the heartless [e.c]

2 | initiate

I WAS THE last jumper. A few snickered as my name was called out , the man who helped me off the net had to suppress a smile. It was one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. During the tour no one walked with me , not even Ashley. I guess no one wanted to associate with the weakest of the group.

We were in the cafeteria now. Four , our instructor , sat a few chairs away from me. He seemed like a loner too , until a group of people called him over. Now I was the only one without a friend to sit with. I sighed and picked at my food.

Ashley had just about every other initiate surrounding her. Her hands were moving as she spoke and her eyes landed on mine , but only for a second.

I wonder if they know I'm her sister , Eric did. He said he could see the relation , even though I was so unattractive. That wasn't the first time someone's told me something like that and it won't be the last , so I wasn't mad at a him like I was.

I was still a little upset about the push. But I know if he didn't do that , I wouldn't be here right now.

"Is anyone sitting here ?" My thoughts were interrupted by a quiet voice. A girl with long black hair nodded towards an empty seat. I wasn't hesitant to say no. She looked friendly enough , and I was in a desperate need of friends.

She took a seat , "My name is Harmony by the way. I transferred from Amity."

"I'm Stevie ," I reply. "It's nice to meet you , did you really transfer from Amity ?"

Harmony smiles , "You must be from Erudite. But yes , as rare as it is people do transfer from Amity."

I blush slightly from embarrassment. "I'm sorry , I'm just curious is all."

She begans to say more , but stops from the sound of laughter coming from the table behind her. We both turn to see another initiate high-fiving Ashley.

Harmony rolls her eyes , "I can't imagine being in such need of attention. That blonde girl kept bragging to everyone about being first jumper , wanted everyone to know." - She took a deep breath and stabbed her peas with a fork - "As if we didn't know already. I wish I could slap that smirk off of her face."

"That's my sister ," I said. Harmony's mouth dropped open and she immediately began to apologize. But I stopped her.

"I wish I could slap her too."

•

THE NEXT MORNING we all had to be in the training room by eight o'clock. I wasn't sure what we'd be doing , but Harmony heard we would be learning to fight. She was excited about the possibility , but I was nervous.

"Why do we need to learn to fight anyways ?" I whisper to Harmony as we sat on the floor of the training room. She only shrugged.

A few minutes later Four stood in the front of the room. His mouth was moving , but from the back of the group it was difficult to hear half of what he was saying. The doors opened half way through his speech and in walked Eric.

Four didn't stop talking to acknowledge him , but I noticed he stood up straighter. I could sense the tension between the two. I wonder if anyone else could. After Four was done we paired up to practice sparring. He walked around to help as we did and Eric just watched , every now and then checking his watch as if he had somewhere to be.

"You're kinda good at this ," Harmony says. She was out of breath , "Did you like secretly train in Erudite or something ? Cause that would be unfair."

I laughed at her joke. "No , I actually read a book about boxing as embarrassing as it is."

She stopped. "Like for fun ?" I hesitantly nodded my head. "Erudite are strange ," she laughed and continued to spar.

Eventually Four made his way to us , giving an approving nod and muttering a , "Good job."

This caught the attention of Ashley who was starring us down , and Eric who began to make his way over to us. He watched us for a moment before saying , "You're weak."

We both knew who he was referring to. Harmony had strength from working outside in Amity. "But I'm fast ," I say. "I could tire my opponent out , plus if I just watch -"

"Is that what you're going to do ? Take the easy route throughout initiation ," he laughs loudly. "Trust me , sweetheart that won't get you very far."

"No," I start. "If you would just listen -"He stepped closer to me , causing Harmony to step back.

"I don't have to listen to you , initiate ," he says coldly , then he walks away.

•

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