Caleb and Susan Fanfiction
Chapter Two
"You look tired, Susan."
I glance up from my bland breakfast of oatmeal at my father, who is staring at me curiously; he is almost concerned.
"I was up late thinking about the Choosing Ceremony today." I force a tight smile across my face, grateful that they haven't commented on my eyes. They are still slightly swollen and red-tinged from crying last night.
There was no solace in knowing it was not the last time I would see Caleb before he traded his baggy gray clothes for stiff blue ones and donned a pair of glasses; I will see him today at the Ceremony, perhaps even sit next to him, but we will not be able to talk like we can in private. Last night was goodbye. I let the tears stinging my throat and the backs of my eyes fall freely once I returned home, for a long time. Now I feel hollow, emptied out, as if I have used up all of my allotted emotion for the time being.
"You're lucky, Susan." My mother, who is seated to my left, smiles brightly. "Your choice will be much easier than others'." I cannot be sure, but I think she casts a brief glance across the table at my brother.
"Yes, I know." As soon as this is over, I'll come back. I promise.
Caleb's words will not stop echoing in my head.
We take the bus to the Choosing Ceremony along with all the other sixteen-year-olds and their parents. Besides the Dauntless, of course; jumping off of a moving bus just isn't as dangerous as leaping off of a moving train.
If there is one faction I would never consider joining, I think as the packed vehicle rattles along the bumpy road to the Hub, it is Dauntless.
I struggle to stay close to Robert and my parents as we weave our way through the crowd of other factions surging toward the entrance to the building. I feel a hand close around mine, and glance up to see it belongs to my brother. We haven't held hands since we were five or six years old, but somehow it is comforting now.
I considered telling Robert about Caleb, because he must know how I feel. He has had feelings for his sister Beatrice for a long time, but he knows they aren't mutual. I decided against it because it seemed like something that should be kept secret, the way Mrs. Prior talked.
Though I would have preferred to take the elevator, we follow the rest of the Abnegation up the stairs.
"We'll see you soon," my mother smiles, but her gaze remains on me longer than on Robert. She must be anticipating that he will transfer, though my father appears blissfully oblivious.
It is crowded when we reach the room in which the Ceremony will take place, and I search for Caleb and Beatrice but cannot locate them amidst the raucous crowd. I do, however, find the Abnegation section easily, and I take my place at the edge of the adults' chairs, flanked by Robert and a Candor girl named Christina Blithe.
"You look scared," the Candor girl says, almost amused.
"Aren't you?" Of course I am scared. I am afraid of losing Caleb. Perhaps she is afraid of transferring factions, something I do not have to worry about.
The girl snorts. "Not at all."
Marcus Eaton steps up to the podium. I can't explain why, but I've always disliked him. Nobody else believes those reports the Erudite printed about him abusing his son, but judging by my few interactions with him, they're perfectly plausible.
He delivers a short speech about the factions' history, which I cannot bring myself to listen to. I am too busy searching for Caleb. I look down the line of sixteen-year-old Abnegation, trying to be discreet, but I can't spot him.
"Looking for someone?" Christina smirks. Not in a mean way; she seems friendly enough. Besides, I remind myself, she is Candor. Inquiring about someone else's personal life is not considered strange there.
"Just a friend," I lie, wondering if people raised in Candor are taught to detect dishonesty.
"Sure," she says with a small laugh.
Marcus finishes his speech, and calls the first person up to the five bowls at the opposite end of the room, one for each faction. I'll be close to last, while Caleb will be closer to the middle. At least I get to see him one last time.
I watch each person step out of line, walk past Marcus and the other factions, some stumbling and some confident, but I cannot focus on anyone.
"Caleb Prior," Marcus says, and finally I see him.
Caleb, dressed in his usual gray slacks and gray t-shirt, steps out of the line of remaining Abnegation. He glances in my direction, and my breath catches in my throat as our eyes meet. The corner of his mouth curls into the slightest smile and he mouths, "I promise."
He turns and walks to the large metal bowls. Marcus hands him the knife and he doesn't hesitate to slide it across his wrist. I can't make out the bead of red blood that oozes out of the cut, but I watch him slowly approach the bowls. Caleb takes a deep breath and pauses, his wrist carefully hovering between the already red-tinged Erudite bowl of water and smooth rock-filled Abnegation bowl. In a move that only I, Mrs. Prior, and a handful of other Abnegation anticipate, Caleb's wrist tilts into the Erudite bowl.
Almost immediately, whispers behind us begin, and escalate to a riotous uproar of protests as Caleb joins the rest of the Erudite transfers.
Marcus restores order in the room, and I exhale; I hadn't realized I was holding my breath.
"Wow," Christina mutters, as Caleb's sister Beatrice is called. She chooses Dauntless.
Caleb's words from last night echo in my brain: When all of this is over, I'll come back. I promise.
Finally my name is reached, and not many people are still paying attention; it's been a long morning. Still, I feel my hand shaking unsteadily as I accept the knife from Marcus, and gingerly cut my wrist. It stings, and deep red blood seeps out of the cut. I feel a brief sense of empowerment as I step up to the bowls; I have, right now, what I never will again: the ability to change everything. I can even switch to Erudite if I want.
But I know that I can't, I won't. I pinch my wrist, and drop the blood over the Abnegation rocks.
I find a place behind the adult Abnegation, with the few transfers. There are only about twenty people.
"Hi," says the boy I sat next to, extending a hand. "I'm Liam."
I am slightly startled to see that his shirt is blue; glasses frame his angular face. He is Erudite.
He chuckles slightly. "I know it's strange," he says quietly, "but Erudite was a bit too much for me. I'm not much of a reader."
I am momentarily speechless. Emotions crash like waves inside me. The Erudite boy's wide green eyes remind me of Caleb's, and I already miss him. Feeling like a traitor, but wanting to be polite, I accept his handshake.
"Welcome to Abnegation."