Invergent

Chapter Thirteen

I wake up the next morning to Parker shaking my shoulder gently. "Hey, it's almost time to start training," he whispers. "You slept in. I brought you a muffin, though."

I sleepily sit up and stretch. "What time is it?"

"7:55."

"What?! Training starts in five minutes! We need to go!" I grab the chocolate muffin out of his hand and take a huge bite. I throw my blanket off of me and stuff my feet into my shoes. "Come on!" I say around a mouthful of muffin. Parker lets me drag him out of the room and down the hall, laughing.

We're the last ones in the training room, but thankfully, it doesn't seem like Three has begun the lesson yet. Parker and I take our spots next to the other initiates, both suppressing yawns.

Three walks down the row of initiates, handing us each a gun. "The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to win a fight. We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear. Therefore, each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

Yawning, Parker says, "But what...what does firing a gun have to do with...bravery?"

Three spins around and presses his gun to Parker's forehead, clicking a bullet into place. My heart stops.

"Wake. Up. You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it." 

Three lowers the gun slowly and I give a sigh of relief. Parker's cheeks burn red, so I grab his hand to try and comfort him. I guess Chrissy isn't the only one who needs to work on controlling their Candor mouth.

"And to answer your question..." Three continues, "you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself. This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch me." He turns towards the targets and aims, then fires. The bullet hits the bullseye. "Now it's your turn."

I release Parker's hand and give him a smile before stepping up to my own target. I copy what I remember of Three's stance, then hold my gun up. It's heavy, but I try to focus on aiming. I fire and my hands fly back from the recoil. I hear a faint ringing from the loud sound. I look at my target, but it's unmarked.

I fire a few more times without success. I look over at Parker to see that he hit the target twice, neither near the center.

I aim again. I breathe in, then out, drowning everything else out except for the target in front of me and the feel of the gun in my hands. I fire. The bullet hits just inside the outermost ring. I smile.

I shoot again and again, and by the time we break for lunch, I've hit the bullseye four times.

"I don't think I can move my arms," I complain as we walk down the hall to the cafeteria.

"Oh, you poor thing," Chrissy says.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Parker jokes.

"I think I'll survive," I say dramatically, rolling my shoulders.

"She said her arms are hurting. Her legs still work." Chrissy rolls her eyes playfully.

As we stand in line to get our trays of food, I notice Elise sitting with the Dauntless-borns. I can't help but wonder if she thinks she's too good to sit with us transfers. She robbed me of being the first jumper, and now she's avoiding all of us. She doesn't even give us an opportunity to talk things out. In her head, avoiding the problem is probably her twisted Amity way of 'keeping the peace.' I'm pulled suddenly out of my thoughts by Chrissy handing me a tray, which I start loading up with food.

We head to our usual table, where Sal and Will sit in awkward silence. Edwin and Mia are a table over, practically sitting in each other's laps.

"You didn't want to hang out with your Erudite buddies, William?" Chrissy asks.

"It's Will, and just because we're from the same faction doesn't mean we're friends. Plus, I'd rather not be the third wheel. I mean, have you seen them?"

We all look at Edwin and Mia, who are now feeding each other.

"Okay, I see your point, William," Chrissy says, taking a bite of bread.

"It's Will."

Polly and Dru walk over to us and sit down, Dru sitting uncomfortably close to me. I scoot closer to Parker, our shoulders now touching.

"Nice shooting today, Sal," Polly says with a sneer.

"Yeah, did you even hit the target?" Dru asks. "Even just one time?"

Sal turns away, his face red.

"Maybe he couldn't see it from way up there," Polly snickers.

"Maybe your vision was the one that was impaired," Chrissy snaps. "I don't know how you can see a thing around that bulbous nose."

Polly clenches her jaw and glares at Chrissy.

"Why don't you both go sit somewhere else," Will says, looking at Polly and Dru.

"Fine," Dru says, standing. "We don't want to sit with losers like you, anyway."

"What are you, five?" Chrissy mutters under her breath.

Once Polly and Dru are gone, we're able to enjoy the rest of our meal in peace.