divergent-excerpt

now. If you are really one of us, it won’t matter to you that
you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward.”
Eric pushes the door to the dormitory open.
“You chose us,” he says. “Now we have to choose you.”
+++
I lie in bed and listen to the sound of nine people breathing.
I have never slept in the same room as a boy before,
but here I have no other option, unless I want to sleep in
the hallway. Everyone else changed into the clothes the
Dauntless provided for us, but I sleep in my Abnegation
clothes, which still smell like soap and fresh air, like
home.
I used to have my own room. I could see the front lawn
from the window, and beyond it, the foggy skyline. I am
used to sleeping in silence.
Heat swells behind my eyes as I think of home, and
when I blink, a tear slips out. I cover my mouth to stifle
a sob.
I can’t cry, not here. I have to calm down.
It will be all right here. I can look at my reflection
whenever I want. I can befriend Christina, and cut my
hair short, and let other people clean up their own messes.
My hands shake and the tears come faster now, blurring
my vision.
It doesn’t matter that the next time I see my parents, on
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