I wake up, the world blurry. I feel around next to me on the bedside table for my glasses. Unlike most of the Erudite, I actually need my glasses to see. My hands find them, and I clumsily shove them onto my face. My vision becomes clearer, and I sit up in my bed, looking around my room. The walls are a deep blue, a color my faction believes to be calming, and it supposedly helps us focus. There is a desk across from where I sit in my bed, and it is cluttered with papers and books. My dresser is adjacent to my bed, and attached to it is a large mirror. My room is relatively small, but it doesn't bother me. I throw my legs out of bed, and walk over to my dresser. I pick out a collared blue shirt and some khaki pants and change out of my pajamas. I study myself in the mirror. My long brown wavy hair falls into my face so I pull it back with a rubber band. My eyes are bright blue, just like my mother's. I have pale skin, and freckles dot my cheeks and nose. My nose. I have always hated my nose. It is just like my father's nose, and I don't mean to insult him, it suits him well. But not me. It looks strange on me. All of my features are rather small, except my nose, so it stands out, and I hate it.
My mother calls to me " Emily! You're going to be late!" I gather my things off of my desk and shove them into my light blue messenger bag. I rush to the door, grabbing a piece of toast on the way out. My father wishes me good luck as I walk through the door, and my mother scolds him, because luck is illogical. I run down to the bus stop, biting into the toast as I run. The bus pulls up and I step on, searching the seats for a familiar face. I see my best friend Anna in the very back, and I move to sit next to her. She is in Candor, so she dresses in black and white.
Twenty years ago, the factions were much more separate. That was before the conflict between Erudite and Abnegation. After the conflict, the factions became more unified in the government, as well as everyday life. A lot changed after the conflict. I read a lot about what happened, as my father refuses to talk about it. Something happened to him, I think. He doesn't talk much about his past, but judging from his selfless nature, he probably grew up in Abnegation. Even though the conflict was truly terrible, I believe it was for the better, because now we can live so much more peacefully. They even let us visit people of other factions anytime we like, as long as they're already members, of course.
I sit down next to Anna, and she smiles at me. "Hey." she says.
"Hello Anna," I reply. "How are you?" Anna laughs and says
"You sound like a stiff," I laugh. "And I'm doing well. I'm a little nervous though."
"Aptitude test results?" I ask. She nods. That's another thing they changed; the aptitude test. It is much more complicated now, and it takes them almost a day to process the results. They changed it so that a kind of people called 'divergent' could get more accurate results.
"Are you nervous?" Anna asks.
"A little. Not really." I reply. Anna laughs.
"Well you can't be Candor," Anna says. "You're lying."
"Okay, fine," I say. "I am nervous. Really nervous, actually." She smiles at my defeat.
"Never lie to a Candor," She says. I pull a book titled 'Agricultural Developments of Erudite and Amity' out of my bag and begin to read. It's about the machinery and methods used by Amity to grow food for the city. I have always admired Amity for their kindness. They grow food for the entire city, and they don't complain; they enjoy it. They are necessary for the survival of the city, and the prevention of war, thanks to their peace keeping skills.
The bus pulls up to the Aptitude Center, and I put the book away. Anna and I stand up, making our way to the front of the bus. Because of the new, more elaborate aptitude tests, they built a new building. It's easier now, because they can keep everything in the same place. We walk through the big glass doors and up to the receptionist. "We're here for our results." I say, and she directs us to a line so long I can;t even see what it leads to. We stand there for about twenty minutes, discussing what factions we're hoping to get. "What do you think you'll get?" I ask Anna.
"I don't know. I'm hoping for Dauntless, or maybe Erudite." She grins, and I flinch in surprise. I wasn't expecting that. I guess the choosing ceremony really tests how well you know your friends."What about you?" I hesitate. I can't tell her what faction I really want, after she just told me she wanted Dauntless. She'll make fun of me.
"I like Erudite. Don't really want to change." I lie. Anna sighs.
"You're lying."
"Am not"
"You are!"
"I really am happy with Erudite!"
"You really are lying!" I sigh. There's no use in arguing, she knows that I'm not being truthful.
"I want to be in Amity." I mumble.
"What was that?" She asks.
"Amity. I'm hoping for Amity." I say louder, and she grins.
"So I guess we'll be the first friends between Amity and Dauntless then." I breathe a sigh of relief. She isn't mad, she doesn't care what faction I choose. I feels good to know that our friendship is worth more to her than a rivalry between factions. I smile.
"Guess so." We finally reach the front of the line. A gray clothed Abnegation lady stands at a table, a dozen file folder laid out in front of her. She scans my hand, and begins to search for my results. After the simulation, they stamped my hand with a code so they could match me to my results.
"Here you are Emily," She hands me a paper, and I reach for it, my hands shaking. I take a deep breath and start to read. My heart races as my eyes scan the paper. At the top it analyzes everything I did in the simulation, telling me exactly what it meant. My eyes stop when they reach the bottom of the paper. My result. I let out a breath that I hadn't even realized I was holding in, relieved. I smile. The paper reads 'Amity'