The One Left Behind

The Choosing Ceremony

{Briana P.O.V.}
I take the bus to The Hub. It is a giant building that used to be called the Sears Tower. I have only been in the building once. When Tobias choose. Now, four years later, here I am. I am about to choose the same fate as my brother. I know I will choose Dauntless. My aptitude was for Abnegation as expected. My father made sure I would get that result. But, I know I would have gotten Dauntless if I had done the choices myself. When I get to The Hub, I walk up the stairs with all the other Abnegation. We and the Dauntless are the only ones who take the stairs. When we finally get to where the choosing ceremony is held, I get in line with all the others who will be choosing today. I am inbetween a nervous looking Amity girl and a calm Dauntless boy. The boy turns to me and says, "Hey. I'm Hector." I say, "Hello. I'm Briana." Then, he says something I didn't expect, "You're really pretty." I can tell that I am blushing furiously. I look down and mumble, "Thanks." Hector looked suprised and said, "Wow. I've never heard an Abnegation shorten 'thank you'. Are you transferring?" My head snaps up with wide eyes. I look around and whisper, "Is it that noticeable?" He chuckles and says, "A little. Now I can be hopeful that we'll be in the same faction." I smile and say, "Let me guess, staying in Dauntless?" He nods and says, "Yep. I'm Dauntless through and through, just like my sisters." He points out to girls in the sea of black clothed people. One has hair that is half shaved and the other half goes to her earlobe. The other, has long hair. They both have tan skin and their hair is brown, just like hector. The girl with the longer hair is talking to a boy with tan skin and brown hair. "The one that has her hair shaved is Lynn, the one with the longer hair is Shauna, and the guy is Zeke, Shauna's boyfriend." "Okay. Well, I guess I'll know some people when I get there." His eyes light up. "I knew it. You seem pretty confident." I smile and then I have to cover my ears from the squealing of a microphone. I turn to the front to see Marcus. He gives the same speech every year and practices it every year the day before the ceremony. So, I don't pay attention until I hear Marcus call me name. "Briana Eaton" I walk to the front where the bowls are. I grab the knife and drag it along my palm. I look to Marcus and mouth, 'see you in hell Marcus'. Then, slowly but surely, I put my hand over the Dauntless bowl and listen to the sizzling sound of my blood in the hot coals. It stays silent until Marcus says, "Dauntless" Then, the Dauntless whoop and yell. I smile and jog over to them. Zeke hand me a bandage for my hand and says, "Welcome to Dauntless! Wait, do I know you? You look really familiar." I shake my head. He just shrugs his shoulders and leads me to an empty seat. Then, I hear Marcus call the next name. "Hector Evans" I see Shauna go pale. I tap her shoulder and say, " It's ok. I was talking to him before the ceremony. You have nothing to worry about." Her eyes light up. She smiles and says something to Lynn. I can see her grin ear to ear. Hector walks up confidently, cuts his palm, and lets his blood drop into the coals. He runs over and sits next to me. He says, "I saw you made Shauna feel better. What'd you say? I've been trying to tell her that she shouldn't worry. But, she would just nod." I shrug my shoulders and say, "I said she bad nothing to worry about. Maybe she just needed to hear it from someone else." He smiles and nods. I tune out the rest of the ceremony until we are aloud to leave. The other Dauntless and I run down the stairs and to the train tracks. I stay with Hector the whole time. We start to run with the train and he gets in easily. I am one of the last transfers left. I grab the handle and swing myself in, accidentally landing on a girl in Candor clothing. I say, "Sorry. I didn't mean to fall on you." She chuckles and says, "No worries. I'm Rose." She holds out her and I shake it and say, "I'm Briana." Then, one of the Dauntless announces, "Almost time!" I find Hector and say, "Time for what?" He says, "It's almost time to jump." I nod. He holds out his hand and says, "You want to jump with me?" I smile and take his hand. "Does that answer your question?" He chuckles and nods. "On the count of 3! 1, 2, 3!" And with that, we run and jump onto a roof. The others jump and move to where Lynn stands at an edge that leads to a hole in the roof. This should be interesting.