One-Shot One
The Blue Headband
I've never really understood why something as little as looking in the mirror, or wearing clothes that aren't gray is considered selfish. But, this is what my faction has told me, and I respect that. Most of the time.
Today is Tuesday, one of the days I don't have to help the factionless after school. I know it's selfish of me, but these are my favorite days. On the way home from school, I drag my heels along the broken pavement, humming a song about the factions. The walk home from school is normally my favorite part of the day.
Some days the skies are blue, there are birds chirping, all the lawns freshly cut, and the air seems fresher than usual. On these days I feel as if I could do anything. This is one of those days. My pale blond hair is in a tight bun, as usual, and I wish I could take it out and let the wind play with it. Maybe I can.
I glance around for a minute before I decide that no one's watching. Just as I'm about to pull a pin out of my blond locks, something blows across my vision. It's blue, probably from the Erudite. I bend over to pick it up, and see that it's a headband.
I can only take this as a sign that God wants me to have one moment to let my hair down. With shaking fingers, I slide one pin out of my hair. A few strands fall and tickle my neck, giving me goose bumps. I pull out another pin, and this time my whole bun starts to fall apart. Quickly I pull out the rest of the pins, and then my tight ponytail. I shake my head, making my hair fall over my face.
I look up at the sky and grin. I never knew how great this could feel! Shaking the dust from the headband, I wave it in the sky before putting it on, slowly. When I let go of this little piece of cloth, it snaps on my forehead, stinging a little, but I hardly notice.
I don't have a mirror, but I imagine that if I did, I would look very different. I imagine that the bright blue of the headband would make my grey eyes pop, and that my hair is flowing backwards, wavy and free.
An old factionless woman with graying hair hobbles past me, smiling, and I snap back to reality. I am being selfish. Quickly yanking the headband from my head, I jog over to her and offer it to her. I'm sure this woman needs the headband more than the previous owner, so I don't feel guilty for giving it away. The factionless woman slowly reaches her wrinkled hand out to take the headband from me.
"Thank you." she tells me. "What is your name?"
"Beatrice." I reply, smiling.
I may not be selfless enough for my faction, but that doesn't mean I don't like helping people.
The woman smiles warmly before turning away from me, walking back to her life. I bend down to pick up my hair pins, and smooth my hair back into what my faction calls a "perfect bun." Tight and unnoticeable.
I know I will never be able to do this again, and that doesn't really bother me. This was a great day, and I will hold it in my memories forever. I wish I could thank the Erudite whose headband this was, but I can't, so I settle for asking God to thank her for me.
I keep thinking that headband came to me for a reason. Maybe someone knew that I needed this. To be free, even if it was only for a little while.
A/N: I wrote a lot of these one shots before Allegiant came out so some of the details may be different! Hope you enjoyed! Review, favorite, or follow this story if you so feel the urge too! Every one-shot will be different!
