Tobias and Tris: A Childhood Together

~1~

    "Beatrice, go upstairs and get dressed. Marcus and his son, Tobias, are coming over for lunch." My mother tells me.
I nod in obedience and and go to my room. A plain, gray Abnegation dress is what I'm allowed to wear, even at eight years old.
I walk back downstairs and prepare the table. My mother and father make lunch. My brother, Caleb, is doing some charity work at a friend's house.
I hear a knock on the door and rush over to open it.
Marcus stands in the doorway, his hand clamped tightly on his son's shoulder. Tobias has dark brown hair and dazzling blue eyes. He looked a little older than me.
I stand to the side, making room for them to pass.
"Welcome, please have a seat." My mother welcomes warmly.
"Thank you." Marcus smiles not too kindly.
      We eat in silence, right until the end of the meal.
      "So, how're you and Tobias doing?" My father asks.
      "We're quite well, thank you for asking."
      Once I finish my food my mother asks,"Why don't you and Tobias play outside?"
      "Okay."
      Tobias and I leave the house, making sure not to slam the door on the way.
      "My name's Beatrice."
      "My name's Tobias. Where are we going anyway?"
      "I want to show you a hidden park I've found."
      He looks confused,"I didn't know Abnegation had any parks."
      "Me neither, until I found this one. How old are you anyway?"
      "Ten, and you?"
      "Eight."
      "Aren't you a little young to go wandering around on your own?"
      "I can take care of myself." I say, unfazed.
      We arrive to a large hedge behind two houses.
      "How do we get through?" He asks.
      I point to a hole I had dug out, it was just big enough to wiggle through. I go first, having gone through many times, without a problem. Tobias on the other hand, being larger than me, struggles. I grab his hands and with a heave pull him through.
      Behind us is a well worn play set with a slide and swings. A tree holds up a tire swing.
      "Wow." Tobias gapes at it. Never having seen a place to have fun,"Are we even allowed to be here?"
      "I don't think so."
      I point to the tree which held up a sign that read:

CLOSED FOR DESTRUCTION AND REBUILD

      "I bet they closed it cause they thought it would be too much fun for Abnegation kids."
      I laugh,"I bet."
      I skip over to the swings,"Tobias, can you push me?"
      "Sure." He walks over and pushes my back, helping me swing back and forth.
      "Woohoo!" I yell cheerfully.
      He stops pushing me, seeing that now I could swing by myself. He hops onto the swing next to me and copies my movements. Soon, we were both yelling with excitement.
Since Abnegation had few places to have fun this experience was new and exciting.
"Any other places you'd like to show me?" Tobias says after awhile.
"I don't have any other exciting places to see but me can explore a little if you want."
He smiles,"I'd be happy to."
We leave the park and walk around the back of the houses for awhile. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary until . . .
"Look, why is there an Erudite car behind your house?"
"I don't know. Come on, behind this bush."
I dive behind a large bush, Tobias beside me.
Soon a rather grumpy looking Erudite comes out the back of my house. Holding a clipboard to his chest, he walks into his car. He drives down a back road and out of Abnegation.
"Wonder what he wanted." Tobias says once the car drives out of sight.
"I don't know but we should probably leave so our parents don't find out we've been spying."
He nods in agreement and we start to walk the way we had come but a voice stops us.
"Beatrice, what're you doing back here?" My mother calls from the house.
"We were exploring." I say truthfully.
"Well come on inside, you're filthy. Oh, and you too Tobias."
"Okay." Tobias and I say reluctantly.
Once inside Marcus walks up to Tobias.
"What happened to your clothes, boy? They're shredded." Marcus demands. But without waiting for an answer he continues,"Never mind, it's time for us to go home anyway."
He grabs Tobias's shoulder and leads him towards the door.
"Bye, Beatrice." He says over his shoulder.
"Bye."