A/N: this story is co-written with the awesome 64thestarkidwholived. You should check out her stories. Anything written in the point of view of Avigayil is mine (I might switch to someone else for a chapter, maybe Tris or something, but I will tell you), and anything written in the pov of Tuvia, is 64's (I assume the same goes for her). enjoy, and don't forget to review.
Avigayil:
I wake up to the annoying beep of my alarm. I hastily shut the contraption off, not wanting to hear the noise anymore. My heart sinks when I remember what today is. The aptitude test. The day I will figure out where I really belong. Some people know exactly where they are going, and whether they will stay, or leave. I'm not one of those people.
I force myself to leave the heavenly blankets, and to get ready. I pull on a white blouse, and a black pencil skirt. I know that every step I take is one step closer to the aptitude test, but I can't just avoid it forever, so I brush my hair, and apply my makeup anyways. When I look in the mirror, I typically like what I see. I'm not perfect, or gorgeous, but I don't dislike myself. I'm not one of those self-haters with confidence issues. I do have trouble my hair though. I like the red color, but it is so hard to manage. Not that it's super curly, there is just so much. I sigh, and put it in a bun.
I slump down the stairs, still not fully awake, when I am greeted by my overly cheery mother. My father has left early for work, as usual, and my three year old sister, Chaya, runs around the house screaming. Yaakov, my twin brother sits at the table, staring into space. He has been doing that a lot lately. If I transfer, he will be the only one I will truly miss.
Even though we are fraternal twins, we look alike. Same red hair, and facial features, although his eyes are dark, and mine are light green. I'm not sure he will get a Candor aptitude. He has been keeping things from me in the past year. We used to tell each other everything, but then he became distant. He didn't want to speak to me as often, and it depressed me, because I knew this could very well be our last year together.
"Good morning Yaakov." I say with a smile, despite the rabid squirrel gnawing at my guts.
"G'morning Avi." He says, also smiling.
I don't eat breakfast. The rabid squirrel has taken up too much space already, although everyone else scarfs down their food. High metabolisms run in the family. So does red hair.
*page break*
At school, I don't pay attention to classes. They are all shortened, and it's not like we will have school again, so I space out, and think about the aptitude test. It's possible that I could get Candor, but I'm not really that honest. I actually don't know where I fit in, but hey, that's what aptitude tests are for, right?
When the time comes, we all walk to the lunch room, like a herd of cattle, and we all uneasily eat our lunches. The nervousness I feel does not equal out the hunger, of a teenage girl, with a high metabolism, so I eat, and enjoy my pasta. My mom makes great pasta. The thought hitches in my throat. I could be leaving her behind soon. I won't miss my father. I rarely see him. I love my little sister, but she screams a lot, and I would enjoy the sleep. I would only miss my mother, and Yaakov, but then again, I might not transfer. I will just have to wait and see what my aptitude is.
"Avigayil Goldmann, Aria Gransky from Candor." Says the lady with the clipboard. I send a pleading look to everyone at my table, but it's not like they can do anything. I have to get up, and force myself to walk into the room.
Inside, I notice the room is full of mirrors, and there is a metal chair in the middle. An Abnegation lady says,
"Hello Avigayil, my name is Natalie, and I will be administering your aptitude test today." I can't speak, so I just manage out a nod. "Please sit down, and allow me to prepare you." She starts pressing electrodes on herself and I. "Please drink this." I don't think. I just grab it and gulp it down, although it was a bit of a mistake because it tastes horrible! I am about to complain, before everything goes black.
When I open my eyes, I'm not in the aptitude room anymore, I'm in the cafeteria, and it snows outside. There are two baskets on the table. One contains a knife, and the other contains a lump of cheese.
"Choose" says a bodiless voice.
"Why?" I ask
"Just choose."
"Fine." I say, and I grab the knife. I hear a growl that comes from a large cat. No, not just a large cat, a mountain lion. I remember reading that they were abundant in the old times. I have a knife, which I can stab the lion with, but I really don't want to. I have a cat at home, and I plan on getting another after initiation, irrespective of where I go. I've always loved them, and I seem to be pretty good with them. The lion just looks like a big housecat. Maybe I can take a risk. I put my hand out, and I bend my knees, and I slowly walk closer to it.
"Here kitty kitty, who's a cute little kitty." I say, using the same voice I use with my cat at home. The lion breaks his stalk and he walks towards me purring. I smile when he rubs his head against my leg, because I know it is a sign of affection. I can't help myself, and I pet it. Remember I love cats.
Suddenly a little girl, that vaguely reminds me of Chaya comes running into the room.
"Kitty!" squeals the girl, and the lion turns towards her, and pounces. I make a rash decision, and I jump on top of the cat. Everything goes black.
I now sit in the middle of a desert, and in front of me are an old car, a pack of water bottles, and a game device.
"Choose" says the same voice, and I know not to resist. The game device is just stupid, picking that would mean death. The smartest choice is the water, but that's just a temporary fix. If I pick the car, it could possibly get me out of here, even if it might break down, or run out of gas, and I would be stranded again with nothing. I decide to take the riskier choice, and I walk to the car. It goes black again.
I'm in a bus. Across from me, sits a man, whose face is covered by a newspaper. He shifts a little, so that he can see me.
"Do you know this man?" he says as he points to the picture of a man, with the word murderer under it. He seems familiar.
"No." I say
"If you know him, you could save me!"
"I said no." I say commandingly. He lunges at me, so I kick him in the groin, remembering a self-defense class I once took, and I run, but this soon goes black too.
I wake up in the aptitude room again. Natalie smiles, and says,
"Your aptitude is Dauntless. I suggest you spend the rest of the day thinking about your choice."
My face goes pale. I quickly thank her and I leave the room. I sit back down at my table. I don't say anything, despite my peers' questioning tones. They expect me to say what happened, because that's what Candors do. Yaakov says nothing. He knows better than to question me. He will only have his test near the end, because everything is done alphabetically, according to first names, which I always thought was strange, because the choosing ceremony is backwards alphabetical, according to last names. I put my head on the table, and I soon doze off.
*Page break*
I wake up to Yaakov shaking my shoulder.
"We have to go, I was the last group." He says.
"Ugh fine." I say, and I get up and yawn.
We catch the bus home, as usual. Some families have parents to take them home, but my father is always busy working with Jack Kang, and my mother is always busy with Chaya, so we take the bus. I'm a bit wary of riding a bus, after what happened during the aptitude test, but it wasn't real, and it's not actually going to happen. By the time we get home, it is three in the afternoon. We don't usually have dinner until 5 o'clock, but when I walk in, I smell something delicious.
"I'm making a special dinner, for you guys, it will be ready at five, you can relax until then." Says my mom, from the kitchen.
"Okay mom." Both Yaakov and I shout.
"Can I talk to you?" asks Yaakov, "Upstairs."
"Okay." I reply, and I follow upstairs to his bedroom. Unlike mine, his room is very plain, with only what he needs, whereas I have decorated every square inch of my room with posters, paintings, colors, and random things that somehow ended up stuck to the wall. Yaakov takes a deep breath and then says,
"I'm transferring to Dauntless." I smile. I guess I won't have to leave my brother behind.
"So am I" I say. He also smiles. "So, what do you think dauntless will be like?" I ask
"Probably really dark, and everyone will be violent, with tattoos all over their body, even the children." We both laugh, and go on speaking like this until dinner.
*page break*
Dinner is delicious. Rosemary lamb chops, with mashed potatoes, and string beans. I can tell my mother worked very hard on this. She even has a surprise dessert. I think she knows that we will leave. My mother always knows. My father is actually here for once, and I know I will have to tell my parents that we are leaving, so that we can say a proper goodbye. I hope they understand.
When everyone finishes their dinner, my mother brings out the dessert.
"Chocolate lava cakes, with vanilla ice cream." She announces. They look delicious, even though everything is soy, because Chaya is allergic to milk. She passes out the plates with the cakes. She even decorated it. I share a look with Yaakov, before I say,
"Yaakov and I will transfer tomorrow." My father gasps, and my mother smiles sadly. Chaya says, in her little kid voice,
"What does transfer mean?"
"It means that your older brother and sister will be leaving tomorrow." Says my mother sadly.
"Are you okay with it?" asks Yaakov
"Sweety, you two will always be my children, and I will love you no matter what, but I can't stop myself from wishing you would stay." My mother says with another sad smile.
"Well, I won't accept it. No child of mine will leave this faction." Says my father coldly
"You don't have a right to call us your children!" I say "Today was the first day in 10 years you were home before we went to bed."
"I was busy working to earn money, so I could put food on the table."
"So you couldn't come home an hour early, so you could see you children more than once a month?"
"That was never my choice."
"Of course it is. You don't think Jack Kang would understand? He has a son too you know."
"Fine Avigayil, if you and Yaakov don't want to be my children, leave, and go enjoy your life at whatever faction you choose to go to. I have work to do." And he gets up and walks to his office.
"Was that really needed?" asks Yaakov.
"I think he needed to know how his work affected his children. Maybe in the future he will be more of a father to Chaya. Just know that I will always love you, and I want you two to be happy. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go speak to your father. Enjoy the cake; I made it especially for you two." My mother says. She really lives up to her name Ahava, which means love.
"I'm gonna miss you Avi" says my little sister. I can't help but melt when I hear this, and I run upstairs before I cry.
*page break*
I wake up with only one thought in my mind. Dread. I cried myself to sleep last night, knowing that the last encounter I will have with my father was terrible. He practically disowned us. My throat still hurts from all that crying, but I get ready anyways. As usual, I wear a white blouse, with a black pencil skirt, but I put in the diamond studs that my mother gave to me. I usually only wear them on special occasions, but I want to take a piece of her with me.
Breakfast is fancy, just like dinner last night, pancakes with all different things in them. I pick one with blueberries in it, and I eat quickly, so I can have more than one, but after the second pancake, another rabid squirrel decides to come and make a nest in my stomach, so I have to stop eating. Yaakov hasn't even touched his food, which is a bad sign. He loves food just as much as I do, maybe even more, but it makes sense, we are leaving our home today.
*page break*
My mother drove us to the hub. Before we went to our places, she gave us both huge hugs, and told us how much she loved us. Chaya also hugged us, though she couldn't quite process what was going on, in her little toddler brain. Now we stand in line. Yaakov will choose first because it is backward alphabetical, but we will both have to wait a long time, because our last name starts with a G. This year there are more transfers than usual. I carefully watch the dauntless transfers, but my mind is to muddled to be able to think right now. By the time the person before Yaakov is called, I am sweaty, and shaky, and I want time to just stop. When Yaakov is called, he confidently walks up to the bowls. Jeanine Mathews, who is running the ceremony this year, hands him the knife. I hate Jeanine. About once a month, she releases an article insulting the Abnegation. There was a time last year, when she did it so often; they came almost 3 times a week, now, it's not so often, but I still hate her for it, even though I'm not Abnegation.
Yaakov cuts his hand, and quickly dumps his blood onto the coals. The Dauntless cheer and the Candor jeer. My name is called. I stumble on the way there, and everyone laughs. My face heats up, but I force myself to walk with my chin up. I take the knife, and cut my hand. I don't want to leave, but I don't want to stay either. I pour my blood onto the coals.
A/N: so tell me if you liked it or not. I know I changed around the aptitude test a little, but remember tori said she had to force the simulation to the bus because tris never chose the knife or cheese? Yeah well, avi chose the knife. The next chapter will be written by 64(I will abbreviate her name to that from now on.) and will probably be in Tuvia's pov. So please review, because I love reviews, and I need to know whether my story is good or not, and if I need to improve. Thanks for reading.