Other Side (A Divergent/ Eric fan fiction)

2| Anxiety

2| Anxiety

I walk with a crowd of people in shirts and slacks that were all mostly yellow, red and orange. My mother walks next to me, her hand meeting mine. I am extremely nervous that I feel like I am about to throw up. I still wasn't sure about what I was going to choose, and that gave me anxiety.

Along with the crowd of people in different colours- blue for Erudite, black and white for Candor, grey for Abnegation and black for Dauntless. And of course, yellows and reds for Amity- we enter The Hub.

The room is arranged in concentric circles. On the edges stand the sixteen year old's of every faction. Some were smiling, some were crying and hugging their families, and others had absolutely no expression at all.

In the crowd, I see Anthony. He sits next to two empty seats, presumably where my mother and I will be sitting.

He looks pained. I slide past a few Amity families, who don't seem to mind and accept my apology every time I accidentally knock their knees.

When Anthony sees us, he hugs us and we all sit down. Marcus stands at the podium between the Erudite and the Dauntless, who look excited.

"Welcome to the Choosing ceremony. Welcome to the day we honour the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tell us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world." He says into the microphone. Marcus continues to talk about each faction, but I am distracted by the bowls at the centre of the room to listen.

Finally, he begins to read the first names out. My legs are shaking, like if I stand up, they will break.

One by one, teenagers go down to the front and let a blood drop into the bowl of the chosen faction; earth for Amity, hot coals for Dauntless, glass for Candor, stones for Abnegation and water for Erudite.

Every second passing, I feel more nervous. Soon, I hear my name and tense up.

"Skylar Rolland," Marcus announces. I look to my right at Anthony and my mother. I can't kiss them goodbye right now, with everyone watching. I stand up numbly, wiping my palms down my slacks. I slowly make my way to the front.

I accept the knife from Marcus. I notice that his eyes are dark blue, which is a strange colour.

I walk over to the bowls, my eyes scanning over them. The room is completely silent and filled with patient people. I glance back and fourth between the Amity bowl, and Dauntless bowl.

I close my eyes as I slide the knife across the palm of my hand, withdrawing blood. It only stung for a few seconds, before the pain was replaced with the anxiety. I reached my hand over the burning hot coals that symbolized Dauntless, the brave. The room fell quiet as they watched the quiet, Amity girl pick the most dangerous faction. When my blood sizzles onto the coals, the room erupts into a gasp, before being replaced with a cheer.

I am Dauntless.

>>>

We are moving. Everywhere I look, all I see is black. Black clothing surrounding me. I try to forget the reaction my mother and Anthony had. I can't remove the image of my mothers weak smile. She still tried to act happy about my choice, but I could see straight through that smile. I could see the pain in her eyes. I avoided eye contact with Anthony, but I knew he would be heart broken. I almost regretted my choice, but I knew there was no turning back.

Now we are running. The Dauntless-born and the initiates laugh and cheer as they run through the fairly busy streets, almost running over people who were moving out of the way as if a car was about to run them over.

My legs burn but I force myself to keep up with the crowd. Under the bridge, the Dauntless-born begin to climb up the pillars swiftly. Some take the ladders, which I opt to do. By the time we get up onto the train platform, I am completely breathless. I stare down at the ground, which is a long way down. People look like ants from up here, and I see spots of blue and spots of yellow. Everyone was beginning to exit The Hub. I turn away, refusing to see my mother and Anthony. What were they doing right now? Holding each other? Crying on each others shoulders?