Aberrant

Three: Brooke

I watch in horror as the Erudite kid punches April right in the face. She crumples to the floor, her body landing in an ungainly heap next to her brother. The Dauntless cheer and I feel sick to the stomach at what I've just witnessed. 

The Erudite boy, who I think April called Isaac, turns to me to look at me. As his cold blue eyes bore into mine, I'm strangely reminded of the eyes of a shark from a picture in a book I once read in the library. Under normal circumstances, I would look away and not draw attention to myself, but seeing what he's just done to April has emboldened me and I return the stare. For a moment, the two of us are frozen, and then he drops a slow wink, before casually strolling out of the Cafeteria with his two Erudite friends. 

The fact that he winked at me makes me feel even worse, as if he viewed me as a fellow attacker rather than simply a spectator. As if I helped slam his fist into April's face. The thought makes me shudder. 

The Dauntless begin to disperse, having lost interest now that the fight is over. Soon it's just me and my friends left standing over April and her brother. 

Miriam touches my arm, "Come on Brooke," she says, sounding a bit uneasy, "There's nothing we can do and we'll be late for class if we don't go now."

"Yeah," I say, my voice sounding a bit shaky, and I follow my friends out of the Cafeteria. As I reach one of the doors, I turn and see that three nurses-two Amity an Abnegation are starting to wheel April and her brother out to the school's sick bay. At least she'll be in safe hands now. 

We head to English Literature, which is usually one of my favourite subjects as I get to learn all about the books I've secretly read, but I my mind constantly drifts elsewhere.  I can't help but think that I should have done something. That I should have helped April take down Isaac and then maybe she would have stood a chance. But I brush the nagging feeling aside. Candor don't take part in fights. We watch and criticise. But  we don't take part in fights. And besides I reason with myself It's not as I would have stood a chance against Isaac anyway. 

Doing nothing was the most logical and sensible thing I could do. Yet it still feels wrong. 

Clara and I take the bus back to Candor, because my dad is too busy to drive us. It's crowded but, as usual, there are plenty of Abnegation who give up their seats for us. When we get back, I let us both into the house, dump my bags in the kitchen, and I head towards the main hall, where court tribunals take place. 

The hall is made out of glass, so the walls and ceiling are completely see-through, allowing a full view of the grounds outside as well as the floor above us. The floor is covered in a pattern of black and white tiles, which is great because being able to look down at the floor below us probably wouldn't help the feeling of sickness I'm still experiencing. As I come through a set of double doors, I can see a set of scales imprinted onto the wall, our faction symbol. 

There are already a lot of Candor grouped together in the Hall, and I see my father sitting next to a factionless man who is going to be on trial. I usually come in whenever I'm experiencing self-doubt or doubt in my faction. Seeing Candor principles in action helps me remind myself that this is where I belong. 

 My father stands up and the Candors fall silent. 

"I will begin my reading the Candor manifesto," he declares, "to remind us that an honest and open world leads to a perfect society." I smile. This is what I've come to listen to. There's something soothing in hearing our manifesto, even though I've heard it so many times before. 

"Dishonesty is rampant, Dishonesty is temporary, Dishonesty makes evil possible," my father begins, and the Candor around me echo the sentences back.