Dauntless High School

Chapter 2

FOUR

My new school is in chaos. Through a set of double doors ahead of me I see bars painted on the windows and, beyond them, adults chase around animals. A woman in a blue floral dress is trying to wrangle a pig, a man with a comb-over is leading a sheep to the door by a rope around its neck, chickens flutter their wings... what the hell kind of place is this? I shake my head and enter the office.

Even though we moved a month ago, I've been commuting to my old school across town until today; some of the registration forms required the signatures of both of my legal guardians, and my father wouldn't sign. It was a power play, and I am trying not to wonder what demands my mother must have given in to in return for his signature.

The bell for first period rings, and I still haven't been acknowledged. The wait probably has something to do with the farm animals in the atrium. Glancing over the back through the window, I see an older lady leading a goat through the foyer.

A woman with dark skin and her hair hanging over one side of her face, trying (and failing) to hide a scar over one eye, hurries behind the counter and smiles at me distractedly. "I'm sorry you've had to wait. I'm the school counselor, Ms. Reyes. But I'll try to help you... as you can see this is a very hectic morning here."

"Uh, yeah," I say as I slide my registration papers across to her. I don't know what's happening in this place today but I already assumed this wasn't a typical morning.

She looks them over quickly and nods. "Have a seat while I process these, Tobias."

"Oh, um, could you make my name show up as Four in the class rosters? I don't go by Tobias."

"Sure, dear," she nods with a smile and a vacant look in her eyes. Shaking my head I go sit in one of the chairs lined up near the door.

Just as I sit down, a boy my age with tan skin, curly dark hair and a cocky smirk comes in following an angry looking woman with blond hair and a clothes that do nothing to hide her muffin top. They shut the door after entering an office; the name plate reads "Ms. Matthews, Principal." I wince; no doubt that boy is in trouble.

It takes forever for Ms. Reyes to input all the information into the computer and generate my schedule. She still isn't done when the boy comes out of the principal's office. He's grinning victoriously, but Ms. Matthews has a deep scowl on her face as she shuts her office door and walks briskly out of the office.

"Zeke," Ms. Reyes calls out, "could you please wait for a minute? I'm almost done here and would appreciate it if you would show Four to his first class."

"You got it, Ms. R," he says. Who wouldn't want to miss even more school without risk of being caught cutting class?

The boy―Zeke―plops down casually into a chair, leaving one vacant between us. "Hey," he says, "I'm Zeke."

I nod at him. "Four."

"Like the number?" Zeke asks. I internally groan, everyone questions my name, but just nod. But then he just says, "Cool."

Despite having just left the principal's office, he looks totally relaxed with his arms slung over the backs of the chairs on either side. "I take it you didn't get in trouble in there," I observe.

Zeke laughs. "Matthews thought I was responsible for the little situation in the atrium," he tells me. "She's especially pissed because the person painted 'Matthews' Animal Farm' on one of the windows." He looks at me with a satisfied smirk. "You know, like the book. They made us read it end of last year."

I had to read that too; they're implying that she is a dictator. I slowly grin. "What made them think you had something to do with that?"

"They may have figured out that I never back out of a dare," he smirks and shrugs. "They got nothing on me." This kid has like a permanent grin.