The Leader

23

"This is the moment we've been training for," Tera says from her seat on my right. "We're about to officially be members of Dauntless."

Her words make my lips turn up at the corner, but they do not help calm the wave of nerves crashing in the pit of my stomach. We are about to go through our final stage of training, which determines what jobs we'll end up with. I'm not so much concerned about what my rank will be, but I am beyond nervous about all five of the leaders being able to see inside my head.

"I'm relieved and happy we're going to be full-fledged members," I say, "but I'm nervous and scared at the same time."

"I feel you." Finn sits on the other side of Tera, his knee bouncing as fast as mine is. "I'm ready to be finished with initiation, but I'm nervous about the future."

I catch Finn's eyes and I know exactly what he means by that sentence. He plans to ask Tera to be his girlfriend after we're actually members, and he's nervous about her reaction. I don't think he has anything to worry about; it's obvious they like each other.

"That's exactly how we felt when we first transferred here," Tera says, oblivious to the true meaning behind Finn's comment. "For the most part, things have been good for us. And when they weren't, we were okay because we had each other."

"You're absolutely right," I say with a nod. "I feel a lot better now."

"This is a touching moment." Finn wipes at his eyes, pretending to catch some non-existent tears. "I think it's time for a group hug."

I shake my head but lean into Tera to wrap my arms around both of them. My eyes flutter close and I sigh contently. I don't what what I did to deserve these two, but I am glad I have them in my life.

Four enters the room all of us initiates are in and walks toward our chairs. He stands in front of us and clears his throat, successfully gaining our attention. "Before the leaders get here, I wanted to tell you all that you have come a long way." Four pauses as his eyes wander over each of us, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "You are about to be members of Dauntless, and it hasn't been easy. Congratulations."

The Dauntless born initiates erupt into cheers at Four's speech. I catch Raiden's eyes from his seat on the far end of the row in front of me. He sticks his tongue out at me and waves at me. I chuckle and wave back. I haven't seen much of Raiden in a while. His training instructor must be keeping him busy. The last time I saw him was during our last capture the flag game and that was because Eric picked him for his team.

Speaking of Eric, I haven't seen or heard from him since the capture the flag game. Well, since he and his team had to run their laps. I assume he's been busy with leadership duties, considering the final stage of training is about to start. I bet him and the other leaders have been so wrapped up in preparing for today.

Still, the insecurity creeps into my mind. For the past couple of days, my thought have drifted back to the night on the roof, where I waited for Eric to show up and he never did. I couldn't help but wonder if he was avoiding me intentionally, to keep me from asking about that night. I shake my head, ridding my mind of those thoughts.

Focus, Rori. Now is not the time nor place to let your mind wander. I release a breath and close my eyes. You're going to do great.

***

"Rori."

The butterflies in my stomach take flight as soon as my name leaves Four's lips. The seats around me are empty, with the exception of a few. Raiden is leaned back in his chair in the row in front of me. The names hadn't been called out in order, and if I had to guess, I'd say they were called in the reverse order of our current ranks. That explains why we were some of the last initiates remaining.