TRIS
"Choose, ether the knife or the cheese."
Gosh this is tough. And why do we need to choose between a knife and cheese anyways? How will that help decide whether were brave, or selfless, or kind, or honest, or smart?
This isn't making sense is it?
Better start at the beginning.
I wake up at 5:30 this morning. Man I still have an hour till I have to get up, so I decide to snooze till 6:30, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't find any part of me that still wanted a nap so I decide to give an early welcome to that thing in the sky called the sun.
As I get my clothes on (I took a shower last night so I wouldn't have to wake up early, though I guess it makes little difference now), I get a sudden rush of panic. Today is the day when I'm going to get to take my aptitude test, which is basically a test to tell you what people you should hang out with.
Let me explain this more. When we first entered middle school are parents were given the choice of whether to put us though regular school or this special program that is supposed to help prevent bullying in young students. Well my parents went through this program and liked it a lot so they decided to sign us up for it (me and my brother that is). But here's the catch. Your parents get to choose which hall or "faction" you get put into, you must stay in that faction in till you reach the age of 16 and you choose to go into regular school or take the aptitude test and ether switch halls or stay in that one, oh and this is a boarding school so unless you are like me which your parents work in the hall way your assigned to you only get to see your parents on visiting day or, if your 16, you choose regular school.
Yeah so you can see why I would be nervous for today right. Well as I said my parents work in the same hallway they picked so we talked about it as a family and after very brief deliberation decided me and Caleb would continue with the program and take the aptitude test.
Well today is the day that I take that test and I'm really nervous.
As I head down stairs to get some breakfasts from the communal kitchen I see my mother sitting at the counter sipping a small glass of water. She is wearing the same gray and loose uniform as everyone else wears here and she looks thoughtful as I approach her.
"Good morning mother," I say as I take a seat beside her.
"Good morning Beatrice" she says back to me.
We sit in a uncomfortable silence as she sips her water and I try to get my hair into the weird bun that every girl in Abnegation has. I have tried for many years to get my hair to do this but a part of my hair always slips out one way or another.
As I try again to get a part of my bangs into the bun I feel two hands come from behind and tied the bun into a perfect knot at the back of my head. With a jolt I realize that my mother has gotten up to help me.
"There now your hair won't slip out." She says as she slides the last bobby pin in place.
I take this opportunity to ask her a question that has been on my mind for a while.
"Where you nervous for your aptitude test," I ask her tensely. I'm afraid that she will say something like how easy it is or how I have nothing to worry about. I hold my breath as I wait for her answer.
"No I wasn't nervous," she replies calmly. My spirits sink but then she finished her sentence. "I was terrified."
"Why?" I ask even though I know curiosity is self-indulgent.
"I was afraid it tell me something I didn't want to hear." She says coolly. "Now come on it's your turn to prepare breakfast." She walks towards the stove but I stare out the window. What if that happens to me? What if it tells me something I don't want to hear? This test has been known to tear more than one family apart.
"Come Beatrice." My mother calls, "the eggs will burn for sure if you don't flip them soon."
Before I turn around to flip the eggs I see the sun shine it's light for the first time today.
'Well good morning mister sun shine' I say in my mind before I get to work.
*****PAGE BREAK*****
I wait in line with all the other kids in Abnegation hall to take the aptitude test. Just in case you're wondering everyone takes the test but at the "choosing ceremony" is when you pick whether you're going to regular school or are continuing with the program.
5 more kids enter the testing room and Caleb is the last of them. Before he enters he gives me an encouraging smile and heads on in.
After about twenty minuets they call 5 more kids up to the testing rooms.
I'm the first of the five so I won't be having the same test administrator as Caleb.
With a nervous snap of my fingers I walk on in.
The room is white with two leather chairs in it. At first that's all I notice but then I see a woman at a table in the corner of the room.
"Hello my name is Tori and I will be your test administrator for today. Please take a seat." She says all this in a bored voice and as I head towards the chairs I see she is holding some blue liquid in it.
When I get settled into the chair she hands the liquid to me.
"What is this?" I ask more out of curiosity then out of concern.
"Truth serum." She says briskly. "It will help us decide if your choices are true or not." She pauses. "So bottoms up!"
With that I quickly down the contents in the glass.
A foggy feeling takes over me. I can't really focus on anything and I feel the over welling urge to spill my guts.
"To test to see if it is working I will ask you a few test questions first then the real thing will begin." Tori states "what is your real name?"
"Beatrice Prior." I say
"Age?"
"16"
"Current faction?"
"Abnegation."
"OK, good now for the real thing"
"Choose, ether the knife or the cheese."
What why is this relevant. So as true to nature of the truth serum I say the question on my mind.
"Why?"
Instead of answering my question she asked hers again.
"choose, ether the knife or the cheese"
"why?"
"choose, ether the knife or the cheese"
Well if she won't answer my question I won't answer hers.
"No."
She deliberates this for a while then she marks something on her paper.
"OK," she says. "have it your way. An attack dog is coming at you. You have thirty seconds to decide what to do starting now."
OK so an attack dog is coming at me but what do I do? Because of my stubbornness I now have nothing. OK Beatrice just think dogs take there orgine from wolfs and they travel in packs. So they must have a leader. And that leader…. Never likes being looked in the eyes.
"You have 15 seconds left."
"I go on my hands and knees and don't look it to the eyes."
She gives me a considering look and marks something on her paper.
"The dog is now tame but a little girl comes and the dog tries to attack her. What do you do."
I don't even need to consider. "I tackle the dog to the ground."
She marks another thing on her paper.
"Last one. A man approaches you and asks you what person you if you have family at your house. This man looks violent and unstable. You in fact do have family at your house. Do you tell him the truth or do you lie and say no?
I consider the situation. Well this man looks unstable so he might have something bad intended for my family. Well family first.
"Choose to lie," I say.
She marks something on her paper and then she tells me my results.
"your most compatible factions are Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite."
With that she ushers me out of the room as if everything was perfect. But everything was anything but.