Transparent: A Divergent FanFiction (Book One) ©

Chapter 2

              The school day passed quickly and, for the most part, remained uneventful. Knowing that our aptitude tests were days away made everything else seem completely trivial and insignificant. It was impossible to concentrate on anything. And really, how could I? My future and happiness depended on my results. Various times I found myself completely lost in a world of my own.

                Unlike Danny, who had no doubts that he belonged with the dauntless, I wasn’t completely sure I knew where the right place for me was. Of course the test was supposed to tell us, but what if I didn’t agree with the faction I’d been assigned? Had there ever been a mistake? Were the tests really never wrong? I could see the pros and cons of each faction.

             The amity, with their belief in peace, kindness, forgiveness, and trust sounded good in theory. However, the more I thought about it, the less it appealed to me. There was a reason why candor and amity were what some would call ‘rivals’. The amity believed in keeping the peace no matter what, and this often included masking the truth behind a blanket of lies.

               Perhaps I was being biased, having been raised in a candor mindset, but the thought of deliberately sacrificing the truth just so others wouldn’t be upset was enough to convince me I’d never fit in at amity. It was always better to be hurt by the truth than to be comforted by deceit. Lies were for those who wanted to foolishly live in a world of illusions, to ignore the realities of life and turn away from what was really happening.

                Abnegation out of all the factions, even considering my own, was the one whose manifesto touched me in the deepest way. To be completely selfless and forget about yourself was beautiful in its own way. Where others saw them as nothing more than things to be walked over, I saw them as the kind and strong souls they were; because to care about others more than yourself wasn’t a feat anyone could do.

                Still, even though I admired their quiet power, I couldn’t for the life of me see how I could ever be worthy enough to join their ranks. To forget about myself completely and think of only others was a herculean task that I could never do. I’d never lied to others, and much less to myself; simply put, I was selfish and I knew it. To pretend to be worthy enough to join their faction, would be the ultimate deception not just to them but to me.

               Erudite; the seekers of knowledge. They were one of the strong pillars in our way of life. I could see how without them our society would crumble. When it came to them, I was mostly neutral; neither hating nor loving them. However, I knew weren’t even an option I could consider. Contrary to the nicknames Danny gave me, or what other people thought when they saw me, I wasn’t dumb. I wasn’t a gem to science either, but my level of intelligence could never reach erudite standards.

                  Then there were the dauntless; courageous, brave, and fearless, standing up for what was right and making a stand. They defended the weak and faced their fears head on. It was easy to gravitate to them when I instinctively shared their way of thinking. There were many times, as I watched them jump from trains and run around in a wild frenzy, that I could clearly see myself among them.

                  They seemed so free and completely liberated from the shackles of society. I wanted to feel how they felt, and act as they acted. I wanted to fight the injustices of humanity and make this world a safe place. I wanted to make a difference; I wanted to be someone who made a change, not only with words but with actions.

                  Finally, there were the candor; my people, my home, my current way of life. Honesty is what had carved me into the man I was today. I loved my faction, but we’d been taught to see everything without the mask of rose-colored glasses and because of this, I could see our own faults.