To Try Again | Divergent (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 32

Leaving the dormitory at that very moment was a very good decision to make, and I realize that quickly. While yes, I left Tobias sitting on my bed worried, a smile is easily sketched onto my face when Uriah yells my name from the other side of the hallway.

I'm still not quite sure how I always end up here. Even last time, I always found myself in this same hallway. Uriah up jogs to me with Lynn and Marlene following closely behind him. Marlene has an object in her hand, and it quickly catches my attention. It's a muffin. There's no way I'm going to miss this.

"Thought I would find you here." He winks at me. "I heard you ranked first."

"Well," I say teasingly. "You heard correctly."

He holds his hand up, and I give him a high-five. "I figured your friends might not be so congratulatory, since their ranks aren't as high," he tells me. "So quit moping and come with us." He wiggles his eyebrows. "I'm going to shoot a muffin off Marlene's head."

I laugh and without waiting for my answer, Uriah rushes to the training room with Lynn and Marlene following. Lynn gives me a glare while Marlene smiles at me. I smile back and walk behind them.

"Why aren't you out celebrating?" Marlene asks. "You're practically guaranteed a top ten spot if you keep it up."

"She's too Dauntless for the other transfers," Uriah butts in.

"And too Abnegation to 'celebrate,'" remarks Lynn with an eye roll.

I ignore her. "Why are you shooting a muffin off Marlene's head?" I can't remember why it happened. I just remember that it did.

Uriah looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "She bet me I couldn't aim well enough to hit a small object from one hundred feet," he explains. "I bet her she didn't have the guts to stand there as I tried. It works out well, really."

I chuckle, and we quickly arrive in the training room. Uriah flips on the light switch right as I step inside, and I blink to adjust my eyes after standing in my dark, not-so-hidden hallway.

Uriah lifts up his shirt and pulls out what I know recognize as a pellet gun from his waistband. I notice the same tattoo as before. I totally forgot he had that, and I still don't know what it is. When his shirt falls back down I decide that I just don't care.

"Okay," he says. "Go stand in front of a target."

Marlene happily skips to stand in front of Uriah with her back against the wall. She places the muffin on top of her head, and Uriah squints one eye while he aims the gun at her.

"Wait!" Marlene yells before popping off a small amount of the muffin and popping it into her mouth. She mumbles the word "okay" the best she can while chewing a muffin piece. Uriah gives her a thumbs up.

"Your rankings must've been good," I tell Lynn, trying to make conversation.

She nods. "Uriah's second. I'm first. Marlene's fourth."

"You're only first by a hair," says Uriah as he aims. He squeezes the trigger. The muffin falls off Marlene's head. She didn't even blink. She's still standing with the same expression as before.

"We both win!" she shouts. I laugh.

"You miss your old faction?" Lynn asks me.

"Sometimes," I say. "It was calmer. Not as exhausting." I leave it at that. 

Marlene bends over and picks the muffin off the ground. Uriah shouts, "Gross!" when she takes a bite out of it.

"Initiation's supposed to wear us down to who we really are. That's what Eric says, anyway," Lynn says. She arches an eyebrow.

"Four says it's to prepare us."

"Well, they don't agree on much."

I nod. I try to think of the best way to change the subject from that of Tobias and Eric.

Before I have time to dwell too long on the topic, the door to the training room opens. I forgot we got caught. I glance at the door to see disapproving looks from Uriah's brother, Lynn's sister, and my boyfriend. Uriah's pellet that he fired at the wall only a few seconds earlier clinks onto the floor.

"I thought I heard something in here," says Tobias.

"Turns out it's my idiot brother," Zeke adds. "You're not supposed to be in here after hours. Careful, or Four will tell Eric, and then you'll be as good as scalped."

Uriah wrinkles his nose, putting the pellet gun away. Marlene crosses the room, taking bites of her muffin, and Tobias steps away from the door to let us file out.

"You wouldn't tell Eric," says Lynn, eyeing Tobias suspiciously.

"No, I wouldn't," he says. As I pass him, he rests his hand on the top of my back to usher me out, his palm pressing between my shoulder blades. I glance up at him for a split second.

A few feet ahead of me, I see Uriah wink at us before hurrying down the hallway with Zeke. The two boys are shoving each other. Marlene shares her muffin with Shauna, and Lynn stomps somewhat angrily ahead of them.

Tobias yanks my arm lightly, stopping me. "It'll be over soon, you know. Not much longer."

I reach out and take his hand. His fingers slide between mine.

I remember doing this the first time around. I remember the lack of breath I got from his hand being interlocked with mine. The craziest thing is that I still get that feeling. No one else can do that.

"I know," I whisper. I lean my head on his chest, and he places a light kiss on my forehead.

Word count: 960
Updated on 04/29/19