Divergent (Fanfic)

Chapter 1

I pulled the brush through my hair, dragging it past my shoulders and over my chest with each stroke. When all of my black hair was straight and untangled, falling past my shoulders and cutting off suddenly at my elbows, I put the brush back in the drawer.

Today was the aptitude test.

My name is Melanie Parker. The Faction that I had been born into was Erudite. And I fit in perfectly well.

After a war ended, the leaders of our country derived a system - to split up the residents into five factions: Amity, Abnegation, Candor, Erudite and Dauntless.

The Erudite value intelligence above all. We blame human ignorance and error for the faults of our society. Everything comes down to logic and reasoning. In Erudite, we are all required to wear an item of blue clothing - for me, that meant a blue t-shirt with jeans. I fit in with the Erudite - I am intelligent.

The Abnegation value selflessness. Their clothes are all grey and simple, and they pick up a new set once every six months. Female Abnegation typically wear their hair in a bun, and the men cut their hair short. Erudite hold a fierce grudge against Abnegation. They are secret-keepers, and are not nearly as selfless as they seem. With that said, I still wouldn't fit in with the Abnegation - I am selfish.

The Amity value kindness and friendship, and are usually born as pacifists, and believe in pacifism. They love music, art, games, and laughter, and greet each other with hugs, and dress in red and yellow, comfortable clothes. Erudite and Amity were on good terms, but the Amity were know to not get along with the Candor. I could probably fit in with the Amity - I value friendship, and I love music!

The Candor value honesty, and blame dishonesty for the downfall of the society. They are trustworthy, and learn to read people's body language to see if somebody is lying. They believe in fairness and impartiality, but also that the Candor believe that the truth is black-and-white, so those are the colours they wore. "Those who seek peace will always deceive to keep the waters calm." That's why they rival with the Amity. I don't think I would fare well in Candor - I am trustworthy, but I lie.

The fifth faction is Dauntless, who value bravery, and believe that the only was to overcome fears is to face them. The Dauntless are marked with tattoos and piercings, dyed hair and provocative clothes. You can often see Dauntless jumping on and off of moving trains, to show off their bravery. I heard that their initiation process was the hardest, and that they eliminate the most people - but this was interesting to me. I don't know if I'm brave.

'Melanie! Come on, you'll miss the bus!' I heard my mum's voice travel up the stairs and into my room.

'Coming!' I called back, and stood up. My thick-rimmed, black glasses were sitting on the dresser, and I hooked them over my ears. Almost everybody in the Erudite faction wore glasses, no matter how perfect their vision was. Most people wore fake glasses - and it was obvious. Mine looked like a pair of thick-rimmed sunglasses from an accessory store, with the lenses popped out and replaced with see-through ones.

I went downstairs, and mum handed me a plate with a slice of toast coated in jam. After eating it quickly, I walked along the road to the bus stop at the bottom of the slope. Once the us arrived, my best friend, Chelsea, was waiting for me. She had saved me a seat, like always, as she got on the bus four stops before me.

'Nervous?' She said after we greeted each other.

'Not really,' I replied. 'You?'

'Kinda.'

We ended up talking about the jobs we would like to have after Initiation. I wanted to research the stimulation serums - I don't know why it interested me so much, though, as I've never been under stimulation before. The initiation in a Erudite consisted of IQ tests and studying a specific subject to take an exam in.

When we got to school, we headed off to our first lesson - sociology. In Erudite, we studied five main subjects:

1. Sociology, to understand how society works.

2. Psychology, to see how a person functions within that society.

2. Mathematics, to provide further study in science, medicine, engineering, and technology.

3. Science, to understand how the world operates and to broaden the field of knowledge and comfort.

4. Communication, to speak and write correctly.

5. History, to learn to imitate successes and to not repeat errors.

After lunch, when the tests began, we sat in the Cafeteria, where we would wait to be called into the stimulation rooms for our tests.

Chelsea and I went and sat at the Erudite table and pulled out a stack of books. But we were both too nervous to read.