Becoming Determinant - Tobias' Story

Insurgent Chapter 5 - Priors

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review, favorite, and/or follow this story! Your support means a great deal to me. Thank you also to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie!

"Insurgent" Chapter 5 – Priors

If Tris eats lunch, she must do it early, because she's not there by the time I arrive, and she doesn't show up afterwards. It bothers me that she might be going hungry, particularly when she'll need her full strength for whatever we'll have to face after we leave Amity. It's also frustrating to realize that a large part of the problem may be the other Abnegation – their presence undoubtedly reminds her of the parents she's grieving, yet we'll be stuck with them for a while at this rate.

Caleb doesn't particularly help, sitting across from me with his Abnegation haircut and whispering questions about my strategy for keeping the others safe once we reenter the city. His queries are effective in spurring me to think, but I don't know how much to trust him, so I don't give him a lot of answers.

Despite everything, though, I find myself feeling better as the meal progresses. I may never find out what makes the food here so satisfying, but I'm going to miss the effect when we leave.

Caleb follows me to my room, undoubtedly wanting to continue our discussion, and I don't try to stop him. I'm feeling vaguely sleepy now, with my stomach comfortably full, and I could use his energy to help me stay awake. There's still a lot of planning to do.

"Don't you think the paint here glows?" he asks me abruptly, staring at a wall in fascination. "Everything in Abnegation was dull and gray, and Erudite is all blue and white and sterile, but that yellow is just so pretty." He smiles. "It's like a little piece of sunshine."

For a moment, I simply watch him, realizing that he sounds like the Amity always do – bright and cheery to the point of being insipid. It's an odd effect from Caleb.

Odd enough to make me chuckle. "What?" he says, turning his wide eyes on me. "You have to admit they're the prettiest faction."

"True," I acknowledge. It's not like there's a lot of competition from Dauntless' dull, dirty black tones or Candor's stark contrasts. "They have good food, too."

He giggles. "They really do, don't they? I swear that bread is addictive, it's so tasty."

"Can't argue with that." Not that I had as much of it today – only one sandwich, since I filled up on the fresh fruit they were offering.

"It's hard to think here, though," Caleb adds as I open the door to my room, motioning him in before closing the door behind us. "I don't know why, but I'm just so scattered here. Like my thoughts bounce from one thing to another." He stops to look at the reflection shining off the windowsill, and I realize that he's proving his point rather effectively.

"I think you're right," I mutter. "I keep trying to plan for when we leave, but I can never get very far. It's like there's something in the air."

"Yeah...." He cocks his head, looking at the pattern on the curtains. "Beatrice doesn't seem to have a problem, though. It must be because she's Divergent."

The bald way he states that fact bothers me, but I don't respond. I doubt very much that he would have said it to anyone else, and he already knows that I know.

"It's strange," he continues, not seeming to notice my discomfort. "Growing up, she was always the one who didn't fit in, but it turns out that she actually has more aptitude for Abnegation than I do. How can that be?"