Faded

Chapter Nine

|Tris|

The aroma of freshly baked brownies wafted out of the oven and into the kitchen. When the timer goes off, I take the pan out of the oven while wearing the mittens and carefully place it on the table. I look it over and am satisfied with the result. This is the first time I baked anything without help and I can say that it went really well.

I check the clock. 9:54. Christina is going to pick me up for the picnic at around 12 noon, so I still have a lot of time.

After I got back from the run with Tobias-one in which I did not see coming-I went back to my apartment to get ready for the picnic.

I know that it's supposed to be a surprise for me, but they should have kept it more secretive instead of carelessly adding me to the group chat. I really appreciate all the effort they took to make me feel welcome, so I thought the most I can do is make something to bring to the picnic as well.

Today, I will be seeing everyone from the gang, so I'm actually really nervous, but also excited. I hadn't seen everyone in so long. Besides Tobias, Christina, Zeke and Shauna, many other people will be there as well, including: George and Amar, Caleb, Cara and Mathew, and Lauren.

I wonder how they are all doing. I know I heard about them from Christina and Shauna, but I want to see them in person.

I look into my wardrobe to pick out an outfit. I needed something causal, so I went with a black T-shirt that exposes my tattoos and jean-shorts. Simple. Nothing fancy.

I decided to put my hair into a bun, and wonder if I should put on any make-up. I guess I could go with some minimum since Christina would definitely want me to...

After I'm satisfied with my look, I start to pack some stuff I want to bring to the picnic: portable speaker for music, sketchbook and pencils, camera to take photos that I'll be keeping in an album, and Mockingjay. Even though I already finish The Hunger Games series, I want to reread it. And since there's no guaranteed that I would be able to read at during the picnic, I don't want to start something new.

I put them all into a tote bag that Amanda made for me with a design I created. It says "Amity's red, Erudite's blue, Insult my Divergence, And I'll butter-knife you!" Obviously, I got that from the dormitory accident when Peter stabbed Edward in the eye with a butter knife. I know it shouldn't be funny, but I had turned something terrible into something more positive, so score!

Come to think of it, I hadn't heard anything about Peter ever since six years ago. Ever since he left with Tobias and the others to go back to the city to inculcate their family against the memory serum if our group failed to prevent it from being released.

It's not like I care about him, I still hate his guts. It's just that after he saved me and Tobias from the Erudite headquarters, I saw a different side of him that I never saw before. It made me think that maybe he's not really a full-out villain, but more like a bad school boy who was just misunderstood. 

I went back into the kitchen to check the temperature of the brownies. I need to make sure it is not too hot or cold. Then I cover it with aluminum foil. 

11:16. Why is time passing by so slowly? Just as I was thinking of that, knocks starts coming from the apartment door.

I dash over to check who it is through the peephole, and once upon seeing Christina standing behind it, I open the door to let her in.

"Hey, Chris!" I say, "I didn't know you're coming here this early."

"Well, the preparation for your surprise is already done, so I came to pick you up," Christina replies. "I also came here to tell you to wear something causal and..." she stops talking once she sees my outfit.