Four POV
"This skit is the stupidest thing I've ever done," Tris announces, flipping through the pages of the extensively detailed script.
"OK, we all know that's not true," Marlene says while laughing.
We're all sitting on the ground working on props for the play. "Not only stupid but very long. With a lot of characters too, when Uriah told me extra, I didn't think that meant being like 20 different characters." Zeke adds.
"Yea, and Uriah's not even done writing the script yet, there's still lots more to go." Tris nods her head to Uriah on his computer behind a closed door.
"Ugh, this is soooo boring." Lynn complains, dropping her brush on the floor.
"Way to be optimistic Lynn," Tris says sarcastically.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Shauna says, getting up.
After a few seconds Zeke suddenly says, "Me too." running to catch up with Shauna.
Marlene wiggles her eyebrows, and we all roll our eyes. God knows what they're doing in the bathroom.
"Ran out of paint," Lynn says dropping her brush into the empty can with a loud clank. "I'm gonna get some more."
"I'll come with you, I ran out of thread." Marlene adds getting up.
Now it's just me and Tris.
After a few moments of painfully awkward silence, Tris pipes up, "So Four, what's up?"
I try my best to keep my voice from wavering. I didn't need her to know how nervous she made me, "Nothing much, what about you?"
"Nothing," Tris shrugs her shoulders. After a while, Tris sets down her prop and says, "I don't know much about you Four, tell me about yourself."
That was random, I think to myself. "I don't know much about you either," that was a lie. Tris' life is an open book, but I didn't want to seem creepy.
"I asked first," Tris challenges back.
"How about we play 20 questions?"
"Fine by me, but you're still going first." She says not giving up, I smile at her stubbornness.
"Fine, I am 6 feet and 4 inches tall." I tell her.
"Wow, you are tall."
"Well, I told you something about me, now you tell me something about you."
"OK, technically, your answer didn't really count, but I'll let that one slide," she smirks at me.
"Have you ever had a pet? And if you could what would you want?" I ask her.
"Technically that was two questions," I give her a look, "but whatever. When I was five, I had a pet rock, his name was Rocky, cutest thing in the world. And what I would want, hmm, well it's hard to beat Rocky, but I guess I've always wanted a dog." she finishes.
Note to self, get Tris a dog to woo her. I could really use this game to my advantage.
"Now it's my turn, I'll start easy, what is your favorite color?"
"The color of your eyes," I blurt out without thinking. I mentally kick myself for being such an idiot.
She blushes at my answer, but tries to hide it. "It's your turn." She says trying to change the subject.
"What is your favorite animal?"
"Unicorns, duh." She answers laughing. I roll my eyes at her, but also smile. "Fine, I really like, uh, ok don't judge, chickens."
"Chickens?" I say laughing, but when I look up, I see that she is dead serious. I immediately stop laughing, "Why chickens?"
"Ok, A, that counts as a question. And B, why not chickens? Sure they might taste good, but hens will literally sit on their chicks so that intruders can't find them, so that they won't get rained on and freeze. They will take in other chicks from a random family, and treat them like they're it's own. I guess, I just always admired moms who would do anything for their kids, because of well..." Her words trailed off as she looked away. When she turned back, there was a smile plastered onto her face, but I could still see the sadness in her eyes.
I know how Tris feels, I had a mom like that too. Maybe because no one's ever been there for me, maybe because I wanna be there for Tris. Maybe because I just wanted to be near her, but I scoot over a wrap my arm around her, trying to protect her like a hen.
Suddenly, she leans into my chest, and I hold her closer. For a few seconds, I was in heaven. But she quickly jerks backwards, when we hear footsteps coming from the hallway.
We immediately go back to what we were doing before, just as Marlene comes running back into the room.
"I need somewhere to hide," Marlene says frantically, going to hide behind Tris. She looks at our confused faces and just says, "Don't ask."
Seconds later Lynn comes stomping into the room, with purple paint dripping from her hair. "Where is she?" Lynn says through clenched teeth, trying to stay calm.
I put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing, and I see Tris doing the same.
Lynn stomps over to Tris and sees Marlene. At the exact moment, Tris' endurance weakens, and she bursts out laughing. "Oh, you think this is funny?" Lynn says, raising an eyebrow. Tris and Marlene's eyes widen as Lynn engulfs them in a giant hug, getting paint all over the two of them. After a few seconds Lynn lets go, satisfied with her work.
Minutes later, Zeke and Shauna come back from the bathroom.
I continue to work on my prop when Uriah busts out of his room, with one his huge grins on his face. "Woah man, we don't have insurance on the doors," Zeke warns.
"Well we should," Uriah says rolling his eyes at Zeke, "Anyways guys, you know that closed off room at the end of the hallway next to the gym?"
We all nod our heads.
"Well, it turns out that they turned it into a pool!" Uriah announces excitedly.
"That's great Uri! But it's too bad that we can't go, oh well, guess we'll just stay here working on our props, sigh." Marlene says in mock sadness, staring at her half-finished prop with a mischievous look in her eye.
"OK, well I guess you guys can stop, we can go to the pool on your guy's break time!" Uriah says smiling. Right, because he gives us breaks.
But none of us care to point that out, we just want to get out of here. I think that I may have a paintbrush cramp.
"Umm, one problem. None of us can swim." Lynn points out. That may be a problem. We don't really have much chance to learn either, there's only one lake, which is pretty much infested with moss and other plant and bug life now. Plus, the factions aren't very big on pools.
"I can swim," Tris says matter-of-factly.
We all stare at her, our mouths wide open.
"What?! Uriah pushed me into a lake once, it was for survival!" Tris says, glaring at him.
"Because you hid my teddy bear!" Uriah retorts.
"Because you ate part of my secret candy stash!"
"Because you told mom I broke the window!"
"Well you did break the window, and you drew on my journal!"
"You tripped me!"
"Wait a second, hold up," Lynn interrupts, "you had a teddy bear?" She says to Uriah.
"Umm, doesn't everyone?" Uriah replies, "and I still have a teddy bear."
"OK, whatever people, let's just go to the pool!"
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"Okay guys, so the first step to learning how to swim is, not wearing whatever those are." Because this is most of our first time swimming, and we weren't expecting to anytime soon. So for swimming suits, we just had to improvise.
"Anyways, horrible fashion choices aside. Let's get into the water!" As Tris says her last words, she steps back, then cannonballs into the water, screaming and splashing all of us.
Since we were already wet, everyone jumps in. I stay on the deck, reluctant to jump in. I start backing away, the idea of relaxing in the pool was great, but now I'm not sure why I ever agreed to do it.
Suddenly, I feel a pair of hands push my back, and I feel myself surging forward and hitting water.
As my body touches the water, the coldness spreads around me, along with fear, as I sink deeper. I start to flail my arms in a desperate attempt to reach the surface. I feel another hand grasp mine, as it pulls me upwards.
My head shoots out of the surface, as I take in a gulp of fresh air. I move towards the pool deck and wrap my hands around the cool surface as I pull myself up.
Tris floats next to me with a worried expression, "You okay?" She asks.
I nod my head, and turn around to glare at Zeke and he gives me an apologetic look. "I am so getting you back." I warn him.
I look around and see everyone on the pool deck too, with only Tris in the water. I guess Tris must have had to save everyone else too.
"OK guys, that was just sad." Tris tells us wagging her finger.
We're all too tired to glare at her.
"But don't worry about it. I just got a great idea." She says excitedly.
She runs off to a storage container with a bunch of pool supplies. She comes running back with an armful of thin, colorful, styrofoam tube thingys.
"'Kay, so you might be wondering what these things are," we all nod our heads. "So basically, these are called noodles, and if you're on one, they'll help you float." Tris explains to us.
Since no one had a better idea, we all go and grab a noodle from Tris. I'm reluctant at first, not wanting to re-experience my previous life-and-death situation. But I decided to trust Tris, and not get some encouragement from Zeke.
Tris was right, the noodles were actually really nice, they helped keep everyone afloat, even Uriah who is like 50% cake. But they did give Tris a huge advantage in Marco Polo, which I'm starting to think is the only reason Tris gave us these.
After we ran out of things to do, people started getting bored and leaving. Right when I'm about to leave, I feel a hand on my mine. I turn around and find myself face to face with Tris. She leans in and whispers into my ear, "I found something really cool, grab your things then meet me by the noodle rack." Before diving back into the pool.
I rush to grab my towel, flip flops, and robe, I decide to leave my noodle. I walk past a mirror and quickly check myself before walking over to the noodle rack. Tris is standing there with her robe on, but hanging wide open, showing her amazing bod, hey, I can't help it, I'm a boy.
Tris claps her hands in front of my face and says , "Hey bud, my eyes are up here." She smirks at me while my face goes red from embarrassment.
She turns around and pushes the noodle rack aside revealing a locked door. "I found the door when I was getting you guys noodles," then she slips her hand out of pocket of her robe revealing a key. "I found this in your noodle."
She inserts the key and turns, followed by a click and the door sliding open. She sticks her head in to make sure no one's around, then waves her hand indicating for me to follow her in.
Once inside, I look around, my jaw dropping in astonishment. The room looks small on the outside, but it's actually huge on the inside. A sweet flower smell lingers in the air, but that might just be Tris. In the middle of the room sits a round pool, with steam rising from it. On the side, there is a sign that says "4 feet", which means I can stand in it and won't drown.
Beside me, Tris laughs at my reaction, "This is a hot tub." She walks over to an assortment of levers and buttons and pushes the big lever in the middle to the top.
My eyes widen in fear that she might have just released some bombs or something.
But right after, the walls of the hot tub start to gurgle, as the hot tub fills with gigantic, clear, bubbles. This is the best invention ever.
Tris slips out of her robe and walks up to the hot tub. She places her hand on the railing as she steps in slowly. Then, as she starts to get deeper, she sits on one of the built-in chairs connected to the walls of the hot tub. As she sinks in, she immediately begins to relax.
I follow after her, but when my toes touch the unknowingly hot water, I wince and jump back.
Tris laughs, "Relax Four, it's not going to kill you. Just step in slowly if you want your skin to get used to the temperature."
I do as she instructs, and feel the relaxation the hot tub brings.
I sit down and lean my head back, the warm water flowing around me and the bubbles floating at the surface, occasionally tickling my skin.
"Hey Four look at this," I look over and see Tris emerging from the sea of bubbles with a beard and mustache made from bubbles.
I laugh at her childness, and gather some bubbles doing the same, causing her to laugh too.
I'm about to say something when suddenly, coming from behind the door, we hear a long, high-pitched scream.
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Sorry for this oh so rude interruption, but ooooh, a cliffhanger. Hmmm, maybe I should be evil and end the chapter here. Muahahahaha!
Nah, don't worry about it, I'm couldn't do that to you guys. But before you continue to read the chapter, lemme just say something about that hot tub scene over there. Okay, I mean c'mon, who didn't do the bubble Santa?
Sorry, off topic, hope you enjoy the rest of the chapter. =D =D =D
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Tris POV
I watch as Uriah paces back and forth, from one wall to the other, chewing on his fingernail, sweating nervous a pig.
This is probably the most nervous I've ever seen him. Usually, he's a pretty calm, cool, collected guy, he never broke a sweat for a test that would determine your future, or your one opportunity to not fail. Uriah just wasn't that type of person.
But right now he was the exact opposite. After Four and I heard the scream, we quickly grabbed our things and rushed outside. To see Marlene lying on the ground with a look of pain, and Uriah beside her, still mid-scream.
Zeke had quickly informed me and Four that Marlene was running and she had slipped on a puddle and fell.
We quickly rushed Marlene to the hospital with Uriah screaming at everyone to get out of the way. I mean don't get me wrong, I was worried sick for Marlene, she was basically my best friend, but I think Uriah may be over-reacting.
I decided that I just needed some fresh air, and time to think. I walk out of the waiting room and climb up the stairs. I open the door and I'm immediately see another figure already there. The darkness surrounding only lets me see the shadow, but I already know who it is.
I walk over and sit down on the edge of the roof, and the shadow joins me. "What're you doing here?" I ask.
"Needed some fresh air," his voice sounds an extra octave deeper, "I heard about Marlene.".
"Yea, Uriah is really freaking out." I reply.
"Uriah freaks out about everything."
I let out a small chuckle agreeing a hundred percent, silence falls on us as I stare out into the city. THe roof was always my favorite place to just relax and gather my thoughts. Most little kids would lock themselves in their room, I would climb five sets of stairs. I loved sitting on the roof, with the wind blowing in my hair, and the bright lights of the city below me.
"Do you think Marlene will be okay?" I ask suddenly.
"Definitely."
"What makes you say that?" I ask curiously.
"Because she's got you guys with her."
Suddenly, the door swings open, and I whirl around and see Four standing at the entrance. He looks confused as the dark figure swoops past him and down the stairs. I blink, and he's gone.
"Hey Tris, Zeke told me you might be here." Four says holding the door open. "You should get back to the hospital."
I nod my head, and follow him down the stairs.
"Who was that?" Four asks, indicating the person I was talking to earlier.
"Amar."
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Soon after arriving at the hospital with Four, the nurse walks out of Marlene's room and comes informs us, "You do not need to worry, your friend is fine."
Uriah quickly goes to the nurse and interrogates her, "So she's fine, like all she has is a bruise or fine as in she's lucky to be alive? Did she hurt her head when she fell? Will she be needing surgery? Did she break any bones? Will she need a cast or wheelchair? How long will she need to stay here? When can I go see her? Can I see her now? Does she need anything? Is she thirsty, or hungry-"
I walk up to Uriah and put my hand on his mouth, "Shut up and let the nurse speak!"
The nurse nods her head in thanks to me and continues, "Your friend is fine, she is healthy and should be able to leave the hospital very soon, but she'll need to come back for weekly appointments. She will be needing a cast, but don't worry, all she has is a broken arm, nothing to fret about."
We all relax, feeling relieved. Broken bones are very common here in dauntless, us being brave and all, I've probably already had like five, and Uriah has had too many to count.
"See Uriah, I told you, she's fine. You don't need to overreact so much." I say, releasing my hand from his mouth. He rolled his eyes and scoffed before turning back towards the nurse.
"Doctor, could I please go see Marlene?" Uriah asks politely. The nurse nods at him, and leads him to the room.
"Oh yea," Uriah says stopping before entering the room, "Since Marlene's hurt, she won't be able to perform in the skit."
"Oh," I say pretending to be sad, "well then I guess we won't be able to perform then, oh darn."
"Actually, we will," Uriah smiles at me, "we have an understudy." My eyes start to widen in realization. "You." He says smiling that smug smile even bigger. My jaw drops, and I silently plead him to not make me do it.
But all he says is, "Is that something worth overreacting for?"
Words: 2979
Whew! This chapter's a long one. But I know the recent chapters have been kinda short, so I hope this chapter makes up for it.
Anyways, starting to see where I'm going now, with the Ultimate giveaway?
That's all for now. Don't forget to add this, vote and comment!