Faction before blood?

Chapter 9

Today was choosing day. Eric, being once again the leader to oversee initiation, had to get up at four o'clock, to prepare the arrival of today's Initiates.

The ceremony would start at eight o'clock, so they would be here at twelve. After a tour of the compound, Max would give his speech in the mess hall, something I looked forward to every year.

Before that, we had to inspect the net, where the kids would jump into from off the ledge, as well as the bathroom, that was less than hygienic and could be considered a crime to mankind.

I actually found Eric snickering over a report, that was about the catastrophic conditions in the dorms. He looked like a little boy that got a candy bar. A evil little boy, but a child none the less.

I woke up to Eric shuffling around, as he pulled up his combat pants and fastened the belt.

He had meticulously ironed his clothes the evening before, to make them look flawless. No doubt an intimidation attempt. Control freak.

The rest of his leader uniform consisted of a black V-neck t-shirt and a jacket with a stiff collar, with red lines around the seams, emphasizing his muscular built.

He looked edible.

Realizing I was awake and ogling him, Eric rounded the bed and sat down on the edge. I pushed my hair away from my face and leaned against him.

"You should go back to sleep. Today will be strenuous." He caressed my cheek.

"What exactly will be strenuous for me? You forbid me from even setting foot on a train, so I can't go to the ceremony. You got me off from work for two weeks. And you even banned me from leaving the apartment, so there will be nothing strenuous for me." I started to pout, only for Eric to shut me up with a kiss.

"You know it's for your own best. Stubborn woman."

He got off the bed, leaving my whining self behind.

"Can't make me late for choosing, love. Try to go back to sleep." The last part of the sentence was called over his shoulder, because he was already halfway out the front door.

Being frustrated, but still tired, I huffed, throwing myself back onto the bed and tried to, for once, follow his advice.

.

.

.

I awoke again much later. It was almost eleven o'clock and I started to prepare myself for the day. I wasn't just going to sit around in the empty flat, while the whole faction was up and about.

Eric had called his brother after my falling-asleep in the cafeteria, which kind of surprised me since they seemed to not really get along.

Doctor Coulter had then ordered me on bedrest for at least two days. He assumed that all the stress I was currently going through caused the fatigue, so I had nothing to do all day long.

But today I was going to change that. The arrival of the fresh meat, what a lot of people called them, was a spectacle, no one wanted to miss. Starting with the declaration of the first jumper, the initiates would all be paraded into the mess hall, like young bulls used to be at auctions before the great war. That's also when the betting would start. Someone could think the Dauntless had too much points to spare.

Choosing day was also my all-time-favorite holiday, since it was the day, I escaped hell. Sometimes not just metaphorically spoken.

Since Tobias would be waiting downstairs at the net and Eric would be up the roof, I decided, that now was the perfect time to join the rest of my friends in the dining hall. Toby would sit with the initiates, like every year, so I took advantage of the situation to find out, how mad the rest of them were at me.