Divergent Fanfiction: Power of Three

THREE

I stomp up to my room and throw myself on my bed. Stupid. Stupid, stupid stupid. I just snapped; I'd never mean anything like that. Not that it matters. I can stay in Erudite and they'll forgive me. I can make it up to them with my service.

Or can I?

I've always been told that I'm smart, that I'm a perfect Erudite. I don't want to be the perfect Erudite. I hate all we stand for. I hate that we have turned from kind, intelligent innovators to power-hungry fools.

But where does that put me? Maybe I should try Dauntless. It's not like I'm going to live long anyway. But I'm never going to pass initiation, especially since I'm younger than the others - my birthday is only a week before the Choosing Ceremony...

Amity? Surely not. I'm not passive; the test proved that much. I'm the most antisocial, uncaring person I know.

I curl up under my cornflower blue blanket. Maybe there is a place for me here.

It's not like I have anywhere else to go.

Then my father walks into my room. Because apparently my life wasn't bad enough already.

'I know you aren't going to choose Abnegation.'

I stay silent.

'And I know that you didn't receive aptitude for Abnegation.'

I still don't speak. I'm thinking of  the woman in the testing chamber, who put herself in danger to protect me. Because I didn't fit Erudite. I didn't fit anywhere. I was Divergent.

'But you can choose any faction you want.'

I know that. But that doesn't change what others will think of my choice.

Listening to his footsteps as he leaves the room, I fall into a dreamless sleep.

~

A new day. The day of the Choosing Ceremony.

Sitting up, I notice the wrinkles in my clothes and get changed into an aqua blouse and denim jeans. Then, for no real reason, I put on a silver pendant.

Once I leave my room, it's immediately apparent that I've slept in. The sun is well up, my parents are flustered and my breakfast - surprisingly, pancakes - is already on the table. Despite the fear that I will be late, I eat slowly.

My mother doesn't speak very much. She's still a little jilted from last night.

After leaving the house, the three of us walk to the bus stop in silence. Multiple buses come past our stop on the day of the Choosing Ceremony. We're on the second last one - it is mainly filled with Candor, Abnegation and Amity: Erudite hate tardiness and Dauntless take the train.

As we arrive, a sixteen-year-old Amity girl named April Pelivanedes gestures to my place in the line. I stand between her and a red-haired Dauntless boy. The two factions that I could transfer to. My brain panics and the guilt comes all over again.

Suddenly, the doors close and Max, a Dauntless representative, steps towards the podium. Everyone is quiet.

'Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony.' He has a loud, deep, commanding voice. 'Today you will choose your factions. Until this point...'

I zone out for a second or two. I weigh my options.

'A long time ago our ancestors realised that each of us, each individual; was responsible for the evil that exists in the world. But they didn't agree on what that evil was.'

Neither do my thoughts.

'Some said that it was dishonesty...'

I'm a pretty secretive person. And if my tester, the Abnegation, was correct, then dishonesty is my path to survival.

'Some believed that it was ignorance...'

Ignorance is not an evil, it's an annoying flaw. But it is one I have never possessed.

'Some aggression...'

Aggression is worse. I think in Amity, I would be free. But would I be happy?

'Some said selfishness was the cause.'

True, selfishness is a major problem. But I'd never fit into Abnegation. Never ever.

'And the last group said cowardice was to blame.'

The boy beside me pumps his fist in the air. He's sure of his choice. He's lucky.

'That is how we came by our factions: Candor, Erudite, Amity, Abnegation and Dauntless. In them we find administrators and teaches and counsellors an leaders and protectors. In them we find our sense of community, our very lives.'

I tense up as "Zellner, Gregory." steps forward and chooses Amity. He's the first transfer.

I am freaking out. I wipe my face clean of emotion, but I'm trembling.

'Watson, Tiffany.'

Erudite. I knew it.

'Rodgers, Helena.'

Candor. Another transfer?

'Rodgers, Ben.' The boy next to me. He'll make his choice and them it'll be my turn.

He chooses Dauntless, and glares at his twin. To him, she is a traitor. A disappointment to his family.

'Peters, Rosalind.'

~

I walk over to Max. As I take the knife, I try and convey my desperation to the rest of the line. The don't notice. Most people look nervous. But I'm the most nervous by far.

"Okay." I think as I step towards the circle of giant bowls, slitting open my palm. "It doesn't matter what you want now. What does matter is what will be best for you in the future."

My first instinct draws me to the Dauntless bowl, filled with hot coals. I imagine myself leaping from the train, landing neatly and laughing, climbing sculptures blindfolded for a dare, stuffing myself with food and partying until four in the morning...

"No." I tell myself. The Dauntless have to fight. They have to run and wrestle. I'm just not a soldier type.

The stones... no. The water... maybe. I picture thirty-year-old Rosalind, still dressed in blue, still complimented for being a brilliant member of her faction. Never getting involved in faction disputes. Not being a part of the world our politicians are trying to create.

But no... there's still something else in the picture.

My mother.

As long as I am in Erudite, she will control my life. She's already trying to. She got me a job in her office. She always compares the two of us. She's trying to make me into her. Or into her leader...

The Rosalind in my head morphs into Jeanine, and I shudder at how alike we look.

I imagine myself one last time. Dressed in red. Laughing with Gregory and maybe April, depending on her choice. Climbing trees to pick fruit for my new friends. Singing campfire songs whenever I feel like it, ignoring the stares from the other factions. And never, ever persecuting other factions.

I realise that my hand is above the bowl of soil. I make a fist and squeeze out a few drops of blood.

I am a Divergent.
And I'm a transfer.

And now, a member of Amity.