CONVERGENT - [Divergent] ADOPTED

Chapter Five

[GERTRUDE]

Today's the day.

I woke up just as early as I usually do. I dressed almost as normally, but instead of wearing my normal grey skirt and simple long-sleeved shirt, I put pants on underneath the skirt. If I'm transferring to Dauntless, I don't expect there to be any simple tasks. And I also wore a shorter-sleeved shirt that was better fitting and a blazer-like jumper. I twisted my hair into a neat bun.

I took a deep breath and I went down to breakfast, my mother already up and dressed for the day.

"Morning, Mum, do you need help with anything?" I felt bad. I can't believe I got an aptitude for my home, but I'm going to leave... leave my family behind.

I do have an older sister, but she transferred to Candor three years ago, today. Her name's Maude, but we visit her on Visiting Day every year, and I found out that she changed her name to May, which was actually our grandmother's name.

I cannot believe we both left Mum and Dad. Dad is hardly ever home; working on the council is a tough and rigorous job that he takes very seriously. He does come home every night, but he gets in so late and leaves so early – but he doesn't work weekends, so he spends every minute with us, giving to the factionless, cleaning the streets, helping out wherever we can.

Mum is a nurse, although she's more of a doctor. She works at school most of the time, but when at school for some reason, she works at the main clinic in Abnegation and helps out in Candor and Amity sometimes – and, very, very rarely, in Dauntless too. They only ask for her when something very serious has broken out or someone got very seriously injured, but she's never been to the Dauntless sector. They bring their injured to her.

"Morning, Gertrude, well you can do the dishes if you'd like, but I've done everything else. Thank you, sweetheart." She smiled at me.

"Mum..." I trail off. What could I say? "I'm sorry?" "I can explain?" But I can't. I can't tell anyone. The whole, divergent thing is still very new, and a little hard to handle. People want me dead? I still don't know why, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

She just smiled sadly, as if she knows what I was trying to say. She walked up to me, putting her hand softly against my cheek, and pushed a strand of hair to tuck it behind my ear. "Just... just look after yourself, okay? I love you, so very much. Follow your heart, don't stay if you don't want to."

"But I do want to stay, but I also want to go. What do I do, Mum?" I sagged my shoulders in defeat.

Mum just kept smiling. "You're strong and brave and selfless. Be who you are, follow your dreams, go. I'll be okay, your father, too."

"But –"

"No buts. Go, my beautiful girl. I know you want to, but this is your choice. Not mine, not anyone's. Yours. You want to stay—stay. You want to go—go."

I sighed. I knew she was right, as always. "You will be okay?"

She smiled. "Of course. I have your father – oh, I almost forgot! Your father's coming too, although he had to go in this morning, he'll be there."

I smiled wider. "I'm glad."

"We'll come visit you, on Visiting Day. Don't worry about us." She smiled. "Now, eat your breakfast, we don't want to be late now, do we?"

I nodded. "Okay and yeah, I guess not."

I ate my breakfast – the last meal I'll ever have in this house, this home, this faction. My next will be as Dauntless.

I did the dishes and made sure the place was tidy, memorising every detail. I don't want to leave, but I do, I really do.

I'm not sure what the Dauntless initiation has in store for me. In Abnegation, they spend thirty days performing community service before becoming full members, then sit side-by-side on a bench while older members wash the initiates feet. They share a meal, each person serving food to the person on his left.