A/N: Thanks ever so much for the fantastic reviews you all left last time around! They do so much to brighten my day, and I love chatting with you lovely people about Divergent. It's always a pleasure to hear what you think!
Life set in with a vengeance as the seasons turned and the end of term exams loomed large in the students' collective awareness. Together, Eric and Beatrice guarded the space that had become theirs and prepared for the upcoming trials, their heads bent over their respective texts or trading off on recitations. Even as a junior student Beatrice proved herself to be an adequate study partner, capable of checking his memorization against the answer key and beaming proudly when he was correct. In Eric's view it was a perfectly acceptable reward model.
Then came the exams themselves, four long days of stress and tedium, here and gone so quickly that all of the hours devoted to their preparation seemed like overkill by the time Eric completed his last one. He put his pencil away and walked leisurely through the hushed halls, past the library and out into the school yard, but didn't see Beatrice. He was exhausted, and so didn't think twice on it as he climbed into the transportation that bore the victorious Erudite students home for the winter break.
The time off was rather dull. When he was a little kid this time of year had been an event to look forward to, there had been gifts when he received his exam scores. That was before straight A's were something to be taken for granted, perhaps punished if in absence, but no longer worthy of reward. Now his parents stayed at their jobs for the duration, leaving him with the silence and the snow; his books and his family's computer connection. Even the books and network access left him with entirely too much time to stare out the window blankly and think about Beatrice. What was she doing, out in the snowy early evening, helping little old ladies shovel their walkways? Bringing warm clothing to the Factionless? Drinking something hot and listening to her family drone on about their boring Abnegation lives?
Did Abnegation participate in the custom of exchanging gifts over the winter holiday? He couldn't remember and dug through the bookshelf that dominated his bedroom, pulling out his Faction History text and flipping back to the index. It was a heavy tome, used for all four years of the advanced Faction History class and his arms got tired before he was done reading. He thumped it on his desk and pulled the chair up, flipping through the pages until he reached the section on cultural holidays and customs:
It is a curious thing to note that all the Factions observe the end of the calendar year in some fashion or other. There has been much debate amongst scholars as to whether this is an intended design to take advantage of the end of the academic term or some ancient custom lost to time. However, that this convergence of custom does exist cannot be denied, and as one of the few significant traits that span across all factions, merits further examination of the faction-variants in question.
Amity celebrates the birth of the new calendar year and the return of life in the darkness of winter. The passing of the Winter Solstice heralds the return of light and warmth that brings crops to fruition. To symbolize this, they light large bonfires that include a ritual branch of the tree that is their faction symbol. A large communal meal is consumed in the light and warmth of the fire, which is then left to burn itself out naturally and is never doused to accelerate its cooling. (There has been significant debate as to whether the fire indicates some ancient tie to the Dauntless faction; but as of this publication there is no hard evidence to connect the two and until such evidence can be provided, the author must consider this connection to be coincidental.)
The Erudite faction observes the end of the academic term and the corresponding progress reports of its dependents that accompany such an event. Though not widely celebrated by childless faction members, the end of term is a critical period of a dependent's development that provides much needed respite from the stress and anxiety of testing periods. The reward model utilized by Erudite parents, i.e. providing gifts of sweets or books in exchange for superb academic performance, provides a healthy incentive for younger children to strive for perfection in their studies and creates some small delight than can be anticipated for weeks in advance, building a healthy and well-rounded psyche.
Dauntless, much like Amity, observe the Winter Solstice, drawing heavily on the symbolism of darkness and fire. Unlike the Faction of Kindness, they focus on reveling in the longest night of the year, not only creating fires of truly enormous proportion, but also engaging in elaborate "pranks" amongst themselves including kidnapping their fellow faction member's dependents and ransoming them back in exchange for sweets. There is speculation that these "pranks" are the source of the annual resurgence of Dauntless-themed graffiti during this period of laxity.
Abnegation refers to the entire month of December as "The Season of Giving", culminating with the week off dedicated to providing aid to the needy in the coldest time of the year. Elaborate meals are cooked and delivered to the Factionless as well as gifts of small hand crafted toys and supplies that would, under ordinary circumstances, be considered frivolous. Scholars of ancient history point to parallels between the terminology used by the Selfless and the Christian faith, still in limited observation among a minority population of Abnegation and Amity. It would be erroneous to claim that either Faction claims to use this time to witness the birth of a god, though individual beliefs on this area are subject to the usual variances.
Candor does not celebrate anything specific in this period, but point to the benefits ascribed to the time off by Erudite as fitting for their own dependents and the irrationality of being the only ones in attendance during this period while the other factions are excused…
It was not a useful reading and Eric slammed the hard cover shut with frustration before returning it to its proper place on his shelf. He'd ask Beatrice about it the next time he saw her, he decided, and there'd be no harm in putting something aside for her anyway. Giving her the puzzle book had been sufficient fun in its own to justify another gift on even the flimsiest pretense.
The name 'spring term' felt like a serious misnomer the first day back. It drizzled and sleeted and was sufficiently unpleasant that even an Erudite aptitude wasn't quite enough to make Eric leap out of bed and rush to get ready for his return to school. The second term promised to be much the same as the beginning: the same subjects advancing through the same curricula at a now familiar and yet still agonizing pace.
Eric took a quick detour at lunch to the announcement boards by the main entrance of the school, scanning the list of faction activity assignments until he settled on the label beside his name. The digital display read, for all the world to see, Coulter, Eric: Study Period – Genetics Lab. His aunt had been over her expectations for the coming term that morning – the tablet he had received as a gift on the last day of the holiday was a new educational tool that the Erudite leader was piloting. She had told them that developer's theory was that the interface would improve educational results in the users by 20%. It had come loaded with lab sims, exercises, and additional content for her class, and the faction activity time was to be used for further exploration. Student input, she had told them, was of critical need to the team that had labored over this, and they were to include regular feedback on its use as a part of their weekly assignments. Eric touched his bag, lighter with the electronic replacing several of his heavier books, grinned at the tiles underfoot and then trotted down the line to where the Junior P's were displayed. He found Beatrice in front of the relevant section of the display, straining on her toes to read the line of print significantly above her eye level. "Prior, Beatrice – Advanced Library Assistant. Congratulations?"
"Hello Eric," Beatrice settled back on her heels and shook out her aching calves. "Thank you for your help."
Eric frowned, pensive, at the glowing screen and then shook the mood off, nodding a greeting back. He liked the library well enough as a quiet place to study or read, but suffered no illusions as to the tedium that went along with working there full time. "Wonder what the advanced librarians need a junior student's help with."
"I'll let you know when I find out," Beatrice promised. "What'd you get? More tutoring?"
"Study period," He shrugged, not wanting to go into the details. Surely she wouldn't be interested in the minutiae of his academics. "How was your holiday?"
Beatrice shrugged, "Cold, mostly. We spent a lot of time with the factionless; brought them Christmas dinner and gifts."
It took Eric a minute to place the holiday name, just a foot note he had glanced over while reading the Faction History text. "Is that the same thing as the season of giving?"
"I thought you knew everything," Beatrice teased, then relented. "December is the Season of Giving. Christmas is the birth of God, which we observe by performing acts of kindness and charity."
"And that makes it different from the rest of the year in Abnegation, how exactly?"
Beatrice frowned, disapproving and stern. "That doesn't matter. We brought them a hot dinner and said grace together. Some of the older factionless sang songs. It wasn't so bad. What did you do?"
"Not much," Eric shrugged a shoulder, "Got some new books and my exam results: straight A's."
She clapped her hands together, eyes shining with admiration. "Oh, congratulations! Your family must have been so proud of you! That's very good!"
Eric really didn't want to talk about this. "It's no big deal if you're Erudite. They just kind of expect it. Here," He cast around for a clever distraction and found one waiting in his bag, digging the small blue wrapped package out. "Happy Holidays."
Beatrice stared at the small square of blue paper, flushing from the modest neckline of her grey dress to the tips of her ears. "Eric, I can't take this."
He shook it at her, gently, and it made the faintest rustling sound. "Sure you can. Stick out your hands and say 'Thank you, Eric.'"
"No," Her hands were twisting in her skirt, feet shuffling in place. "I mean I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."
Eric considered this for a minute, watching the girl in front of him shrink into herself, becoming more upset and embarrassed by the moment. This was not what he planned, not at all. "Well, once you accept the gift, you could share it with me." He smirked, "And get me something extra-nice next year."
Beatrice exhaled a breath that seemed to come from the very soles of her boots and the puce color faded to a more manageable scarlet. "Thank you, Eric."
He pressed the small box into her palm and tried very hard to hold still as she fumbled the thick glossy blue paper off and opened the small white box to reveal six small brown lumps inside. "They're chocolate truffles. Traditional Erudite treat. Try one." His words tripped over themselves in an effort to get out and didn't quite achieve his desired level of eloquence. With baited breath he waited as she selected a darker looking one and took a nibble off the edge.
"Oh, goodness," Beatrice mumbled, treat still held in front of her mouth as the unfamiliar taste hit her.
"Do you like it?" He could see that she didn't, that it had been a terrible choice of gift; that he had failed to live up to even his own expectations.
"It's very strong," She sounded ever so slightly reproachful, but took another nibble. "And different. We don't have anything like this at Abnegation." She held the still mostly intact truffle out, "Here, we can share." She waited until he bit off a piece of his own and passed it back. "Happy Holidays, Eric."