“Yeah,” she says, “she’s eighteen. She was in Four’s initiate class.”
“What’s her name?”
“Shauna,” she says. She looks at Marlene. “I told her none of us would need dresses anytime soon, but she didn’t listen, as usual.”
I remember Shauna. She was one of the people who caught me after zip lining.
“I think it would be easier to fight in a dress,” says Marlene, tapping her chin. “It would give your legs freer movement. And who really cares if you flash people your underwear, as long as you’re kicking the crap out of them?”
Lynn goes silent, like she recognizes that as a spark of brilliance but can’t bring herself to admit it.
“What’s this about flashing underwear?” says Uriah, sidestepping a bunk. “Whatever it is, I’m in.”
Marlene punches him in the arm.
“Some of us are going to the Hancock building tonight,” says Uriah. “You should all come. We’re leaving at ten.”
“Zip lining?” says Lynn.
“No. Surveillance. We’ve heard the Erudite keep their lights on all night, which will make it easier to look through their windows. See what they’re doing.”
“I’ll go,” I say.
“Me too,” says Lynn.
“What? Oh. Me too,” Marlene says, smiling at Uriah. “I’m going to get food. Want to come?”
“Sure,” he says.
Marlene waves as they walk away. She used to walk with a lift in her step, like she was skipping. Now her steps are smoother—more elegant, maybe, but lacking the childish joy I associate with her. I wonder what she did when she was under the simulation.
Lynn’s mouth puckers.
“What?” I say.
“Nothing,” she snaps. She shakes her head. “They’ve just been hanging out alone all the time lately.”
“He needs all the friends he can get, it sounds like,” I say. “What with Zeke and all.”
“Yeah. What a nightmare that was. One day he was here, and the next . . .” She sighs. “No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real happens.”
Her eyes fix on mine. I never noticed before how strange they are, a golden brown. And now that her hair has grown in somewhat, and her baldness isn’t the first thing I see, I also notice her delicate nose, her full lips—she is striking without trying to be. I am envious of her for a moment, and then I think she must hate it, and that’s why she shaved her head.
“You are brave,” she says. “You don’t need me to say it, because you already know it. But I want you to know that I know.”
She is complimenting me, but I still feel like she smacked me with something.
Then she adds, “Don’t mess it up.”
A few hours later, after I’ve eaten lunch and taken a nap, I sit down on the edge of my bed to change the bandage on my shoulder. I take off my T-shirt, leaving my tank top on—there are a lot of Dauntless around, gathering between the bunks, laughing at one another’s jokes. I have just finished applying more healing salve when I hear a shriek of laughter. Uriah charges down the aisle between the bunks with Marlene thrown over his shoulder. She waves at me as they pass, her face red.
Lynn, who is sitting on the next bunk, snorts. “I don’t see how he can be flirty, with everything that’s going on.”
“He’s supposed to shuffle around, scowling all the time?” I say, reaching over my shoulder to press the bandage to my skin. “Maybe you can learn something from him.”
“You’re one to talk,” she says. “You’re always moping. We should start calling you Beatrice Prior, Queen of Tragedy.”
I stand and punch her arm, harder than if I was kidding, softer than if I was serious. “Shut up.”
Without looking at me, she shoves my shoulder into the bunk. “I don’t take orders from Stiffs.”
I notice a slight curl in her lip and suppress a grin myself.
“Ready to go?” Lynn says.
“Where are you going?” Tobias says, slipping between his bunk and mine to stand in the aisle with us. My mouth feels dry. I haven’t spoken to him all day, and I’m not sure what to expect. Will it be awkward, or will we go back to normal?
“Top of the Hancock building to spy on Erudite,” Lynn says. “Want to come?”
Tobias gives me a look. “No, I’ve got a few things to take care of here. But be careful.”
I nod. I know why he doesn’t want to come—Tobias tries to avoid heights, if at all possible. He touches my arm, holding me back for just a moment. I tense up—he hasn’t touched me since before our fight—and he releases me.
“I’ll see you later,” he mutters. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Thanks for that vote of confidence,” I say, frowning.
“I didn’t mean that,” he says. “I meant don’t let anyone else do anything stupid. They’ll listen to you.”
He leans toward me like he’s going to kiss me, then seems to think better of it and leans back, biting his lip. It’s a small act, but it still feels like rejection. I avoid his eyes and run after Lynn.
Lynn and I walk down the hallway toward the elevator bank. Some of the Dauntless have started to mark the walls with colored squares. Candor headquarters is like a maze to them, and they want to learn to navigate it. I know only how to get to the most basic places: the sleeping area, the cafeteria, the lobby, the interrogation room.
“Why did everyone leave Dauntless headquarters?” I say. “The traitors aren’t there, are they?”
“No, they’re at Erudite headquarters. We left because Dauntless headquarters has the most surveillance cameras of any area in the city,” Lynn says. “We knew the Erudite could probably access all the footage, and that it would take forever to find all the cameras, so we thought it was best to just leave.”
“Smart.”
“We have our moments.”
Lynn jabs her finger into the button for the first floor. I stare at our reflections in the doors. She’s taller than I am by just a few inches, and though her baggy shirt and pants try to obscure it, I can tell that her body bends and curves like it’s supposed to.