12

Felix and I open the car's small blue door. We've seen the erudite sector before, but from a distance. Glass buildings loom over us, tall and spindly. Crowds of blue clad folk of all ages walk in groups, chatting about famous quotes and books. I don't reconize anyone, which makes me feel lonely. Felix stands tall beside me, but we both look out of place amongst the blue clothed erudite. Jeanine begins to walk away leading us ininates through the crowds of curious erudite. Some of the initiates were originally erudite, while the rest of us are faction transfers. Our footsteps crackle on the cobblestone pavements, echoing back to us in the sea of blue and glass buildings. Jeanine points to her left, "These buildings here are the libraries." Tall buildings stretch up, their glass walls allowing me to glimpse the tallest bookshelves I've ever seen. All the multi coloured spines of books, ladders and neat rows, give the libraries a feeling of tidiness and sloppiness at the same time. I can't wait to go in there sometime. Felix rubs my fingers gently, warming my numb hand with his soft, sweet touch. I almost forgot that he was holding me, as it felt quite beautiful. Maybe even natural.

Jeanine comes to an abrupt halt. "Here we are initiates, the initiate housing faculty. You'll be living here for now. I'll leave you with Ariana."

I only notice the young woman when Jeanine has said her name. The lady's cheeks are rosy with chill, but her skin is of the palest white hue. Her hair is a dark muddy coloured brown, as muddy as the remains of the swamp. Ariana's facial expression is serious, strict and knowledgable, just the expected look of an erudite member. Ariana wears simple black framed glasses, and her casual blue dress seems as serious as she appears. Her eyes glimmer, shinning a deep azure blue, reminding me of the darkest depths of the waterfall back at the dauntless compound.

The thought of the waterfall sends a sting through me. A pang of sadness and pain. A pain in my heart, and chest that spreads throughout my weary body. Is Cal sitting in the tattoo shop sketching the letter t that he spoke of? Or inking tattoos on customers? Is dad missing me, loathing me or both? Does the complex feel lonely without me and Felix, or is the excitement of new initiates pushing away the loss of us? Are there initiates walking near my house, or enjoying the waterfall?

Felix seems to sense my discomfort. I feel his hand graze my shoulder, his touch warm and his gaze sympathetic. "I miss them too. Even your pansycake brother." He whispers, his voice gentle, mocking, kind and sly. He really seems to be dauntless, not erudite. His teasing is normal, but I feel as if he's treating me in a special way. A few days ago, this would have discomforted me but I think we've both grown since then. Felix is acting like we were best friends for our whole life, which maybe we should have been. We're very alike, now that I think of it. We match in an odd way, the perfection of a best friend relationship that we never had. It's nice that we aren't fighting though, for now I have at least one person by my side. I feel his warm hand stroking my hair admiringly, soothing and relaxing me. Somehow, he reminds me of Cal. Felix's touch sends shivers down my body, and fills my very heart and soul with an admiration and nervousness of him. I want to be a friend of his instead of a mere aquaintace, but I feel as if he is my friend. There is something magical about the happy fluttering that fills my chest for the first time. A fluttering caused by him. This emotion, this joyful feeling, I just don't understand it. I've never felt that way about any person, especially Felix. What is it?

Ariana looks at all of the initiates before her, studying each of us with a deep interest. "You all choose erudite because you were intelligent I hope." She says. Her voice is a perplexing one, unlike any I've heard before. Her voice isn't deep, but it's more deep than high. Her tone is a calm and crisp one, making her seem superior to us in every way. "Those of you who are not curious, hard working, intelligent or gifted do not belong in out faction." Felix shudders slightly at this comment. It does not seem like he believes he is any of those things and I don't see him that way either. Felix has always seemed dauntless to the core. Ariana continues, "I encourage questions, for gaining answers is what erudite enjoy most. Our initation is not an easy one, and is not for the ignorant or faint hearted. Those of you that cannot meet the minimum intelligence level after rigorous studying shall be discarded from our faction, to become factionless." A gasp breaks out among the shocked initiates. "An erudite should be able to succeed when they have studied, even under such a pressure. Those of you that do not make effort do not belong in erudite, as an erudite will try hard and study until they are sure of their failure."

"What is the minimum intelligence level?" I ask, regretting shouting the question as soon as it has left my lips.

Ariana smiles. "I like your curiosity. A little curiosity keeps us learning, but I do not wish to be interrupted. I know that members of your old faction, dauntless,  are used to being interrupted, as they are loud, rambunctious and obnoxious, and such habits must have been taught to you, but in erudite calling out or speaking over one another is not tolerated. Raise your hand if you wish to speak, or, instead say, excuse me but I want to say something. But do not scream and shout as you do so."

"Leave Vic alone. She did nothing wrong." Felix says bravely. His tone is rude and defiant, defiantly dauntless like behaviour and not erudite. I would not of spoken to a woman with obvious power in such a way, but she doesn't seem angry. Ariana laughs.

"In dauntless, there is nothing wrong with such actions," she admits, "but here they are considered impolite. I would advise you not to speak to your instructors in such tones either, for they will not be as forgiving of it as me."  I raise my hand, remembering what she said, and doing all I can to restrain myself from yelling at her for not answering my question. "That's better. What is your question?"

"What is the minimum intelligence level?" I ask, controlling the volume of my voice this time.

"Seventy percent. Eighty five percent is our best score so far." Ariana states, promptly. This sends up another hushed gasp. The initiation sounds difficult. Felix twitches uncomfortably. Am I smart enough to pass, or will I become factionless? "Any other questions?" The initiates are silent, so she keeps talking. "Good. Then follow me, and I'll show you your sleeping quarters."

Ariana opens the small door of the Initiate Housing Faculty, and walks inside, leaving us to scramble at her heel. For such a short woman, she has great speed. Me and Felix have no trouble keeping up as we are used to sprinting after people, but the other initiates seem to struggle. "I hate the erudite speed." Felix mumbles.

"Hate is a strong word." I whisper back.

The corridors of the glass building shimmer in the bright glow of the sun. Every so often Ariana stops at a door and points to three people of the same gender, telling them that this is their room. At first it seems as though she chooses the roommates carefully, but I realize after a while that it is truly random. Eventually, we get to the second floor. Ariana points to three different boys. Felix is pointed at, so he reluctantly gives my hand a final reassuring squeeze before entering his new room. Soon there are only three girls left. I am about to enter the final room when Ariana taps my shoulder.

"What is your name dauntless girl?" she asks, the curiosity plain in her voice.

"Vic." I mutter, unwilling to speak about myself. What if she finds out about my divergence? Everything I say to an erudite could be used as a clue to figure me out. Ariana stares at me peculiarly, as if trying to understand me. For a moment I think she is going to ask me something, but she doesn't.

"Welcome to erudite Vic." It sounds odd to have an erudite utter my name, but she doesn't seem to think it weird. "You have a curious name. What does Vic stand for? Victoria? Vicky?"

"My name is just Vic. I like it, but what do you find curious about it?" I ask, disliking her more and more.

"It's just a strange name for a girl. I would think of it as an uncommon name."

"My mother named me, not me. Even if I could change my name I wouldn't." I tell her truthfully, even though I feel an urge to lie. "My mother's heart was set on that name."

Ariana smiles thoughtfully, "What was your aptitude Vic?" What should I tell her? I don't wish to withhold information as it seems wrong to do so. It seems like lies. Surely, not telling the whole truth shouldn't count as lying? The candor say it does, but that doesn't matter now.

"Erudite. Why?" I am not lying really. I did get erudite as well as candor, dauntless and abnegation.

"Why the hesitation?" Ariana wonders.

"I wasn't sure why you were asking, and I was trying to figure out what it would mean to you." I say, hoping that I sound confident. Ariana seems to buy my story though.

"Understandable I suppose. I wondered you see, as you have such a dauntless personality. Now, why don't you go meet your roommates? I have business to attend to, as your initiation begins tomorrow." My instructor says, beginning to walk away with her black heels clicking on the smooth floor. I stare at the room behind me. My fellow roommates entered while I was talking to Ariana, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Does Ariana suspect anything? The erudite aren't known for their intelligence for nothing. Has she figured me out? No, surely she can't have yet. She has no real evidence that can be used against me. Could I flee the sector? Not likely. Besides, I haven't been caught yet. I feel anxious about meeting my roommates. Could they suspect me for my divergence? Yes, if they are truly erudite they have the possibility of putting the jumbled puzzle pieces together. But, maybe I have less chance with them than with Jeanine or Ariana. Why delay? It seems selfish to keep others waiting anyway. I push open the door and step inside coyly.

The room is a simple one, with the same glass walls as the rest of the building. The room is empty apart from the three beds pressed against the walls. There are also three cupboards, presumably for hanging clothes in. The cupboards are made of polished dark oak wood, shining in the evening light. The bedspread is blue and white, looking crisp, clean and fresh. Two girls sit upon their beds, speaking in hushed tones. They turn their gaze to me. One of the girls is dressed in the amity red and yellow, while the other wears erudite blue. She's erudite born. The amity born girl walks up to me grinning.

"Hey, how are you? My name's Rune! It's so very nice to meet you!" Rune says heartily.

"Amity." The other girl mutters, her head buried in a book. Rune takes no notice, and begins to pump my hand up and down cheerfully.

"So what's your name?" she asks. I look Rune over. She has very dark coloured skin, skin that reminds me of fresh soil in colour. Her eyes are a rich green, shinning like a summer leaf caked in dew. I've barely seen dew, but I know it sparkles with a transparent magical shine. Her clothes cling to her thin body, and her black hair stretches down her back, tangled and knotted. Rune's fingers are tough and leathery from farm work.

"Vic." I answer.

"You two should really read this." the other girl says, "I found these books in my cupboard. There's also erudite clothes in there. You to should change." She adds, staring distastefully at our old factions' colours.

"Oh, Genevieve. Does it matter so?" asks the cheerful Rune.

"Yes it does. Your erudite now, not amity Rune." Genevieve retorts.

"Yeah, Rune. It does kind of matter." I admit, trying to tell the truth. "Red does go nice on you though."

"It's not what goes nice." Genevieve scoffs, sounding shocked, "You should be embarrassed about your disrespect to your new faction."

"So?" I say bravely, "I'm just telling the truth."

"We're erudite not candor." she says flatly, "and you dauntless should really watch your tones."

"I think she's sweet." Rune exclaims in the typical amity way.

"So what?" Genevieve mumbles, uttering something under her breath as she turns her attention back to her book. I'm not fond of her, as her tone is as rude as her harsh words. Genevieve has blonde hair, sky blue eyes and a face that may have been pretty if it weren't adorned with a sinister scowl. Her skin is pale white, and she looks fragile. Her appearance makes you think that she could shatter into a thousand pieces if she fell. Her nails look thin and dainty, she doesn't wear glasses like most of the erudite do either. She appears delicate and thin, but her sharp tongue and cruel words don't match her vain look at all. Somehow I still think her vain, not just by appearance but by tone as well. Genevieve has the common erudite expression on her face, interested and experienced.

I open my cupboard and pull out a blue dress. I make sure that the sleeves cover the letter V that Cal inked onto my arm. I see a full length mirror on the cabinet's door and turn to look at my reflection when I'm changed. I look like an erudite now, but I can still see small details in myself that make me think, dauntless. My hair flows around me, untidy and messy from the day's running. A corner of my black inked tattoo sticks out from beneath the short, puffed blue sleeves. I'm not used to wearing dresses, and I feel exposed without something wrapped around my legs like a soft blanket of reassurance. I'm feel odd with my legs bare. I roll up my pile of black clothes and say softly to Rune, "I'm going for a walk."

I leave the Initiate Housing Faculty, wanting to do something kind and selfless. I don't like looking into a mirror for to long. It makes me feel vain and selfish, admiring yourself feels so wrong, when there are others that are not admired by anyone. I want to help someone. I walk along the crowded erudite sector, blending in with the others. I wonder if anyone would notice if I just left. If I ran away from the erudite. But where could I go? I can't return to dauntless complex. I made my choice, and I chose to live here for life. Why am I being so selfish tonight? There are factionless men, woman and children that would die to be in erudite if they could, just so they could have a real home. So they could belong.

I stray away from the crowds, and begin walking into an abandoned area. A factionless slum. I see a man sitting alone under a ruined building, hoping for shelter from the wind. He is ragged and dirty. A factionless. His eyes search me pleadingly. "These are for you." I tell him, "I wanted to give these old dauntless clothes to someone that could use them."

"You used to be dauntless, I take it?" the man asks. His beard is grey and his face is crumpled with age. "I was once too."

"The old age thing-"

"I left. I can't stand their violence, and I'm divergent. Didn't want them to catch me." The way he can say this so calmly shocks me. "Your a divergent too. Aren't you?"

"How did you-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"I had aptitude for erudite." He explains, "So did you I take it. Along with abnegation. You're selfless, I can see that, and no one chooses erudite unless they think they have a chance. Not when they are in dauntless at least." I don't know how to react. "You can tell me the truth. I'm not going to tell anyone am I?" He says, as I give him the clothes.

"Yes." I admit, as I see no point in lying, "Yes, I am divergent."

"What factions did you have aptitude for?"

"Four factions." I say sourly.

"Wow, I'm surprised they haven't caught you yet. The erudite I mean. Which factions?" He questions.

"Why am I even talking to you? I have to go. Just-just leave me alone ok?" I say.

"Fine. Thank you by the way. You're welcome to come to me anytime."

"Why would I want to come to you?" I inquire.

"For the occasional chat." He jokes.

"I have friends for that." I retort.

"Do you now? If you were smart, which I know you are, you should distrust all to do with the erudite. You choose the best faction to be caught in."

"Is that so? I asked you to stop bugging me." I mutter lamely. Turning on my heel, heading back to the erudite sector. Leaving him behind. But all the while his words echo through my head. "You should distrust all to do with the erudite. You choose the best faction to be caught in..." I know he's right. It's good advice. I have to cross my fingers, and hope the erudite don't catch me, I think as I emerge among the sea of blue outfits once more.