Jeanine Matthews- An Unlikely Love Story

Ch. 2 Encounter

I liked Drake, as a friend. He was funny and witty and I came to the conclusion that he was going to be a good friend after about 10 minutes.

After a few minutes we were told at our end of the line that we were going to our assigned dormitory; Erudite born in one and the mixed faction initiates in another. There were about 20 of us all together, enough to fill a small class, perfect for the Erudite teachers.

I looked around to see if I noticed any other Amity transfers, but no yellow and red clothing stood out. There were mostly Candor and Dauntless, and just three Abnegation. I felt like an outcast in my yellow shirt and bright red pants, and suddenly felt self conscious.

One of the Candor girls seemed to notice and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about standing out. They said as soon as we get to the dorms we would change into Erudite garment," She said almost sympathetically, but I supposed it was just the way she spoke since Candor weren't the ones to be kind and understanding.

"I sure as hell hope so," I said feeling embarrassed.

"Wow, I've never heard an Amity swear before." Drake said taken aback.

"It's not a big deal," I said then suddenly thought of something smart. "We all belong in Erudite now, faction before blood, remember?"

"Or no where at all," The Candor girl said grimly. She was referring to the factionless, and she was right about that; if we failed any part of the initiation, we would be thrown out in an instant like Jeanine said about tardiness.

We finally made it to the dorms and split off. Our dorm was pretty large, but not as large as the Erudite, I was told. The room was painted a medium shade of blue that I enjoyed. The beds were lined vertically from each other, and a few were bunk beds. I was just glad that we would each be assigned our own bed because I felt uncomfortable sleeping with anyone else, friend wise; I took the bed farthest from Drake.

"So where are the clothes we change into?" Asked a Candor boy with blond hair.

"Under the fucking pillow, dumb ass." A Dauntless guy said, clearly aggravated by his ignorance; he would fight right in with the Erudite if he stopped the swearing.

"Oh," the Candor boy blushed and hurried off to change.

I grabbed the clothes from under my pillow and went to the bathrooms, which were right outside the dorm.

I came back changed in clean Erudite clothes; My shirt was a brilliant shade of a lighter blue and my pants were a deep navy. I tossed my Amity clothes down the transfer's clothing disposal chute and could've sworn I felt heat from something like a flame.

At 6, someone who I supposed was a trainer, came to the dorms to announce something.

"My name is George, and I'll be the one responsible for your training during your initiation process. I have come to your dorm at this time to announce that you are now able to go to the dining room and obtain dinner. That'll be all." The man, who came in and also had red hair, said.

"Food! I've been wanting something for hours!" Drake exclaimed. I snorted at his reaction. I secretly hoped he would be able to act more mature since the Erudite always acted superior.

"He won't even pass the first test," someone murmured as they walked by me. I but my lip, I was nervous for him; the Amity in me.

I walked with the rest of the crowd of transfers to the dining hall; the pack was led by the trainer, George.

I must have had a worried look on my face because a girl from Abnegation asked me what was wrong.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked.

"No, it's just something stupid, really." I replied.

"I'm Guinevere, by the way. I know, it can be a mouthful at times when you're first trying to learn it. Anyway, I think you were pretty brave to come here being from Amity and all." She said.

"Not really, I mean maybe if I went to Dauntless. You're the one who's going against your old faction manifesto." I observed. She shrugged in reply.

We reached the room after about a five minute walk, and Drake was already finding a table to sit at. I went over to him and almost sat down before he stopped me.

"You got to get some food first. It's not good to skip meals, especially dinner, it's the best one!" He said through a mouthful.

"If you don't slow down, you'll be finished before I even get in line." I laughed.

"Alright, I won't eat until you get here." He replied mournfully.

I was heading back to the line when something caught my attention. Someone had made a loud noise, probably a Dauntless transfer still being obnoxious even though they decided to come here to Erudite.

By thinking about how immature the Dauntless born initiate was, it made me unaware of where I was walking and I accidentally bumped into someone. I looked at who it was and I could feel myself getting hot.

"What do you think you are doing?" Jeanine asked me, clearly annoyed.

"I-I wasn't looking where I was going..." I murmured an apology and tried to continue towards the line, but she stopped me.

"Apologies are a weak form for forgiveness. You will owe me some work sometime in the future." She said then added as sympathetically as an Erudite could. "It's to make sure you have learned from your mistake."

I wanted to argue more than anything, but I let it go and nodded. I was use to Amity forgiving me for my mistakes easily, but here, it was like committing a crime. I carried on and got my food. The Abnegation girl, Guinevere, and a Candor girl I recognized say by Drake who was still waiting for me.

"I saw your encounter with Jeanine." He smirked. "She seemed pretty pissed."

"Yeah, I'm going to have to do some work 'sometime in the future,'" I shook my head in aggravation. A natural ginger colored lock fell in front of one of my eyes and I pushed it away. I was already embarrassed as it was, now my hair wanted to join in the humiliation.

I allowed Drake to eat again and he wolfed down his food while I picked at mine. I learned that the Candor girl's name was Kathryn as the meal went on. The two girls talked to each other and Drake talked to a couple of Erudite born guys, while I looked at my food miserably. If I was going to survive Erudite, I would need to stop being so sensitive and learn to bottle up my feelings or else I would never pass for Erudite.