"What's Eaton ya, Ace?"
Dustin, Blaze, Jax, Sophia and I were sitting at one of the tables in the mess. It was the morning of the aptitude test. I was sitting next to Sophia on the other side of the table, trying to slow my heartbeat so she wouldn't notice.
My father is going to be at the test, part of me thought.
"You know, I'm not really thrilled about going to Erudite today, Blaze," I lied curtly.
He just laughed. I stared at my plate. Sophia met my eyes, and we smiled. I guess some could have their secrets.
"Oh, you two are in love," sneered Jax.
"No we are not!" exclaimed Sophia, slamming her hands down on the table to make the plates jump.
"Oh! Even playing the denial card! Interesting…" said Dustin. Sophia reached her hand over the table and was about to slap his face when I yanked her backwards.
"Fine, fine, I'll back off," they said.
I shook my head. "Let's get out of here Soph," I said to her.
"You nervous?" she asked me down in the chasm.
"Hell yeah! I have no idea what to expect!" I lied.
She looked into my eyes and said, "That was a lie, Ace."
How did she know that? I thought.
"I know you are Divergent," she continued, "I know yoou are Divergent because every time you are with your father he lectures you just beyond the reach of everyone's ears. He'll protect you in Dauntless. But you'll be free everywhere else.
"I'm going to transfer to Amity."
"What? You can't leave me here!"
She took a big breath and said, "You can't stop me."
The entire train ride to Erudite I sat with my elbows on my knees with my face in my hands. How could she leave after last night? I thought. I shook my head. I got dumped by a girl just as quickly as I gained one. How could she leave-
My thoughts were interrupted by a shout-"We're here!"
I immediately stood up. Finally, I thought.
I looked out the car and saw the Dauntless in the first car were jumping. Then the next, then the next, and finally it was our turn. The Dauntless closest to the door let out a bloodcurdling yell and launched himself off the train. The others, including me somewhere in the middle, followed not far behind.
I had always loved jumping off trains. I felt free, alive. But that time was different. I landed with a thud on the ground, my head hitting the pavement. I could roll out of a jump, but somehow I didn't. My head throbbed, and I stood up, shaking.
My mother stood waiting at the entrance to Erudite Headquarters. The rest of the Dauntless, wild and crazy, rushed passed her, some brushing her sides and laughing. I pulled through the crowd and finally reached her.
"Hey mom," I said quietly, a little embarrassed.
"Hi Aaro-" I stopped her.
"It's Ace, my Dauntless nickname," I said through gritted teeth.
"Oh. Glad you found a home without me."
I shook my head and brushed passed her, fighting my way through the crowd to my friends.
The factions were lead to the labs in Erudite Headquarters. There were tables lining the walls. On the right side of the labs was a hallway leading to the Aptitude test rooms.
The Erudite had their noses stuck in books, talking about the numbers and the science of the test.
The Dauntless sat on top of the tables, teasing the Abnegations who took everything seriously.
The Candor were over in the corner of the room, pointing, whispering, and gossiping about the Amity who had brought a jar of butterflies and seemed mesmerized by them.
The hours passed by. One by one my friends were called to go test, and each came out horrified, not speaking. Finally my name was called.
"Aaron Eaton, please report to test room 3a," said the PA system.
"Good luck in there," said Dustin.
"Yeah. It's a hell house in there," added Jax, looking at his trembling hands.
"Thanks for the encouraging note, Jax," I said as I walked toward the hallway.
I arrived in test room 3a to find an Erudite woman in it.
"Hello," she said politely.
"Can we just get this over with," I said curtly.
"Alright," she said, as she handed me a glass with blue liquid in it, just as my father had said would happen.
I sat back in the chair that stood in the middle of the room and drained the glass.
"Good luck," I heard the Erudite say before I drifted from the world.
I awoke in a room full of mirrors. "Choose," I heard a voice say. Two bowls appeared in front of me. One had a chunk of meat in it and the other had a knife in it.
"Why?" I asked.
"Choose before it's too late."
That was easy, knife for sure. After all, my nickname was Ace.
The room shifted as soon as I picked up the knife. I was now in a long hallway, and a dog stood at the end of it. Before I had time to gather my surroundings, it began to run toward me. The dog's eyes were wild, he looked ready to kill. I jumped out of the way as its jaws snapped shut, nearly missing my arm. I gripped the knife tightly, holding it out in front of me, pointed at the dog. The dog bared its teeth, but then sat down, smiling and wagging its tail.
"Puppy!" I heard a voice say excitedly behind me.
Oh no.
The Abnegation girl stood at the end of the hallway. She was probably 8, young and beautiful. Suddenly her face changed, and she looked like Sophia, 16, brave, and beautiful.
The dog ran after the Abnegation Sophia.
"Sophia! No!" I screamed.
I tried to throw the knife at the dog, but the knife bounced off. I ran faster, and launched myself between the dog and Sophia, screaming her name, bracing myself for the feeling of the dog's jaws snapping shut, but then the room changed.
I was on a bus. The bus was old and rusty. It had an unpleasant feel. The Hub appeared in front of me.
I recognized the route it was taking, the Abnegation route. My father had gotten me so familiar with every faction, every part of the city as if he was preparing for war. Maybe he was.
The man in front of me was reading a newspaper.
"Do you know this man?" he asked, pointing to the man on the front of the newspaper.
I studied the front of the newspaper. The man looked somewhat familiar. I combed through my memory, but found nothing. I wanted to say yes, but the man looked untrustworthy.
"No," I lied. Lying was easy. I definitely didn't belong in Candor.
"I think you're lying," sneered the man, "You know him?"
"No!" I insisted. I sounded even more forceful.
"I think you know him," he said, lunging at me. He got my throat. I choked. He glared daggers at me. He pulled out a knife.
"I don't know! I promise!" I screamed. And then everything vanished.
I awoke in the testing room.
"Dauntless. Like the other 95%, you got your original faction. You were close to getting Abnegation after saving that girl, but Dauntless," she said.
I gripped the sides of the chair, looking for stability but finding none. My breaths were short: I was scared. Scared I would lose her.
"Thanks. C-C-C Can I go?" I asked shakily.
She waved me off and I made my way to the waiting room.
"Hell house wasn't even close to how awful I would describe that test," I told Jax, Dustin, and Blaze.
"Who did the Abnegation girl turn into for you, Ace?" asked Jax.
Sophia, I thought but didn't say.
"You know, we aren't really s'posed to talk about it," I said, tapping my fingers nervously on the table.
"Fine."
"Who was yours?" I asked him.
"My sister Abigail," Jax replied, looking at his feet.
"My mother," Blaze admitted.
"You," said a voice to me from across the room. Sophia.
The silent crowd made a path for Sophia. She walked over to me.
"You," she said again, "It was always you from the beginning."
I looked at her but said nothing.
"It was always you, no matter how hard I tried to tell myself it was Amity, it was you."
I stared at her in disbelief.A part of me said, Finally! She made the right decision.
"Well, say something!" she demanded.
I couldn't move. She chose me.
She chose me.