Groaning, I stuffed my pillow over my head. The sun had only just begun ascending, which meant- time to get up. l hadn't yet recovered from being forced to study until one in the morning by my obsessive parents. School started at six and finished at six in the evening, I didn't know how much longer I could take this. Crawling as if I was paralyzed from the waist down, I dragged myself out from my bed and landed on the floor.
"Good morning Eric Williams." the intelligent personal assistant programmed in my room spoke. "What can I do for you?" The screen projected on the wall activated, displaying three buttons labelled FOOD, CLOTHES and BED. My hand hesitated over the BED button but I pressed on CLOTHES. It went on to show two more buttons- UNIFORM and OWN. I pressed on the UNIFORM button, then went and stood inside a glass tube in the corner of my room. A rush of air and then I was fully dressed in my navy blue blazer, crisp white shirt, pale blue tie and freshly ironed black trousers which had fallen from the hatch above the tube.
I sat down at the desk which had been automatically cleared after studying the previous night. Another set of buttons was located on the placemat, I selected the BREAKFAST. Suddenly, a range of jams and cereals appeared alongside croissants, two slices of toast, beans, eggs and sausages materialized before my eyes. In the deafening silence I ate with my only company being the personal assistant on my computer and the only sound being the clatter of my knife and fork and the splash of milk splattering into my cereal bowl.
When I was done, a mechanical hand holding a tooth brush ejected from the table and brushed my teeth for me. Afterwards, I stood up and pressed the red button on my remote, shutting down my smart room. In the dark, I left my room through the automatic, password- protected doors which sealed shut behind me.
The school was at the top of the Erudite building. I stepped onto the escalator and was joined by my fellow classmates at each floor. They tended to leave me to alone. I made no effort to talk to them either. Most of their deeply intellectual discussions either bored me or were so intelligent that I had no idea what on earth they were blabbering about. The only person in my class who held my interest was Jeanine Matthews, my teacher. She was 30 years old-young for a teacher- she had luminous golden locks and mysterious yet intriguing grey eyes which revealed nothing.
Today as I entered the classroom, she wore a figure-hugging, navy blue dress which clung to her slender body. Our first lesson was algebra, which I struggled with unlike the rest of my class, it was okay though because it meant that Jeanine gave me special attention. She knelt by my desk- so close I could smell her minty breath-and even though I was bored, baffled and beat, her pearly white smile that she flashed, whenever I lied and claimed that I understood something, was worth it.
After algebra we did History where we learnt about crime and punishment. This was one topic I was an expert at. I didn't excel or express an interest in anything apart from the violent things, such as when we learnt about the mechanics in guns and bombs and I ended up building my own assault rifle, machine gun and crossbow. My parents were extremely embarrassed and worried, seeing as they were the leaders of Erudite, that their only son wasn't equally as brainy as they were at my age. They were, however, even more worried about their son's strange obsession with weapons.
Jeanine was like the mother of my dreams. She was delighted at my knowledge and even got me to explain methods of torture to the rest of the class. She appreciated my gift, unlike my parents, and she actually noticed me, unlike my parents who were never home and who made me eat on my own. Maybe they thought I was mentally ill, due to my love of violence. But now that they had stopped caring about me, I had stopped caring about them. I cared about Jeanine.
I didn't have feelings for her, I just wanted to please her.
After five more hour-long lessons. Jeanine made an announcement, "You are all approaching your sixteenth birthdays which means it will soon be your Choosing ceremony. Tomorrow, instead of school, we will go on a school trip to the Justice building so you can take your aptitude test which will tell you which faction you are most suited to. Remember, faction before blood-make your decision wisely, class dismissed."
My heart sank. As the son of a faction leader, I was expected to stay in Erudite, yet I couldn't stand it here. How was I supposed to stay with neglectful parents? How could I last here, doing school work 24/7? This was not the life I intended to live, I was destined for bigger things than this.
As I was leaving the classroom, dreading going back to my dismal smart room, Jeanine said to me, "Eric, do you mind coming with me for a second. It won't be long." My heart leapt and I nodded eagerly.
I followed to a room behind our classroom. It was empty apart from a large chair covered in wires, and a small desk with a laptop on top. She gestured to the chair and I awkwardly took a seat. As soon as I was settled she keenly set to work, sticking four wires onto my forehead and connecting the other ends to the laptop.
"This miraculous machine is what we use in the aptitude test to measure how the subject responds in certain situations and circumstances. Therefore, we can calculate which faction you are most suited to depending on the results that exhibit which characteristic you display in these incidents."
I opened my mouth to ask a question but she answered it before any words escaped my lips. "I predict that you are destined for things bigger than Erudite Eric. I have a plan for you. Discovering which faction you truly belong to will prove my theory correct and then we can put this plan into action."
She then revealed a gleaming, wicked looking syringe with a clear liquid inside it. "It won't hurt, I promise." I trusted her, I wasn't scared. The needle pierced into the side of my neck, then Jeanine flicked a switch and sat watching the screen, her eyes twinkling with an eagerness that looked close to madness, as I drifted out of that room into a new room altogether.
The hall was so long; I couldn't see the end of it. Everywhere I looked, I saw my reflection, it was like a mirror maze. My head spun. Then before me was a table, on it was a large chunk of cheese and a glistening, razor-sharp knife. I picked it up at the hilt, admiring it. With a weapon in my hand I was more powerful than even my parents. It fitted in my hand like a glove-we were one.
"Choose." A voice ordered. I had already chosen- I didn't need to be told twice. I had picked the knife without hesitation.
Suddenly, an enormous, beastly hound snarled and stampeded towards me, I glanced at the knife in my possession and smirked-this was going to be easy.
Then a young girl about five years old appeared out of thin air. She squealed, but didn't run. The dog sensed her then redirected itself, heading for the girl instead. Without a second thought, I threw the knife, it sliced through the air with unimaginable speed, straight towards the hound's heart. My knife skewered it like a kabab. Blood splattered everywhere and I relished in the sight of it- this was what I was capable of. I grinned as the scene melted away to reveal Jeanine, who's smile reflected mine.
"Eric, I need to tell you something that you must not ever repeat to your parents." I nodded. "You are 100% Dauntless." I smiled, of course I was. Dauntless was meant for me. She came over to unplug me and then she took my hand. My heart fluttered as I looked into her cold grey eyes. "Your parents will try to persuade you to choose Erudite. The rest of Erudite will want you to choose Erudite. But listen, your parents don't really care about your happiness in your faction, they just couldn't face the embarrassment of having a son who would rather leave his parents and go to a faction full of strangers than stay with them. Do what you must do Eric. Choose Dauntless. You are destined to be the leader of Dauntless, I will do all in my power to make you the leader of Dauntless. Trust me Eric. I care about you more than your parents do."
I couldn't resist her. I knew she too had plans not just for me but for herself as well. I knew the rumours too, they said that Jeanine plotted to overthrow my parents to become leader of Erudite. I didn't care that she was using me, she would make a better leader than my useless parents. I was brainwashed by Jeanine Matthews; I knew I was- yet I loved it.
The next day I was allowed the day off school thanks to having my aptitude test done the day before. I spent the day dreaming of life in Dauntless, and of my aptitude test, and of Jeanine and mostly, dreaming of the look on my parents faces when I smirked at them before going to sit with Dauntless.
The day of the Choosing Ceremony, the day my life began, finally came. Erudite marched in immaculate lines towards the Justice Building in absolute silence. We arrived first in the hall, filing into our rows like army soldiers.
Next came Abnegation -the Stiffs- they chittered nervously in a sea of grey- at least I wasn't one of them.
After that came Amity, they spoke easily, wearing warm reds, yellows and oranges. To me they looked like a bunch of hipsters who just turned up with no clue of what was going on. They all smiled at me but I just glared sullenly back at them, my blue suit itched and it was tiring, having to sit up straight for so long.
Candour was next. Their colours were black and white. The chattered loudly and leaked through the door in disorganised groups, noisily declaring what they thought of everything. I rolled my eyes.
Finally, it was time for Dauntless to arrive-fashionably late. They ran through the door laughing and shouting, some did the odd cartwheel or backflip. Some swung in through the windows after racing across the rooftops and one even dropped from the chimney which earned cheers and applause. He did a mocking bow which won more laughs seeing as he was covered in soot. All of them wore combat boots, and black tracksuits with black jackets or vests. A girl wearing a revealing, black outfit stood in front of me, a blush crept up my cheeks, sensing my discomfort she winked and flashed a feline grin. I marvelled at their agility and strength and also the way they were so effortless. The way they all joked around and teased each other- something that no one did in Erudite.
Marcus Eaton- the leader of Abnegation -cleared his throat and stood on the stage. By the way Jeanine's piercing glare fixed on him, I knew she did not trust Marcus. There had always been tension between Abnegation and Erudite because Erudite believed that they should be in charge instead of Abnegation as they are more intelligent. I took a wild guess that Jeanine was one of those who believed they should rule.
Marcus gave a dull, droning speech about the characteristics of each faction and about how the factions had been formed. I had heard it all before. Amity means kindness, Abnegation means selflessness, Candour is honesty, Erudite is intelligence and Dauntless is bravery. The factions were formed to keep the peace- each faction was chosen depending on which trait they thought would help them win a war. The only thing I heard from Marcus was his last sentence- "Remember…Faction before blood." I glanced at my parents and knew that I was doing the right thing, my faction would love me more than my blood had ever done.
The ceremony dragged on and on. I was Williams therefore I would be one of the last to make my choice. The only other person I noticed as one boy from Abnegation- Tobias Eaton. He was the son of a leader and yet, he abandoned his family to join Dauntless. With satisfaction, I noticed a look of pure rage and hatred flash across his father's face- I guess Abnegation weren't as perfect as they thought they were.
Eventually, it was my turn. My mother squeezed my hand before I went up and I flinched- recoiling in disgust. So now, she decides to pretend that she cares about me, now that everyone was watching. I would not feel the slightest bit of remorse after I had done what I had to do. Jeanine's eyes trailed after me as I marched onto the stage, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. If the rumours were true then she must be delighted, this small act of defiance from their only son would be the downfall of my parents- Jeanine would seize this opportunity, and I didn't care.
I grasped the knife, feeling a small rush of adrenalin that I received every time I held a weapon. I then drew the dagger in a long, red line down my arm, relishing the pain. Then, without hesitation, I let the blood fall into the bowl full of coal which represented Dauntless. I grinned at the shock that was written across all of my faction's faces- apart from Jeanine's of course. My smile widened to see the horror and distress on my mother and father's faces.
I savoured every drop of my blood, this blood would be my freedom, it would be the beginning of my new life. I savoured every drop as if it was the blood of my parents…