The Other One

Chapter Two

"Are you nervous, James?" Kay asks me as we take the bus to school.
"Just a little." I admit. But being 'just a little nervous' was beyond an understatement. I am horrified.
"Are you? For your test?" I ask back.
"No. Im pretty confident I'll get Amity."
Of course she is. She's perfect at being Amity. She always wears a smile on her face and never complains. Even though comparison is against Amity's beliefs, I know we are constantly contrasted between our parents, I mean, she's her and I'm - me.

When we get to school, the teachers have us line up outside of the building in groups based off of our faction. I join Kay in the Amity line and watch as the other lines grow and grow. Dove soon joins me and we barely talk at all, because fear keeps us hushed.
We stand in silence and I chew on my bottom lip and stab my palms with my nails. What if the test says I'm Candor? or Abnegation? Erudite? or even Dauntless?
I watch the Erudite in their line. Some Erudite stay still and stare at their feet while others read a book or talk quietly with their peers. I joke with Dove that the Erudite students are trying to find any way possible to study for their aptitude test. She laughs, but silence drowns us out once more. The Amity line begins to move, and my heart beats even faster.

The teachers move all of the students to the cafeteria and call out attendance to make sure everyone is here. Once they finish calling names, our principal stands in front of the room and tells us what the test does and why it is important, which all of the students already knew, so I zone out and think of the trees at home which help me calm down. I don't want the speech to end, because after she is done talking, the test begins.

The moment she finishes her speech, I begin to sweat - a lot. Amity is taken to a hallway with empty class rooms. I give Dove one last smile before we are taken into our individual rooms. The room I am taken to is empty except for a chair and a large man dressed in Dauntless clothes.
"Hello Mr..." he looks at a piece of paper on the table beside him. "Mr. Wood. yes, uh... right. My name is Ferris. Now hold on one second. Take a seat right here."
He points to the chair. I nod and sit down. The chair reclines which is soothing my nerves, but I'm still very tense. After waiting for him to finish typing things into his computer, Ferris comes over and hands me a small glass that contains a clear liquid.
"Alright. Drink this. This is the serum that will begin your test. Good luck, James."

I take a deep breath, and gulp the serum down.