Divergent (Fanfic)

Chapter 9

Our Initiation started today - but we didn't have to do very much. They asked us our names, that was all.

You hardly need to be placed under the influence of a truth serum for that.

The Leaders who would be in charge of our initiation were called Tristan and Tom. They looked and acted so different from one another.

After dinner, we were shown to the apartments in which we would sleep. We all had to pick an apartment, with two boys and two girls in each.

There were sixteen initiates for Candor this year - nine girls and seven boys. This meant that one room would have three girls and one boy in. Whilst the boys fought over who would get to be the 'one,' the girls split into pairs easily, with a group of three happily together. I was with Chelsea, of course. The other two pairs were of girls named Emily and Lily, two Candor-born Initiates, and Jade and Leigh, an Amity and an Abnegation transfer respectively. The group of three consisted of three Amity initiates - Kristen, Alison and Amy.

The boys finally came to an agreement - Chelsea and I would be sharing with Nathan and Ross, an Amity and an Abnegation transfer. A Candor-born boy named Jason was sharing with Kristen, Alison and Amy. Adam and Paul would share with Emily and Lily, and Jordan and James went with Jade and Leigh.

I didn't really know any of these people, of course.

I only recognised them from school, but we had all learnt each other's names earlier in the day, when we arrived at the Merciless Mart.

Seven Candor Initiates. Five Amity transfers. Two Abnegation transfer. No Dauntless transfers. Two Erudite transfers.

We all went into our rooms. There were two bunk beds. Chelsea and I immediately went over to the one that sat against a plain wall, leaving the boys to take the bed by the window. Chelsea lay down on the bottom bunk, so I climbed up onto the top one, and sat with my legs dangling over the ladder.

Ross and Nathan exchanged a glance and shrugged. Ross sat on the bottom bunk of the other bed, and Nathan climbed up.

'So,' said Nathan. An Amity transfer. I wouldn't expect so many people to transfer from Amity - kindness and honesty seemed like similar virtues, but the Candor can be honest to the point of brutality. Also, Amity and Candor were known to be faction rivals. 'Erudite transfers. Why'd you go from there to here?'

'Why do you think?' Chelsea said from below me.

'What about you two?' I said casually, trying not to seem too worried or out of place. 'Amity and Abnegation. Aren't they, like, rivals with Candor, or something?'

'Yeah,' said Ross. 'More Amity than Abnegation, though.'

'You'd be surprised how many people from Amity transfer,' said Nathan. 'It can get pretty boring over there.'

'Isn't it relaxing though?' I said. 'No pressure to be extremely smart, or selfless, or brave, or honest. You just have to be kind to people.'

'Kindness and selflessness are closely linked,' said Nathan. 'But, in Abnegation, I'm assuming it's more selflessness you focus on.' His tone was slightly mocking.

'Yeah,' said Ross.

'Well, in Erudite, you have to be way too smart,' said Chelsea. 'The Initiation is probably too hard, that's why I came here. Well, that and the aptitude test.'

'Thought we weren't allowed to talk about that?' Said Ross.

'Well, it's bound to come up, with the whole 'total honesty' thing,' said Chelsea, and her tone told me that she shrugged.

Just then, Tristan came in, holding a bundle of black and white clothes, plus four toothbrushes, two tubes of toothpaste and four hairbrushes.

'This is all you're going to need,' he said. 'Everything else is already in the bathroom.' Chelsea and I giggled when his eyes set on us as he said that.

Ross got up and took the pile of stuff from Tristan. He held the bundle up to me and Chelsea, and we took a hairbrush and set of clothes each. Ross then offered it to Nathan, and went to put the toothpaste and toothbrushes in the bathroom. 'Ross, your Abnegation is showing,' I said as he came back into the room, running the brush through my hair.

He pulled a face at me, and sat back on his bed.

I put down the brush and unfolded the clothes. Two black shirts, two white shirts, two black pairs of jeans, two white pairs of jeans. A few pairs of underwear. A black and a white dress, a black and a white pair of shorts. A long, white shirt to sleep in.

God, these clothes were simple.

Chelsea had the same clothes as I did, and the boys had an extra shirt and an extra pair of shorts instead of dresses, but I probably wouldn't wear the dresses anyway. Chelsea would, though - we'd probably swap some of our clothes soon, even though they were identical.

'Where the hell are we supposed to get changed?' I said, looking around the apartment. The walls and floors were all white, with a black Candor symbol in the middle. There was no doorway into the bathroom, and the shower was completely see-through. No privacy. Nothing to hide. It had Candor written all over it.

'Right here,' said Nathan pulling his shirt off.

'I'm not changing in front of you!' Chelsea and I said simultaneously.

'You're gonna have to, aren't you!' Said Nathan, laughing as he switched his red shorts for black ones. I was looking away, and I assumed Chelsea was, too. 'Okay, I'm changed, stop hiding!' He said. I peeked through my fingers, and he was fully clothed.

'It's fine, Chels,' I said.

'God, what're we supposed to do?' She moaned.

'I'll just...' Ross disappeared under the covers, giving us as much privacy as we were going to get. Nathan, however, didn't move.

Rolling my eyes and sighing, I climbed under the covers. 'Chels, just get under the covers,' I said, making sure I was covered up to my neck.

I could feel Chelsea moving below me, and we got changed under the covers. Ross did the same, and Nathan just sat there, laughing.

'Well, let's see what we have in here,' he said once we were all changed, walking through the empty doorframe that lead into the bathroom.

'Shower... That'll be interesting... Toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, conditioner...' I heard the sound of a cupboard opening. 'Whoa! Girls, there's stuff for you in here too!'

'Get out of there!' Chelsea and I gasped, jumping from out beds and bolting into the bathroom, fully conscious of our bare legs, where Nathan sat on the floor in front of a cupboard with a few boxes of... Girl stuff.

Even though it had been supplied by the Candor, it was still quite embarrassing. 'Lets just agree that nobody opens this cupboard,' said Chelsea, 'but us.' She indicated to myself and her, ignoring my look.

'This will be fun to tease you with.'

'Get out!' Chelsea and I shrieked, both pushing him towards the doorframe, but we were all laughing.