Her once true love defects to Dauntless, abandoning her.
Penelope finds herself lonesome two years later. She has everything she could ask for, but nothing is fulfilling. That's until she comes across Charlie again. Old feelings are lost but somethi...
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I rung my clammy hands together as I took my sit in our section. Each individual section is a mass of blues, grays, whites and blacks, reds and yellows, and blacks. Mama sat next to me, taking one of my hands into her own.
"Don't be scared darling, you already know where your place is," she whispered, placing a kiss to my cheek.
I looked over at her and smiled nervously. The most anticipated day had finally arrived but it was more nerve-racking than expected. My test said Dauntless suited me best but I wasn't going to abide by my results. There was still the free will to choose. I knew Mama and Papa would be disappointed if I transferred. Especially Charlie.
I craned my head around until I found his curly, blond head. He was practically bouncing up on his sit, then I saw Ms. Reynolds scolding him. Charlie immediately stopped. I cracked a small smile, finally relaxing. We'd promised each other that we'd stay in Amity, with the hope of eventually getting married.
"I still don't see what you saw in that boy," Papa spoke next to me.
I sighed, having to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Papa never approved of Charlie, and neither did mama. They both agreed I'd have better luck finding someone but Charlie and I promised one another we'd always be together. Until the end.
"Papa, please be kind when he comes over tonight," I begged softly.
He half-smiled then leaned over, planting a quick kiss on my forehead.
"Anything for you Penny."
I grinned at my nickname. Papa was the only one to ever call me that, making it even more special. Another reason why I was choosing to stay in Amity could've been because of Papa.
"Get ready," Mama whispered.
I looked as everyone finally settled in their sits, then as Jeanine made her way in front of the five bowls. My ears tuned out her speech, and I only had eyes for the back of Charlie's head. He only turned back once, barely looking at me. He'd been acting strange since yesterday, after we'd taken our aptitude test.
Then, a representative from Erudite started calling people down. The first few chose their original faction, and after a while, a few chose differently. There was a Candor who chose Dauntless, his new faction immediately bursting into loud cheers. There was a tiny pang when I realized how much fun it would've been to transfer there. But I never saw myself as brave and fearless. I was the complete opposite—fearful.
"Odysseus, Penelope."
I jumped at the sound of my name being called. Papa helped me to my feet but didn't guide me. These were my own steps to take, so I did. I felt eyes follow my every step, making me self-conscious of possibly tripping and falling over.
My eyes darted towards the black mass and for a moment I imagined being Dauntless. Being able to do whatever it was they did. They always looked full of life, so I easily imagined their lives must've been a blast.
Then, light blue eyes pierced my own. But I couldn't study him, see who he was. I found myself standing in front of the five bowls. Glass, water, soil, stones, and burning coals. I tentatively picked up the small silver knife, pressing it to my palm.
One choice, that's all I get.
The knife glided across my tender flesh. I hissed softly at the pain it brought, then carefully made sure not a drop fell before my choice. At first, I walked towards the coals but stopped myself, walking over to my own bowl. My hand hovered over dirt-filled bowl then three drops fell into the soil.
"Amity!"
All sections clapped politely, except Dauntless. We never agreed with them and there was always a living rivalry. But we did nothing to harm those rowdy people. I thought it must be because of our different beliefs, or something of that matter.
I placed the white-stripped bandage over my small cut then turned to face the hundreds of faces. Papa's and Mama's were the only ones I had eyes for—and Charlie's. Charlie looked pained-stricken, with a ghostly complexion. I pursed my lips, confused but started my way back up to my section, not before those familiar blue eyes caught my own again. I'd seen him around a few times but his name was something I'd never gotten.
"You did great," Mama whispered as I slipped back into my seat.
I could only smile and took her hand in my own. She gave it a reassuring squeeze, all my fears rushing out. More people were called down, only a few transferring to Dauntless. At last, they came to Charlie.
"Anderson, Charles."
My heart jumped as I watched him stand and kiss his mother on the cheek. I frowned, confused at that gesture. He slowly made his way down the steps, until he finally reached the bowls. He picked up the freshly cleaned blade, but walked towards the wrong bowl. I sat on the edge of my seat, watching him closely.
Not that way, Charlie.
It's not that way.
I wanted to scream out but held in my urge. He slid the knife across his palm then raised it over the wrong bowl. Drops of blood dropped then I heard the faint sizzle.
"Charlie!" I yelled, but the loud cheering tuned out my panicked scream.
But, he heard, because he looked over at his old faction. At me. His dark brown eyes were watery, looking back at me apologetically.
"Charlie," I gasped softly, sinking back in my seat.
"I knew that boy was no good," Papa exclaimed angrily, rising from his seat.
"Henry, sit," Mother ordered quietly.
That wasn't Amity behavior but coming from my father, it was always expected. No one ever dared to speak against his small outbursts, considering that our family was the most respected in our faction, and in the others.
"Papa, sit," I spoke softly, my face falling into my hands.
"He's a good-for-nothing, Penny. You'll find someone better and someone who will value you and truly love you," Papa cooed, but his words didn't help.
"I want to go home," I cried softly. "Please, lets go home now. ."
Mama rubbed my back, gently, then I felt her lips close to my ear.
"Soon, sweetheart. The pain will go away soon. . ."
And all our plans vanished. What would be of me was completely unclear, and I was left alone. Charlie was gone.
—
01/07/18
Update:
New readers (and OG readers), I'm doing another update of this book because I wanna put out my best work for you guys. Thank you for giving this book the time of day, and I hope every single new reader (even OGs) enjoy it! x
