Other Side (A Divergent/ Eric fan fiction)

1| Mind

1| Mind

The sun beams down onto the top of my head, and everytime I place my hand over it, I feel the warmth on my skin. I am on my knees picking the red strawberries from the bushes. My mother is next to me, doing the same. Except, her basket is nearly filled to the maximun with ready-to-pick- berries, and mines halfway full with slightly bruised ones. I was never good at farming, even though that was basically all we did all day.

My mother glances over at me from across the row of bushes, sending me a smile. She is always happy, even through the hot sun, earth-stained clothing, and the fact that her daughter may be leaving her in two days. It always amazed me.

I smile back at her, feeling beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I wipe it away with the back of my hand. I am looking forward to a cold shower after we are done.

"Skylar," I stand up onto my feet, turning around to face Anthony, the man who collects our pickings and sends them off. Anthony wasn't much older than I was, he was only 18. As always, he wore his stained red shirt and baggy orange pants, along with his brown cap that covered his dark blonde hair. "You finish with that?" He points to the basket. Anthony was also my boyfriend.

I hand him the basket and he leans in, placing a quick peck on top of my lips. My mother notices and smiles even bigger. "Miss Rolland," Anthony hugs her. Typical Amity greeting. I look up at the sky, noticing that the sun was beginning to be blocked by the huge clouds.

"Skylar, why don't you head back home, and prepare some dinner." My mother suggests. I nod, running the palm of my hands down my slacks to wipe off the remaining strawberry juice. My clothes were going to be washed anyway.

I get back home before the sky turns grey and the air turns cold. As soon as I enter the house, the first thing my eyes land on are the incomplete paintings laying against the wall to dry. I walk over to them, gently tracing a finger over the paint to make sure it was dry. My mother paints a lot, something Amity was always skilled at, as well as singing and playing instruments. But I couldn't do none of those things, which made me feel like I didn't belong here, like I didn't fit in.

After taking a cold shower, I begin preparing dinner. Midway through chopping up the carrots for the stew, the front door opens and my mother, who looked like she had aged since I last saw her, walks in. She always worked too hard, and it would scare me into thinking that she was going to have a heart attack.

"That smells wonderful, love." She says from behind my shoulder, peering down at the boiling pot on the stove.

As we have dinner, the topic comes up. The topic which I try my hardest to avoid, which is completely silly as it is going to occur whether I like it or not.

"So, tomorrow is the Aptitude test," My mother says. I just nod, filling my mouth with the soup to avoid any further discussion.

The Aptitude test is a yearly assessment taken by 16 year olds to help them decide which faction they should choose at the Choosing ceremony the next day. Most people are excited for the testing, but I am far from it.

I know that during the simulation I will have to face my worst fears, and I don't know how I will deal with that. And to top it all off, I didn't know what faction to choose- whether to leave my mother and Anthony all on their own here and finally fit in, or to stay but never fit in myself.

"What are you thinking of choosing?" She asks me finally, after I swallow down the mouthful of soup.

"I think I'll stay here." I reply, dipping my spoon into the hot liquid. My mother smiles wide, and it breaks my heart to see her so happy about a lie.