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There are two mirrors in my parents' small apartment. One in the bathroom, one in my bedroom. I sit in front of the one in my room as my mother ties up my hair in
a simple ponytail. I am sixteen, but she does this to me every morning. It is a ritual. Rituals are patterns. Patterns are not found often in the Dauntless compound.
My mother finishes putting up my hair and smiles at me in the mirror. She is not beautiful, not like some of the other Dauntless women. She is striking, with her large
eyes and features on a small, pale face. My father thinks she is the most beautiful woman in the world. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at her- as if he cannot bear
to look away. But they are never very physically affectionate in front of me. I think it is the Abnegation in both of them that holds them back, no matter how much of a
Dauntless legend they are.
"You look beautiful, Five," says my mother. She smiles and lays a hand on my shoulder. My parents don't have as little physical affection with me as they do with
each other. My father touches me almost hesitantly, as if he is afraid that he will break me. My mother has always been the one to brush a hair away from my
face, or hold my hand in a crowd.
Another face joins us in the mirror. My father. He smiles, and I see myself in both of them. I have my father's deep blue eyes and square jaw and my mother's slight
frame. "Four, Five and Six," he says. It is a joke that I am called Five. My parents are named by their numbers of fears, but I have not had my fear landscape test.
Uriah nicknamed me that one evening. "It's my pet peeve," he said. "I hate to see a perfectly good number go unused."
"In here," says my mother, punching my father lightly in the arm, "we are people. Tobias, Tris, and Natalie Prior. Got it?" "Fine," says my father. "I have muffins." I
laugh. "Are muffins the solution to everything?"
"Of course," he says. "Eat fast. Aptitude tests today, and there is no faction that values lateness." He quirks his eyebrows at my mother. "Except for the Tris Prior
faction, that is always late to work."
She crosses her arms. "So are you."
"Zeke doesn't care."
"Neither does Sandra."
While they are poking fun at each other, I stealthily steal my mother's muffin. My father looks over and winks at me. "If you get Candor today, Five- Natalie- I will
be extremely surprised." My mother looks over. "Are you two ganging up on me or something?"
"Not anymore, since Nat is off to catch a train."
I sigh. I don't want to leave. "Love you, Mom. And you, Dad. Usually."
"Wait, Natalie," says my mother. I turn around. She beckons to me with her hand. "If your results are... inconclusive... tell us. Nobody else. But tell us."