Chapter 3 is here! Now it's time I answer some reviews.
Bella: I am so sorry to hear about your grandfather, but I am glad my story makes you feel better. Your review meant a lot to me, as I want to be an author one day, and I hope I can continue to write a story you love. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Cameja333: Thanks for the kind review! It means a lot :)
Please review at the end! Thanks ^-^
Chapter 3: Choosing Day
Today was the big day.
I get up around 7:30 in the morning. I go through my normal routine that I go through when getting ready for work at the diner, except I wouldn't be walking in there again. Not as an employee anyways.
I get a shower, get dressed, and head downstairs where my father is making breakfast. He must hear my footsteps because he turns around and smiles lightly when he sees me.
"Hey kiddo. Ready for today?" he asks as I sit down at the table. I sigh and rub my still tired eyes.
"Yeah. I guess so. I'm nervous though." I reply, leaning on my elbow. I yawn just as Daniel comes down. He glances at me and doesn't look away for a moment, almost as if he's trying to freeze my face into his memory. He probably thinks I will never see him again.
After a minute, he looks away and walks over to dad. He whispers something in his ear and my dad gives him a surprised look.
"What do you mean? Don't you want to be there-"
"No dad. I have no reason to be there."
Just like that, Daniel tells me goodbye and gives me a long hug before leaving for his shift at the diner. I stare at the door he uses long after he has left. My father sighs and fixes us plates for breakfast.
"Don't take it personally, Izzy. He's just…." My dad pauses mid-sentence, not sure what to say.
"He's just mad that I can leave the factionless life and he can't." I finish coldly. I knew that was the reason. He had a dark and hateful look in his eye.
"No, he is upset because he's losing his baby sister. He already lost his -your- mother when you were a baby…I guess you remind him of her. I know you remind me of her." He reminisces painfully.
My mom…someone I never knew. She died shortly after I was born by a gun. A Dauntless gun.
I shouldn't be so hateful towards the Dauntless because I once knew one who wasn't like his peers. We met each other in the factionless sector everyday as kids. Then one day, when I was about 12, he never showed up to our meeting spot. The last thing he said to me before he disappeared is something I won't ever forget.
"You're worth more than you realize, Izzy. You'll matter one day. Just give it some time. I'll see you tomorrow."
Except he never showed up the next day. He was actually the first one to call me Izzy. Up until I met him, everyone called me Isabelle, my full first name. Then, he decided that Isabelle didn't fit my personality and that was when he shortened it to Izzy.
I missed him for a long time, but after a few years, I knew he wasn't coming back. So I moved on. It wasn't easy but I learned to adjust to life without his visits.
"Izzy!" my dad calls, trying to get my attention. I cringe when I hear the nickname.
"Don't call me that. Call me Isabelle." I say. I take a bite of my food and glance at my father for a moment, who's giving me a confused look.
"Um, okay." He says and finishes his plate just as I do. I hand him my plate and he cleans them, then grabs his wallet.
"Alright Isabelle. We better get going. We can't afford to be late."
We arrived to the Hub in a small group. I walked in the building and up all the stairs with my fellow factionless-born initiates. When we walk into the room, the room goes silent and all eyes are on us.
We quietly walk over to the Abnegation section and sit in the reserved first row. Our parents sit in the row behind us. I can hear the other factions snicker, but I just ignore them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let me be the first to welcome you to the annual Choosing Ceremony." A lady says as she stands on the stage in a red dress. She's an Amity. They must be the hosts this year.
"This year, we did something a little different. We have invited 5 factionless-born children via an application process. We did this to run an experiment, and if 3 out of the 5 factionless-born initiates can pass initiation, then we will allow all factionless-born 16 year olds to participate next year as well. And they will be welcomed the same as the other five factions, and will have their own section here in the Hub." She continues.
That earns more snickers. If 3 out of 5 of us can pass initiation, our friends can come here next year too. All of them.
I tune out the rest of the speech, and soon they begin going over the faction manifestos and start to explain why the faction system was formed. Then, they start calling the names for people to begin choosing their new-or old-faction.
"Jena Zelenak."
They went up in reverse alphabetical order by last name. Jena chose Candor, which was the faction she was born into.
"Jackson Zennard."
I tune out some more because the factionless go last. Then, they begin to call us up after everyone else has gone. I take a deep breath as my dad squeezes my hand. He was sitting right behind me.
"I'll always love you, Isabelle. And your brother does too. Don't ever forget that. Okay?" he whispers. I nod and he squeezes my hand one more time.
"Isabelle Cross."
I stand up and wipe my sweaty hands on my pants and walk up to the stage. The other four factionless have chosen their new faction, now it's time for me to choose mine. I suddenly have flashbacks of my aptitude test.
Abnegation. Erudite. Candor.
I should pick one of those. I should…but I already decided on a faction. And I was going to stick with my gut.
Once I get up on the stage, I feel all eyes on me even though my back is turned. I take the cleaned knife and drag it across my palm. Before the blood spills, I walk over to the five bowls. I stare at the three that represented my results.
"Hurry up, already!" A Candor yells. I sigh and I reach my hand over a bowl, letting the blood spill.
It felt so good once I heard the blood drop sizzle on the hot coals.
I bet no one can guess what faction she chose...
Anyways, this was a pretty good chapter. I enjoyed writing it, and I hoped you enjoyed reading it. Please review if you can and I will try to update quicker, although it may be hard since I have school all week.
-Dauntingjay
