A Different Divergent: A Better Tomorrow

~twenty-four~

Chapter 24

"Hello, everyone," Tobias says when he reaches our table, eyeing Zeke who is sitting in his seat.

"Zeke sit by me," Tyler says to his father, making him smile.

"Well, I'll sit with Shauna then," he says.

"That would be a welcome change," she says, looking up at him over her shoulder with a smile.

"Do you need a plate, Tris?" he asks, eyeing the blanket covering Tessa who is still nursing.

"Please," I say. He returns with plates full of moist rotisserie chicken, loaded baked potatoes with extra cheese, glazed carrots, and apple salad and sits down next to Shauna. He slides my plate to me, and I thank him.

"How did everything go with the transfers?" Uriah asks, sitting down with two slices of cake and a large glass of milk.

"Fine I guess. Nothing unexpected happened. They were quiet, absorbing their new surroundings, and asked very few question," he says.

"Did you get in their faces?" Christina asks, expectation on her face.

"Didn't have to," he says. "No one kept interrupting me like someone I know." She sticks her tongue out at him and throws her dinner roll at his head, which he catches with his right hand and promptly takes a bite.

"Impressive, Four," Shauna says, bumping her shoulder into his. He tears it in two and offers her the other half, which she takes.

"Did Murphy ever stop crying?" Tobias asks.

"Look at her for yourself, Four," Uriah says with disgust, motioning toward her table, exasperated. "Girl's a mess. I'll trade her for half your initiates right here, right now." A chorus of laughter booms from our table, and even though I do feel slightly bad for what she's going through, I can't help but join in.

"I eat cake now?" Tyler expectantly asks after he cleans his plate.

"Sure," I say. He happily hops down and runs to Uriah and wiggles his way between him and his father then shares not only his cake but his milk. I'm thankful that my friends love him as much as Tobias and I do.

The conversation keeps returning to the initiates, transfers, and the Choosing Ceremony. Will gives us a blow-by-blow of what happened at the Hub from our first dependent, Annalie Zachariah, choosing Amity to Afton Bell choosing to remain in Dauntless. The biggest surprise besides the six 16-year-old factionless choosing was Murphy screaming "NO!" at the top of her lungs when Gavin Scott, Erudite's leader, announced Galen's choice was Candor. Will tells us that he expected some sort of emotion on Galen's part after leaving his girlfriend of two years but he indifferently sat amongst the sea of black and white never once looking her way.

"He's either one hell of an actor or he's definitely not the kind of person we would have wanted in Dauntless anyway," Will says after we've all finished supper and dessert. "Are you ready to go home and see Liam?" Christina and Will decided to hire a nanny to care for Liam instead of taking him to daycare. After what I witnessed today, I'm thinking they have the right idea.

"Yes!" she says.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you guys didn't go straight home the minute you could," Marlene says. "I think I would have."

"It's a fine line," Christina says and I understand what she means. "I want to be with him all the time but I also don't want to lose myself and what I like to do."

"I think from now on when we eat with you guys, we'll have Fiona bring Liam down to meet us," Will says. "I agree with everything that Christina just said. I miss him when I'm at work, too."