'Out of the way, Stiff!'

I have barely walked out of my classroom when three Dauntless; two boys and a girl; elbow me to the ground. I try to regain my balance; I need to get to Advanced Science early to make a good impression on the teacher; but another Dauntless brushes past me. I don't fall over, just lose my balance and slump against the wall, but it's enough to make me drop all of my books.

The crash is loud enough to attract unwanted attention. A few Abnegation stop to help me pick up my things, but most people just walk past me. This is what many Abnegation have to endure every day; I am just one amongst a sea of grey. They do not single me out because of who I am; merely because I am in their way, and I am a Stiff and therefore an easy target.

I see Beatrice hurry over to me, walking as fast as she can without running, because Abnegation do not run, and gently pull me up. 'Are you okay?' she asks. 'I saw them knock you down.'

'Fine, thanks,' I reply. 'Dad calls them hellions; I can see why.'

'They're not that bad,' she says. I am surprised; my sister, defending the Dauntless? 'Erudite are much worse.'

'No, they're not. They're clever, and-'

Beatrice hushes me before I can say anything else.

'Don't let anyone else hear you talking like that about the Erudite,' she says quietly. 'I have to go; see you at lunch.' I am about to open my mouth; there is more I want to say; but she hurries off.

I walk off to Advanced Science. I don't want to say anything that could get either of us into trouble; I know better, but I don't think she does. Sarcasm and scathing remarks are not appreciated in Abnegation; Beatrice is prone to using them a lot.

I watch her rapidly retreating figure turn a corner and disappear from sight, and turn the other way to get to my class. The classes have been rearranged since the half-year holiday; exactly half of the year since initiation has passed, and we have two weeks off school to remember that. The thought that I will be an initiate in only one and a half years makes me shiver; I try not to think about it.

I have been placed in almost all of the advanced classes, meaning I will not be with Beatrice for everything like last term. When I reach my class, the first thing I notice is that the room is almost completely filled with Erudite. There are a few Amity, two Candor, and a small gang of Dauntless who all seem to know each other, but they are the only ones from other factions.

I am the only Abnegation here.

I will myself not to panic. Maybe there are others, and they just haven't arrived, I think hopefully, but I can't convince even myself. How many other Abnegation will have been offered a place in Advanced Science, let alone accepted it? Many of them think that it's too Erudite to be in one advanced class, let alone all of them, and no self-respecting Abnegation would want to be seen as too Erudite. They all think it's a bad thing; but the Erudite is an amazing faction really. They don't deem books self-indulgent, and they embrace learning.

'Good morning, everyone,' says the teacher. She is dressed in Erudite blue, with large glasses and long hair. Almost all our teachers are Erudite, with the exception of a few who many think should be in Erudite. 'Sit down,' she continues.

We all obey, scrambling for seats. I take one at the front, whereas the Dauntless and Amity fight for seats at the back. I find myself sitting next to a tall, pretty Erudite girl. She smiles warmly, and I can't help but to give her a close-lipped Abnegation smile in return.

'How many of you are new to our class?' asks the teacher. I raise my hand, along with two Candor, an Amity and an Erudite. She asks us to introduce ourselves, and again I feel acutely aware of the fact that I am the only Abnegation here.

'Caleb, John, Molly, Mary, and Greg, you will have to catch up on the work we have been doing recently. Ask your friends… or the person sitting next to you.' I have a strange feeling that she only adds the last part for my convenience, as I am the only person who knows no one from this class.

The Erudite next to me nudges my elbow gently. 'I'll give you the revision notes - you know, if that's okay with you,' she whispers.

I nod. Less than five minutes into this class and I have already found a potential friend; today is going well. 'What's your name?' I ask, keeping my voice low.

'Emily,' she replies. It suits her, somehow.

'Today we'll be investigating the properties of sodium hydroxide,' the teacher says, and I lose myself in science for an hour.

When class is over, I find myself walking with Emily. We are in many of the same classes; both in all of the advanced ones; and agree to share revision notes. Somehow, I find myself agreeing to meet her after school, although I'm not allowed to stay out too late.

'What's it like in Abnegation?' she asks me.

I am thrown slightly by the question. 'Um, it's… it's quiet. Very simple. Peaceful, as well - not much changes. There are never usually many transfers from our faction; that boy Tobias from last year, he was the first Abnegation transfer in years.' I don't add that he might not be the last.

'Wow,' Emily says. 'Erudite is so different. Everything changes all the time. We have a lot of work to do; we're already working towards the Initiate Exam.' At my questioning look, she explains. 'It's an exam all Erudite have to take about three weeks before the Choosing Ceremony. If we pass it, it means we can stay in Erudite. If we don't, we have to choose another faction, no matter what our result was in the aptitude test.'

I raise my eyebrows. 'Nothing like that happens in Abnegation. Barely anyone becomes factionless or transfers.' No one leaves, though many people join us. Erudite is different; they embrace change, and we don't.

Maybe we should.

Emily smiles at me. 'So tell me about yourself. I don't know anything about you, and… I'd like to. I… I mean, if we're going to share revision notes, we - we might as well know some things about each other.'

I wonder if her interest is entirely driven by Erudite curiosity. 'Um… well…' I laugh nervously. 'You know, I've never done this before. Told people about myself, I mean.' We are supposed to forget ourselves, not tell people about ourselves.

'First time for everything,' she says, only seeming slightly surprised. 'Go on.'

'Um… I'm fourteen, I… I have a little sister; she's called Beatrice, do you know her?'

'Is she the one that watches the Dauntless every day in the morning?' asks Emily.

I grimace. 'That sounds exactly like her,' I say. Beatrice is not a typical Abnegation girl; sometimes she is too sharp and sarcastic for her own good. She struggles to act selflessly all the time, though I like to think I am teaching her. Watching the Dauntless every day is something that I know she would do.

A memory rises up inside me, of last year. I remember Beatrice pointing out the Dauntless leaping onto the train. She seemed fascinated by them, and yet couldn't understand why I preferred the Erudite. The Dauntless are uncoordinated and crazy; the Erudite walk into classes every morning from the library, as if they have been studying for hours already before school begins.

'Do you have any brothers or sisters?' I ask, trying to distract myself from these thoughts. I don't want to be thinking of Beatrice or myself; I should be thinking of Emily.

'I have a seventeen-year-old sister, and my brother is eight.'

'Did your sister… is she still in Erudite?' I don't mean to ask that question, but something makes me. Instead of giving me a strange look like any Abnegation would, she shakes her head.

'Amity,' she says quietly. 'I guess we all knew that she was going to transfer. She was smart enough for Erudite, no question,' Emily adds hastily, 'but it was obvious she didn't want to be here, that she didn't fit in. She watched the Amity all the time. I still see her sometimes; Erudite and Amity are on good terms, and it's a nice place.'

'Do you think you could fit in there?' I ask curiously. I don't know what has taken hold of me; I never usually ask questions like this. Abnegation don't ask questions; curiosity is foreign to them. I need to control my mind and thoughts.

'No,' she says instantly. After a small pause, she continues. 'It's a nice place, and I completely respect my sister's decision to do it, but… I know I could never be happy there. Since I was young, I've always wanted to be as smart as I can, and Amity isn't the place to do it.'

I nod. Maybe I should say something about Abnegation, but it doesn't seem like the right time. And besides, what would I say? 'What about your brother?' I ask instead.

'Oh, he's a true Erudite. Won't shut up about new things he's learned-' Emily is cut off by the bell. 'I'll tell you later… if that's okay? Do you want to meet up for lunch?'

Abnegation and Erudite children do not meet up for lunch.

What would Beatrice say?

I don't want inter-faction conflict.

The Abnegation would be angry.

What would the Erudite think?

'Yes,' I say, smiling broadly. 'Definitely.'

A/N: Oooh, love is in the air… Only kidding :) I haven't figured whether to give Emily a bigger role or not; I know that Susan liked Caleb, and he liked her, and I want to stick as closely to canon as possible. I kind of like Emily, and I think Caleb likes her; platonically, at least for now. Three questions regarding her; should Emily get a bigger role? Should they like each other romantically? And do you want an Emily pov, or should I stick to canon characters? I'm a bit wary of OCs, so I could really use the advice.

Who spotted the Sherlock reference?! Sorry, but I just couldn't resist!

Regarding future POVs, I'm going to kind of skip around factions for a while until the next initiation starts, which won't be too long, but I still need suggestions/requests for them. Chapters will hopefully become more frequent now that I kind of know what I'm doing and where I'm going with this.

Thanks to Blue Alaskan Wolf for giving me an idea - you mentioned that we don't know where Lauren gets her fears from, and I'm thinking I might try to go into that. Also to Savanah Rose for the last chapter's title: 'Changes'. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed/followed/faved - more chapters to follow fairly soon :)