Violet POV
I wake up in the aptitude test room, still lying in the chair. Natalie stands over me with a concerned look on her face. Did I do something wrong? She removes the electrodes from our heads.
"That," She tells me, "was interesting. I will be right back,"
Interesting?
A few minutes pass and Natalie comes back into the room. I stand up and walk towards her.
"What were my results?" I demand.
"Violet, your results were inconclusive," She has a nervous look on her face, as if deciding to tell me something important or not. Finally she speaks.
"Normally, each stage in the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions. In your case, only two Factions have been ruled out,"
I am so confused right now. "Two?" I ask in shock.
"Choosing the knife eliminated Amity and suggested Dauntless. Not running from the dog also suggests Dauntless, but you used your knowledge of dogs to calm him down, suggesting Erudite. Protecting the girl was an Abnegation response, but also a Dauntless one by killing it. And lying to the man eliminates Candor,"
I stare at her in disbelief. Only two Factions?
She continues, "This is very dangerous. Under no circumstances can you tell anyone. Ever, no matter what happens. This can get you killed. People who get results like this are called Divergent," She whispers the last part.
"I understand. But, you have no idea what Faction I belong in?"
"My conclusion is that you display aptitudes for Dauntless, Erudite and Abnegation,"
"I am not a Stiff!" I yell. The only reason I saved that stupid girl was because I have a soft spot for little girls. I shove Natalie out of the way and walk out the door, slamming it closed. I head back to the cafeteria and notice Peter is not back yet. I sit down and ignore the questions from Molly and Drew. About a minute later, Peter shows up and sits beside me.
"What was that about?" He asks.
"What?" I lie.
"You yelled, and I quote, 'I am not a Stiff'. Then I heard a moment of silence and the door slam. Don't even try to deny it, Violet. I know that was you!"
"Ok, fine it was me," I mutter.
"What happened?"
"The woman that tested me said that I got Abnegation as my aptitude. I kind of flipped out and yelled that. Then she told me she kidding and it was Dauntless. I just walked out and slammed the door," I make up that lie on the spot because I will not tell anyone, not even Peter, who I tell everything to, about my Divergence. If it can really get me killed, I would rather not share that information. Lying is a thing I am very good at, mainly because I do it almost every day.
I don't even have to ask what Faction Peter got. I bet he chose the knife, killed the dog, and then lied and beat up the man on the bus. He is my twin, I know him well. Perhaps more than I know myself.
When everyone else has taken the test, it is time to go home. I grab my stuff and head to the bus with 'The Gang'. The bus is almost completely full, there are only three seats left. I am too caught up in my thoughts to run, so Peter, Molly and Drew get them. I sigh and hold onto a pole beside me. A Stiff sitting beside Peter stands up and offers me his seat. Either because he is nice, or because he doesn't want to sit beside Peter. I thank him sit down.
He has dark hair and green eyes like Peter and I. If he wasn't a Stiff, I am sure most girls would stare at him. I think he is pretty cute.
For the rest of the bus ride, we talk about random things and discuss what Dauntless initiation will be like.
We reach our street ten minutes later than we usually do. I show Peter my watch and he groans. We exit the bus with Molly and Drew, as well as some other Candor like Christina and Albert. Peter and I walk to our house and the second we walk through the door, the yelling starts. Vincent stands in the hall with a bottle of beer, indicating that he is drunk. He hates when we are late, or do something wrong, and the punishments are usually worse when he is drunk. The minute I put my schoolbag down, he slaps Peter across the face.
"Where have you been?" He bellows so loud our neighbors three houses down could probably hear him. I am seriously surprised that none of them have ever asked what all the yelling is about.
"We were at school," Peter stammers.
This is one of the only times I see the real side of my brother. Although I hate to admit it, he is a coward, and so am I. We make others feel weak before they can make us feel weak. The only problem is with Vincent. There is no way we can ever make him feel weak.
"I was worried sick!" Vincent remarks.
"Ya right," I mutter, hoping he doesn't hear. But that is not the case.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing," I whisper.
"Don't lie to me! I did not raise a liar!" He slaps me across the face and the whole left side of my face hurts. If only he had an idea what Peter and I did outside of this house...
"Father, please," Peter begs, "it wasn't her fault! Its my fault we're late,"
"Peter," I don't want him to take the blame. He does that every time. I get interrupted before I can tell Vincent it wasn't Peter's fault.
"I don't care whose fault it was!" He screams. "Go to your rooms. I do not want to see either of you again until the choosing ceremony! Understood?"
"Yes, father," I say. Peter nods his head in agreement and we slowly make our way upstairs.
That night I lay in bed with a grumbling stomach. Vincent had not given us anything to eat for dinner and I was bored out of my mind for the whole afternoon. Peter and I had not been allowed outside of our rooms, so we couldn't even talk. Tomorrow at the choosing ceremony, I will choose Dauntless, along with my 'friends'. I cannot stand to stay in this hellhole excuse of a Faction any longer. Lost in my thoughts, I fall asleep.