City of Chicago High (Divergent)

Chapter 34

Tobias P.O.V.

Dear T. "Four" Eaton,

We wish to inform you that you have been accepted into Norther Illinois University. We are very excited to have you studying with us during our fall semester. We are also very excited to have you playing for our huskies! We are very excited to see you on the field with our football team. Go huskies! We will be sending you a package containing more information concerning your spot on the team, studying with us, your major, and more. Please keep a look out for this package. We hope to see you soon this fall!

Sincerely,

The staff of Northern Illinois University

I stare at the page for a few minutes not believing what it says. I continue to reread it until I finally know that I comprehending the information correctly. I gather the rest of the mail and hurry up to my apartment. I sit down in one of the chairs at the bar and pull out the phone. I dial Zeke's number quickly. The phone rings a couple times and he picks up.

"Hello?" Zeke asks.

"Hey. We need to talk. About something important," I say.

"Um. If you're wondering who ate the last piece of cake yesterday it was Uriah. Not me," Zeke explains. I laugh into the phone.

"He what? Okay. That's not what I'm talking about, though. I can always get more cake. We need to talk about college," I explain.

"Okay. I'll be over in a few," Zeke mutters into the phone. He hangs up and I open the letter back up and reread it, making sure it still sounds the same.

About 15 minutes later, Zeke knocks on the window. For some reason my friends seem to dislike the door. I should just leave it unlocked. I walk over to where he is hunched over peeking through at me. He is wearing blue footie pajamas with red firetrucks scattered over it. I flip the lock and lift the window.

"Nice pajamas," I snort through my laughter. He crawls in and gives me a dirty look.

"To be honest, these are very comfortable. They keep me nice and warm. Plus, my mom says that I look very cute in them," he explains. He gives me a cheesy grin and jumps on my couch.

"So, Is the whole thing with our friends staying together still going to happen?" I ask, sitting on the other end of the couch.

"I guess so. Everyone who has gotten in to a school is in a college located in Chicago," Zeke states. It's true, though. Well, except for me. Christina, Uriah, and Zeke all are going to City of Chicago University. Everyone else is still waiting to hear back.

"Not everyone. And not everyone is trying to stay here," I say. I look down at the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zeke shoot up from the position he was lying in and stares at me.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I got into Northern Illinois University. I'll be over two hours away," I say. This leaves Zeke silent. He looks at me and stares. We stay in this heavy silence for several minutes until he speaks.

"Are you going?" he asks. He looks at me with concern.

"I have to. This is a great opportunity. I have to go. It's the best football team in the state. I don't know what I'll do about you all, though," I explain. Zeke nods.

"I know what you mean. If I got into such a great school I would have to go, also," Zeke says. He tries to cover up his sad face but fails.

"I'm glad you understand. I just hope everyone else does," I respond.

"They will. Are you the one was trying to leave here?" Zeke asks. His sad face changes to a confused one.

"No. While I was at Tris's house she fell asleep. I took her upstairs to her bedroom and I went over to her desk. As rude as it was, I went through a bunch of envelopes that she had on her desk. They were for a lot of local schools. They all rejected her. She had a couple of application forms with them. Most of them were for several other local schools. But one of them wasn't. One was for a school in New York," I explain. I try to hide the pain that masks my face, hoping to hide it from Zeke. He has the same expression on his face.

"So, Tris is applying to a school in New York city?" Zeke asks.

"Yeah. I looked over the information on it. Apparently, the school is New York is picking out one senior on the News Paper staff to go to New York to study. It's big honor. I just wish Tris had told us," I explain.

"Maybe she is keeping it a secret. She probably doesn't want to get her hopes up and then get it deflated," Zeke says. I nod, hoping he is right.

"But Tris is the best writer on the staff. She'll get in. I'm sure of it," I explain.

"I guess our group might be going national," Zeke says, trying to make a joke. I give him a fake smile. It sounded like a joke but it's the honest truth. I know it's selfish, but I hope Tris doesn't get in.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's kind of short but I thought this is what needed to happen. I still need a gift for Tris to give Tobias. It needs to be meaningful, too. Please comment and leave any ideas you have. I will also respond to any private messages I recieve. Well, as long as they aren't creepy. ;)

Disclaimer: Veronica Roth owns Divergent. Not me.