Divergent - Chapter 3
Pete was at his usual spot the next morning, waiting for Andy and their morning chat before another long day at school. They only shared tech class and lunch; Pete’s morning walk with Andy always gave him a positive start to the day. Today was especially positive for Pete.
“Andy! Hey!”
“Why so happy? It’s not like it’s Friday or your birthday.”
“Did you try anything else last night?”
Andy stopped walking. “Listen, Pete. I thought about it, and I’m sorry I told you. Let’s just forget the whole thing ever happened, okay?”
“Forget it? Are you crazy? Just listen to me for a minute…”
Andy headed out again and Pete had to pick up his speed in order to keep up.
“Listen. I had a great idea! Remember all of those times you had to stop guys from bullying me? Well, now you can help me put a stop to it forever.” Pete’s eyes sparked with excitement, but they didn’t turn orange. He would never tell anyone that he had spent almost an hour in front of his mirror trying to move things with his mind, but his eyes never turned any color other than their normal brown. He knew it was stupid to try, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Pete, just shut up, okay? All of that stuff never happened.” The high school loomed before them. Pete knew he had to speak now or he would lose his chance to convince Andy that his idea was worthy.
“Listen. Just listen for a minute, dammit!”
Andy stopped again and heaved a dramatic sigh. “Okay. What’s this great idea of yours?”
The words came tumbling out, as if he had rehearsed them, which he had. “You only have to do a little bit of that eye thing. I figured it all out. It will make everyone stop picking on me forever and I’ll never ask you for another favor as long as we live.” Before Andy could say anything, Pete took a quick breath and continued, “I’m going to pick a fight with Chad. We’ll meet out on the road behind the football field and you know it will draw a crowd. You’ll use your eye power to knock him out cold when I swing. I get a reputation for taking down the school’s biggest bully and you do a good deed for your best buddy.”
“Pete, you’ve had some goofy ideas in your life, but this one is beyond goofy. You’ve lost your mind. Let’s look around. Maybe we’ll find it. You’re gonna need it to pass your English test today.” Andy started looking around, chuckling at his joke.
“Andy, I’m not kidding. I’ve decided to do this whether you help me or not. You’d think a friend would want to help a guy, that’s all. I’ll see you at lunch.” Without looking back, Pete headed for the crowd that snaked its way into the building for another day of torture.
*****
Andy had to spend lunch with his coach, who had called a special meeting for the rugby team over morning announcements. It didn’t matter, as the gossip everywhere he went centered over what had “gone down” at lunch. Pete had challenged Chad to a fistfight right in front of everyone. Chad, never one to turn down his favorite pastime, accepted, commenting that it would make him happy to remove one more cockroach from the world. They set the date for Friday after school on the old road behind the football field. Andy just shook his head when he heard.
Pete was nowhere to be found after school. Andy stopped by his house, but if he was there, he wasn’t answering the door. He didn’t answer his phone, either. Andy decided that Pete had finally gone off the deep end and hoped he would get his senses back before Friday. If he backed out of the fight, he’d never live it down, but if he went through with it, he’d never live. One of the alternatives definitely sounded better than the other.
Andy didn’t see Pete again until Friday morning on the way to school. Pete seemed to be in good spirits and he didn’t mention the fight or Andy’s power. When Andy tried to bring up the subject, Pete said he didn’t want to talk about it and that there were no hard feelings. Something wasn’t right, but Andy didn’t know what to do to help his friend.
After school, Andy started home. He had decided to avoid the fight, as he didn’t want to see Pete demolished. It came as no surprise to him when he realized his feet were carrying him out past the football field instead of on his usual route home. He could hear noise before he even saw the crowd, and when he did see the crowd, his jaw dropped. Was everyone from school here? What was wrong with these people? Andy realized he had no choice but to help his friend, so he started shoving his way to the front of the crowd. Rugby skills came in very handy, and he was soon standing only a few yards away from the contenders. Chad and Pete were facing off, and Andy was sure Chad was enjoying every minute of it. Chad would want to take his time pummeling Pete; he enjoyed whipping a crowd into a frenzy.
The noise from the crowd made Andy think of their history class about the gladiators and the Roman colosseum. Pete would never last a day as a gladiator and if Andy didn’t help, he knew Pete wouldn’t last long here, either.
With all eyes focused on Pete and Chad, no one saw the speeding car crest the hill.
