In the Shadows - DIVERGENT HIGH

Chapter 2

Bea POV

For the first time in my life, I am almost looking forward to going to school. I have some friendly people (already!) and the factions mean that I can be with people more like me.

After throwing on my uniform, I realise that I have no clue what to do with my hair. It is about the only thing that you can do to define you: to change your look. My problem is that I like my hair to be loose best but I am not allowed to unless I cut it to shoulder length, which I am not going to do any time soon. I decide on a low ponytail, and check my timetable for today. Right Tuesday. That means I have:

Sports - Coach Amar

Maths - Ms Matthews

Break

Science - Ms Matthews

French - Madame Clayton

Lunch

Music - Ms Wu

Geography - Mr Wu

Break

Free lesson

English - Ms Naidoo

Great! Most of the day is pretty good but I am worried about sports. I am so bad!

I change into my grey shorts with maroon piping and white polo shirt with Physical Education - Factions Academy embroidered in maroon on the breast of the shirt. I feel very naked in this even though I feel fine in just a leotard tights.

A man in a full tracksuit with closely cropped dark brown hair and dark/tanned skin marches into the foyer. "Alright. Everybody up. Get out onto the pitch and do 5 laps." He barks. I presume he's Coach Amar!

With certainty, I can say that I will be the slowest and the one with the least stamina. Running is most definitely not my thing!

After 1 lap, I am panting audibly and everyone seems to be overtaking me. Why am I such a loser? As expected, I am the last to finish and, as an extra embarrassment, I am made to do 25 press-ups. I am aware that I fell flat on my face more than 6 times but I can normally do only about 4 so I am not too upset.

Out of habit, I stretch out my back after this and I manage to reach my head to the back of my knees. Is that wierd? Apparently it is because when I get up, everyone's mouths are agape. I blush a little and shrink back into the crowds. Yet, being the clumsy loser I am, I manage to bump into someone. For the secind time in 2 days.

I whip my head round to find the most attractive and popular guy in the whole school. I don't know his name but I bet he's never even seen me before. His eyes are deep like an ocean and they glisten like molton silver. A cheeky spark twinkles in them but behind all the confidence and swag,I find pain and longing. Sorrow and sadness. Which makes my heart melt.

"Watch where you're going Stiff." His voice rumbles out of his chest like the roll of the tide. A girl with tonnes of makeup scooped onto her face and with hair in a high, sleek ponytail slides her glowing arm through his and purrs, "You've got no chance Stiff, he's mine." Then she pecks his lips and slinks off.

I shrug it of: yes I was staring too long but I'd never want too hook up with a popular, dirty player like him! No matter how hot he is. "We will be playing netball today. Four and Zeke are captains. Choose your teams."

As always in these things I am picked last and this time by Zeke. Of course Four's girlfriend, Lauren, was picked first by Four and Zeke's girlfriend Shauna was picked first on his, or should I say our, team.

Our team, to my great surprise, won but certainly not because of me. I was marking Susan as the GK and my team was good so the focus was always up that end. And as an extra bonus, Susan has Maths with me as well so after sports we get changed together and walk up to our next lesson. It is definitely nice to have a friend.

Maths was dull and it frustrated me loads because almost nobody understood it, even though it was basic. Susan leads me to the lunch hall for break and she gets an iced bun with coke but I am not hungry, which is awkward because I don't want to make her feel greedy.

"Bea, your really smart!" She says through mouthfulls of sticky icing and rubbery pastry.

"No I am not." I retort, embarrassed.

"Yes you are! You got all that stuff straight away! I couldn't figure it out at all!"

"My last school worked me really hard and we had done basically most of this year's syllabus last year." I lie to make her feel better. The bell drills through the cacophony of the dining hall, so I head off to my next class: science.

Science was hell because I hate science and I don't understand it but worse is that Ms Matthews takes it. If she was a character in Harry Potter, she would be Snape. Just she's female. Oh well.

The rest of the day shoots by like a rocket into the sky (that rhymes!) and before I know it, Caleb and I are trudging, through the drizzling rain, homeward. "Did you have a good day honey?" My mum chimmes the second she hears my key turn in the lock. I honestly don't know why she locks it: she's in the house all day on Tuesdays.

"Good." I reply.

"Great. Meet anyone nice?"

"Yes actually!"

"Great. Alright then. You want a drink or something?"

"No thanks. I'm fine." I call whilst running up the stairs. I have 10 minutes to get ready to go to my ballet class.

The door handle drips with rain as my hand curls around it and pushes down on it, swinging the door out infront of me. I step into a room that is clearly marked CHANGING ROOMS, with the female sign on it, and unzip my bag. The walls have been painted recently with a fresh coat of bright white paint. Benches are stationed around the walls like soldiers and shelves stand firmly along the back wall reaching up to the ceiling.

On the floor is a worn grey carpet, it's bristles as though a lawn mower has been at them, which reeks of sweat. Reluctantly, I rip off my tracksuit which leaves me in my crimson spaghetti-strap leotard and tights. I fasten my soft-blocks around my ankles, then pull my leg warmers up.

In the spare time I have, waiting for my teacher or anyone else to come, I decide to stretch out. I start off with my back, lying on my front and reaching back with my arms, then move onto the splits. Discovering that I can glide easily into all 3, (box, left and right) I decide to rest my foot on the 1st shelf and go down into the splits. Easy. On the 2nd shelf I can feel it pulling slightly but my bum is still on the floor and my leg stretched out behind. One more shelf and my bum is no longer in contact with the floor. I do this on all the other splits before someone comes.

And that someone is...

Ms Wu! "Oh hi Bea! "
"Hi Ms Wu"
"I didn't know you came here. I teach jazz and hip hop here."
"Cool. No I only just started here because me, my brother and my mum just moved here."
"Ok. You know, you should call yourself Tris. It suits you better."
Tris. That could never be me. Popular, badass, cool Tris. And that's when I realise that it's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it: I could be Tris, I can be Tris and you know what? I will be Tris.

A/N I couldn't be bothered to do the dance class because I didn't want this chapter to be too unreadably long (see what I did there? Unreadably, unreasonably? No? Never mind then. As you were...)
See y'all later munchkins...x

Lolakitten123 xxxxxxxxxx