There is a universal excitement in the hall in the morning. I had returned to the Dauntless dormitory, changed into clothes that actually belonged to me and sit down for breakfast with Sammy, Uriah, Marlene, and Lynn, who were equally as nervous, yet Uriah had some other sort of worry about him, fear even.
"We'll be fine", I tell him quietly, "you did amazing in the last simulations, you'll only be competing with Edward for the top spot."
"Yeah, I know", he mumbles and pokes around in his cereal. I narrow my eyes at him, but let him be.
We are tested in the order of your current rankings, which means I am the third, after Uriah and Edward who had overtaken me again in Stage Three of training. But to my delight, Peter came after Tris, who had been the best in the Mental Stage and the only reason she wasn't serious competition for the Top Spots was her Ranking in Stage One.
Edward is playing with the rings he wears, twisting them around as Uriah's name is called and we can catch a glimpse of the room beyond. A singular chair in the middle of a circular room, screens on the walls, Dauntless leaders, and to my dismay, Janine Matthews are sitting at a long table, notepads in front of them and a box of files.
"What is Janine Matthews doing here?", Edward questions quietly.
"I don't know, she's been here a few times. Weird considering she is the one that preaches Faction before Blood the loudest", I mumble back. Edward huffs out a breath and goes back to twisting his rings.
Uriah finishes with perfect time, as does Edward, which means it is my turn after only twenty minutes.
"Tessa, please step inside."
I do as I am told, take my spot before the leadership and trainer group.
"You ranked fifth in Stage one, an impressive feed for a female Abnegation transfer", Lauren, the only female leader begins.
"Thank you."
"Your trainers noted your eagerness to train and to learn, as well as your acts of standing up for other initiates. We do need to note that it was to authority figures most of the time", Max says. My eyes flicker to Eric, he looks down at his papers, but the right corner of his mouth twitches up.
"There was of course the event in the cafeteria."
I roll my shoulders back.
"That...event... occurred after an attack on me and a friend. An attack with the goal of killing us. I will not ever say that I would take it back. I served my punishment for that."
They nod slowly.
"You took on the role of the strategist during Capture the Flag and your team won, took the additional training class, and did well in simulations so far. If you do well now, there might be a bright future ahead of you", one of the older leaders, Hendrix I think is his name, concludes. I smile.
"Take a seat, please. We'll administer your final test now."
My fears have not changed, but I feel more confident in handling them now, I am quicker when climbing along the piping, yet still, I smell the singing of my clothes, my hair, feel the heat licking at my skin. Feel the desperation of loneliness and the fear of Marcus that will never go away completely. But I finish it, my time a few seconds better than the times before. I wring my hands as eyes flicker towards Tobias, who I had just resuscitated in my last fear.
"Very well done, you may spend the rest of your day as you wish, the final scoreboard will be revealed tonight, together with your employment options should you pass and according to that possible rooming. You will have the night to think it over. Tomorrow you'll inform us of your decision and start your new life."
YOU ARE READING
Spitfire - Eric Coulter
Fanfiction"Four like the number?" "No like the letter." "Haven't I told you to shut your damn mouth, Stiff?" "You did. And I told you that my name is Tessa." "Have you enjoyed my misery enough yet?", "Well, I believed you'd pass out after four laps, so...no."...
