Choose Your Own Adventure: Divergent

Eating with Tris- 31

You sit down next to Tris and Christina. 

"Mind if I sit here?" you ask, and they welcome you warmly.

"Sure!" Christina says. Tris nods, too, smiling at you. She notices the plate of hamburgers in front of you, picking at it.

"What's..." she trails off, and Four nudges her.

"It's beef," he explains.

"You've never had a hamburger before?" Christina asks, eyes wide.

"Wow," you chip in, laughing, "even I've had a hamburger, and I'm-"

You catch yourself before you can finish that sentence. The world around you frosts, skin prickling with cold.

They're all staring at you. They're all staring at-

"-mostly vegetarian," you finish with an awkward laugh, grabbing a burger. "The Amity, we don't eat a lot of meat."

Four nods, and the conversation moves on. You knew the tidbit about Amity, because you met one of their failed initiates. It's almost impossible for them to fail- sometimes you wonder how he did it. Maybe he dropped out.

You hear footsteps as a man riddled with piercings approaches the table. "Well?" he says, looking at Four, deadly amusement in his eyes. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Four sits up, slowly, painfully. "This is Tris, Christina, and Y/N," he says. He turns to us. "This is Eric."

"Ooh, a Stiff," Eric says slowly, a smirk creeping to his face. "And Amity. This should be fun. We'll see how long you last."

You clench your fists, but try not to show too much emotion. You do have some practice for that from factionless.

They talk. You get the sense that Four doesn't want to move into leadership. Why? You wonder, squinting. Eric walks away. 

"Are you two friends?" Tris blurts out.

"We were in the same initiate class," Four says, turning back to his burger. "He transferred from Erudite."

"Were you a transfer too?" Tris asks, and you realize with a jolt that he must have been, if they were in the same class.

"I thought I would only have trouble with the Candor asking too many questions," Four snaps back. "Now I've got Stiffs, too?"

"It must be because you're so approachable," Tris says flatly, and you snicker. 

"Careful, Tris," he says, shoving his chair back with a screech and storming over to another table.

"I'm developing a theory," Christina says, smothering a laugh.

"And it is?"

She picks up her hamburger. "That you have a death wish."

You laugh and take a bite of your burger. The meat is flavorful and juicy, the bread perfectly clean and buttered. 

"I could get used to this," you say, grabbing another with a grin.

Advance to 34.