DIVERGENT - Erudite: Caleb's Story

The Aptitude Test

I wait in the Abnegation line outside of the Aptitude Center, ready to go inside and take the test that determines my future faction and tells me where I really belong.

I look around me. To my right I can see one other line of people from a certain faction. Erudite, the intelligent. The curious and knowledgeable ones.

To the left are two others. They are the Candor and Amity factions. Candor value honesty and truth above all else and Amity favours in peace and harmony.

I turn my head to peer over my shoulder and look at my sister, Beatrice. She looks nervous, her skin is pasty white and she is unusually quiet which is unlike herself.

Her hair is tied back into a neat bun and she wears plain brown boots and a long grey dress. She is dressed simply and plainly just like everyone else from Abnegation.

We value selflessness and helping others who are in need. We live a straightforward life and we believe that you should never spend to much time looking in the mirror and thinking about what you look like.

I turn back to face in front of me and I see a boy from Candor leave his line and walk over towards the Abnegation line where I am standing. He stands directly in front of another fellow Abnegation boy that I do not personally know. I watch curiously.

The Candor boy is several feet taller than him and he has muscles that could have the ability to crush him within seconds. He seems intimidating and he has a face that emits seriousness and ferocity.

The Candor boy gets inches away from the Abnegation boy's face and he scowls at him in a brutal manner. The Abnegation boy wears a stiff expression. He looks forward and doesn't flinch or barely even blink. He concentrates on ignoring the Candor boy the best way he can. The Candor boy opens his mouth to speak.

"Hey, so all the food that we're not getting, you guys are giving away to the factionless? Right? Yeah?" He says. His voice is deep and very loud.

"Yeah." The Abnegation boy replies. He returns to his coy expression.

"You're a liar. Why are you lying to me? Everybody knows you keep it for yourselves, so why don't you just admit it? Huh?" The Candor boy shouts. His face turns bright red from anger. He waits for a reply but the Abnegation boy and everyone else stays silent.

"I'm talking to you. Are all you stiffs deaf or something? Hey!" The Candor boy bellows. He pushes the Abnegation boy backwards forcefully. Beatrice begins to run over to get involved but I hold out my hand and grab her to stop her. She hates it when anyone bullies a fellow Abnegation member and when they call us 'Stiffs'.

She swivels around and glares at me with her stubborn brown eyes.

"Beatrice. Don't" I say. I let go of her and she backs down. She turns around and watches as a large train arrives at the station. I watch aswell. People begin to jump and flip off of the train before it has even stopped and I instantly know who they are.

They are from the Dauntless faction. They are our soldiers and our police, the ones who are considered brave. They all wear black and maroon clothing. After they descend from the train they form a line next to the Erudite faction line. I look away and I set my eyes back on Beatrice.

She stares at the Dauntless warriors as if she worships them.

She could choose to transfer to that faction if she wanted to but it doesn't seem right for her and it doesn't feel like she would fit in.

She seems too weak and feeble with not enough muscle to me but it's her choice to make and I have to make my own.

Once you pick a faction to transfer to there is no going back. You have to fit in or join the Factionless, the ones who don't fit in anywhere. No one wants to be in that unfortunate situation.