Alice's POV
I wake just to feel all the stress come rushing back again. The aptitude test is coming up in a few day and I have no idea what to expect. I already have a pretty good idea of which faction I belong in, and its definitely not Candor, but I am reluctant to leave behind my family.
"Alice! You're late! Get your butt down here before your breakfast gets cold!" My dad yells up at me.
"Coming!" I yell back at him and quickly get dressed before running down the stairs and nearly knocking over my mom.
"Sorry mom."
"Be careful, we don't need you getting hurt 2 days before your aptitude test."
"Oh don't remind me."
"Are you nervous?"
"Yes."
"Why? There's no need to be nervous. You'll take the test, come home, say goodbye to us all, and then leave for your new home."
I look at her shocked. "What?"
"Do you think I'm an idiot? I may not be a Nose, but I still can tell that you don't belong here. Wherever you end up is okay with me. Your father, not so much, but we can deal with him when the time comes."
I smile at her. "Thanks mom."
"No problem. Now go eat. You have five minutes before school starts."
"Shit!"
"Language!"
"Sorry! I didn't realize how late it had gotten!" I grab a muffin and run out the door after giving my mom a quick kiss on the cheek and yelling goodbye to my dad. I don't like to take the bus, I would much rather walk to school, I don't too far away from it anyway. Today I have to run to school. I get there just in time and rush down the hallway towards my history class. I take my seat right as class starts and notice the Erudite girl who has sat next to me all year give me a look.
"What are you looking at Nose."
"The idiot who was late for class. You look as if you just woke up."
"I had to run all the way here."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to take the bus."
"That's stupid. Why would you walk when you don't have to?"
"That's none of your business." I say and turn away from her. The one thing that I know about that girl is that she is a protege. Most people seem to think that she will take over the Erudite faction when Jeanine gets too old or retires, whichever comes first. I look around at everyone in the class. Its a pretty fair mix of people from different factions. You've got little miss protege and her fellow Erudite's who are sitting in the front taking notes and paying very close attention, I could never be one of 're all too stuck up and I'm not nearly smart enough. Then there are the Amity girls in the back corner giggling about something, there's no way I could be in Amity either. They are all so happy all the time. It gets on my nerves. The Abnegation sit in the back of the class and stay quiet, taking small notes and whispering to each other when one of them misses something. I'm not nearly calm enough or selfless enough to be one of them. The Candor are scattered throughout the room questioning everything that the teacher says. I don't know if I could stay Candor. My mom obviously thinks that I can't. Then there are the Dauntless. They sit in the middle of the class and spend the whole time talking about what they are doing after school and how they can't wait to get tattoos and piercings. Some of them make paper airplanes and throw them at each other, others just ball up their notes page and throw it. I envy them, their freedom, their games, their stories. Life would never be boring as a member of Dauntless. That's where I wanna be. I take out a piece of paper and start drawing. I think of the Dauntless, how they risk so much just to get a good thrill. How they jump off trains just to prove that they don't stop. How they would jump right into Hell, just for the heck of it, to prove that they aren't cowards. I catch the Erudite girl staring at me from the corner of my eye.
"If you want to say something then say it." I tell her.
"Why would you use your notes page to draw? Your supposed to take notes."
"I don't need notes."
"Why not?"
"Because I have this amazing thing called memory. Ever heard of it?"
"What are you drawing anyway?" She asks. I look down at it and realize that I don't know what I'm drawing. I just zone out and let my hands do the work.
Instead of answering her question I ask her a different one. "What's your name again?"
"Athena."
"Athena? Like the Greek Goddess of Wisdom?" She nods. "Wow. You Noses are actually naming your children after something that means being smart?"
"Your one to talk. Alice is supposed to be a truthful name."
"What does that even mean? How can a name be truthful?"
"I don't feel like explaining this to you right now."
"Alright. So what other Noses have 'smart names'?"
"My brother's name was Cato."
"Cato?"
"Yes. Cato means wise in an ancient language."
"Why do you say was?" She gives me a weird look. "You said 'my brother's name was Cato'. Why do you say was?"
"Because he probably changed it. He disgraced us all by switching to Dauntless last year."
"'Disgraced you all'? He was just doing what was best for him. It's not his fault that he isn't a genius."
"He was a genius." This time I give her a weird look. She tolls her eyes. " I'm not talking to you about this."
"Actually you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Then stop talking."
"You stop talking."
"Ladies!" The teacher yells, staring the two of us down. "Are you two done yet?"
"Yes ma'am. I apologize." Athena says immediately. I just roll my eyes and continue to draw.

The rest of the day goes by without anything exciting happening, not that anything exciting usually happens. I talk to a few of my friends in the hallways in between classes and then spend the classes finishing and perfecting the picture I started drawing in the morning. After school is over I start walking back to my house with my friend Lexi. She's talking about some guy that she likes.
"...so he looked at me and smiled and I smiled back. Then he said hi to me and I said hey back and he asked me if I wanted to hang out later! Can you believe it? Then a few minutes later some other girl came up and asked him out and he turned her down saying that he already had plans and smiled at me again! He is so perfect and he likes me, I mean how perfect is that? We are going to meet up at the Hub later today. Maybe I could convince him to bring one of his friends and you can come. It would be nice for you to finally get out and date someone."
"I've dated people before."
"Johnny doesn't count."
"Whatever. Now isn't the time to be focusing on guys anyway. The aptitude test is in two days and then after that is the Choosing Ceremony and after that we will most likely be split up and never see each other again."
"Oh come on. Stop being such a downer. Have some fun for once!"
"Trust me. After the Choosing Ceremony I plan on having plenty of good times in whichever faction I choose."
"Do you already have one in mind? I do."
"Of course I have one in mind."
"Oh! Do tell!"
"No. For all I know the test will tell me some other faction and all my dreams will be crushed."
"Oh come on! I'll tell you what faction I want if you tell me which one you want."
"Not happening."
"You're Candor remember? You're supposed to be truthful."
"I am being truthful. I told you that I know which one I want and that I wont tell you which one it is. That was the truth." We walk up next to my house. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow at school." I say before walking inside and closing the door. I turn around to find my dad standing right behind me. "Hey daddy."
"You're late. Dinner's cold."
"I'll just eat it cold then."
"Damn straight you will. When are you going to start paying more attention? Stop being late everywhere? Start actually doing something with your life? Actually get something accomplished?"
"I'm still not even a member of a faction yet. I will start focusing on those things once I become a member of the faction of my choice."
"You need to start now. That way you can be ahead of the game."
"That would only be possible if I were to choose this faction."
"You are choosing this faction."
"Not necessarily. What if the test tells me I'm Erudite or Dauntless or something."
"It doesn't matter what the test says. You are staying Candor."
"No, I'm not dad. You can't force me. When I take the aptitude test it will tell me where I belong and if it isn't here then you can't change that. Then on the day of the Choosing Ceremony I will put my blood into one of those bowls and you have absolutely no control over which one it is."
He gets in my face and I glare up at him as he glares down at me. "That is no way to talk to your father."
"I am just telling the truth."
"You will choose Candor or you will regret it."
"You can't do shit about anything when I finally leave this hell hole."
"You are not leaving." He moves to shove me and I duck under him, pushing his hands away. I use the moment that he is off balance to run back outside. I run to the Hub and sit there, waiting for Lexi to show up with that guy she likes. As I wait I continue drawing. I look down at the drawing and take in what I have been working on all day. There is a black shape that almost looks like it could be some sort of medal or pendant. Inside it is a skull that is on fire. That's it. It's simple and the paper still looks plain. There is some room above and below the black shape. Maybe I could write something in those areas. I think for a moment about my dad. I called my home a hell hole. I didn't even think about it and I said that. Is that what I've always thought of it? Or was that just a sort of heat of the moment thing? When I step into my house is it really like stepping into Hell. No. It's more like falling into Hell. With no escape, because I have to go back there eventually. Like in the Greek mythology tale of Persephone. She can come back to the surface for a certain amount of time, but no matter what she must always come back home to Hades eventually. An idea pops into my head. I know what to write around the shape that I drew. I hear laughing and look up to see a guy walking this way. Before he gets here I look down at the piece of paper and quickly jot down 4 words: Feet first into Hell. I'll clean it up later. The guy sees me and walks up.
"You wouldn't happen to know Lexi, would you?"
"Yeah. She's my friend. I'm assuming that your the guy she's hanging out with today."
"Yeah. Do you know where she is?"
"Probably being fashionably late, like always." Right on cue, Lexi comes walking up to us looking beautiful.
"Wow." I hear the guy standing next to me whisper.
Lexi notices me and smile. "So. You decided to show up anyway?"
"Yeah. I felt like getting out of the house."
"Well then, let me introduce you to Dylan." Dylan nods at me. "And Dylan, this is my friend Alice. I told her that she could tag along if that's okay with you."
"Yeah. It's fine." He says.
"Alright then. Let's go find something fun to do before curfew!" Lexi says and then leads the way as Dylan and I follow.