Jeanine Matthews- An Unlikely Love Story

Ch. 4- The Selfish Erudite

I didn't sleep after the dream. The fear was real and so was the hatred when it occurred. I was more affected by it than any other dream I had had in a while; and I hated myself for that.

The real George came by at 7 to wake us up. During my three and a half hours beforehand, I had rested my eyes, but never fully fell asleep, one because my mind was too active, and two because I was afraid to.

"Rise and shine initiates. Your first test will be in the testing room on the third floor, room 3564. If you need help getting there, I will lead anyone who comes to the blue pole labeled with the Dining Hall to the room. It takes only about five minutes to get there and five minutes to get back; I'll only be leading people up there three times, starting at 8:30 sharp. Testing will begin at 9:15, so be there on time, there are plenty of opportunities to get there, so don't be late. Breakfast is being served right now and I suggest you get some. That is all," He said as if he recited it from a speech card. There was a lot of information that shot from his mouth but I was able to retain most of it.

Drake already shot out of the room like a... Bullet. I quickly gathered my clothes and went to the bathrooms to change; I feared that my dream could've been a warning of the future somehow with Jeanine in it, and if Jeanine was in it, something bad would surely happen thereafter. My encounter wit Jeanine personally was bad but from afar, things seemed alright. I only hoped she wouldn't be able to sniff out my divergence if I bumped into her again.

I changed my clothes and hurried down to dining hall, dropping off my sleepwear and clothes from the day before into a designated basket.

I walked down to breakfast "alone;" no one else I knew walked with me, but then again, I knew very few people from the day before.

"Hey there, Sage is it? Do you remember where we have to meet the trainer? By the way, I'm Nathan." A big guy with jet black hair and sun-kissed skin said.

"Oh, um by the blue pole that has 'Dining Hall' on it." I recalled.
"Hey, thanks, man." He tapped my shoulder and hurried off. He still had time, I thought to myself.

I wasn't all that hungry but I decided it would be best to eat the most important meal of the day. Maybe it would help me focus.

One thing I noticed that seemed strange about Erudite was that most of the walls were painted white and not blue. It made the compound very bright, even if there was no natural light present. I looked up at the floors above and saw that they too were bright white. I also thought I saw Jeanine and began to get nervous. One encounter was enough but I knew I would need to see her face to face when I had to do the assignment she had yet to give me.

I continued straight ahead and looked for someone I knew. I didn't want to be alone the entire breakfast and then afterwards.

When I finally reached the dining hall, I looked for familiar transfer faces but came across none. There was a big clock that read 7:56 and I hurried to the line for food because I knew it would take awhile to get through to the end.


After acquiring an apple for breakfast, I went over to a vacant end of an Erudite initiate table. I could tell that they were Erudite initiates as they talked erratically about the upcoming tests. Most thought they would get past the first five but the sixth one was said to be the worst.

"Why's it the worst?" I asked, oblivious to the fact that I was being more rude than anything.

"It's a simulation. I'm not sure what it's like for transfers but I know everyone has to take it as their final initiation test. There have been many rumors about what the Erudite simulation is, but I overheard someone say it changes every year, so we don't know what to expect," An Erudite guy explained.

"That must irritate you." I replied without even thinking. I was lucky he was easy-going or else I might've started something I couldn't finish. Some of the other Erudite murmured at my comment.

"A little, I must admit, but there is the thrill of not knowing and then discovering that really doesn't compare to anything." He smiled.

I finished my apple then went over to the blue pole George had instructed us to go to. I leaned against it unintentionally and scanned the crowd for anyone who seemed familiar.

I zoned out for a while before I heard the transfers behind me start chatting excitedly.

"What do you think we will be tested on? History? Biology? Mathematics?" One girl asked another excitedly. I scoffed at them and turned back to face the tables. I glanced up at a large digital clock which also included seconds and milliseconds; 8:29, George would be hear any minute now. I decided it was better not to wait for anyone today for some reason.

I crossed my arms as the crowd waited for our trainer. George came promptly at 8:30 and we were off without a nanosecond of hesitation. Our group seemed a little skimpy and I looked around to see who wasn't here. Drake, Kathryn, and Guinevere had disappeared. I hadn't seen them since last night, but I suppose I shouldn't have expected to see them right away.

I was falling behind and sprinted slightly to catch up. I hoped I hadn't upset them by leaving so soon.

After approximately five minutes, we made it to the Testing Center. I followed behind the crowd mindlessly as we entered the room. It was the same eye-burning white paint, or material, I couldn't tell, that the rest of the compound seemed to have. I personally thought it would look better with a light blue, but I suppose we had to get use to the white either way if we were planning on staying in a faction.

"Some of you have been commenting on the pure white walls in our headquarters," George said reading my mind as we all entered the room. "And I know it can be a little distracting, so we made special rooms for you to individually take your test in and they are painted a light shade of blue to keep any test taker calm. Personally I do not mind the white, but I do admit that a blue base would be more pleasing to the eye." George commented.

"Why do we care about the colors of the walls?" One guy asked.

"I already said why and another thing I meant to add was that you will have a test that eventually will be about the human mind, and how for example, colors, come across to it." George said in a monotone.

"What will our test be on today?" The girl I had scoffed at earlier asked.

"That is confidential. You'll know when you get it.

"Now, I know not all of you are here and it's not 9:15 yet, but I will get you all set up. You have an advantage that those who didn't come early don't have, and that is that you are able to actually get started when you are ready, but it must be before 9:15. Remember to always take any opportunity to come early to any event, for you may get the upper hand, especially in our faction." George instructed. He went to the only desk in the room and opened up drawers. He pulled out a cardboard box and motioned for us to come to the desk. I made my way over to him trying not to knock over any chairs; the room was full of them. I believed it was for lectures even though the sign on the outside of the door read Testing Center. There were also at least 6 doors that led to other rooms on each side; the room was very large.

"I will give each of you a pencil and test booklet and you will be instructed where to go. From there you can start whenever you feel comfortable, but know that we have surveillance in each room, so if you are paired with another person, I will know if you are cheating or not. By the way, this evening we will take a digital test in the Archives. I will instruct you more on where to go before dinner. I expect you will all be in your dorm at that time." He explained lengthily.

I grabbed my test booklet and pencil. George started to read off a list of names as I went to the other side of the desk.

"Caroline, Door 1; Aaron, Door 2; Devin, Door 3..." He droned on and I soon learned all of the names of my fellow initiates. I was to be paired up with someone named Lisel, who wasn't present at the time, and through door number 7 on the right. I cautiously opened the door and found a small room with ten desks awaiting me. This room had a door that led out into the hallway where I could see the members of Erudite bustling around.

I sat down and sighed as I opened the test booklet. I wrote my name on the inside cover and began without waiting another moment.


Two hours later, I finished the test. I walked behind Kathryn as we made our way up to George. He collected them and told us there would be some members waiting to take us back to the dorm. I caught Kathryn's eye as we made out way towards the door and she gave me a look that said "Go the fuck to hell." I was taken aback even though she didn't say anything. I guess they must have been waiting for me and I bailed on them. I had done something selfish and people like George praised that. I was slowly beginning to become Erudite, but at what cost?