My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am sixteen years old. I am Divergent. My faction is Erudite. The Erudite are evil. I plan to leave Erudite, I think to myself.
Two years ago my best friend Gale left Erudite to become Dauntless. He and I made a plan to leave Erudite because they are planning something big and evil against the Abnegation. We don't want to be a part of a full on war so we decided it would be best to just go.
Gale is eighteen now. There is no doubt that he passed Dauntless initiation with flying colors. He has always had this façade that he put up his whole life in Erudite. But he and I both know what he's really like. Brave. Just like one of the famous quotes from the Dauntless manifesto, Gale and I both believe in ordinary acts of bravery, the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.
Maybe that's why both of us have no problem transferring to Dauntless and leaving our family behind. All I really care about is my sister Primrose. I wish she could come with me but she still has 4 years. I haven't forgiven my mother for leaving Prim and I to fend for ourselves after our father died.
Today is the day of the Choosing Ceremony. The room is arranged in concentric circles. Sixteen year olds from every faction stand on the edges. We're arranged in alphabetical order. Marcus Eaton, an Abnegation leader, gives an opening speech and reads the names in reverse alphabetical order. I will go close to last.
I look at the faction bowls: Gray stones for Abnegation, water for Erudite, Earth for Amity, glass for Candor, and lit stones for Dauntless. I plan to have my blood sizzle on those lit stones. I get a little anxious as Marcus gets closer to my name. I think about how Jeanine Matthews, an Erudite representative, released a report about how he abused his son. Now that I think about it, two years ago his son, Tobias, transferred from Abnegation to Dauntless. He and Gale were probably in the same initiate class. I look at my mother, across the room, who has tears in her eyes. I didn't tell her I planned on transferring to Dauntless with Gale… Why would I? I think she has a clue, though. Faction before blood, I think to myself. It eases the guilt.
"Christina Fuhrman", Marcus calls out. The candor girl next to me slowly walks to the center of the room. Marcus hands her the knife. She drags the knife across her palm and doesn't even flinch. She walks over to the coals and her blood makes a sizzling noise. Dauntless. The Candor look betrayed and the Dauntless have smug looks on their face. She is a traitor to the Candor now.
"Katniss Everdeen". My legs walk to the center of the room without my mind telling them to. I take the knife from Marcus and it's like my body has a mind of its own. I cut down the center of my palm but it barely even stings. I hold my left hand over the burning coals and the sizzling sound relaxes me. I've made my choice. It's done.
I hear a few whoops and shouts from the Dauntless. Their probably excited to have two people in a row to transfer to their faction. I stand behind the Dauntless-born initiates next to a blond Abnegation girl. The only Abnegation, or stiff, to transfer to Dauntless. I size her up. Long blond locks, abnormally long nose. Her eyes are trained on the floor. She looks as though she's made a mistake. To survive Dauntless initiation she's going to have to lose any signs of regret.