Transparent: A Divergent FanFiction (Book One) ©

Chapter 3

                  Barely scraping by, Danny and I managed to catch the bus just as it was beginning to pull away from the curb. It reeked of fumes and exhaust, but it beat having to walk the whole way back to the candor sector of the city. Settling down into an empty seat, I watched as the scenery passed by. The ride was bumpy and uneven for the first few blocks, but eventually the pavements became smooth as we head deeper into the heart of the city.

                The bus gave a groaning shudder as it stopped at the next sign and people began to pile in. A frazzled looking erudite woman stumbled in last, arms brimming with thick books and binders, her eyes searching for an empty seat. I glanced around as well, and when I saw that there were no other places available, I automatically waved her over.

             “Hey, you can sit here,” I said as I stepped into the aisle and held onto the railing for balance.

                “Thank you,” she said gratefully as she slumped into the seat.

                  “It’s nothing,” I answered with a little shrug.

               Danny stayed quiet throughout the rest of the ride, and it wasn’t until we’d gotten off and were just a few blocks from the Merciless Mart that he spoke.

               “What was that back there?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

                    “What?” I answered, sincerely confused.

               “That. Why did you give your seat to that girl? You didn’t have to you know, there was another abnegation man there who was about to do it.”

                “Oh,” was all I could say. I hadn’t really thought about it, I’d just acted on instinct when I saw the chair dilemma. “I didn’t see him, so I just figured it wasn’t a big deal.”

                    Danny nodded, accepting my answer, and then he let out a loud laugh.

               “You should have seen the look the stiff gave you when you beat him to the punch. Haha, his eyes were like saucers!”

                   I laughed as well, imagining the sight. Candor stereotype seemed to be that since we were always bluntly honest, something that was often perceived as purposeful rudeness, we must also be bad-mannered and disrespectful. It was always fun to defy the labels they gave us.

                    Our leisurely walk was interrupted when I happened to glance at my watch.

               “We have five minutes to get there if we don’t want Mara to murder us,” I said, jabbing Danny in the ribs and showing him the time.

               “Shit, let’s go then,” he said as we both took off, sprinting towards the Merciless Mart; where all the important debates and meetings were held.

               In school, they taught us that the Merciless Mart had once been known as The Merchandise Mart. However, after the destruction that happened years ago, the only letters that remained were MERC IS MART.  The nickname stuck because of our faction’s merciless but honest characteristics.

                The massive building loomed overhead, at least eighteen stories high, and it cast a wide shadow on its surroundings. Bursting through the large glass doors, Danny and I raced like madmen throughout the black and white corridors. What was probably confusing to any other visitor of a different faction, was easily navigate-able to us candor born citizens.

                  Our shoes smacked loudly against the marble floors, and it wasn’t until we’d rounded the next corner and boarded the elevator, that we finally hunched over and attempted to catch our breaths. Getting off at the fourth floor, Danny and I continued through the maze of checkered floors and then stopped when we reached the door labeled ‘Debate Room 6’.

                 The large candor symbol, a set of unbalanced scales bound by a circle, took up the center of the room, with each podium resting on opposing sides. Mara and her opponent were already at their places and I could see we’d barely made it in time.

               Already there were people sitting in the raised benches that formed a semicircle around the podiums. My eyes scanned the sea of black and white, and when I saw my mother I grinned and jogged over to her.

                  “Told you we’d make it,” I said as I approached her.

                  “Yeah, and may I point out just how dutifully on time we are?” Danny added with a playful grin.

                 “Glad you boys made it,” she said, giving us a warm smile and scooting over so we’d be able to sit in the same row.

                 Mara stood by her podium looking completely at ease. Though she was eighteen, she was often confused for a younger age because of her child-like features; big eyes, short stature, and bright expression. It wasn’t until she opened her mouth that she revealed the real land-shark she was. The epitome of candor, Mara was honest to a fault; saying anything without the slightest concern for what others thought.

                  It was just this trait that made her such an excellent debater. She could argue for hours, never letting up or backing down. This girl who looked as harmless as a kitten had the ability to tear other people down with no more than a few words. She wasn’t malicious about it, she was merely thorough and persistent if she believed in the cause she was speaking for.

               As the moderator took his place in between Mara and her opponent’s podium, a thick silence fell over the room out of respect.

             “Welcome everyone, to our semifinal round of debates. Today, we shall be hearing opposing arguments from two of our most highly ranked debaters; Ms. Mara Stronghold and Mr. James Tucker.”

                 Mara and her opponent, James, nodded at each other and then waved at the crowd. The mediator then raised his hands to us in the crowd, indicating that it was time to stand and pledge our total honesty and devotion to this important event.

                Getting to my feet, I held both my hands out in front of my body, palms open and facing upward; symbolizing the candor scale, a sign of the constant battle between truth and deception.

             “Dishonesty is rampant, dishonesty is temporary, dishonesty makes evil possible,” everyone said in unison, our voices melding into one, “Dishonesty leads to suspicion, suspicion leads to conflict, honesty leads to peace,” suddenly, we weren’t individuals but part of a whole living organism, “Truth makes us transparent, truth makes us strong, truth makes us inextricable.”

                   As our pledge came to an end, we all dropped our hands and took our seats again. It was in these soul-touching moments that I valued my faction all the more; it was the feeling of being a part of something more than myself that made me want to stay in candor forever.

                    Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged.

               Though not in the literal sense the dauntless took it, we too were completely free, with nothing to bind or restrain our power of honesty. Our world was beautiful, one where we never had to wonder if we were being manipulated, where we never have to evaluate or fear ulterior intentions; everyone was transparent, and with it came a sense of complete and utter serenity.

                 More than a community, we were like a giant family, because without the veil of dishonesty to shield one person from the other, we were free to really know and love our family, friends, neighbors and peers. Dishonesty was the invisible monster that allowed evil to live on; hidden from the eyes of those who would fight it. A lifetime of sincerity made us and defined us as a community.

            It was simple; what you saw was what you got.

            We were authentic. We had no suspicions. We were at peace with not only ourselves but with those around us.

            We were candor.