Chapter 1

Max POV

I sit at the table quietly and eat my toast and scrambled eggs. Today is the day of the aptitude test, when all 16 year olds take a test to see which faction they would be best in. The next day is the choosing ceremony, where you choose which faction you will spend the rest of your life in: Abnegation, the selfless; Amity, the peaceful and kind; Candor, the honest; Dauntless, the brave; and Erudite, the intelligent. My family is from abnegation, although I never thought I was selfless enough.

"Children, you better get going, you don't want to be late," my mother says without raising her voice. It is considered selfish to draw attention to yourself.

My siblings and I leave for school. I have a sister named Angelica and a brother named Nathan. They both have the purest blue eyes I have ever seen and blond curls. In Abnegation you are not supposed to give people nicknames, but when no one is paying attention, I call them Angel and Gazzy. Angel looks like an angel, and Gazzy has a junked up digestive system. We are triplets, but the only thing I have in common with them is our narrow frame and fast metabolism. While they took after my mom, I took after my dad. I have dirty blond, pin strait hair and plain brown eyes. I also have a few freckles on my cheeks.

The only reason I know what I look like is because Angel and Gazzy have told me on our walks to the bus stop to go to school. It's considered selfish to look in mirrors.

After a bus ride, we part ways and go to each of our classes. At lunch, I will see my siblings again and then we will take our aptitude test.

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I sit nervously wiping my hands on my long grey skirt. They will soon call me to take my test. I don't even know what the test is like. No one is allowed to talk about the test, and there is no way to prepare for it.

An Abnegation lady comes out of the testing area and calls the names of the people who will do the test next. "From Abnegation: Angelica and Maxine Martinez."

Angel and I get up and follow the lady to the testing rooms. I have never been in one before because they are only used for this test. The lady, who I learned is named Natalie, sends us through different doors.

When I get in the room, there are mirrors on all the walls. It's the first time I freely look at myself in the mirror. It surprises me when I don't feel guilty for doing it. There is a chair that resembles a dentist chair in the middle of the room.

"Hello, I'm Tori and I will be administering your aptitude test. Would you please sit down in that chair?" A Dauntless lady says to me.

I sit down and Tori starts to connect wires to me and to herself. I am curious to what they are for, but I don't ask.

"Drink this." Tori says handing me a cup with a clear liquid.

I don't question, I just drink. After a little while my eyes close, and when I open them I am no longer in the testing room.