Chapter 1: Choosing Day

My hands shook as I approached the bowls. My gaze flickered from one bowl to another, from water to earth. I picked up the knife and looked up, catching my parents' gazes. They were dressed in Amity red and yellow, as was I, and my sister sat next to them. She was excited, because this was the first Choosing Day she had been to. Her eyes were alight with curiosity and I almost smiled. My eyes dropped back down to the bowls. Amity, Erudite. Earth, water. Familiar, foreign. I was taking too long. The crowd began to murmur. I looked up one more time and met his eyes. He was the only Amity in a sea of Dauntless. If he could change, I could too.

I squeezed my eyes shut and felt the sharp sting of the blade biting into my skin. A trail of blood snaked down my palm. Making my final decision, I extended my hand over the water. As it fell, my new faction was announced.

"Erudite!"

My eyes opened as I was given a bandage and they immediately flew to my family. They were smiling, but it was a sad smile. Even my sister, who is four years younger than me, knew exactly what this means.

Faction before blood.

I probably won't see them ever again.

I looked away from them and joined my new faction. I stood with the other initiates in the back. My Amity clothes stood out in the mass of blue clothes. Most of the initiates were already Erudite, but there was one Dauntless transfer, three Candor transfers and an Abnegation one. The ceremony was over quickly and I was swept along by the Erudite as we headed towards the elevator. The Dauntless transfer fell into step next to me. "Hi, I'm Lana." She stuck out her hand and I shook it. "I'm Kaylin." We entered the elevator with ten other Erudite. "This is so weird," she muttered. The elevator doors opened and we walked outside to a huge parking lot. It was filled with sleek cars, some blue, others black, and a rare few were white. The initiates broke off and headed to a line of black cars that were already running. They were such a huge contrast to the huge farm trucks that I was used to that they almost didn't look... safe. We were going to being riding to the Erudite compound in what looked like a delicate piece of plastic shaped like a car. I opened the back door and cautiously looked in. there was room for only three people in the back of the car- and it was closed in! If we had a truck, we could fit all of the initiates in at once. It would be much more efficient. I climbed in and Lana followed me, along with one of the Candor transfers. "Looks like they were expecting more initiates," he snickered, but no one responded. I was too busy watching the buildings flash by and hoping that the car could hold itself together. I thought the little piece of plastic would have blown over by now, but surprisingly, it was fast and electricity-powered. So it really was efficient. We arrived at the Erudite compound and were ushered through the door and into a room with many large windows in the wall on one side. On the other, a huge screen was mounted on the wall and computers were on the table facing the screen. There were twelve seats in total, and we were told to sit in the first row. As soon as we sat down, the screen flickered on. A woman with long blonde hair smiled on the screen. "Hello, transfers. In front of you, your computer screen should have turned on." I looked down as my computer lit up with a blue light. "This is the start of your initiation. You first need to fill in your personal information for our data bases, and then we will test your knowledge with some questions." The number three showed up on my screen. "You will be ranked on how fast you finish this test. You may begin on one." The screen turned black and the countdown began on the big screen, corresponding to the numbers on our computers.

3.

2.

1.

Full name: Reid, Kaylin

Date of birth: September 17th

Age: 16

Previous faction: Amity

The list went on and on and after the personal section was done, I answered questions in a blur. They ranged from primary school math problems to high level reading comprehension. My fingers flew over the keys, and somehow, I relaxed. I felt... at home here and comfortable. It was a strange feeling to be content in an unfamiliar place, but I felt as if I could do this all day. More importantly, for the first time since I held my hand out over the Erudite bowl, I felt happy with my decision. I completed the test and sat back in my chair, waiting for the computer to calculate my results and send them to wherever they needed to go. The computer made a little beep and text began scrolling across the screen. It told me to exit the room and follow the Erudite waiting outside. She in turn led me to a small room, with only a small little chair and a table. After instructing me to sit, she opened up the file she was holding. "Reid, Kaylin?" she asked. I nodded in response. "You did very well. Your time was the third best in the class, and you answered all the questions reasonably well. However, there is still room for improvement. We only take the smartest here." She snapped the folder shut. "As for clothing. You may not wear these colors anymore," She said, gesturing to my outfit. "Statistics show that some people are better off if they can have a memento from their previous faction. Would you like to keep anything?"

"Yes," I replied. "I would like to keep my necklace." I wore my mother's engagement ring on a gold chain around my neck. She had given it to me the day before I chose my new faction. She and my father had agreed, no matter where I went, I should have a piece of them with me. "A fine choice." She nodded. "It's beautiful."

"Thank you." I stammered out.

"The rest of your clothes shall be collected and given to Abnegation for distribution around the factionless. But first, you must choose your new clothes. Standard issue clothing will be placed in your living space once it has been assigned to you. Statistics show individuals like to be unique and different from others, so tomorrow you shall choose an outfit that fits your tastes specifically. These will arrive shortly after you order them. Now, living quarters. Your room will be shared with the other transfers, and the adjoining room will be for the Erudite-born initiates. Each bed will be curtained off, as privacy is important here. You may decorate as you would like in this space, however, you must be respectful to the people around you. We will not tolerate any complaints. Rankings will be posted tomorrow. The woman outside the door will take you to your room." I stood as she opened the door for me, and sure enough, another person was waiting for me. As she led me down the spotless hallways lined with many, many windows, the soft, yellow light poured in and called my attention to the sunset outside- and the view! It was amazing. I thought I could see the tips of the Amity orchards from my vantage point, but we turned the corner before I could look closer. We entered a new hallway. The two doors there were marked with our names. I entered the room, and saw that it was sectioned off, with curtains splitting the beds apart from the center of the room. It was circular, and the walls stuck out like spokes, dividing the room into 6 sections. On my new bed was a pair of blue pajamas. After changing, I laid down on my bed and promptly fell asleep, even though it was still early. I hardly registered the rustling as each member of my new class entered and followed the same routine as I did. By then, I was too far gone.