the time in the center. There is a big hole." I look up at my target. She is right, but I don't seem fazed.
"Looks like it." I tell her as I set the bottom next to the gun and turn around. Christina is looking at me weird. "What? Aiming is pretty easy." I tell her. "It's not a great accomplishment."
"Most people don't have a gaping hole in their targets." She states. "Or know how to strip the gun."
"I took the time to examine the gun." I defend. "Plus Four showed me where the sight was." I add as Tris joins us.
"Sounds like an Erudite trait." Christina says truthfully before turning to Tris. "How did you do?"
"Fine. My arms are throbbing." She says as we walk to the door. I see her glance at me and I can tell there is something on her mind. We walk to the dining hall and sit down to eat. The only think I recognize are peas and some sort of chicken for a sandwich. The others eat, so I will too.
"That was hard." Christina whines.
"No it wasn't. Simple angle adjustments and you hit the center almost every time." I tell them. Her and Will just look at me silently as they blink. "Math class. It was something we learned."
"I didn't pay attention in math. I was busy talking." Christina says before biting off some of her sandwich. "Al do you remember the time where I made a joke and the answer turned out it was right?" I'm the one that sucked at school. How does she not know this?
"I don't remember having class with you." He says with a mouth full.
"Oh, Come on. You don't remember me?" She asks. "We were in math together a few days ago."
"I slept through math most of the time. It was first hour." He tells her. Christina gives up on him and turns to Tris, whose mind seems somewhere else.
"Tris have we had classes together." there is no reply. "Tris." She snaps her fingers in her face. That snapped her out of her thoughts. "You in there?"
"What, What is it?" Tris asks a little confused. What could she be thinking of that brings her somewhere else?
"I asked if you remember ever taking a class with me." Christina repeats. "I mean, no offence, but I probably wouldn't remember if you did. All the abnegation looks the same to me. I mean they still do, but you're not one of them." I look at Al and roll my eyes. "Sorry, I am being rude?" Christina stops and asks. "I'm used to just saying whatever is on my mind. Mom used to say that Politeness is deception in pretty packaging." She told me that earlier.
"I think that's why our factions don't usually associate with each other." Tris laughs. I watch as Will walks over.
"Can I sit here?" He asks as he taps the table, next to me.
"What, you don't want to hang out with you Erudite buddies?" Christina asks a little rudely.
"They aren't my buddies." He tells her. "Just because we were in the same faction doesn't mean we were friends. Plus Edward and she are dating. I don't' want to be a third wheel." This makes sense. Tris and I weren't friends before coming here. I pat the seat next to me and Christina and he smiles and sits.
"I know how you feel. Tris and I didn't know each other either." I tell him.
"Do they have to be so public?"Tris speaks up. We all turn to see what she is talking about. Myra and he are kissing. I never saw one before.
"She just kissed him. It's not like they are stripping naked." Al says a little dryly to her.
"A kiss is not something you do in public." She states and everyone smiles at her. I'm confused. "What?"
"Your abnegation is showing." Christina mocks gently.
"Oh… well… I guess I need to get used to it then." She says and looks at her food.
"Or you can stay frigid." Will says with a smirk. "You know, If you want…" Before he can finish, Christina throws a piece of bread at him.
"Don't be mean to her." She scolds him. "Frigidity is in her nature. Sort of like being a know-it-all is in yours." I like her. She doesn't take crap from no one.
"I'm not frigid." Tris defends herself. Will just takes the piece of bread as she gets all red.
"Don't worry about it. It's endearing. Look. Your all red." He is mocking her. I can't stop my hand from moving. It goes and slaps him in the back of the head.
"Knock it off and leave her alone." I tell him firmly. "I think they didn't want you at the table mocking them." Tris and the others start to laugh.
"You just made the stiff hit you." Christina laughs at him. He starts laughing too. I really don't understand why they are laughing. I wasn't joking.
"Why you laughing? I was being serious." I ask them and they laugh more as we finish lunch. I shake my head and finish eating my sandwich.
"We're laughing because people from your faction won't hit people." Will says when he calms down. I finish the food in my mouth.
"I'm not in abnegation, Am I?" I ask him. "No. So it shouldn't be this funny."
"What's so funny?" I nearly jump from the sudden voice behind me and everyone last harder. I turn and groan.
"I told you not to sneak up on me, Four." I groan out.
"What's funny?" He asks with a little smirk.
"She hit me." Will tells him.
"Then you must be ready for training again. Come on." Four says before turning around and heading to the door. I'm the first one up from the table and following him because I'm not laughing at something stupid. They eventually get up and follow. But I don't talk to them. I don't like them laughing at me. I wonder what Four meant that I must be ready for training now. I will find out. He leads us down a new hall and into a new room. The floor is made out of old wood that is cracking. There are bags hanging from the ceiling on the far room of the room and one in the front. Next to that is a chalk board. Guess they don't update a lot. "Now, like I said this morning. Stage one will help you with training your body to react to a threat." He says as everyone gets in here. "Find a bag and stand next to it and I will show you some techniques." Out of habit, I wait until everyone has picked and go. The farthest bag is open so that will be my bag. "Tomorrow, you will face each other, but for now. You will practice on the bags." Four informs us before showing us how to kick and punch correctly. Then he lets us go to try. I watch as the others start punching and kicking their bags. This is better than a gun. I can't really kill people by punching them.
So I ball my hand into a fist and mimic Four's stance from earlier and punch the bag. It moves, but hurt my hand more. I hold my wrist and watch the others as I try not to cry from the pain. What did I do wrong? I hit my father all the time. What's different… I wasn't thinking this was him. I was just punching. After shaking my head, I look back at the bag and focus on it. I shake my hand out and do it again. It works. The bag swings and I hit it again with the same hand. A smirk appears on my face as I start to throw in what Four had taught us moments ago. I like hand to hand combat better than that gun. This uses my adrenaline more. I pick up my leg and kick the bag and it doesn't move. Kick it again and nothing. I set my leg on the ground and look on the other side of the bag and see Four right next to the bag, holding it in place and watching Christina hit the bag. I pale. I had been hitting the bag into him. He was really close to where it hung so he had to just get there. I move back into my spot, before he can turn and look at me. I stand in my spot and start wringing my hands. He is going to be pissed that I hit him.
"Why did you stop?" He asks as he walks around the bag.
"I was hitting you." I tell him.
"You almost hit your friend a few times." Four tells me. "She was standing too far back and every time you hit the bag. It made her jump."
"Then she shouldn't have been that far back." I state before shaking my hands. The bag only moved more than the others because I had learned to punch before this and I am much stronger than most people.
"Right, now show me some punching." He says with a smirk. I nod and get back into my stance and breathe. Ball up my fist and let it fly wide. I bring it back and hit with my other hand. After a few hits of the bag he stops me and grabs my wrist and adjust my angle. "This won't hurt as much." He says simple.
"I don't feel pain in them. So I'm fine." I tell him as I punch the bag again. This time hard, I feel little pain in my wrist. It swings a foot or so. "And I'm used to hitting this way."
"Not every day I hear that from a Stiff." Four crosses his arms over his chest. I keep hitting the bag and groan. Shouldn't have said that.
"Well, I'm not there for a reason." I tell him as I hit the bag even harder.
"And what is that reason? You don't seem like the one to normally get into fights." He states as he looks me up and down.
"Looks can be deceiving." I inform him. My fist hits the bag again and I feel something break on my back, then wet. A blister popped. I bring my hand back and my shoulders are burning again.
"Why did you stop?" Four's voice seems to rise out of concern. I bit my lips and hiss in.
"Just an injury acting up." I tell him. It should seem normal for a dauntless to say.
"Injury?" I nod and breathe in deep. My hair is getting a little wet. "Andy?" I shut my eyes and return to my stance.
"I will be fine." I tell him before throwing another punch. My shirt rips off the burn and make it hurt worst. Guess I'm not fine. I shake my head.
"Andy, what injury?" He asks more concern. I open my eyes and don't say a word. He takes the liberty to walk behind me and move my hair and he goes to check my shoulders, but he must see the red and blistered skin on the base of my neck. "Why do you have a burn on your back?" His voice is firm yet quiet.
"I fell over in the kitchen and hit the stove." I lie through my teeth. "It was my turn to clean the kitchen and do dinner. I tried doing it together and didn't really work out to well." Four sets my hair back down and whispers into my ear.
"Do you have any crème?" he asks.
"When do we worry about ourselves?" I ask him a question back.
"A blister popped needs to get it clean before it gets infected." He tells me.
"I will be fine." I tell him firmly. "I have been through this many times. I'm very clumsy and try to take shortcuts a lot." I inform him. "Just need to push through it and then shower. I will be fine." He doesn't seem convinced.
"If you're not going to get it checked, then sit down and not fight."Four tells me firmly. "The next few days are going to be hell with that burn."
"I am very familiar with hell, Four." I mumble out as I walk to the wall and sit down. It's cold so it feels good on my burning skin. He watches me for a moment silently and then walks behind the bag to help Christina out some more. This isn't productive, but I'm doing what I'm told. Surprisingly, it's not long before we are told we can leave. I stand up and walk out with very sweaty Tris and Christina.
"You head back; Andy and I are going for a walk." I look at the girl confused.
"Ok. Don't get her too lost." Tris jokes and walks with the rest of the group. Christina just smiles and walks.
"Where are we going?" I ask her leery.
"You know." She says. "I should have taken you this morning, but oh well. Now let's go." She says and walks faster. Four did not talk to her…
"Four told you." I state.
"Yep. Honestly, your story wasn't really believable. He wanted to believe, but he couldn't. You might have to let him in." I shake my head. If he is my brother, I will not even think of it.
"Nope, he is going to have to put up with my lying." I tell her as we get to the pit. The group took the short cut Four showed us to the dining room. So where she is taking me, I don't know. We walk up a narrow path and into a hole in the wall. I begin to smell antiseptic and start to get nervous. I don't want to be looked at. Christina grabs my wrist and pulls me.
"You're going. Don't be a coward." She says.
"You sounded just like my father. My response is always to turn around and give him my fist, in his face." I deadpan to her and she lets go of my hand.
"Didn't mean too…" I shake my head.
"No one ever means to. Just happens." I tell her as we get into the makeshift hospital. A woman walks over to us and frowns.
"What?"She says.
"Andy has a bad burn on her back. A blister just popped." Christina says simply as if it's normal.
"Stubborn people." The woman mumbles. "Come on." She says as she leads me to one of the beds. "Off with the shirt." I breathe slowly as I pull up slowly. There are only us in the room. I get it off and pull my hair out of the way so she can look. "Damn. What the hell did you do?" She asks shocked.
"My old faction, I was in the middle of cooking breakfast and cleaning the floor. I slipped and landed on the frying pan." I tell her the same lie as Four.
"You much be really clumsy." She says as she pulls my bra straps to the side. "Luckily, you got off of it before it got too bad. Just a second degree burn." Knew it. I watch as she walks off to grab things. My heart is pounding. I hope she doesn't see the scares or anything, or think much of them. She comes back and sets everything behind me. "Here take this." She says as she hands me a pill and a cup of water.
"It's just pain medicine. It's not going to kill you." Christina tells me. "Just take it." I do as she says and almost right away, I can't feel any pain. "Works quick, doesn't it?" I nod my head.
"Yeah." I tell her. I begin to feel my back get wiped down and cleaned up. It feels good. My heart is still pounding. I don't want her to ask questions. I'm glad when she stops, that she doesn't.
"There, it will be better tomorrow."She says as she cleans up.
"How? It's a burn." I ask her.
"Erudite and their crèmes that they make." The woman in all black tells me. "You need a new shirt." I see her hold up the sweat and blister covered shirt.
"Where would I get that?" I ask her.
"In the third hole in this line." She says as she throws me shirt away. What, I'm not allowed to wear it to get another one? I get something black thrown at me. "Wear this and tell woman there what happen. Might as well get some help. They provide the same thing for you initiates." I pull on the looser shirt and sigh.
"Thanks." Christina says for me and drags me out of the room before I can even finish putting on my shirt.
"Chris, slow down." I yelp as she drags me into the clothing store.
"There, we're here." She announces as she looks around. Tris and the two boys walk by to opening. "Hey, Tris get in here." Christina calls out. Tris looks around and sees us.
"What are you two doing?" She asks as she leaves the boys.
"Getting clothes." She tells her. "You're getting some too."
"What's wrong with my clothes now, they're not grey anymore." Tris tells her.
"They are too big and make you look a lot smaller than you are. You're getting clothes that fit." Christina tells her firmly. The next ten minutes, we are her personal dolls. She has us wear almost everything in the store.
"Dresses?" I ask her as I stand in front of the mirror with a dress that comes to my upper thigh and has a deep v neck.
"You look great." Christina exclaims. "You're getting it. Makes your legs and boobs look great." I blush at the comment. "Not that they aren't great before, you just like to hide them. Boobs need to breathe too." I walk back straight into the changing room and remain in there for a minute or so.
"Andy, come on out." Tris calls me. "Christina isn't used to talking with people like us. It was meant as a complement." She is pleading with me to come out. I slowly unlock the door in a pair of pants that are formfitting, but not tight, and a black sleeveless shirt. "That looks good. Not to revealing, yet dauntless." I smile a little bit and walk out with the clothes that Christina likes.
"Thanks." I walk to the mirror and look. My hair is a mess. So I run my fingers through it and smooth it down.
"Now let's get some of theses and go join the boys." Christina announces as she grabs some sticks and we use up some points for the month that we barely explained to us. "Where are they?"
"Getting a tattoo." Tris tells them. "A few down." She points to one of the holes in the wall and I see Will. "Al wanted one, to stop crying." I nod slowly as we walk with our bags. They break out into a run and I only need to jog to keep up with them. We get into the room and see Al in a chair with a skinny guy with a lot of tattoos drawing something on him.
"Looks painful." Christina says.
"It's not bad." Will says for Al. "He just has been sitting there. Come look at the book with us." I walk over with Christina and look at the books as Tris goes to look at the art work. We don't have art in our old faction.
"That's cool." I look at the book at what she is pointing too. It's a picture of a bird taking flight. "Wait do you think?" She asks me. After awhile, Tris goes to the woman in the back of the room.
"Looks nice." I tell her and we continue to flip through the book. Page by page, nothing. The man finishes up and shows Al his spider.
"Anyone else?" A tattoo would make me feel Dauntless. But if my dad ever saw it… I don't live with him anymore. He can't touch me anymore. I am free.
"Anything that means freedom?" I speak up and the three initiates look at me. "I want something that means freedom." The man thinks. "Tori is better with stuff like that." He nods to the side where a woman is just finishing with Tris. "Hey, Tori. Got a second?" The woman turns around. She has dark hair with a grey streak in it.
"What's up?" She says as she gets up and walks over with Tris.
"She wants something meaning freedom. Got any idea?" She looks at me and thinks.
"I got an idea. Come with me little one." I shake my head and walk with her to her table. "Where you want it?" I bite my lip.
"Didn't really think of that." I tell her. "I just need to shake my past life." Tori nods as she sets things up. The guys come back here and stand around me. Christina and Tris the closest.
"To think. The two Stiffs get tattoos." Will states with a head shake. I grab something from my bag and throw it at him.
"Oh shut up." I joke with him. His face gets attacked with my black dress and he struggles for a moment and everyone laughs.
"I don't think she like you calling her a Stiff." Tori states, trying not to laugh. Al has to pull the dress off of him.
"Here is your…" He looks at it. "Dress?" I roll my eyes.
"She has a dress?"Will takes the dress and looks at it.
"Christina's idea. We all have the same one." I tell them as I take the dress back and shove it in my bag.
"Sit, I'm going to put it on your shoulder." Tori pat on the chair and I sit down. "Tattoo's hurt sometimes. So just bare with me." She says before she starts. I feel the needle touch my skin, but I don't feel pain. I only feel the movement.
"What are you doing?" Christina asks.
"A feather that breaks up into birds. It's a sign of change and breaking free." She tells her.
"How long will that take?" Al asks. "My little thing only took a few minutes. That seems like it's going to be a lot of work."
"Not really. It's much easier than it seems for me." Tori informs him as she wipes my shoulder and keeps going. "I have been doing this for years." She adds. I like her idea. So I sit there patiently.
"That's looking so cool." Christina says. She is right next to Tori. I look over at Tris. She got a tattoo. I look at her and she smiles a little bit. Tris pulls the left part of her collar over and I see three black birds.
"They're ravens. Meaning my family." I nod.
"I like it." I tell her. For us abnegation, family will always be important. Well, whoever you consider family. I wouldn't care if my father died, but I don't think I would be able to kill him. They talk as I sit here and wait. Feeling every movement Tori makes in my arm. I don't know why, but my heart starts to race a little bit and I get a little sweaty.
"It's normal." Tori says as she wipes. "Sweating during your first Tattoo. I'm adding something to your skin." I nod. I didn't even ask it. Am I smelly now and that's why she said. I sniff the air and people laugh.
"You don't smell." Tris assures me. "Your arm is clammy." I nod slowly.
"Enough, I will have my dress attack you again." I threaten Will jokingly. He stops laughing and Al quiets down.
"You're afraid of a little girl's dress?" Christina asks in a mocking tone to Will.
"Little? Andy is a giant." He scoffs. "There is nothing small about her." I press my lips together and sit there.
"Grow up." Christina shoves him. "Those types of comments get annoying to hear all the time from guys." I think she caught my awkwardness. "I'm just speaking for everyone." She holds her hands in the air. "Don't like it, tough." She smirks and Will looks at her.
"Whatever, Christina." He shoves his elbow at her. That conversation is getting annoying. Is it normal to have friends that annoy you all the time? I don't know, so I tune them out and wait until Tori is done. Another five minutes and she wipes for the last time.
"Done, want to look at it?" She asks as she helps me up.
"No. I will just go to bed." I deadpan jokingly. "Of course I want to see it. You spent a lot of time on it." Tori smirks and leads me to the mirror. It's not hard to see. The feather is very detailed. All the little marks and shading make the tattoo look amazing. Part of the feather is breaking off and turning into black birds, flying off. The birds look likes Tris's birds. I really like this. It is beautiful. "I like it. It's freedom." I whisper to myself.
"Glad you like it." Tori starts cleaning up. "I hope it accomplishes what it is meant to do." She whispers to me. I nod slowly and show the group.
"Does it fit me?" I ask with a smile.
"Seems too dauntless to me." Christina jokes with me.
"How can it be too dauntless?" I ask her.
"On a stiff it is." Will says and I glare at him.
"I will get you for calling me that, Will." I threaten him. I feel Tori apply something to my shoulder.
"Take this off in the morning." She says. "It will hurt a little bit and since its broken skin, it could get infected." Tori warns. "But it will be fine for tomorrow's matches." I nod.
"Thank you." My eyes don't move from Will. "You better start running to the room." My voice is low. His face pales, even more and he starts running. The group laughs as I run after Will. I follow him as he runs the really narrow path on the wall. One slip and we are in the jagged rocks. Running wasn't allowed back home. Thanks to my long legs, I am able to run fast. I gave him a large head start. He gets to the pit floor and rooms towards the dorms before me. But as soon as I get off the path. I run at full speed. People watch me chasing him and really don't care. I weave between people so I can keep an eye on him. He gets to the hall before me and leaves my sight. Great. I push myself harder and get there moments later. In the hall, I am able to hear his foot steps as he runs. So I use them to help me get back to the room. I don't know where the rest of the group is. Somewhere behind. I turn around the corner and see him get to the dorm door. I get there seconds later and run into the room and grab his shoulder.
"I bet you." He breaths out.
"I gave you a large head start." I defend. Really, I didn't want to fall off the path. I throw his shoulder to the side and walk to my ladder. "Good job with still betting me, even if it was seconds." I smirk and climb up my ladder.
"Where did you start?" I hear Edwards voice. I look back at the floor and see him and Myra in the room.
"Tattoo shop." Will says.
"You better hope that we don't get each other tomorrow. I will get you for all the Stiff comments." I threaten him jokingly. I really don't think I would want to fight my friends.
"That's pretty far." Myra says. "And I thought Abnegations don't like running." She says a little confused as she looks at me.
"First real time I ran." Not including running away from my father.
"Must be your long legs and frame. You're tall and lean with some developed muscle." Edward says. "I saw you hitting that punching bag today. If you work on building your muscles in your legs up, you will have one strong kick."
"How do you know this?" I ask him.
"Studied fighting and the body for years." He says. "One of my favorite subjects." I nod.
"How do you suggest building up more muscle?" I learned how to be friends with Edward.
"Simple work out and eating protein, meat and eggs." He says as I lay on my bed and hang my head over the edge to see him better. "Pull ups and crunches would do your body good. You would want to use your body's resistance to help. I don't think you will have access to weights so pushups and running for 90 minutes a day." He says. "Then at meal time, eat as much meat so you can feed those muscles."
"That's it?" I ask with a laugh.
"Simple, right?" He smirks because of his own knowledge.
"Squats. Lifting a weight on a bar from the ground and getting it over your head. Basically." He adds. "But we need to find something heavy enough."
"Then I will talk with Four about it." I state. "There might be a weight room around here."
"You think Four will just tell you?" Will asks once he sits down on his bed. "Four isn't much of a talker other than instructing.
"Are you sure? He was pretty talkative for me." I tell him. "At least, I think he was. For Dauntless standers." The door opens and Christina and Tris walk in with my bag. "How did I forget that?" I laugh as I push myself farther off the edge and grab the bag from Tris. Thanks to my long legs, I am able to say balances on the bed as I reach down to the very short girl. "You give the short one the bag?" I ask Christina as I sit up on my bed and put the clothes by my pillow.
"You know there is a drawer down here?" She asks me back with the same amount of sarcasm.
"No." I drop the bag on the ground next to her and slid down the ladder. "Where is it?"
"Right there." She points to above Tris's head. There is a drawer I didn't notice earlier.
"Cool." I pull it out and have no problem seeing in it. I set the clothes in there. "Thanks." The door opens again and Peter and his friends enter the room. They talk with themselves as they go to their bunks."Why do you hate them so much?"
"Their jerks and lied all the time and got me and my friends in trouble." Christina tells me bitterly. "You would hate them if you knew them." I shrug my shoulders.
"I guess we would never know." I tell her.