"So," Azelma asks me, breaking the long silence as we walk into our house, "what's your result?"
"Zelma, you know we can't tell each other our results, you don't want to break any rules," I say, making up an excuse so I don't need to tell her, listening to Feuilly's advice.
"Come on Eponine, it's not like it matters, I'll tell you mine," she states, staring at me with puppy eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" I ask, narrowing my eyes suspiciously at her, "you don't break rules, you just don't."
"Just tell me!" she demands, her voice changing from her usual voice and becoming raspy.
"Azelma…" I say, taking a step back and now becoming quite scared of her.
She grabs my shoulders tightly, digging her fingernails tightly into my skin, "tell me!"
"Azelma! What's wrong with you?" I scream, trying to squirm my way out of her tight grasp.
"Tell me! What faction do you belong in? do you have something to hide?" she asks me. I look into her grey eyes… but when I look at them, they're not grey, they're red.
I screech at her and then try to claw at her face. I succeed and at first there are deep red scratch marks on her cheeks, but then her flesh isn't flesh anymore… it's silver. Metal. "What are you…?" I ask nervously.
"That is of no concern to you," the Azelma robot says, "but are you or are you not Divergent?"
"What's Divergent?" I ask, trying to keep my face looking nonchalant.
"You know that. You are Divergent and we know it, we just need to know what factions you fit in," the robot that I will no longer call Azelma states.
"What's Divergent?" I repeat, not willing to say anything else.
"Tell me!" it screeches, diving towards me.
I grab a gun from my pocket that I didn't know was there, shoot the robot and then the image goes black.
I wake up with sweat pouring down my forehead, I get out from my bed and check the time: 5:00. I mentally slap myself for napping so long after waking up early. I should have been making dinner so it would be ready by the time my parents get back from work. They get back from work at half five. Okay, so I need a meal that I can make in half an hour.
"Azelma!" I call, both for her help and to make sure that she's still here and still her.
"What do you want Eponine?" I hear Azelma's angry voice ask.
I smile at the sound of her regular voice. "I need help with dinner. Please."
Azelma is Abnegation, she's got to help.
"Okay Eponine, but you really should be more organised," she says and I can hear her light footsteps walking to the kitchen so I smile and follow her.
"Thanks Zelma," I say once I enter the kitchen, "what should we make?"
"I don't know, let's check the recipe book for thirty minute meals," she suggests.
"We have a recipe book?" I ask with surprise.
"Of course, mother bought it," she says.
"Oh," I reply, not knowing what else to say in response.
Azelma gets out the recipe book and starts to flip through the pages, reading each one carefully. "What about salmon?" she asks. I shake my head and she glares at me, but then goes back to reading through the book. "Beef?" she asks after a long silence.
"Okay," I agree.
I hear the front door opening and I turn to Azelma nervously. "They're here! Is it ready?"
"It's just finished cooking. You need to distract them while I serve it out," she tells me without turning to face me and instead only keeping her eyes on the dinner
I hear loud stomping and then my father's voice yelling "Eponine! Azelma! I'm starving, dinner better be ready."
"Yeah, or you little brats will get what's coming to you!" my mother pipes in, "so will Gavroche!"
I can feel my heart beat speeding up so I run out to the hall, yelling "it's ready! But first, don't you want to hear about my day? Remember the really important test?" I ask, knowing that they don't car at all.
"Why should I care? We know that you're going to choose Abnegation anyway, so why should it matter what you get?" my mother asks.
"What if I don't choose Abnegation?" I ask daringly. I'm not going to choose Abnegation, but I shouldn't have told my parents that.
My father raises his fist and strikes me hard across the face, causing me to shriek in pain. "You will choose Abnegation!" he orders, "and you will continue to help me and your mother with scams, you got that?" he roars.
"I know papa, I know! Sorry! I was… I was just… I was just joking papa!" I scream. "I think dinner is ready now," I choke out.
"Wasn't it always ready?" my mother asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes," I reply quickly and then slowly add "but what I meant was that now you're ready to go and eat it…"
They both ignore me and push their way past me into the kitchen. I say a silent prayer hoping that Azelma will have the dinner ready.
I walk upstairs to Gavroche's room to find him sitting on his bed and drawing on his drawing pad that I managed to steal for him. "Dinners ready Gav," I say.
"Ok Eppy!" Gavroche says happily, jumping up from his bed and skipping downstairs to the kitchen.
I follow Gavroche to the kitchen and sit down at the table.
"So…" Azelma says, sitting down, "the choosing ceremony is tomorrow." Father glares at her. "So I guess tomorrow me and Eponine will become official members of Abnegation, right Eponine?"
"Right!" I reply a little too loudly.
Father ignores us and changes the subject. "Have you seen Fantine's latest article? She is writing those reports about me again! Listen to this!" he picks up the paper and begins to read a part of the report. "Once again, we have more people saying that Jacob Thenardier has conned them or harmed their family. One victim, Evelyn Marcus has told us that Jacob Thenardier has murdered her husband, scarred her two year old child and robbed them of their life savings. Unfortunately, there remains to be no proof so this monster still remains and continues his monstrosity. This man must be stopped so I beg you, if you know anything about this dangerous man, please tell us so that he can be stopped."
He finishes reading and puts the paper down in disgust, eyeing us all and waiting for our reply.
"Well," I say, "that's terrible. But I think that me, Gav and Zelma should be getting to bed, Gav is young and it's a big day tomorrow for me and Zel."
"Yes," Azelma agrees, standing up, "we'll see you both in the morning."
"Night," Gavroche says, getting up from his seat and dragging me and Azelma upstairs.
I go to Gavroche's room and quickly give him a hug and tuck him in, then go back to my room and get changed into my pyjamas. I go to bed and try to sleep, but the thoughts of Fantine's report plague my dreams.
I knew my father scammed, but I didn't know that he killed people. How can I just change factions and run away from all of this? If I choose Abnegation I could stop him. I could help people.