We're gathered in the school's auditorium waiting patiently to find out what today's assembly is about. A quick glance around at the small amount of people gathered tells me that only those that will graduate this school year are here. I sit next to my bother, Caleb, in a small quiet group along with the rest of our faction, while members of the other factions talk loudly amongst themselves and each other. When our Faction History teacher, Mrs. Bradford, enters the room, I give her my full attention.

"Quiet down now please. I have a very important, and exciting announcement for all of you!" She says it with such enthusiasm, my heart flutters with anticipation. "This is your last year of classes as you all know, and this year, the leaders of the factions have come up with a new program for your benefit. The program is called the Integration Correspondence Initiation. It's benefits are two-fold. Firstly, it is going to be used as a way to help solidify the unification of the factions. Second, it's going to give you an opportunity to have someone to communicate with that has already been through this process. Give you a small glimpse of what life is like after the Choosing Ceremony."

The room stirs and I glance around quickly at the faces of my peers; their excitement shows on their faces. I let a small smile play on mine before my brother leans into my view. His look of disapproval shuts me down, so I close myself back up again and give my full attention back to our teacher.

"Now, a few things you should know. The program is going to be handled through letters that will go through myself and the different leaders of the factions. This program is also going to function on complete anonymity. You will not know who you are corresponding with, nor what faction they belong to. You will be assigned a number, and so will your partner, and that is the only way you will address each other. Everything is going to be as random as possible on our end, to ensure not only your safety, but the success of the program. When I call your name, please come down to be assigned a number, and to choose your partner!"

She pulls out two large bowls from behind her podium. I can see that they are both filled with pieces of paper. I can't help but be reminded of the large bowls used in our choosing ceremony.

"Oh. Before I forget," she calls out, "your numbers are to remain a secret. They are for you and you alone. Your number, and your partners, will consist of two numbers. One is unique to you, the other is unique to a faction. Only those of us who set up the program will understand them, so don't try wracking your brains too hard trying to figure it out." She glances at the Erudite kids and they laugh. "This is the trial run. Let's make it succeed, okay?" She smiles broadly before reaching into the bowl on her right and pulling a piece of paper. "Lyla Smith."

A girl from Amity stands and makes her way down. She watches nervously as Mrs. Bradford fills out some information on her clipboard. Lyla reaches into the other bowl and pulls out a piece of paper, handing it over to Mrs. Bradford as she continues to write. She folds the sheet of paper on her clipboard in half, and pulls along a perforation, before handing the bottom half to Lyla. She studies it carefully and listens to our teacher before nodding and slipping it into her pocket, and leaving the auditorium. I realize this is not going to be a quick process and let my eyes wander for a while.

"Beatrice Prior." I'm startled when I hear my name called so soon. Being Abnegation, I'm so used to being the last one to do anything. I hesitate for a moment before I stand and make my way down. I wait patiently as Mrs. Bradford writes.
"Go ahead a choose a piece of paper," she says as she motions to the bowl on her left. They all look blank, so I pick one from the top and hand it to her. She unfolds it carefully and continues to write. My heart pumps out a nervous beat when she tears off my portion of her paperwork and hands it to me.

"Beatrice, the top numbers here belongs to you." I stare at the numbers 6-1 on my paper. "When you want to call yourself by name, or sign your letter, you use these numbers. And these ones here," she points to a set on the bottom, "These belong to your partner. Same rule applies. Understand?" I nod my head. "Good. A list of acceptable and unacceptable topics to discuss are listed on the back of this sheet. Go ahead and head back to the classroom. The others are there starting their letters. It might seem odd at first, so keep this first letter simple, okay? Before you know it, you'll fall into a nice rhythm." I nod again and she gestures towards the door.

I clutch my paper tightly and take my time walking back to the classroom; my heart still hasn't settled. I wonder who I'm going to be paired up with? Pulling a number at random cannot guarantee that I will be paired with someone from my own faction, and it startles me how excited I get at the mere chance to talk to someone outside of Abnegation. I smile and silently think of all the questions I'm going to ask as I walk. When I reach the classroom, I put on my Abnegation mask and take my seat.

I glance at the others and notice the looks of confusion on their faces. When I see Lyla staring at her paper, I remember the rules listed on the back. I flip my paper over and look them over.

DO:

Make small talk only.

Discussion topic examples:
The weather.
School.
Your appearance.
Your schoolwork.

DON'T:

Discuss anything relating to your faction.
Reveal your true name.
Reveal where you live.
Reveal anything too much about your families or their jobs. (You can discuss the amount of siblings you have, or vague things about your parents etc.)
Ask about the Aptitude test. (You may discuss your feelings about it.)
Ask about The Choosing Ceremony in detail.
Write in anything but pencil.

This list is absurd. How are we supposed to get a glimpse of life after The Choosing Ceremony if we can't talk about it? And what's with the secrecy now about The Choosing Ceremony? Anyone can go to that, and it's all out in the open. And how is this going to unify the factions if we don't know what faction we're dealing with? I can see this lasting about three, maybe four letters and then dying out. This isn't a very well thought out program.

I sigh and take out a sheet of paper and a pencil. This is mandatory, so I might as well make an effort. I glance at my partners numbers before folding the sheet of paper and placing it in my dress pocket.

Dear 4-4,

My name is 6-1. I'm not too sure what to say, seeing as we have all sorts of rules to keep this all anonymous.

I will be graduating this year, obviously. I'm a good student, straight A's all around. I like school well enough, and sometimes I think it will be really awkward to not have to come here every day. Did you like school?

I think this program is odd, do you? I feel like I might say the wrong thing and get into trouble, even though nobody said anything to let on that there would be consequences. Do you have a list of appropriate topics too? I hope yours is longer than ours. I could tell you everything in almost one paragraph.

I think I'll end this now. I want to keep something for us to talk about next time. I hope you have a great day.

Sincerely,

6-1

This is easily the worst thing I have ever written in my life. I fold the letter and sit with my hands in my lap, waiting for Mrs. Bradford to come in and tell us what to do next.

A/N:

Hi there! Just a note to say that this isn't a very long story, and it's more about choice than anything else.