Isaac and Jo are first up in the ring. You can literally feel the anticipation in the air. Neither of them have lost to anyone yet and almost everyone here wants to see Isaac defeated.

Isaac and Jo stand eyeing each other, before Isaac makes the first move. He punches her face but she ducks and punches him in the side. He whips round and shoves her hard. Jo falls on the floor heavily, but then, before Isaac can use it to his advantage, she's up again.

It's a long and gruelling fight, with both Jo and Isaac sustaining heavy blows, but eventually Isaac manages to force Jo to the ground. And this time, she stays down.

There's a sigh of relief in the room because no one, not even people like Edgar and Brooke, liked seeing Jo beaten that badly. Isaac walks out the room smirking while Amar helps Jo up.

"I hope you all took careful notes," Amar says, "because that is what we call a fight."

"A fight to the death, more like," mutters Cassie in disgust.

"Next up! Phoebe and Edgar!"

"Who are you betting on?" Sam whispers.

"It's wrong to bet," says Plato.

"You're boring," I inform him, and then I ask, "What are we betting on?"

"Whoever loses gets no Dauntless cake at lunch," smirks Sam," Who wants to bet? Cassie? Amy?"

"I'm not risking my right to eat cake," says Cassie.

"No thanks," says Amy.

"You're on," I say. As much as I may love the Dauntless cake, I'm not one for refusing a bet, "I say Phoebe is going to win. Edgar's a wimp."

"They're both wimps," retorts Sam.

"Hey! Be nice!" hisses Amy.

"Sorry," says Sam, "It's the Candor in me. Fine, I'll go with Edgar."

"Deal," I smile, "Though expect to lose because Edgar usually goes down after one punch."

We watch as Phoebe and Edgar enter the ring. As predicted, Edgar falls to the ground the moment Phoebe's fist connects with his face. Sam looks seriously displeased.

"He could have at least tried, " he mutters angrily.

"You were the one who put cake on the line," I remind him smugly.

"Next up! Sam and Amy!" announces Amar, as he circles Phoebe's name on the board for the first, and probably only, time.

Sam groans, "My legs feel stiff after sitting here for so long," he turns to Amy, "Don't make me look like Jo." Amy just grins.

In the ring, it starts out pretty evenly but then it becomes clear that time isn't on Amy's side. Clearly for her to win she needs to defeat her opponent very quickly, but that moment has passed. Soon, using Amy's exhaustion to his advantage, Sam overpowers her and she concedes.

"Up next: Brooke and Dex!" shouts Amar. I wince.

"Good luck," whispers Plato to me. I just smile. This is the fight I've been looking forward to. I never had a chance to fight back at Brooke. This may be my only opportunity. I square my shoulders and head into the ring.

I glance at her, "Kang." Her fists are already balled, clearly ready for this fight. 

"April," she smirks her trademark smile. 

I glare at her, "Don't call me that. My name's Dex."

She ignores me, "Ready to be hammered?"

"It's you who is about to get hammered." I retort. 

"Begin!" shouts Amar. I snarl and lunge at her, but my hands grasp thin air. She's too fast and has already sidestepped away. I feel her thump my back from behind, and gasping, I spin to meet her. Just as I turn to see her smirking face, she punches me and I feel my legs slide out from underneath me. The last thing I remember is my head hitting the floor.

When my eyes finally open, I'm immediately assaulted by a blinding white light. I wince and shut them again. My hands close on a white fabric that I seem to be lying on. I breathe deeply, force my eyes open and then struggle to get up.

"Dex, go easy," a familiar male voice says next to me, "you've hit your head pretty hard."

I turn my face in his direction and see a vague shape, my eyes blinking to get used to the light, "No kidding," I groan, "Is that you Plato? Where am I and what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training?"

"Yeah it's me," he says, and as my eyes adjust, I can see him now, his gentle brown eyes looking carefully into mine, "You're in the Dauntless hospital wing. Training's done for the day. The other's went to get food but I figured I'd stay with you. Are you hungry?"

I shake my head, still trying to process what happened, "Brooke knocked me unconscious and I've been here for the entire day?"

"Yes," says Plato sympathetically.

"I was hoping to beat her," I groan, "How has she got so good so fast?" I ask, remembering how quick she was.

"I think Isaac's been teaching her," he replies, "he must want his allies to make it at least through the first round of Initiation. He must want at least some friends even though he's a bully."

"I'm guessing he hasn't taught Edgar anything," I snort.

Plato smiles, "I don't think Edgar can be taught anything."

We are silent for a few moments. Then, I grab the bed sheets again, and this time, I manage to sit up, "Did anyone else lose their fights as badly as I did?" I ask, worried.

"Well you know what Jo looked like of course. But, no. The last fight was me and Cassie and she conceded after a few punches," he says unwillingly, and then he looks at me, anxious, "Are you sure you're not hungry, Dex? You're been out all day."

I shake my head, suddenly determined, "Food can come later," I look at Plato, "You. Me. In Amar's office. Now. I need practice."

"And with that one you can spin someone around," he says, as I land on the floor. We're in Amar's office. Amar has been gone for most of the evening but he's cleared a small space in his office for us to practice. There's a surprisingly large amount of paperwork on the shelves. 

"How do you know so many?" I ask, envious, as I get up.

"Well from Amar of course," smiles Plato, "But I also read a lot of books in Erudite. I found it interesting how Martial Arts can be adapted in ways to suit different people."

"Sounds dull."

Plato shrugs, "My knowledge has served me well."

We stand for a few moments, as we each catch out breath, then a thought hits me, and I blurt out, "Why are you helping me?"

Plato stares at me, as if he hasn't considered other options, "You're my friend, Dex."

"Yeah, but helping me won't help you get through the first stage of initiation. Why help me when you could be spending time improving? Are you so confident that you think you'll make it?"

"I..." Plato trails off, stunned, and then says lightly, "Well maybe I like you and want my friends to become Dauntless members too, like Isaac. Now," he says, adopting his boxing stance, "Try and knock me down again."

I fight Plato with varying success. After we're both too tired to continue, we make our way back to our dorm.

"Do you miss your family?" Plato asks unexpectedly, as we walk down the corridor.

"Yeah," I say, after a while, "I've just tried not to think about them that much. Do you?"

Plato shrugs, "If you can count the people I've grown up with a family, then yeah, sort of. But they never really understood me."

"The people you grew up with?"

"I'm an orphan. I grew up in an Erudite orphanage."

"Oh."

We walk in silence for a few minutes before I say, "You know, you remind me a bit like my brother."

"Your brother?" Plato asks, surprised, "He transferred to Abnegation, didn't he? He's not looking at me but is instead staring in front of him, as if he is deep in thought.

"Yeah," I say. 

There's a silence for a minute or two as we continue to walk down the passage before I say, "You told me yesterday in that arena that you didn't want to hurt me. Do you regret joining Dauntless?"

Plato suddenly looks at me, almost scared, with wide eyes, "I..."

Someone thumps me on the back, "Hey Dex! Hey Plato! Where have you been?!"

I twist and make out the intruder, "Sam! Ow!" He and Cassie have come up behind us. 

"Sorry," says Sam, laughing, "But seriously, we didn't see you guys at dinner."

Plato has now managed to regain his composure, "I was teaching Dex how to fight."

"I figured I needed it after getting thrashed black and blue today," I explain.

"Yeah, that was not fun to watch," grimaces Sam.

"Thanks," I reply sarcastically.

"At least you two were doing something useful," announces Cassie, "The Stiff spent the whole evening with that Dauntless girl."

"Yes!" Sam says, excitedly, "Operation Ayra is go!"

"That's a rubbish name," Cassie sniffs. 

"Wait, what?" I say, confused. 

"Does Lymy sound any better?" Sam asks, Cassie. 

"Wait, hold on," I say, turning to look at Sam, "Are you shipping Lyra and Amy?"

"Yeah," grins Sam, "They're going to be a couple very soon. Might as well get prepared."

I blink, "I didn't even know they liked each other."

Sam laughs, "Like I said, oblivious." Cassie and Plato grin, and even I'm forced to crack a smile at my own stupidity. Then he smiles and says, "Next step: Operation Plex."

Cassie shakes her head, "Plato and Dex? Don't see it."

"But it makes total sense!" Sam says, "You know the whole 'opposites attract' thing? Well Dex is loud, Plato's quiet, Plato's smart, Dex is...ow!" He cuts off as I thump him on the shoulder. 

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" I demand, "Also, we're standing right here you know!" I glance at Plato, who's turned a funny shade of red. 

Sam grins, "Just you wait."

I shake my head, "You're mad." I hear some footsteps behind us, and see that it is Amy. 

"Had a nice time?" Sam inquires casually. She blushes beetroot, and I'm surprised at how obvious it is that she likes Lyra. How did I not see this before?

"Oh Dex, I forgot to tell you," says Plato quickly, changing the subject, his face still red, "Amar says we're going to Amity tomorrow."

"Amity?" I ask, surprised, "What for?"

"For a fun field trip," says Sam, and then catches my raised eyebrows, and laughs, "Joking. The Dauntless are guarding the fence there and we are going to see what the job is like."

"Wow. How thrilling," I say, making my voice sound as monotone as possible. Sarcasm is the closest I usually ever come to a full flat-out lie.

"I know," replies Sam in the same tone, "It's so exciting,"

"Dex, will you be ok seeing Amity again?" interrupts Plato, concerned.

I shrug, trying to ignore the feeling of homesickness that rising up inside me, and don't reply as we head into the dorm. 

As I lie in bed that night, I picture all my members of my family-Dad, Father, Heather, Mazie, Riv, Harmony...

I doubt I'll see any of them tomorrow. But I know that seeing any part of Amity again will be a shock. I'd thought I'd left it for good.