Big thanks to Aleyst for managing to download to download the OG From Grey to Blue when it was on FFN (and the second rewrite Three Shades of Blue), and for sending me the copies early last week.
There's a suffocating and heavy silence that fills the room as I cross towards the sea of Erudite blue to join my brother. Then it turns into outraged shouts, except it seems louder than when Caleb made his decision.
This time, it takes a little longer for Marcus to appease the outraged Abnegation. I could see why. I am the second Abnegation transfer to Erudite right after my brother this year.
As I take my seat next to Caleb, a black haired, olive toned Dauntless girl raises her eyebrow at us quizzically before turning away. There's something familiar about her, but right now I can't peg it. Two seats away from Caleb, an Erudite girl with brown hair crinkles her nose as if she stepped on something foul before Sophia Prior nudges her shoulder, causing her to turn away. Yet, she frowns at us too as if we shouldn't be here.
"You received Erudite, too, Beatrice?" he asked quizzically.
I shake my head. "I just didn't want you to carry this burden alone."
Caleb narrows his eyes, almost as if he was skeptical of my answer. But he doesn't say anything.
"Violet Matthews," Marcus announces. One of Jeanine Matthews' own, of course. A flaxen haired girl in Erudite blue steps forward. There's no hesitation, none of the shaking breathing. She just cuts her palm and drops her blood in the sizzling coals.
There's muttering all around us. In fact, they seem to have the same surprise as I felt when Caleb dropped his blood in the Erudite bowl.
"Violet Matthews? One of Jeanine's daughters, Dauntless?" I hear a few rows behind me. "This isn't possible."
"Why should we be surprised? She always had that temper about her."
"Vincent Matthews," announces Marcus. Violet's dark-haired brother steps forward. He chooses to remain in Erudite.
"Victoria Matthews," and a blonde girl who could be Violet's twin steps forward. Not hesitating to glare at Marcus as she takes her knife from him. Again, Erudite.
I watch as the ceremony progresses. The Erudite boy who pushed me in the hallway as I made my way to Faction History yesterday chooses Candor. At least I won't deal with him during initiation. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, as he didn't hide his hatred towards me because of the gray I wore.
When we get to the E's, I feel everything become tense as Nathan Eaton – who squeezes his sister's shoulder just as Caleb squeezed my hand earlier before dropping his blood in the water – is called up. Even the Erudite around us hush as he takes the knife from his father. His eyes going back and forth from the Abnegation stones to the Amity soil.
Part of me wants him to stay in Abnegation. To tell the Erudite how they were wrong. That Marcus isn't cruel. To not give them the ammunition they crave. Even if it's selfish of me to want him to. That it's not my choice to make, but his.
"Amity," Marcus announces, not hiding his disappointment.
"What about his sister?" I hear one whisper up ahead. Then Naomi Eaton is called. For a moment, it's as if someone is trying to force her to take a few steps forward before she increases her pace. As he hands the knife to her, I don't miss the intensity of the glare she gives her father. She doesn't hesitate to drop her blood in the sizzling coals.
"This is not good for him, not good at all," I hear from behind me. "Oh, this is bad."
"The younger Eaton siblings weren't the only ones," says another. "Those Prior siblings from Abnegation that choose this faction? I say it's bad for Abnegation as a whole. It's not good when two pairs of siblings from two different Abnegation families change factions in the same year."
"Ramona might as well receive her Christmas present early."
"I think I see her taking notes right now."
"Beatrice," Caleb whispers I am about to turn towards whoever is speaking. That same tone in warning like the day before when I heard that boy from Candor (I think he chose Dauntless a few minutes ago. I couldn't catch his name) push around some kids from Abnegation as we waited to be let in the school.
I wish they stop. That they stop flouting their lies as fact. Though the Erudite are not known for their honesty.
I can't help but feel a twinge of envy as Naomi joins the Dauntless. She'll be riding with them on the trains and running with them on the street. But I made my choice and can't turn back now. Then that envy is replaced by concern. I hope she's not like me, and that she'll make it through initiation without being found out if she is.
When we're at the B's, I watch as Susan and Robert choose their factions. Susan drops her blood in the gray stones. She'll go back to Abnegation, carrying no guilt, not worrying about her parents being disappointed about her choice. Robert chooses Amity. He didn't go back to his faction but at least they won't condemn him like they would Caleb and I.
When the last girl makes her choice – Amity – it's time to leave. I watch as the Dauntless leave their seats, the initiates following them. A large Candor boy looks back at the Amity before following his new faction.
"Hi, I'm Ronald," introduces a dark-skinned and gray-eyed Candor boy who was sitting behind Caleb.
"My name is Caleb," my brother introduces. Wearing a smile while shaking the boy's hand. "And this is my sister Beatrice."
If it's so easy for Caleb, maybe it should be easy for me, too. Even if my heart wants to suggest otherwise.
"Nice to meet you, too," says Ronald, shaking my hand as well.
After the Dauntless leave, the Amity move from their seats. They live in the farms outside the fence, so their trip home is longer. When there is no sign of yellow and red of the Amity, the Erudite begin moving from their seats. The initiates follow. Caleb and I walk past the gray-clothed men and women who were our faction, staring determinedly at the back of someone's head.
Caleb doesn't look at them. I don't either. I don't want to see my father's eyes burn with betrayal as I look at him. However, it's like I feel his gaze burn holes into me. I'm afraid to look at mother either.
"Nervous? Don't worry. You're not the only one," I hear someone tell me as stand in the elevator.
I turn to see that the speaker is the Dauntless girl who looked at Caleb and I curiously.
"Kendall," she introduces, offering her hand.
"Beatrice," I introduce, shaking it.
"I know it's been a long time since then but thank you for getting the nurse when I fell from that sculpture," she says.
"How….?" I ask then it hits me. No wonder she's familiar. "You're that Dauntless girl that fell from that sculpture in front of the Upper Levels building."
She nods. "I'm not the most hand-to-eye coordinated person all the time," she says. "I'm surprised that I lived this long even."
The elevator door slides open, and I follow the initiates and my new faction. From a distance, I see the Dauntless and their initiates running down the street. Disappearing into the sunset. In another life, that could have been me with them.
Outside the Hub, are a line of buses are waiting. Caleb and I follow the initiates to the second bus. They direct us to where we will sit. The transfers sit in the back while the Erudite-born sit in the front. Caleb and I sit in the very back with Ronald and Kendall joining us at the bench. In one of the seats in front of us are a pair of transfers in the Amity reds and yellows.
"You know, you don't have to sit in the very back anymore," remarked the red-haired girl in front of us.
"We're not former Abnegation, and we are sitting in the back," Ronald points out with a frown.
"Are you going to still be running that mouth of yours, Candor?" she asks. "Even when they transfer away, there are still those who keep that tendency."
"Winnie," warns the boy sitting next to her.
"Well, it's true, Sam," she insists.
"I'd wish they stop staring," I hear Kendall say from beside us. That causes me to see what she's looking at. Sure enough, some of the Erudite-born initiates are staring towards the back at me and Caleb. Mostly they appear curious, as if we're some new variable that has popped up and they are eager to figure us out. A few of them have what ranges from unmistakable disdain to evident suspicion, including that brown-haired girl from earlier. Sophia seems to say something, causing the black-haired girl sitting next to her to frown in disapproval at her.
"I mean, anyone hardly transfers from Abnegation," Winnie points out. "It's not like you can blame them. In cases where they do transfer, it's usually Amity. Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite are typically out of the question."
She's not wrong. It's more acceptable for someone to transfer from Abnegation to Amity, as peace and selflessness go hand in hand. To transfer to the other three, especially Erudite, is considered a choice made at others' expense. That one would rather run their mouths, engage in brutality, or pursue knowledge over all else than putting others before themselves.
"I have seen that most of the transfers to Amity are from Erudite," Caleb mentions. "More than Abnegation."
"Not so much a Stiff with that observant eye," Kendall remarks, to which I've seen Caleb respond to in a small smile. She seems to mean it in jest, so maybe I shouldn't be offended either.
I look out the window and look at the city as the buses pass through it. Barely aware of the two Erudite-born initiates moving from their seats to the back. I think of my home in Abnegation. It was Caleb's turn to make dinner. Who will take his place? Dad?
"So, which one of you got Erudite and which one of you just followed?"
A boy's question causes me to snap up my head to his direction. Victoria Matthews and her brother Vincent have managed to join the two Amity ahead of us. Just what I needed for today. Great.
"Why should that matter?" I ask. The question sounds defensive, though I try not to show it in my tone.
Whether I did or not, doesn't seem to faze him. "There was a study a few years back," he answers, "on siblings who transfer to the same faction. They found that in most cases, the individual transferred to that faction to follow their sibling rather than having the actual aptitude for it."
"Unless, you know…" Victoria then drops her voice, "unless their parents coached them what choices to make and only one of them heeded their instructions."
What? Coach us?
"Isn't that against the rules?" Caleb asks, raising his eyebrow. "We're not supposed to know what goes on in the test."
"Doesn't mean that some parents with connections or those with authority don't bend the rules," Victoria whispers. "Sometimes parents coach their children what choices to make so they stay in their faction of birth. Most of the times…well, it's not safe to say."
"I wouldn't be surprised if Marcus Eaton coached both his children to get an Abnegation result. Have you seen the way he glared at his daughter when she chose Dauntless?"
I pay no mind to what Ronald said in response to Victoria's answer to Caleb's question. My mind is still focusing on the last part of what Victoria said. For it reminds me of the conversation that I had with Cara yesterday. It would make sense for some parents to tell their children what choices to make to avoid an inconclusive result, even if it was against the rules.
How Victoria said it, Jeanine or her husband or both probably told their children how to proceed through the test. It would make sense. Then it hits me: the leadership in Erudite are responsible for the scoping out of Divergents, and out of the four Erudite leaders, Jeanine is the main representative of the faction.
"Well, our parents didn't coach us what choices to make, so," I answer.
"Even if you weren't coached how to go through the test, at least one of you had to have the aptitude for Erudite in your genetics," Vincent answers.
"Genetics?" I ask.
"There was a study on faction lineage two years ago," Victoria begins. "It said that if you transfer to a faction, someone in your family probably originated from the faction you transferred to."
"That's interesting," says Caleb.
"Why would it be?" I ask curiously.
Victoria and Vincent gaze at each other. The latter raising his eyebrows. "Should we tell them?"
"They are going to find out anyway," she said. "Perhaps it's logical that we shouldn't wait for our mother to spill it to them. She's probably anticipating to, anyway."
"About what?" Ronald asks, sounding just as confused as I am.
"The Priors' are one of the old and well-known Erudite families since this city's founding days," Vincent answered. "One of what they call the Blue-Blooded families, aside from Matthews, Coulter, Putnam, and Lord. Some members of the family have gone to Abnegation and one in Candor, but…." He shrugs, "Prior isn't prominent in Abnegation like Eaton is."
Wait a minute? My father's family: Erudite.
From my periphery, Caleb's eyebrows shoot up at this information while I frown. No, there is no possible way my father was from Erudite. At least from the main branch like they were insinuating. Uncle David Prior was with us in Abnegation before he died from an automobile accident years ago, so my father can't be Erudite. Except transfers never talk about their former faction.
I'd rather not be closely related to Sophia Prior anyway. With the gazes of disgust she has been giving me and Caleb, she's not going to be an easy person to be around. She might be one of those who might make initiation difficult.
The bus passes through the city before stone buildings – alongside those that are oddly shaped – loom before us. In the Erudite compound there are interconnected sidewalks leading to different buildings. The bus stops and from the window I see that it's to let adults and dependents wearing blue cross the street before we could move forward. The faction members wearing the blue clothes stop and watch as the buses pass through the Erudite compound.
The bus slows before it screeches to a stop. Caleb and I wait until most of the Erudite-born leave the bus until we follow the other transfers out. A girl in the Candor black and white looks at us before whispering to another Candor boy next to her. They both chuckle.
I don't know what that was about, but I don't want to know.
"Oh please," Kendall mutters, having not missed that. "It's not like we're in different factions anymore."
"Yes, but it can take a while for transfers to absolve those differences," Victoria notes. Her brows creased in a frown. "For a few years, they might still attach the label of your former faction to you."
"In addition, it might be a be a while before you iron out the habits you were taught," Vincent notes. "For example, you're from Abnegation transferring to Erudite, you might find the habit of putting others before yourself still engrained in you for a few years. Habits you learned since childhood take a long time to break."
When I step outside the bus, I happen to catch the name of the building: THE AMELIA GRANT BUILDING. This must be Erudite Headquarters, for she was one of our city's founders and the founder of the Erudite. As we near the glass doors, I see a plaque bearing the words, Ignorance is a violent plague of mankind.
We follow the Erudite-born initiates through glass doors, and the smell of dust-covered pages fills my nostrils before I take in my surroundings. Of course, the lobby of headquarters would be a library of some sort. There are only a handful of people in here. Most of them dependents who are gazing back and forth between a textbook and their computer screen. They all glance at us for a moment before returning to the work in front of them. Across from us is a portrait of Jeanine Matthews, the main representative of Erudite. Under it the plaque reads Knowledge Leads To Prosperity.
Prosperity. To me the word has a negative connotation. Abnegation uses it to describe self-indulgence.
How could Caleb have chosen to be one of these people? The things they do, the things they want, it's all wrong. But I have chosen them too, for Caleb's sake.
"For those born in Erudite, follow me," says a red-haired middle-aged Erudite woman.
"See you later," Vincent tells Caleb and I before he and his sister follow the other Erudite-born initiates down the hallway. I watch as the last one in blue departs and look at those of us who are left. Only nineteen of us remain. Caleb and I are the only transfers from Abnegation. The rest are Candor, Dauntless, and Amity. The last one has one more than the first one. Caleb did say that he noticed that Erudite gets most of it's transfers from Amity. Perhaps knowledge comes easily with a peaceful mind, and that a calm, clear mind for knowledge is also a peaceful mind. I wouldn't know.
"Transfers, if you could follow Clarence, please," instructs a Erudite woman with mousy brown hair. Gesturing to the doorway leading away from the library, where a Erudite man is standing as if waiting to lead us to our destination. Caleb and I follow two Amity girls, and the Erudite woman's eyebrows furrow incredulously as she takes in our gray clothes. I sigh. I feel that this would just be a taste of what we might be getting.
Under our feet, the wooden floors turn to white tile, and we follow the Erudite man through a few hallways before climbing up a flight of wide stairs, passing dependents as they go down the stairs. We're led through a corridor of doors leading to what I assume are classrooms. He approaches a door, and steps to the side so we can walk through.
The room has white floors, white walls; the long desks have glass surfaces with sleek white chairs pushed in. At the front of the room, is Jeanine Matthews herself. Her sharp gray eyes appraising us as we all have filed in. Perhaps it's what Cara said yesterday, but for some reason, I feel her gaze is homed in on me in particular.
I hope it's just paranoia on my part.
"Thank you, Clarence," she nods to the man who led us to the room. There is something familiar about her voice. As if I heard it before, like in a dream. "Now, will the rest of you take your seats?"
The transfers from Dauntless and Candor take the front seats. However, Kendall and Ronald decide to sit with me, Caleb, and the transfers from Amity in the back.
"In the case you weren't paying attention to who the representatives of the factions were before your transfer, a introduction is in order," she begins. "I'm Jeanine Matthews, Erudite's leading representative. I will be monitoring your initiation performance, itinerary permitting."
I swallow. Grasping the fabric of my dress with sweaty hands. The thought of Jeanine overseeing our initiation unsettles me. Even if we might not see much of her.
"Is it true that your IQ is two hundred and thirty?" asks Caleb.
At Caleb's question, the transfers sitting in the front turn their gazes towards us. A dark-skinned boy who was once Dauntless raises his eyebrow quizzically at Caleb. I could understand the surprise. No one has heard of a curious Abnegation before. A couple of the Candor frown, as if he had spoken out of turn.
Jeanine, however, doesn't appear as if his question was offensive. Instead, she smiles.
"Caleb Prior, is it?" Jeanine asks, her eyes lit with curiosity.
I tense up. She must have read the initiate roster before we arrived. Does the initiate roster also what faction we tested for? If it did, she would see the result that Cara entered, and perhaps looked into it to see that it was reported manually.
Hopefully I'm wrong.
Caleb nods, bringing me from my thoughts.
"Well, Mr. Prior, your curiosity is befitting for an Erudite," says Jeanine, looking impressed. "Of course, I understand that all of you are awaiting nourishment and a good night's sleep. However, the need to explain the initiation process must come first."
I groan and I'm not the only one around me who does. A couple of the former Dauntless slump in their seats, as they would when a teacher pop a quiz on us.
"Tomorrow, first thing after breakfast, all of you will report to Examination Room 2D for a intelligence examination," she begins. "The reasoning being is that the two stages of initiation will be too grueling and too cumbersome for those below a Intelligence Quotient of a hundred and fifteen to above.
"Those who will not be eliminated after the Intelligence Examination will be cleared to fill out a personality test, and given appointments to our best optometrists," she continues. "Trust me, those who think they won't need spectacles or contacts will realize how blind they were without them. The personality tests will determine who your main study group will be, who you dine with, and who you stay with over the course of initiation. It's been shown that one thrives best when around compatible personalities."
Caleb and I glance at each other. It would be more comfortable to study with Caleb, to help me with some of the stuff he knows. She did say main study group, so maybe whatever I'm in might study with his. She said that we will be put with personalities that fit, so it might be alright. Even if we're not together.
"You perhaps noticed that we separated you from your Erudite-born classmates upon arrival," Jeanine continues. "However, that does not mean you will be taught separately, for you will work with one another upon passing initiation. Your initiation will be in two stages: knowledge and proficiency. Both stages of initiation will last eight and a half weeks. The first will be dedicated to applying your knowledge in all the areas listed in our manifesto: mathematics, sociology, science, history, sociology, and communications. During this time, you'll also research a topic that you feel interests you the most. You will have to at least score a acceptable in your classes, in addition to completing and scoring high on your Research Focus if you want to move onto the second stage, for it shows that you are willing to apply your knowledge. The second stage is devoted to the area where you showed the most aptitude for the first stage, and you have to display your proficiency in that area to graduate. You will also be given the chance for career experience during that time. Now, don't be afraid to satisfy your curiosity. In fact, welcome your curiosity. It will be a vital friend to you during this time. Now do any of you have any questions for me?"
At first, nothing is heard except for a cough. Almost as if everyone is too intimidated to even ask her a question. My brain feels heavy from everything that was said that I can't find myself to speak. They will be weeding out the ones they deem not intelligent enough, the ones who they don't think apply their knowledge.
Until a blonde Amity girl timidly raises her hand.
"You have a question, Miss…"
"Olivia Osbourne," she meekly answers. "We were told to trust the test. I tested for Erudite."
"The aptitude test only tells you what factions you fit best," Jeanine answers, now sounding impatient like an Upper Levels teacher addressing a student who didn't understand the contents of the lesson for the umpteenth time. "Aptitude does not equal proficiency in exercising its virtues. A small percentage who tests for a faction would find that they don't have the capacity for knowledge, honesty, or the virtue of the faction they tested to."
I thought I could see Caleb glancing at me, and I don't miss that some of the other transfers are gazing at us the same way. As if we're up not up to making it through Erudite's initiation. It bothers me that Caleb thinks I won't be able to pass all three stages. To be fair, I never mentioned an Erudite aptitude. All he knows is that I followed him here.
No, I will not fail initiation. Not even in a faction I only joined so Caleb wouldn't carry his burden alone. Even if there are those expecting me to fail.
A certain person might be hoping I fail. Not out of malice, but in hope that going to the Factionless Sector will remove me from Jeanine's interest. I have to make sure I don't pique her interest in the first place.
"It's different than what I hear about Dauntless initiation," Kendall prattles afterwards. "They separate the transfers from the Dauntless-born in the first stage, but that's because it's logical. For the Dauntless-born would have a unfair advantage in comparison to the transfers when it comes to fitness and combat."
They direct us to a cafeteria on the third floor. One where a glass window, giving us a view of the skyline, overtakes the entire wall. Already seated are some of the older Erudite in their light or dark blue lab coats. Probably getting a bite of dinner before returning to their work.
"Some of it looks unappetizing," Kendall observes as we pass through the ala carte of food. "Though, if it helps our brains, I'd take it."
Gazing at our choices, I see fish, brown rice, all sorts of green vegetables, and other foods that I wouldn't see on the dinner table in Abnegation. Different choices from the meals we were used to. Not wishing to hold anyone up, I just choose what appears familiar to me and move along. Stopping when I see an array of bottles sitting in a glass door refrigerator. The clear, dark brown, and orange-colored liquids each have a label that is either blue, yellow, and green.
"The blue is regular, the yellow is caffeine free, and the green is zero sugar," explains a black-haired Erudite girl ahead of us. "I take the yellow, unless you want to be up all night."
Part of me wants to call her bluff. The Erudite aren't known for their courtesy to the Abnegation. The other insists on taking her word for it, that all the Erudite wouldn't desire to see me struggle. So, I take a bottle with the clear fluid and a yellow label; following Caleb, Kendall, Ronald, and that Erudite girl to a table where Victoria and Vincent are sitting with some of the other initiates.
"….a gross oversimplification if you ask me," Sophia sniffs. "Why, I be surprised – " she stops in mid-sentence. Nearly dropping her fork at the sight of Caleb and I. "Sorry, who invited the Stiffs to sit here?"
"Sophia, we've been over this on the bus back here," the black-haired Erudite girl stresses. "There is no logic to have a fuss over faction differences that will be null by the time initiation is over."
"Well, Elizabeth, I have perfect reason to –"
"This is Sophia Prior, everyone," Vincent interrupts, causing Sophia to scowl at him.
The other initiates sitting at the table then use this as an opportunity to formally introduce themselves: Kendall Sharp, Samuel Ryan, Winifred Hastings, Ronald Morgan, Elizabeth Coulter, Mira Joshi, Reva Patil, and Fernando Gonzalez.
"Coulter," Kendall mentions to Elizabeth, as if a light bulb lit in her head. "That would make you Eric Coulter's sister, right?"
Eric. I find myself paying attention more to the conversation. Please let this not be the same Eric as yesterday.
Elizabeth nods. "Assuming that there are other families with the surname of Coulter. I heard he is doing quite well after being in Dauntless for two years. However, I have been overhearing from the other Dauntless dependents about his rather unsavory reputation."
"Well as in how?" Fernando asks with a smile. "Be specific."
It is Kendall who mentions that one. "Eric is one of the five Dauntless leaders. The youngest of the five. I heard he started his training just after initiation, and officially became a leader last year." She turns to Elizabeth as I turn the lid on my bottle to open it. "No offense but your brother is a jerk. I have another, more colorful word for him but I assume it's not appropriate here."
Due to the way he carried himself yesterday, and how one of the Dauntless appeared as if she didn't like him, this has to be the same Eric I encountered yesterday. Elizabeth doesn't seem as prickly as he is, which is a relief.
I don't want to mention that I met him yesterday, because Caleb will be asking for more information. Now coming to think of it, when he tried to get answers out of me about my aptitude test, that was the Erudite in him probing for more information. Because they always try to seek out information in some way or another.
Cautiously, I tip the bottle to my lips, and I wince at the bubbling sensation in my throat and nose. It's as sweet as syrup, and has a lemon flavor to it.
"Safe to say that the two of you didn't have fizzy drinks back where you grew up," Victoria deduces as I notice Caleb taking a sip.
His eyes widen at the first sip before he takes another. "It's better at the second sip, Beatrice," he says. I take a second sip, and indeed, it is better than the first.
I set down the bottle.
"This has to be a historic record, though," Fernando notes thoughtfully. "Two transfers from Abnegation in the same year. Statistically, this faction just gets one transfer from Abnegation every few years."
"Wasn't the last one three years ago?" Victoria asks.
"Abigail Brigham, right?" Fernando asks. "My aunt works with her in the historical division of the archives department, and she's friends with my older sister. She sometimes comes to visit us during dinner."
Again, when someone leaves Abnegation, we remember. A year before Tobias Eaton's departure to Dauntless, Abigail Brigham left us for the Erudite. I can still remember the shock among the Abnegation as she dropped her blood in the water instead of the stones. How someone who seemed to be so selfless would throw that all away for a life of pursuing knowledge. Remembering how those around me – father especially – discussed the ramifications of her choice for days. The bad precedent she was probably setting.
She would spend most of her volunteer hours helping her mother in the kitchens of Abnegation headquarters or helping younger Abnegation dependents with their homework. I remember how her knitted scarves put the ones I made to shame, for they were thick enough to keep one warm while mine were still thin.
When all of us have finished our dinner, they lead us into Auditorium 1, where we will be staying for the night before we take our Intelligence Examinations. In the place of where the chairs would be, thirty-seven cots are spaced away from each other on the white, pearly floor.
All of us are given white pajamas and dump our clothes in a large, white laundry basket. Which will be ready for us tomorrow. We won't be able to wear the blue until we've passed our first round of examinations. Seems logical.
There will be no point in wearing blue if we're not going to make it.
Caleb and I take the neighboring cots. Not even one word out of me, and he's fast asleep. Perhaps the stress of the Choosing Ceremony has finally sapped the energy out of him.
The lights dim to black as soon as everyone has fallen asleep. I try, except I find myself lying awake hearing to the sound of other thirty-one people breathing. I have never slept in the same room as a boy before, not even my own brother, but here, as of right now, I have no other option.
I will be given back my gray dress for tomorrow, but it will no longer smell of home. And it will be the last time I will wear it should I pass tomorrow's examination.
I blink and a tear slips out. I cover my mouth to stifle a sob.
I don't have my parents, but I have Caleb, and that's what matters.