Divergent High

Lunchtimes

Tris' POV

After finally reaching the end of English, we entered the canteen. And let me tell you, it was a relief. It's not like I didn't enjoy my first English lesson because I really did, but boy did that woman talk! If I hear one more reference to Shakespeare today, I might pull my hair out. That and the fact that Four shot me dirty looks every five seconds is enough to mark it down too.

The soles of my shoes squeaked when I went through the doors leading to the seating area. The walls were painted white, although there were a number of stains covering the walls. Typical. This place must have regular food fights, otherwise they would have painted over them. Christina did say that it was common for the factions to suddenly erupt into conflict, but I thought she meant simply verbal. Nothing food related at all!

As I found a table that wasn't occupied, I had chance to think about everything. Why did they have a problem with Caleb? As far as I was aware, Caleb was as threatening as a butterfly stuck on a marshmallow. And these guys didn't seem to take things to heart. Would could he have possibly done? What if it effected my friendship with Christina, Uriah, and Will? Why does he always have to ruin everything for me?! I couldn't possibly pick Dauntless now. I'd have to leave them completely. I could choose Erudite or Abnegation. They seemed to be the best two options as I was rarely a ray of sunshine on a good day and just because I'm a bad liar doesn't mean I don't try.

I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn't realise someone had been trying to get my attention until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see the cheerleader with the piercings from my maths class. She now stood with two other cheerleaders that were obviously failing at trying to look like their leader. Their thick, orange foundation lines were practically blinding me.

"Hey, Stiff." The girl from maths said. What was her name again? Lucy? Lea?

"Remember me?" She asked

'Not really.' I wanted to reply, but decided it would be better to go with a small nod. She smirked evilly at me before perching on the seat next to me, her minions crowding over.

"I heard Four took quiet a bit of interest in you in English class." She says. I try to interrupt her, to set things straight, but she holds her hand up to silence me. "Oh, sweetie. I don't want to hear it." She says in a patronising tone. "The bottoms line is: Four would never go for someone like you, so don't embarrass yourself trying. Got it?"

I try to compress the eye roll that I feel twitching to happen. One) did she really think that was going to scare me? And two) I did not have the slightest interest in getting with a jerk like 'Number Boy.'

"I don't want Four; he's all yours." I mumble. She stands up abruptly, pulling her water bottle out her bag.

"Well..." She says, undoing the lid and depositing the contents of the bottle on top of my head. I shoot up with a gasp, closing my eyes as the cold liquid dripped down my face and onto my clothes. "Consider this a warning, then."

The room bursts into laughter as I wrap my arms around myself. This couldn't be happening. I hadn't been here a full day and I'd already managed to become the laughing stock of the school. The laughter seemed to stop when I heard the clattering of the cafeteria door.

"What the hell?!" I heard Uriah yell as he obviously saw my soaking self. Christina had gone to collect the rest of her friends and promised to meet me in here as soon as she had gotten them. It was my job to save the table and I couldn't even do that right. Great first impression, right?

"Lauren." I heard one of the leader's minions say sternly. Lauren! That was her name! "One more infraction and you'll be expelled." Lauren nodded and the girls quickly went to sit down while Christina and the others came running over. Even Lynn and Four looked slightly concerned.

"Tris? What happened?" Christina said when she reached me. One more infraction, eh? I wasn't going to let her go without getting my revenge.

"I tripped. Chucked a whole bottle of water over myself. I can be a real cluts." I said in a static tone, shivering in my drenched T-Shirt.

"Was it Lauren?" Christina asked, eyeing me sceptically.

"I hope it was so it gives me an excuse to go smash that skank's head in." Lynn mumbles. I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not...

"No. Listen, it was my fault. Seriously. I'll just go get cleaned up." I say, moving to go around the huge group. There were a few new faces I had yet to meet. They seemed highly confused.

"We'll come with you." Christina said, referring to Lynn and the two other girls I didn't know.

"It's fine-"

"Nonsense." Christina said, however it was more of a warning to shut up. "We're your friends. Friends help each other out." I nodded reluctantly, making Christina smile.

"We'll keep the table." Will said, sliding into my previous seat. I was quickly rushed out of the cafeteria and to the toilets.

👥😊⚖🔥📚

We had gone to Christina's locker so she could get out a towel before we headed to the toilets. While leaving a trail of water around the school, I got the chance to meet the other two girls in the group. Shauna, a girl with dark skin, brown glossy hair, and blue eyes, found me some spare clothes in her locker. She was extremely pretty, but surprisingly not a cheerleader. She was the nicest person I think I've ever met. She kept asking me if I was okay and complimenting me in a thousand different ways. I don't think I've blushed so much in my life!

The other girl's name was Marlene. She had a blonde pixie cut and deep brown eyes that made me crave chocolate. She was quiet, but when she said something it was usually a quirky comment. She reminded me of myself, slightly. She didn't like attention and she thought about what she wanted to say before she said it. She was the complete opposite of Uriah, who just happened to be her boyfriend. Shauna was dating Zeke, but I had yet to meet him.

Once we were in the toilets, Christina rushed me into a cubicle to get changed. I looked at what Shauna had given me to wear and immediately felt self-conscious. I had black shorts, a black spaghetti-strap vest, and a black hoodie. Considering I was currently wearing a baggy grey jumper, flared denim jeans, and grey Converse, you could tell that this wasn't my usual attire. However, I desperately wanted to get out of these wet clothes, and there really wasn't any other option. I got changed quickly and stepped out of the cubicle, all eyes immediately widening.

"So she does have a figure." Lynn laughed, looking me up and down.

"Okay, tie your hair up and then we'll get to phase two." Christina says, chucking me a hairbrush.