Divergent Elements

Chapter 20

I sit down beside Nadia and Blake sits to my right. The parents, or how they used to call themselves, 'The Gang' sit on the larger couch, and all of us kids, Mark, Rebekah, Samantha, Shaylee, Nadia, Blake and me, sit on the love seat and recliner. Uncle Will is going to grab some ingredients from the cafeteria so we can cook our own lunch.

"How did your Dad ever agree to let Blake come here?" Nadia asks, smirking. 

"Mom suggested it, but I do have a feeling that Dad is pissed off. I think he is just being overprotective of me." I laugh, smiling at Blake. 

He seems a little bit on edge, probably because of my Dad being the way he is. "He is...scary, to say the least. But, I think I can manage."

I giggle, "You have no idea, when he was training my Mom, he threw a knife at her head...multiple times."

Blake's eyes widen, and he is definitely terrified.

"Don't worry, Dad is a lot nicer than he seems on the outside. One time he dressed up as a teddy bear with me for a costume party with our gang." I say, laughing. 

He immediately lightens up, "One time I was Prince Charming, and my mom was hosting the party, so she dressed up as Cinderella. It was one of my favorite moments growing up, even if she can't quite remember it now." 

"I remember when my whole family dressed up as the Incredibles for this old holiday, Halloween. We went to a party with some of my Dad's work friends and everybody was dressed in scary and creative costumes." Nadia says, beaming. 

"Oh, I remember that! I was a princess, Mark was a prince, Sam wasn't born yet, and Mom and Dad were king and queen!" Rebekah says, laughing. 

"That was the year we went as a monster family, I think. I was a vampire, and Mom and Dad were Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein." I add on. 

"I wish they still had old Halloween around. I think the only Holiday they still have from before the wars is Christmas." Nadia says. 

"We could always petition the Dauntless Compound leaders, after all, my parents are both on the committee. I would love to have Valentines Day, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving back. I loved reading about them in history." I say, giving out the idea. 

"Don't you have to write an official document for that stuff?" Bekah asks, looking uninterested. 

"Well, yes, but my parents could take care of it." 

Nadia seems very intrigued by the idea, "I think that sounds absolutely amazing. I could definitely help." 

Our conversation is interrupted by one of the parents yelling at us to help Uncle Will start getting things ready for lunch. 

I walk over to the kitchen, Blake close behind me, and look at everything he has brought back. There is one box filled with supplies, and another packed with ingredients. We start to pull it all out, seeing that the ingredients are for loaded tacos, or burritos. 

"What do you want us to do?" I ask Uncle Will. 

"I bet I could put you all on one job, there are certainly enough of you." He taps his chin, and starts organizing us, "Ok, Nadia, I don't trust you, so just turn on the oven and organize supplies. Shaylee, start cooking the chicken, the seasoning packets are right beside it, Rebekah get the ground beef, Samantha, you are younger, so just start organizing the shells, Mark, prep the rice, and Nadia and your boyfriend, chop up the tomatoes, onions and lettuce," 

My cheeks flush, "He isn't my boyfriend Uncle Will." 

He raises an eyebrow, "Are you sure?" 

My cheeks put the tomatoes I am supposed to be chopping to shame, "Uncle Will! Stop!" 

He chuckles, patting my back, "I'm just giving yah a hard time. Have fun kids!" 

I rub my face, beyond embarassed, but try to ignore it. Blake gives me an awkward smile, also blushing. "Come on, I'll do the veggie prep." 

I peel the onion, and hand it to Blake to chop. I cut off the base of the lettuce and take off the stem of the tomato, and start chopping those up. I glance away just for a second to check on how he is doing, and manage to slice my hand. 

I scream, darting my hand away. I cringe, but still inspect the cut. It is pretty deep, but, wait, is it, getting smaller? 

"Natalie are you ok?" Dad runs over to me, and grabs my hand. 

He is immediately as baffled as me. I pull my hand back and watch as the cut seals itself, but it doesn't look quite like normal skin. "Mom? What the hell is this?" I call out. 

She runs over, and grabs my hand like Dad did. I groan, wishing they would warn me before practically pulling my wrist off my arm. 

She examines it, confused. "I couldn't have some sort of healing ability, because when I got shot in the leg it didn't heal." I say, running my finger over the rough area. 

"Maybe it is one of your powers covering it, what does the material look like?" Mom asks, pointing to it. 

I examine it closely, seeing it has a grainy texture, "Maybe wood? I think it just covered it up, because it still hurts deep in my finger. Any way, it is still amazing!" 

Mom laughs, "Natalie, I don't think there is a single divergent like you." 

I grin, "I don't think so either, and I like it that way."