Chapter 4:
I awake the next morning to see Angela and this weird Steven-Colsen dude leaving the dormitory, and the rest of the initiates sleeping soundly on their beds. The thing about Steven Colsen is that he's got some kind of problem with his first name. He hates it, so he forces everyone to call him Colsen.
I've always found that quite odd. He's quite odd in general. I stand up, stretch, and grab a black tank top, and some black jeans, along with my combat boots.
I walk to the bathroom, walk into a shower stall, and undress. I turn the water on. The Dauntless Borns get a luxury—warm water. The Transfers only get cold water.
I stand under the warm water, and wash my body, and then I turn the water off. I grab the towel that I hung on the door and begin to dry myself off. I finish drying myself off, and put on my clean clothes.
I then dry my hair as much as I can with the towel, sighing since it's still damp, and put it in a braid of sorts. I strap on my combat boots, and leave the dormitory.
I walk to the dining hall, and grab a muffin, and munch on it as I make my way over to a table where Angela, Steven Colsen, Abby, and Hunter sit. Olivia sits across the dining hall with the transfers.
As soon as I sit down, Abby and Hunter get up, and throw their trash away. "See ya in the training room." Hunter says as they walk away.
I continue to eat with Angela and Colsen. I look over at him. "I just have one question," I say plainly to him, swallowing my muffin.
"Shoot." He says dryly as he takes another bite of his muffin. Angela eyes me suspiciously as I stare across the Dining Hall, at all of the other people here.
"Is it Steven or is it Colsen? Also, why do you hate your first name so much?" I ask him. He stares at me.
"It's Colsen. I just don't like my first name." He says. I nod, then continue sitting with them until I finish, and then I stand.
"Bye Angela. Bye Steven." I say as I smirk, then walk out of the dining hall, and look at the clock. It reads 7:47.
I walk aimlessly around the compound, passing the pit, the Dining Hall, the transfer dormitory, and finally the chasm. Eventually, I make it to the training room, and I step inside. Here we go.
>>
Uriah and Zeke didn't show us how to properly throw a knife, or shoot a gun. We just went at it, because we're Dauntless Borns, and we should already know how to do it.
Dad taught me well when I was young- taking me to the training room on the weekends with all of my friends.
We learned how to fight, shoot guns, and throw knives. Dad wanted us all to pass initiation when we grew up. Here we all are now- doing just that. "When you're finished shooting and you're out of ammo, come line up by me." Zeke says. I nod.
Everyone begins shooting, and I do as well. The recoil almost sends me stumbling back a few times, but I ignore it and continue to shoot. Soon, I run out of ammo. I had about twelve or so centers out of the seventeen or eighteen rounds that I had.
Not bad since shooting was never a stronghold for me. I put my gun back on the table once I turn the safety on, then stand by Zeke. After a few more minutes of endless gunfire, nearly everyone is lined up.
"LUNCH!" Uriah shouts. He scans over the initiates, and when his eyes land on Jordan, he winks at him.
Those two are up to something. I can feel it. It's never good when Uriah winks at someone. Ever.
All of the initiates race to the door, and pile out, then run to the dining hall. Jordan grabs my wrist, pulling me to the pit.
"We're going to a restaurant!" He shouts with excitement. He really is Uriah's son. That's what they were planning.
"Is this a date?" I say, putting my left pointer finger on my chin. Break up with him, Maddie! My mind tells me. The voice is pleading. Everything inside of me screams to break up with him, but I don't want to hurt him, I don't want to hurt Uriah.
"Hmmm," he says, tapping his chin. "Yes, if that's what you want to call it." He says, smiling.
"Well," I say, then begin jogging to catch up to him. "I guess it's a date." I say. Maybe I'll just be a really shitty girlfriend and he'll break up with me. Oh wait, I tell myself, I already am and he loves me for it.
We walk through the dark, dim, and damp hallways of the pit, until we see a bright, orange light hanging over a sign with fancy letters. It just says Dauntless in those fancy letters, with numbers underneath it.
"Gasp!" I say, making Jordan double over laughing. "We're eating here?" I ask, fake suspense visible in my voice.
"Yeah, it's been like three months!" He says, now recovered from laughing, and he puts an arm around my shoulder protectively. I pull away.
"What do you mean? Like? We've been dating for three months... Did you not actually know that it had been three months or what?!" I exclaim, and he sighs.
"No, I knew, it was just—" he says, and I try my hardest to be awful so that he'll break up with me right now.
I just shake my head. His face finally jumps back up from the frown that was covering it a second ago, and it turns into a smile. "Let's go eat!" He says, and we walk into the restaurant, me sighing the whole time.
It looks like a golden bubble when you get inside. Everything. Is. Gold. When we arrive, and find a waitress, she asks, "Have a Reservation?"
"Yeah, for Pedrad." Jordan says.
"Oh here It is. You guys look like a young couple." She says, smiling at us as she grabs a set of menus for us. I plot it out in my mind of how I'm going to break up with him. If I can't do it now, then I'll do it at the paintball game or something. Maybe when we zip line. I don't know, I'm going to have to think quick, though.
"We are. We're 16." Jordan says, looking at me and smiling.
"Well, let's go get you guys a table!" She says, cheerily. We all back to a booth, with roses in the center of the table, and candles lit around the table.
We sit down, and look at the menus. The waitress brings us some wine glasses, and pops the lid off of a fresh bottle of champagne.
She pours us two glasses, and then smiles. "What would you two like?" She asks.
"I'll have the steak and potatoes." I say. "Ooh. With a salad, please." I say.
"Same here." Jordan says. "Okay. We'll have that right out." The waitress says, walking away. I look at him, and smile.
"Sometimes, I swear, you love food more than you love me." Jordan says, grinning, and I roll my eyes, looking down at the stomach that I've been insecure of for so many years.
"No," I say, champagne in hand, "I love myself more than I love food." I say as I look down once more, and I catch Jordan's eyes moving down past my eyes, past my face completely. "Eyes up here, dude." I say to him and he sighs.
I roll my eyes at him, then look out into the Pit, where my friends sit, talking to each other and hanging out. I long to be with them, living the life of the single girl that I want to be. A few minutes later, the waitress brings back our steak and potatoes, along with our salads. I thank her, then silently eat, still looking at my friends occasionally.
"Who are you staring at?" Jordan says protectively. I send him a who are you talking to like that? Look, and then point to my ring finger.
"I don't see a ring there, buddy, so you can calm down." I tell him, then sigh. "I'm looking at my friends."
"I bet you're just staring at Ashton." He says to me and I furrow my eyebrows, then look at him from across the table, my eyes narrow.
"What?" I ask as I lick my lips. "Just because I'm best friends with a guy doesn't mean that I'm in love with him." I say, then stand, now done eating. I get up, and leave Jordan alone in the restaurant.
I walk back to the training room, only now, the funny thing is, a large smile is painted across my face. Step one to being happily single, done.
a/n: ****rewritten on 7/19/16