Starting Over

Chapter 22

"How did you know just from that?" I ask.

"I'm the one who did these tattoos, the original three I mean. I'd recognize them anywhere."

"Well, as you can tell, I'm not dead," I say, not really sure how to start.

"Yes, that's fairly obvious Tris. We may not be in Erudite but I'm not that stupid. Why don't you skip the obvious and move on to the how and why?" That's the Tori I remember. She never did like unnecessary chatter. I know she's not trying to be rude by it, it's just who she is.

I tell her the whole story. She never interrupts me, she just listens and nods when necessary. She waits till after I'm done to speak again.

"I'm not surprised."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We track people who received a Divergent result on their aptitude test so we know about how many are in each faction. While I didn't know who it was specifically I did know that there was someone with an aptitude for Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite." I must look very startled because she explains more. "I don't know names, gender, or if they're a transfer or not. It's only a way to track numbers. Besides, you know I wouldn't hurt someone because they're Divergent and I'm the only one here with access to this information."

"What about the other factions?"

"Well, Abnegation holds all the total numbers since they've never seen Divergence as a threat. Everyone has finally learned to accept Divergence, thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?"

"Yes. Some people were very unsure about it all but then someone had the brilliant idea to point out that you were able to help stop the war because you could not be controlled by anything, especially a simulation. After that they couldn't argue that being Divergent is a bad thing. The only ones who even tried had worked closely with Jeanine and were put in jail."

She lets her words sink in for a second before she turns to Tobias. "What rank is she?"

"She's currently second and we're now doing simulations so I think that will change to first."

"Good, I have a job for her."

"Which one?"

"A leader, but also working with you on training initiates."

"Do I have any say in this?" I butt in.

"Of course!" Tori says. "I just assumed you'd want it though."

"What would I be doing?"

"You'd focus specifically on initiation-"

"So you want me to take Eric's job?"

"Not exactly. You'd also be a representative along with Four. And while Eric did have a large say in initiation you would actually be an instructor who worked with initiation almost year round."

I let it all sink in. She wants me to be a leader. She also wants me to work with Tobias.

"I don't need an answer now, just let me know whenever you decide. You know where to find me."

"I know now." She turns and looks at me expectantly. "I want it."

"Perfect! Now we have one other matter to discuss. Are you ever going back to Tris?"

"Yes, I had planned on going back after initiation."

"Great! When?"

"I hadn't really decided."

"When I announce rankings I could put Tris instead of B, that way everybody knows at once."

"That sounds perfect!"

We leave and head to Uriah's apartment for Candor or Dauntless. They've already started when we finally get there. Zeke is just finishing up a dare.

"Well, look who's late!" Uriah cries before throwing a pillow at us. I pick it up and throw it back at him. It hits him square in the face and he collapses dramatically on the ground.

"We were in a meeting with Tori," Tobias explains.

"Did you invite her to play? She always has the best dares!"

"No, she had other meetings to attend."
With that the game starts up again. Christina, Lynn, and Uriah have all done a dare before Uriah finally asks me. I choose Dauntless.

"I dare you to go see your brother."
I visibly pale at that one. I haven't told Caleb I'm back yet. I've been dreading it because he's family. I know I should have told him earlier but I couldn't bring myself to.

"You haven't told him, have you?" Christina asks.

I shake my head. I get up and walk out of the room. Everyone follows me so I guess they know I'm going to see Caleb.