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me that something went wrong with one of the tests, so the results had to be reported verbally.” My mother places a napkin next to each plate on the table. “Apparently the student got sick and was sent home early.” My mother shrugs. “I hope they’re all right. Did you two hear about that” “No,” Caleb says. He smiles at my mother. My brother couldn’t be Candor either. We sit at the table. We always pass food to the right, and no one eats until everyone is served. My father extends his hands to my mother and my brother, and they extend their hands to him and me, and my father gives thanks to God for food and work and friends and family. Not every Abnegation family is religious, but my father says we should try not to see those differences because they will only divide us. I am not sure what to make of that. “So,” my mother says to my father. “Tell me.” She takes my father’s hand and moves her thumb in a small circle over his knuckles. I stare at their joined hands. My parents love each other, but they rarely show affection like this in front of us. They taught us that physical contact is powerful, so I have been wary of it since I was young. “Tell me what’s bothering you,” she adds. I stare at my plate. My mother’s acute senses sometimes 32
surprise me, but now they chide me. Why was I so focused on myself that I didn’t notice his deep frown and his sagging posture “I had a difficult day at work,” he says. “Well, really, it was Marcus who had the difficult day. I shouldn’t lay claim to it.” Marcus is my father’s coworker; they are both political leaders. The city is ruled by a council of fifty people, comprised entirely of representatives from Abnegation, because our faction is regarded as incorruptible, due to our commitment to selflessness. Our leaders are selected by their peers for their impeccable character, moral fortitude, and leadership skills. Representatives from each of the other factions can speak in the meetings on behalf of a particular issue, but ultimately, the decision is the council’s. And while the council technically makes decisions together, Marcus is particularly influential. It has been this way since the beginning of the great peace, when the factions were formed. I think the system persists because we’re afraid of what might happen if it didn’t: War. “Is this about that report Jeanine Matthews released” my mother says. Jeanine Matthews is Erudite’s sole representative, selected based on her IQ score. My father 33
Page 1 and 2: VERONICA ROTH
Page 3 and 4: chapter one There is one mirror in
Page 5 and 6: shoulders. But she must hide that b
Page 7 and 8: glass and steel. In front of it is
Page 9 and 10: I pause by a window in the E Wing a
Page 11 and 12: we can’t prepare for the test in
Page 13 and 14: Susan to the exit. The people I pas
Page 15 and 16: an electrode to my other temple, an
Page 17 and 18: of the dog’s foul breath and try
Page 19 and 20: word “murderer.” It has been a
Page 21 and 22: chapter three I wake to sweaty palm
Page 23 and 24: or more of the factions, but in you
Page 25 and 26: I mean you should never share them
Page 27 and 28: subways, that I have to be careful
Page 29 and 30: chapter four I reach my street five
Page 31 and 32: way he does when he suspects someon
Page 33: natural goodness, his inborn selfle
Page 37 and 38: child. The infant died minutes late
Page 39 and 40: of books on his desk. He closes the
Page 41 and 42: as I walk up the front steps. The e
Page 43 and 44: Caleb on the shoulder, grinning.
Page 45 and 46: I have never liked Candor. “Those
Page 47 and 48: higher each moment, and the glass r
Page 49 and 50: I look at Caleb, who now stands beh
Page 51 and 52: Beside him, my mother is smiling. T
Page 53 and 54: sideways. I’m not as tall or as s
Page 55 and 56: What a good actor he was. The thoug
Page 57 and 58: On three we launch off the train ca
Page 59 and 60: dark skin and gray hair at his temp
Page 61 and 62: I hit something hard. It gives way
Page 63 and 64: chapter seven When all the initiate
Page 65 and 66: your mouth shut. Got that” She no
Page 67 and 68: strikes the wall beneath me and spr
Page 69 and 70: and drops into the seat next to Fou
Page 71 and 72: “You know. Like a bed of nails.
Page 73 and 74: “But we started with twelve,” p
Page 75 and 76: now. If you are really one of us, i
Page 77 and 78: the wall. No one has to know that I
Page 79 and 80: difficult, to drastically improve y
Page 81 and 82: hit the target at least once by now
Page 83 and 84: “Sorry, am I being rude” she as
Page 85 and 86:
+++ After lunch, Four leads us to a
Page 87 and 88:
of his palm even after he’s gone.
Page 89 and 90:
know.” I close my eyes and hold s
Page 91 and 92:
Christina dark and lean, Will pale
Page 93 and 94:
chapter nine “Since there are an
Page 95 and 96:
oth Peter and Molly, but he’s bui
Page 97 and 98:
think this is a leisure activity Sh
Page 99:
Four turns to the chalkboard and ci
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