I own nothing but Isabella. Everything else belongs to Veronica Roth
Chapter 1
My eyes snapped open and turned to the owl clock on my bedside cabinet. 5:47 it read, eliciting a groan of annoyance from me. There was no time to go back to sleep, so I stretched and rolled out of bed. I blinked a few times to stop my eyes from drooping and ran down the stairs to my parents, who were already in the dining room, both reading as their tea and toast laid forgotten in front of them.
"Good Morning!" My mother said happily, putting down 1001 rare plants to look at me
"Morning!" I called back, grabbing some cereal.
I walked back to the table quickly, today wasn't going to be started with a bowl of shredded wheat paste.
"I do hope you've prepared yourself, Isabella." My father stated through his newspaper.
"George, you know it's impossible to prepare yourself for the test." My mother scolded.
There it was, 'the test'. The thing that would give me an indication of where I belonged. Not that it would tell me something I didn't already know. My parents were the leaders of Candor, strange since they had been transfers, and they expected me to do the same as them and choose the faction that was right for me. I suppose I was lucky in that sense, most of the others felt obliged to stay.
I had wondered about the test since I had realised it's existence. The hushed conversations in school often contained some kind of worry about what the test would tell them. I didn't really get why. I mean sure, the test could tell you what faction you best suited but if your heart was really somewhere else then you'd ignore the results you got, wouldn't you?
"Are you feeling nervous?" My mother asked.
I laughed internally. No matter where you transferred to, you would never lose the qualities of the faction you were raised in. I'd never been to another faction, but I was pretty sure that the Candor attitude of speaking the truth was only really valued in, well, Candor.
"I'm fine." I stated honestly.
"Have you at least considered a faction to transfer to?" My father raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"Why, am I that bad at telling the truth? I shot back, grinning.
"No. But in all seriousness Bella."
"Well, I was thinking Dauntless."
The room grew silent. My mother looked shocked but my father's expression remained blank, waiting for an explanation.
"Many people consider Dauntless as rowdy and unruly, but their underlying qualities make them appeal to me. They thrive on courage, toughness, bravery and fearlessness all of which are admirable traits for a respectable person to have."
"And?" My father encouraged me to say more.
"Dauntless are often described as being crazy, which they may be, but the freedom they have is similar to what we have in Candor. I want to be happy and I don't want to be forced into making a decision."
"That's fine with me. But are you sure you don't want to join Erudite? You'd be a valuable asset."
"Or Amity? They're peace-loving and express their freedom." My mother suggested.
I smiled at them and shook my head knowingly. We were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Isabella are you ready? We have to go. Now!" Christina yelled through the letterbox.
"But I'm not even dressed and it's only 6am." I protested.
"Well hurry up then." She paused for a moment. "And let me in, it's cold out here and I'm sure Peter meant the death threat he sent me yesterday at lunch." She whined.
My father went to go and open the door as my mother followed me upstairs to help me get ready. My dress is white and short with a black collar and black shoes. Typical Candor, they belive that truth is only black or white and so our fashion is reflected in that. The dress fits me well, it's not too loose and it shows the muscle on my arms and legs, developed from training with Peter after school and dance classes.
I had to rush downstairs, my mother had insisted on curling my hair and so it was now 7am. And we had to get to school for our morning lessons before the actual test itself. Christina didn't look fazed by the time at all, she was reading the 'family rules' print we had on our wall.
"Respect one another equally?" She read aloud, turning to me with a grin. "I don't know how you cope Bella. I really don't."
We left the house to walk to school. My family had two cars, but they were needed for work, and the school wasn't that far from where I lived. We had begun an exciting discussion on the test and what we thought it would be like. It carried on as we walked through the school corridors. A tall Erudite boy in a royal blue jumper shoved his way through, knocking an Abnegation girl to the floor.
"Out of my way, Stiff!" He snarled to her before continuing through the crowd.
I walked over to the girl and held out my hand kindly. She glanced at it warily before taking it.
"Thanks." She mumbled.
"It's nothing!" I said cheerfully as I remembered her name. Beatrice Prior. Her parents were part of the government.
After lessons I walked with Al, who lived on my road but got a ride to school, to the place we would wait to be called for the test. The rest of Candor were already involved in a heavy debate and I smiled. I would miss my faction.
"Isabella Abbot and Peter Hayes."
I throw Peter a smile as we approach the rooms and he does the same. It's a symbol for wishing each other luck and it relieved some of the nerves. A woman is standing in room 6 as I go through the door. She's obviously from Dauntless and I grin.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Isabella."
"Tori. Please have a seat."
She explains the process to me quickly, repeating twice that I wouldn't feel any pain. She hands me a small cup and I look down at it for a few seconds.
"Am I that much of a loudmouth that you'd rather kill me than let me go to another faction?" I ask.
Tori smiles but her eyes are stern and I drink the liquid with a grimace.
I stand in a classroom, two baskets placed in front of me. One contains a large chunk of cheese, the other a huge knife.
"Choose," a voice says from around me.
"I spin my head around to no avail.
"Why?" I ask. /div
"Choose or have nothing." The voice speaks again.
But I do not choose.
"No. Not unless you tell me why." I say.
"Fine." The woman snaps. She sounds like my Faction History teacher when I correct her.
The scene changes and a dog replaces the baskets. It looks feral and it's eyes are narrowed, directed right at me. I understand why the options were placed in front of me now, but I can't change it. Instead, I sit down so I am at the same level as the dog and hold out my hand. It's demeanour changes and I smile.
"See, you're not that bad after all."
A girl enters the scene and runs towards the dog.
"Puppy!" She squeals.
The dog's eyes change again and it charges after the little girl. I push her out of the way and pin the dog to the ground, despite the harm it could do to me.
Before I can really recover, I'm now in the park. A man approaches me clutching a newspaper in his scarred hand.
"Do you know this man." His voice is demanding. It's not a question. We both know that I do, before I even look at the newspaper. The man on the front page is familiar, though I can't remember how.
"Yes. But I'm sorry, I don't remember how I know him." I say truthfully, my inner Candor taking over.
The man begins to ramble furiously but the simulation is ending and I'm waking up. Tori is scanning the results with a confused expression and I grimace. I knew I should've taken the cheese.
"Well, you're certainly not the Candor I expected from the start." She mutters.
"I'm sorry I don't understand... Did I fail the test?" I ask.
There's an awkward silence until she answers my question bluntly.
"You can't fail the test."
"Then what did I–"
"Your results were inconclusive." She cuts me off.
"How–"
"You don't conform. You show aptitudes for Abnegation, Amity Candor, Dauntless and Erudite. I've never met a divergent who fits all five factions." She says curiously.
"Neither have I. It's a new learning curve for both of us." I said quieter than before. I hadn't considered the possibility that I was divergent, and a strong one at that. Suiting all five factions wasn't something to take lightly. I walked out in a daze, ignoring whatever Tori was saying.
I walked home with Peter after another training session. We weren't friends, not really close at all, but we had both already chosen Dauntless in our heads months ago. The training was simply to prepare ourselves. There was no point in going to Dauntless if you couldn't throw a decent punch yourself.
"So what was your test result?" Peter asked casually.
"What was yours?" I asked quickly.
"Dauntless."
"Mine too." I said. It wasn't a lie, I just didn't mention that I also got the other factions too.
"Christina. Maybe Al."
"Molly too. She was talking about it yesterday." He shrugged, too casually this time.
"You two, huh?" I grinned, waggling my eyebrows.
"Stuff it loudmouth!" He growled menacingly.
I stepped back and walked away. You could never be too careful when it came to Peter Hayes. He was unpredictable with violent patches that made up his body. He called after me, several times but I hurried on. The Choosing Ceremony was tomorrow and I had to be ready.
The day of the Choosing Ceremony arrived and I was in the back of my parents' car. My father was singing the elements song, my mother reading her book on plants as we sped down the road. I looked out the window towards the fence. It surrounded the whole city, cutting us off from whatever was out there.
The car stopped and I got out by myself, walking in front of my parents to the Ceremony, where my classmates and I would make the life changing choice. The ceremonial responsibility changes each year, this year it was the turn of Abnegation, so Marcus Eaton was stood on the podium. He constantly averts his eyes to the Dauntless section as if looking for someone but has no success each time, his expression saddening.
"Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honour the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in the world."
I clutch my father's arm tightly. I don't want to say goodbye forever. Our society runs on the motto 'Faction before blood'. I am not sure whether I can distinguish much between them. Marcus had finished his speech and the ceremony had begun. The five metal bowls– one for each faction- sit boldly, daring us to choose. The list is in reverse alphabetical order, I will be one of the last.
There aren't many surprises like usual. Beatrice Prior chooses Dauntless and her brother, Caleb, is claimed by Erudite. The Abnegation have never looked so outraged during a ceremony. Christina, Al, Molly and Peter have all chosen Dauntless and I know that I will join them.
"Abbot, Isabella"
My name sounds like a curse from Marcus' mouth but I walk up quickly, wanting to get this over with. He hands me a knife and I pause. I don't like blood. I can sense my mother's worry but I can't just hand over the knife and become factionless. Instead, I shut my eyes and drag the blade across my hand. I focus my breathing and my sight on the contents of the five bowls; grey stones, water, earth, glass and lit coals. I walk to the lit coals and looking away squeeze my hand, they sizzle and I walk off the stage to cheers from Dauntless. Christina hands me a tissue and I smile gratefully, wiping my hand clean.
I looked at my parents, who were both smiling and gave a cheerful wave. They waved back as I was dragged off with the rest of my new faction.
I am Dauntless