Dauntless High

Unforgettable Days.

I wake up on my own and look at the clock. 8 a.m. Crap! I'm late. I jump out of bed and put on the first thing I can find- black pants and a grey hoodie. I pull my hair into a messy bun. The only thing I need is my book bag, but it is nowhere in sight. I search and search. Nowhere to be found. My phone rings and I answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." Tobias.

"Sorry. I know you were supposed to take me to school today. I woke up late, and my bag is nowhere to be found." I'm out of breath with bags under my eyes. I woke up 5 minutes ago.

"It's fine. I'm outside your house with your bag. You left it here last night. Hurry!" I hang up, grab my medicine, and jolt out the door. I didn't have time to take it, so I take it in his car.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Uh," I say while trying to catch my breath. "Like, 10 minutes."

"That's crazy," he says with amazement on his face.

"I know. I'm never late." He shakes his head and laughs. "What?"

"It's not crazy that you overslept." I give him a confused look.

"What is crazy then?"

"That in less then 10 minutes of being awake, you look this beautiful." I laugh.

"You just say that, because you think you have to."

"No. I say it, because I am not a liar. I would tell you if you looked that bad. Good thing I'll never have to. Even with a bed head, I've never seen someone so beautiful." I smile and lean my head on his shoulder.

"You are coming over this afternoon. We have an early release day, so I'm inviting the whole gang over." He looks at me and raises his eyebrows.

"Oh?"

"What does that mean?" I say laughing.

"Nothing, but you don't usually invite people over for a hang out."

"Christina drops by," I say.

"For a short period of time. It doesn't count."

"Then there's a first time for everything."

Later, I get confirmations of who's all coming. It will be me, Tobias, Christina, Will, Shauna, Zeke, Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah. I never truly realized but Lynn is the only single one in the gang. She never really seemed all that interested in having a boyfriend.

Before long, everyone arrives. Zeke and Uriah, who haven't seen the inside of my house yet, have their jaws dropped. Their eyes investigate the hallway with amazement.

"I didn't know you were rich," Uriah says.

"Not rich. Just...very fortunate," I reply. My parents are good with savings. They work more than average parents. But I never think to consider my family rich.

"Where are we hanging?" I turn to see Christina looking around. "I don't know which direction to go."

"Inside or outside?" The group answers immediately.

"Inside."

"Caleb's study group is in the living room, so we'll be in the land of Six. My room." I gesture my hand to the staircase, and Christina leads the way. Tobias waits to let everyone else walk up first and puts his arm around me.

I open my door to the large room. It isn't very colorful. The walls are grey and I have black bedding. I have a bay window and built in bookshelves. Books from every genre are stacked to the top. Every gap is filled. The window that sees directly to Tobias's is framed with colorful ribbons and pictures. It's the one place in my room full of color.