"Albert! Albert you need to get up!" my mom calls through the door as she knocks on it repeatedly. "I don't want you to be late – it's a very important day."
I blinked the sleepiness out of my eyes and stretched my arms up. "I'm up," I called out through the door.
"I'll have breakfast on the table in 10 minutes sharp," she said. "Please be ready by then – your father wants to drop you off before he goes into work."
"Okay." The white quilt with neat, even stitches of black thread are thrown back and I head to the bathroom to take a quick shower.
It's Testing Day – I have to take an aptitude test to determine which faction I will join for the rest of my life. I step under the warm water of the shower and I reach for the bar of soap that Mom put out this morning. My hand wraps around the bar and it slips from my hand, hits the back wall of the shower, and drops onto my foot. I wince as I grope for the bar and try to keep a tight grasp on it as I lather it up.
No one can prepare for the aptitude test in advance. I don't even know how they determine your results but I have a feeling that I'm going to automatically fit into my current faction: Candor. No surprise there – Candor values honesty and justice and my parents act like a model Candor family. I shut the water off, dry off with a black towel, and throw on the stark white button-down shirt, black pants with the crisp, pressed fold down the center of the leg, and black shoes polished to gleaming perfection – just the way my mom wanted me to look.
"Morning Bud," Dad said as he looked up from reading something. He smiled faintly at me and rumpled my hair in an attempt to lighten the mood. Mom set down the plate of toast, jar of jam, and a bowl of fresh fruit, probably from Amity's farms, on the table. She frowned as she began fixing the back of my hair.
Dad shook his head at her as she tried to slick down the cowlick that was sticking up. "Hon stop that," he said. "Albert looks fine – you're fussing over nothing."
Mom shot him a sharp glare and he fell silent as he buttered a piece of toast and piled a scoopful of berries onto his plate. I bit my lip as Mom moved from my hair to my bushy eyebrows. She took a step back and frowned – probably because they were really out of place in her mind.
"Deanne," Dad states, "he's fine. Just let him eat so we can leave on time. We still have tonight, remember?"
I swallowed hard and I forced myself to smile at my mom as I began spreading jam on my bread. She took a seat across from me and tried to return the smile but I could tell that she was anxious. She wouldn't last more than a few minutes in Dauntless, no matter how much she talks about admiring them.
"You ready Bud?" Dad asked as he drove past the factionless areas. He coughed heavily and I nodded.
Dad turned to me and gave me a smile. "You're gonna be fine, I know it. And we'd love to have to stay if it all works out."
"Thanks Dad," I said. He has to say that because, well, he's my dad and he's a Candor through and through.
I ended up falling asleep in Math as usual – I was never into numbers, which probably meant that I wasn't cut out for Erudite. I stifled a yawn as I shuffled into the cafeteria and took a seat with other Candor members at a table. I looked around at the groups of Candor members broken up into smaller groups – three menacing figures were hunched over with suspicious looks in the direction of the testing area. I recognized them as Drew, Peter, and Molly, who were always together causing trouble. Peter seemed to be the leader of the trio and he wasn't a Candor to the core – I usually saw him picking fights with Erudite and Dauntless kids when were younger, then he would quickly throw the blame onto the other person and convince the adults that he was the victim. They bought his act all the time because they assumed that all Candor members tell the truth. Molly and Drew seemed to just do whatever Peter did and didn't seem to have any distinct differences in personality. They probably wouldn't stay in Candor – after all, there are only so many people who can handle being truthful all the time.
"From Candor: Albert Enright and Tambry Yates," a volunteer calls out. I snap out of my trance and I stumble out of my seat when my name is called. Some people snicker at my clumsiness and I can feel my ears burning as I follow the volunteer into the testing area. She places me in a room labeled 3 and I heaved a deep sigh as I walked into the room.
"Welcome Albert," the Abnegation woman says. "My name is Sarah. Please take a seat right over in that chair." She gestures to the silver seat that reminds me of something I'd see in a dentist's office. I clamber onto the seat and slide my back against the cold, hard surface.
Sarah wastes no time placing electrodes to my head and some to her head. I clench my hands into fists, my nails digging into the soft flesh of my palm. Once she finishes wiring both of us up, she hands me a clear vial containing a liquid with a polite smile.
"Please drink all of this," she said.
"What is it for?" I asked. I hoped that my voice wouldn't give away how nervous I was about this whole thing.
Sarah shook her head and gave me a polite smile. "I'm sorry Albert but I'm not allowed to indulge your curiosity as it would be very selfish to do so. You just need to drink it to begin the test."
I nodded to show that I understood. I completely forgot that as an Abnegation member, she was not allowed to indulge in selfish desires or any luxuries whatsoever. That included telling me what I wanted to know about this liquid I was asked to consume at the moment. I closed my eyes as I tipped the vial contents down my throat.
"Choose," a woman told me as I opened my eyes to see two baskets in front of me. I blinked as I stared at the contents within each one. One basket contained a long knife with a cruel-looking blade and the other contained cheese.
Without hesitating, I reached for the cheese. As soon as I chose, the second basket disappeared and I was left alone in a room that looked like the cafeteria. I spotted something coming towards me with angry eyes and I saw that it was a dog. It began running toward me; slobber dripping from its jaws. My hand shook as I quickly put the cheese down a few feet away from me and hoped for the best. The dog ignored me and tore at the cheese greedily, which made me breathe a sigh of relief.
Then the room changed and I was in a large library with books reaching from the ceiling to the floor. I felt someone tug on my arm and I turned around to see that it was a severe-looking woman with her white hair piled on top of her head and several teeth missing from her mouth. She held up a stained book with faded lettering and shouted at me, "Have you read this book boy?"
I winced as I backed away from her, trying to put some distance in between us. I had a feeling that I had seen that book somewhere but I had a sinking feeling that it would be terrible to tell her that I had. But then again…
"Yes I have," I blurted out as I clenched my fists tightly. I waited for her to react and the scene changed once more to a beautiful park on a warm, sunny day. I turned my head to the left at the sound of two angry voices that belonged to two men pushing and shoving each other around. The rest of the people seemed to be avoiding them or showed concern that they were fighting so openly in a peaceful setting.
My palms felt sweaty as I uncurled my fists and I wiped them off on my pants. I strode up to the two and grabbed one's shoulder in an attempt to pull them away. The other pushed me back and leered at me, "Stay out of this boy. This doesn't concern you."
I stepped in front the man who pushed me and shook my head no. My heart pounded loudly in my chest for I knew that I shouldn't get involved but part of me felt compelled to act. "It does concern me, actually." I watched as his face contorted from frustration to pure rage and he drew his fist back. I closed my eyes and waited for the punch to connect, only it never did.
"Welcome back Albert," Sarah greets me as she removes the wires from my head. She glanced over at the machine and smiled brightly at me. "It looks like you are best suited for Amity."
Amity? That was a far cry from my current faction, as Amity prefers peace and harmony compared to the Candor. Amity does not believe in swift punishment and justice – instead they believe in consulting with the people and working together to reach a group decision. They dislike violence and prefer to remain neutral in tense situations.
I ran a hand through my hair and Sarah helped me out of the chair. "Please do not share any of your answers or result with anyone. Have a nice day Albert."
I walked out of the testing room in a daze and I took a seat outside of the Upper Level building. My dad said that he would pick me up after school and that I was to wait on the steps for him to arrive. I kicked a pebble on the steps and let out a breath that I had been holding in.
It could have been worse, I thought. I could have had no clear answer and probably would have been banished to the factionless before I even had a chance. But Amity…
Even if I could tell my parents, I wouldn't share my result for it was disappointing. They found the Amity members to be a nuisance and quite ridiculous with their insistence to maintain peace in everything they did. Dad talked about how pointless their system seemed, for any decisions that need to be made have to be agreed upon by a group majority vote. There is no set leader of the faction – instead all of the faction has an equal say. It takes a long time to come to a decision, something that my mom has no patience for.
"Do they do anything productive?" Mom once asked at dinner a few weeks ago. "They always are playing some instrument or silly games that make no sense. Really, I mean there's no sense of order and organization there!"
"Deanne that's their nature," my dad replied. "They are far too lax with their justice system and nothing ever seems to get done. If anything, their only skill is growing the crops for our food."
The sound of a car horn snaps me back to reality and I look up to see my dad waving from the driver's seat. I faked a smile as I dusted off my pants and climbed down the steps to meet him.
