Be Brave: A Divergent FanFiction

Chapter One

 EVERYDAY AT THE same hour, a mailman pass by my house, knocks on my door and leaves the newspaper behind. My faction obligate members to buy the newspaper everyday with the purpose of "gaining more knowledge about the world around us", but truly what they want us to know is how absurd Abnegation rules are. 

I sit in the counter and my sister, Kayla, stands in front of the stove, cooking. The little sound of the oil  boiling was the only thing heard in the room. 

When Kayla finishes, she puts three plates with the same amount of food and takes them to the table, where my mom is sitting reading the newspaper. I watch her eyes, how they move according to the order in which she reads. She is well-known for being calm and focus. 

I leap from the counter and sit on the table. My mother takes her eyes from the newspaper for a split second just to look at the food. Her mouth curls in a smile, while she hands the newspaper to Kayla. That's the morning routine. After Kayla is done with breakfast and the table is well organize, the three of us have to read the newspaper. First mom, then Kayla and afterwards me. Every morning when they read, I see the sparkles in their eyes, how they truly are interested on knowing what Abnegation is doing now. I can't say the same of myself. 

Kayla passes me the newspaper and I narrow my eyes at the front page, not really interested. I pass my fingers rapidly around the newspaper. "There," I say when I put the newspaper down. When I lift my eyes my mom was giving me a knowing smile, while Kayla was giving me a disapproving look. Being scold by Kayla is normal, she always is marking my mistakes, while being scold by my mom is another thing. 

"Today is the day," mom says.

"Yes," I reply.

"Are you nervous?" 

I look at my food for a moment. Today is the day I will take my aptitude test that will show me which of the five factions I belong in. Tomorrow, at the Choosing Ceremony, I will decide on a faction; I will decide the rest of my life; I will decide my destiny. 

"No," I say. "The test don't tell you who you are."

"Right." Kayla scoffs. "The test tells you were you belong."

I nod, although I didn't quite believe that. "What were your results?" I blurt before I could stop myself. 

She raises an eyebrow. "You aren't suppose to ask that question, but it was Erudite."

"You went according to your test, then?" 

"Exactly." She smiles. "That's how you are suppose to do too."

"You should get going," mom announces. "Its getting late." She puts a strand of her hair on the back of her ear. My mother is beautiful. She has perfect blonde hair, curled at the bottom. Her eyes are blue and everything about her expresses intelligence. Her body is thin and fragile. That's probably the reason she gets sick quite often. 

I grab my bag and start to walk to the door when my mom puts a hand on my shoulder. I look back and she is holding my glasses. "Do I have to?" I yap. 

"Rules are rules," she state. Sharply, I grab the glasses and put them on. My vision became blurry and I groan. Mom kisses my cheek and whispers, "Good luck, pumpkin."

A smile curled in my face at her nickname. That's what my father use to call me. Pumpkin. He had this thing about me being chubby when I was little and always smiling around like a pumpkin. He died last year in war. I never actually knew how he died, because mom doesn't like talking about that. That's the thing that makes me feel the most guiltiest. Dad is gone and what I want is leave this place.

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I sit on bus which stink of exhaust. Every time it hits a patch of uneven pavement, it jostles me from side to side, even though I am holding my sister's hand for balance. She has my mother's blonde hair, narrow face and my father's green eyes and chubby cheeks. I don't look like her at all. Complete opposite, actually. Some people don't even believe we are sisters.

I turn my attention to the window. The bus passes under the elevated tracks–which are only use by the Dauntless. Six years ago, some volunteers from Abnegation repaved some of the roads until they ran out of materials. Some of the roads are cracked and patchy, so it's not safe to drive in them. Its not like I wanted too, anyways. 

The bus stops in front of the school and I get up, letting go of Kayla's hand. Our classes are cut in half today, so we will attend all of them before the aptitude test, which takes place after lunch. My hands are already sweaty and I could felt my heart beat getting faster by the minute.

"Good Luck." Kayla nods. "You must think about the family."

I nod and continue to walk, leaving Kayla behind me, waving. My eyes scan the hallways. It was like ever sixteen year old was anxious to know there faction. Anxious to leave or stay. I pause at a window, breathing slowly. I have to calm myself before entering the classroom.

When I was ready to go, calm and settle, I see the Dauntless. Everyday, the dauntless prove their bravery by jumping from a moving train. They are pierced, tattooed, and black-clothed. I wonder where do they get the courage of doing such crazy things. Outside the building  there is a large metal sculpture  that the Dauntless climb after school, daring each other to go higher and higher. 

The train whistles blares, the light fixed to the front of train click on and off as the train hurtles past the school. Young men and women in dark clothing hurl themselves from the moving train, some of them rolling or dropping, other stumbling a few steps before regaining there balance. Watching them doesn't perplex me, its the other way around.

I turn away from the window and continue to my corresponding room. I sigh and nod my head. I'm ready to know my true self. I'm ready to know where I belong. The question is–What will I choose? Erudite, Candor, Amity, Abnegation or Dauntless? No matter what the test says, after all, I am the one who makes the decision.