The Divergent Games - A Crossover

Tobias - The Interviews - 9

Tris shakes Caesar's hand before sitting across from him. Folding her hands in front of her and leaning forward so her hair slides over her bare shoulders. She smiles at Caesar and just the sight of it makes my heart flutter. I know she doesn't think she's pretty, but I do. Maybe it's just because I'm in love, but she looks beautiful in that dress.

"I tell you," exclaims Caesar, "you look stunning! Props to your stylists!"

"Thank you," she says with a laugh. "They did a great job."

"Indeed! Now Beatrice, we're all dying to hear your story. I have so many questions to ask and only three minutes to ask them!"

"Better get started then."

Caesar chuckles at this, nodding as he shoots an amused look at the audience.

"So in Chicago, your people are set up a lot differently than ours. Can you describe that for me?"

"Everyone is split up into five Factions: Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, Amity, and Abnegation," she says, listing them off on her fingers. "Each one specializes in something different. The Dauntless value bravery over everything else, and they're trained to protect the city; the Erudite are always looking for knowledge, the Candor are brutally honest, the Amity are kind, and they grow the city's food; and the Abnegation are selfless, they exist to help others and forget about themselves."

Caesar listens with wide eyes, nodding along to her words. It reminds me that the Capitol doesn't actually know anything but what we tell them. They don't know how extremely the Factions follow their rules. That gives us some wiggle room.

"What do you do if you're born in one Faction but want to be in another?"

"Then you'd transfer when you're sixteen. Either way, you have to go through initiation which determines whether or not you can stay in that Faction. If you fail, you become Factionless."

"What Faction are you in?"

"Four and I are both a part of the Abnegation."

"Interesting!" the interviewer exclaims. "So how did you find yourself in the Capitol?" I raise my eyebrows. Katniss told us that he usually starts with banter before getting to the deep stuff. Maybe he doesn't know this is a bigger topic, and I wonder how Tris will answer it. I'm glad she's going first, though; she's a better liar than I am, and she's faster with it.

"Uh, well," she says, leaning back into her seat and crossing her legs beneath the dress. This gives the impression that she's relaxed up there, but her eyes find her hands and she takes a deep breath. "It's kind of a hard story for me."

"Can you tell us why that is?" the interviewer inquires gently. His demeanor shifts to accommodate the change in hers, to make her feel comfortable. Instantly I like him for it. Tris' eyes find mine, and I hold her gaze. Then she takes a deep breath, looking back at Caesar.

"Something happened between the Factions, I don't know what, but somehow, the Erudite got the Dauntless to attack the Abnegation. They killed my parents."

Gasps flutter up from all around and Caesar looks utterly horrified.

"We ran, they followed. Long story short, when they caught us, we volunteered to come here so no one else would get hurt."

Her story is perfect. It's sad enough to make everyone in the room upset, while also remaining true to our Abnegation story. The death of her parents is such a sensitive topic that I know she's using it to her advantage. The emotion behind her voice is real, any sane person can see that.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. But I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we're glad you're with us today. Let's move on to a lighter topic, shall we?