Waiting Four You

Chapter 28 (Beatrice)

I go out to the pit where I find Christina who introduces me to her mom and sister. They seem nice, a lot like Christina. When I find Will, he's stood with an older girl who looks a lot like him. The girl immediately gives me a nasty look.

"You associate with one of them?" she asks Will in a not so polite manner.

Will looks appalled. "There's no need to be rude, Cara. She's my friend."

Cara points an accusing finger at me. "That's the daughter of the Abnegation leader. The one who only gives each faction five votes while Abnegation gets twenty."

I want to say something rude about how she's talking about my father, but I can't look like I am still attached to my family, but I still can't let her walk all over his reputation either.

"Would you rather they have left Marcus in charge. You know, the one who abused his son and kept the council entirely Abnegation? My father had to argue with the council just to get each faction those five places." I spit at her. "Just because he leads Abnegation doesn't mean he has all the say on the council."

She still glares at me, but I decide to just walk away and head to the dorm where it should be quiet. Along the way there I run into Al's parents who are looking for him. I tell them that I'll let him know that they're looking for him if I find him before continuing on to the dorm.

When I arrive at the dorm, I find Al sitting on his bed staring at the space on the wall where the chalkboard usually is. Tobias took it down yesterday so he could calculate our stage one rankings.

"There you are!" I say. "You're parents are looking for you. Don't you want to see them?"

He shakes his head.

I sit down next to him on the bed. My leg is barely half the width of his even with all the muscle in it. He wears black shorts. His knee is purple-blue with a bruise and crossed with a scar.

"Why don't you want to see them?" I ask.

"Didn't want them to ask how I was doing," he replies. "I'd have to tell them, and they would know if I was lying."

"Well..." I struggle to come up with something to say. "What's wrong with how you're doing?"

Al laughs harshly. "I've lost every fight since the one with Will. I'm not doing well."

"By choice, though. Couldn't you tell them that, too?"

He shakes his head. "Dad always wanted me to come here. I mean, they said they wanted me to stay in Candor, but that's only because that's what they're supposed to say. They've always admired the Dauntless, both of them. They wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it to them."

"Oh." I tap my fingers against my knee. Then I look at him. "Is that why you chose Dauntless? Because of your parents?"

Al shakes his head. "No. I guess it was because... I think it's important to protect people. To stand up for people. Like you did for me." He smiles at me. "That's what the Dauntless are supposed to do, right? That's what courage is. Not... hurting people for no reason."

"Maybe it will be better once initiation us over."

"Too bad I might come last," Al says. "I guess we'll see tonight."

"There's nothing wrong with coming last," I comment. "It just decides when you choose the job you want."

We sit side-by-side for a while. It's better to be here, in silence, than in the Pit watching everyone laugh with their families.

My father used to say that sometimes, the best way to help someone is just being near them. I feel good when I do something I know he would be proud of, like it makes up for all the things I've done that he wouldn't be proud of.