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CHAPTER ONE
THERE IS ONEpanel in the hallway upstairs Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair
I sit on the stool andThe strands fall on the floor in a dull, blond ring
When she finishes, she pulls my hair away from my face and twists it into a knot I note how calm she looks and how focused she is She is well-practiced in the art of losing herself I can’t say the same of myself
I sneak a look atattention--not for the sake of vanity, but out of curiosity A lot can happen to a person’s appearance in three months In my reflection, I see a narrow face, wide, round eyes, and a long, thin nose--I still look like a little girl, though sometime in the last few months I turned sixteen The other factions celebrate birthdays, but we don’t It would be self-indulgent
"There," she says when she pins the knot in place Her eyes catch mine in theme, she smiles at our reflection I frown a little Why doesn’t she repri at myself?
"So today is the day," she says
"Yes," I reply
"Are you nervous?"
I stare into my own eyes for a moment Today is the day of the aptitude test that will shohich of the five factions I belong in And to Ceremony, I will decide on a faction; I will decide the rest of my life; I will decide to stay with my family or abandon thee our choices"
"Right" She s my hair"
She kisses my cheek and slides the panel over the mirror I think my mother could be beautiful, in a different world Her body is thin beneath the gray robe She has high cheekbones and long eyelashes, and when she lets her hair down at night, it hangs in waves over her shoulders But she ether to the kitchen On these s when my brother makes breakfast, and my father’s hand skims my hair as he reads the newspaper, and s that I feel guiltiest for wanting to leave them
The bus stinks of exhaust Every time it hits a patch of uneven paveripping the seat to keep myself still
My older brother, Caleb, stands in the aisle, holding a railing above his head to keep himself steady We don’t look alike He has reen eyes and dier, that collection of features looked strange, but now it suits hiirls at school would stare at him
He also inherited ave his seat to a surly Candor ht
The Candor man wears a black suit with a white tie--Candor standard uniform Their faction values honesty and sees the truth as black and white, so that is what they wear
The gaps between the buildings narrow and the roads are s that was once called the Sears Toe call it the Hub--e, a black pillar in the skyline The bus passes under the elevated tracks I have never been on a train, though they never stop running and there are tracks everywhere Only the Dauntless ride theation repaved some of the roads They started in the middle of the city and worked their way outward until they ran out of materials The roads where I live are still cracked and patchy, and it’s not safe to drive on them We don’t have a car anyway
Caleb’s expression is placid as the bus sways and jolts on the road The gray robe falls from his arm as he clutches a pole for balance I can tell by the constant shift of his eyes that he is watching the people around us--striving to see only theet hiation, values selflessness
The bus stops in front of the school and I get up, scooting past the Candor rab Caleb’s ar, and I’ve never been that graceful
The Upper Levels building is the oldest of the three schools in the city: Lower Levels, Mid-Levels, and Upper Levels Like all the other buildings around it, it is eeach other to go higher and higher Last year I watched one of theet the nurse
"Aptitude tests today," I say Caleb is not quite a year older than I am, so we are in the sah the front doors My hten the second alk in The at to devour as et of this last day It is likely that ill not walk these halls again after the Choosing Ceremony--once we choose, our new factions will be responsible for finishing our education
Our classes are cut in half today, so ill attend all of them before the aptitude tests, which take place after lunch My heart rate is already elevated
"You aren’t at all worried about what they’ll tell you?" I ask Caleb
We pause at the split in the hallhere he will go one way, toward Advanced Math, and I will go the other, toward Faction History
He raises an eyebrow at me "Are you?"
I could tell him I’ve been worried for weeks about what the aptitude test will tell ation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, or Dauntless?