Urgent

Chapter 1

I study the woman, who had taken care of me for a good part of my life. Examining her movements. Watching her snip of the dull blonde strands of her daughter's hair. How she looks so peaceful. 

This woman isn't my mother, but she might as well be. Natalie Prior, and her husband, Andrew, have raised me from the day my parents died. Taking me in when no one else would.  

Andrew had been close with my dad. Best friends even. They came from the same old faction, and they both came to Abnegation together, where their friendship continued. 

Tomorrow, I will have to make the same decision. Decide if I could spend the rest of my life in Abnegation, as someone who will have to constantly sacrifice - or if I too will change factions, leaving the only home I have ever known.

I know what everyone else was betting on. 

Natalie's daughter is the same as me. She, like me, would also be choosing tomorrow. I'm not as close to Beatrice, or Bea as I so affectionately call her, as I am with her older brother, Caleb. 

Caleb is my best friend, and one of the few reasons I would ever even consider staying her. I don't think I can leave Caleb, and I doubt Caleb would feel up transferring. He's naturally selfless - something which neither I, nor Beatrice, can claim. 

At least Beatrice somewhat looks like she could belong. She had a plain look to her. A narrow face, wide blue eyes, a long thin nose and a ring of dull blonde hair around her head. She could easily fit in - I, on the contrary, could not. Not if I tried. 

Wearing the loose grey clothes of the rest of the Abnegation did nothing to make me blend in amongst them. 

I have fiery red hair - not particularly straight, but not curly either. It was a color which stood out in any crowd. I'm deathly pale too - I couldn't tan, even if I was allowed to. 

We aren't allowed to do things like that in Abnegation. Tweaking your appearance to make yourself look better is forbidden. It is vanity, and ergo - selfish. The exact thing which Abnegation opposes. 

While I may not tan, I do freckle. There were freckles all over my body. Painting my arms, legs and face. Then my eyes?

A bright green with long, dark eyelashes outlining them. Those eyes stand out amongst a crowd of thousand. I can't be Abnegation if I was so - noticeable. I naturally have a disadvantage with my appearance. 

When my stomach rumbles, I look away and enter the kitchen instead. I'm too hungry to think about these things - to think about how I despised my appearance.

Andrew's reading the newspaper, and when he notices me entering the kitchen, he smiles before returning to his paper. 

Andrew is like family to me. If it hadn't been for him, I would've been a part of the factionless. I would've had no home. 

He treats me like his own daughter - perhaps a bit better than Beatrice, and I respect him for that. It makes me feel guilty though. Guilty because after he took care of me, I would be leaving him. And I suspect that I won't be the only one. 

...

Going on the bus is one of the worst experiences that Abnegation has to offer. I absolutely hate going on the bus, but rather unfortunately for me, I'm a part of the Abnegation. And since I'm Abnegation, I couldn't ask Andrew for a ride since it would be an "inconvenience" to him. 

Every second I'm standing on the bus, I can only think about how the bus could crash any moment. How could we all die. And along with the many worried thoughts swirling around my head, I'm struggling to remain still. I'm sliding across the bus, despite my iron grip on the pole.