Prologue
My name is Jessica. Life for me has never been easy. I've mostly been feared by lots of people. All my life my mother has been expecting me to learn how to lead and take her place as the leader for the Erudite. Truth is, I'm tired of being feared of, I just want to fit in with everyone else. I want to have friends that actually want to be my friend without any fear. I don't want to deal with the stress of trying to be smart. When I read, the words get mixed up in my head and it gives me a headache. I'm too afraid to tell my mom for the fear of what she could and will do to me. She can be really scary when I mess something up because my mother is Jeanine Matthews.
Chapter 1: Before
I woke up in cold sweat and immediately wished for the world to wash away. When teenagers turn sixteen they must do the worst thing in the world. It's called the Aptitude Test. Basically, before you chose your permanent faction, you take a test to see what faction is best for you.
"Jessica, it's time to get ready for your test," my mother said sometime later.
I simply just groaned and turned the other way on my bed so I couldn't see my mother's blissfulness and said, "I don't want to go though."
"Oh please, it's required that you show or it will make me seem like a bad parent," she reminded. "Now you don't want to want that to happen, am I clear?"
"Yes Jeanine"
"Oh and one more thing, stop calling me Jeanine," she warned. "Only close acquaintances call me that, you may call me mom or mother."
"Whatever"
And with that, my mother left, closing the door gently behind her. I got off my bed and looked at my room. The walls are Erudite blue, with a filled bookshelf of untouched books next to my bed. On the right wall, there is a dark wood desk with a lamp on top and my school books. My bed is a twin bed with blue sheets and blue pillows. On the opposite wall of my bed is my small closet with a small dresser in it. The wall left to my bed is the door to the hallway.
I walked to my closet and open the double-doors and got out a typical Erudite outfit, a blue sweater with a khaki styled skirt. I opened the door that leads to the hallway and ran to my bathroom. I quickly got dressed and looked at my tangled dirty-blond hair.
"Great," I murmured and tried my best to untangle it. Then, I put on mascara and foundation. I then put on my fake glasses. Mother thought it was necessary for me to wear them so then I would seem 'smarter'. There was a knock on the door and I opened it to reveal my mother.
"Great," she says. "You're ready. Come on I'm going to drive you there and we're going to talk like any other family."
"Fine."
We walked out of the house and towards the garage. Jeanine got into the driver's seat while I got in the passenger seat.
"Are you nervous Jessica?" she asked.
"I'm not sure what to feel."
"Well I'm sure when tomorrow comes, you'll make the right choice."
"I doubt it," I snapped. Jeanine pierced her lips and focused on driving. Her eyes kept on looking for something but I didn't know what it could be. Then, she quickly pulled into an alley.
"Look at me Jessica," Jeanine yelled. "No matter what you get for your test, you will pick Erudite and stay there to take my place one day. The Abnegation are getting out of hand and must be eliminated. You will take my place after I terminate them and show the rest of the factions whose boss."
"Mom, what are you trying to say-"
"YOU WILL NEVER REPEAT THIS OUTSIDE THIS CAR. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" she raised her hand and slapped me hard on my cheek.
"Ye.. yes mother," I was crying from the pain of her previous action.
"Good," she said and pulled out of the alley, acting like nothing ever happened.
I stared out the window and tried to stop crying, but it was no use. My mascara is starting to drip and the throbbing is really intense. She's never been this mean yet, I thought. Usually it's either yelling or getting abused.
When we finally pulled up to the school building, I somehow stopped crying and fixed my mascara.
"Remember Jessica, the future belongs to those who know where they belong," Jeanine warned. I just nodded and left the car.
As I was heading towards the school building, a train blared its horn and I saw the Dauntless jumping off. They were running and yelling at the top of their lungs as they ran towards the school building. I watched them run past me and thought of how cool it would be to be free from what Jeanine already has planned for me. When the Dauntless cleared, I hurried into the school building and found where the Aptitude Testing area was. I quickly sat down at the Erudite table and looked around me. The people at my table were reading, of course. The Amity table was playing some hand game and laughing. The Dauntless were being loud and reckless like always. The Candor were talking quietly and the Abnegation were dead silent.
When they finally started calling Erudite people to take their test, everyone paled. Because they go A to Z, it will take a while for them to call my name. When one person went in and came out paler than before, it made me panic even more.
"Jessica Matthews from Erudite," a lady in grey clothing said.
I reluctantly got up from my chair a followed her down a series of hallways. She finally stopped in front of a black door and lead me inside.
"Wait here until the person who is testing you comes," she says. "Oh, and good luck."
"Thanks," I said and sat in the only chair in the room. The room almost looks like my room, but with mirrored walls. No matter where I looked, I only saw me on a chair with a monitor next to the bed. Minutes later a lady in black came in. She had black hair and was about middle-aged with tattoos.
"Hello," she said. "My name is Tory, I am here to monitor your test."
"O… okay," I said nervously.
"Don't worry, this test is very simple," she assured.
"Well let's get this over with then."
Tory just nodded and tempered the monitor.
"I need you to drink this," she said, handing me a blue liquid in a clear glass.
"Okay I guess, here it goes," I said nervously and swallowed the liquid.
Then the world went black.