Dauntless

Chapter 11

I bit into the juicy steak and I groaned in pleasure, it was the best thing I had tasted in my whole entire life. I put the cheeseburger down and grabbed my bottle of beer and took a mouthful.
I sighed and said,
"Who makes all this food? It's amazing!" I took another bite.
"The chef." Adrian replied sarcastically.
"Obviously! But, who in dauntless would become a chef? Dauntless don't do that." I said, my mouth full. Adrian just shrugged his shoulders.
For dessert we had some of the famous dauntless chocolate cake, it was the best thing I had ever tasted.
"My God! I never get food like this at home!" I said, but saying it made me think of my family. Mum and dad on their own, thinking about me, Michelle probably didn't even know about my decision, I wondered if she ever would.
I was brought back to reality by a nudge from Ella,
"You alright?" She asked, I nodded. Ella knew me better than anyone, so I didn't need to tell her what I was thinking, judging by the last thing I had said, she already knew. I smiled at her and she smiled back, then we went back to the conversation on our table.

+++

After dinner, a dauntless leader gave a speech. And everyone in the pit cheered and got drunk, Ella and I got only slightly tipsy, as training started the next day we didn't want to be too hung over.
Late into the night, our group got led to our dormitory, it was a big narrow room with bunk beds either side, and a door leading to the unisex bathrooms.
When Rico left, everyone ran to grab the bunks they wanted. Zack and Adrian ran to four bunks in the corner they pushed them close together so it was basically just one massive bed.
We used the ladder to get up, but before I could get up, an annoying looking boy who looked about a year younger than us leaped on top of it.
"Hey!" Shouted Ella, "go get yourself another bunk!"
"But I like it here." Drawled the skinny boy.
"Get off that bunk, mush." Said Zack, he sounded stern. The boy stiffened.
"Don't call me that."
"I'll call you whatever I want, now get off that bunk."
"Why?" Said the boy, relaxing on my bunk again.
"Because that's Zoe's, now get off it!" He shouted through gritted teeth.
"Make me." The boy replied, and he couldn't of said anything worse.
Zack launched himself at the boy, and he put his strong hands around him. The boy struggled, but his skinny frame was no match to Zack's strong body. Zack picked him up and threw him across the room, where he landed in a heap on top of the bunk the farthest away from us.
"Don't mess with me mush." He said.
Then Zack turned to me, still clinging to the ladder, he smiled and then helped me up.
"I got you your bunk!"

+++

Ten minutes later and the room was alive with chaos.
I jumped onto Ella's bed and she laughed, she grabbed me by the arm and making sure nobody could hear she said,
"He definitely likes you!"
"What? No way!" I laughed at her stupidity.
"It's true! He threw somebody to the other side of the room for you!"
"So?" I asked, "he'd probably do the same for you."
Ella scoffed, and I looked around at Zack and Adrian, who were laughing.
Adrian caught sight of us and he picked up his pillow.
"Ella! Catch!" He shouted, throwing the pillow at her. Ella caught it, laughed and threw it back into his face. I smiled at her.
"He would."
"What?" She asked, "He'd throw somebody to the other other side of the room for you." I teased. She gasped and shoved me,
"That is not true!" She said, exasperated.
"The way you're reacting tells me other wise!"
"Shut up!" Laughed Ella as she grabbed her pillow and started hitting me with it.
"Hey!" We heard a shout, we looked around at Adrian, aiming his pillow at someone, Nat.
Nat was the most annoying dauntless I had ever met, I say dauntless because of Jonathan, but she is a very close second.
Most dauntless are reckless and they don't care, she is sporty and feisty, but the only thing she cares about are her looks.
I snort as the pillow hits her in the head, putting feathers in her hair. She looks shocked, but she covers it up with a stupid giggle, she obviously thinks Adrian likes her, which is so untrue. Zack and Adrian hate her guts as much as me and Ella do.
Nat throws the pillow back, expecting something flirty in return. But Adrian just ducks as two pillows come flying at him, the other coming from an unknown hand. Zack grabs the pillows and throws them in different directions, and suddenly the room is full of flying pillows and laughter.

+++

I lie on my bed, looking up at the ceiling, Ella on one side, Zack on the other, and Adrian next to him.
After the fight, we had scurried around in the mess, searching for the most normal looking pillows to use. Nearly all of them had emptied their contents out in the fight, and little white feathers now lay everywhere, the floor, the bunks and in everyone's hair.
I snuggled down into my covers and I blow a fluffy feather out of my mouth. I sigh. I'm so confused, I'm having the best time of my life, yet there is still something bugging me. My family.
My mother would be thinking about me, my father... I don't know. I like to think he would be too, but maybe I'm just imagining it. He always seemed so brave to me, invincible, and always correct. But after Michelle transferred, I saw a different side to him, a side I tried to forget, but couldn't bring myself to forgive.
And Michelle. I missed her already. So far away, we were like complete opposites, we would hardly ever have another chance to speak now. Until I was allowed to leave the compound and go out to the amity fields. But that would probably never happen. No one hardly ever gets out of the gate, except for the guards, or on visiting day. But she is no longer an initiate, no visiting day for her, and she will not turn up for mine, she will not be allowed to.
I sigh again. I was watching my once happy family fall apart, and there was nothing I could do about it.
The noise wakes up Ella, she puts a sleepy, heavy, but calming hand on mine. She knows what I'm thinking about, and she whispers,
"Don't worry, it'll all work out in the end."
And with that, we both drift off into a deep sleep.