JAX [1]

•Chapter 1: The Test•

"I am so sorry!" I said, bending down to help her pick up her stuff.

"It's okay." She said.

"I wasn't looking where I was going." I said.

"It's fine, really." She said. I passed her the bag. "Thanks." We stood up.

"Again, I'm sorry." I said.

"It's okay." She said. She looked down at my clothes. "You're Amity, right?"

"Yeah." I said. "And you're Abnegation."

"Yup." She said. "I'm Beatrice." She held her hand out to me and I shook it.

"I'm Jacquelyn." I said. I let go of her hand and pointed at my brother. "This is my brother, Mateo." He shook her hand and they let go. She pointed at the guy next to her.

"This is my brother, Caleb." She said. I shook his hand and we let go.

"So, are you guys taking the test today?" Mateo asked.

"Yeah." Caleb said. "Are you?"

"No." Mateo said. "I already took it a few years ago. Jackie is going to take it today."

"So, you already picked a faction?" Beatrice asked. Mateo nodded. "What'd you pick?"

"Candor." He said. "But I got Erudite on the test."

"So, you didn't pick what the test gave you." Caleb said.

"Nope." Mateo said. "You don't have to pick what the test says you are, you can pick whatever you want to be. The test is more like a suggestion than anything. You just have to understand why it gave you your result, but you can choose whatever you want." They nodded. "Well, we should get into our lines. Nice talking to you, guys."

"See ya." Caleb said. I waved to Beatrice, and she waved back as we walked away. We walked to the Amity line. I let out a breath as I looked at all the faction signs.

"Hey, don't worry." Mateo said to me. "We aren't gonna love you any less." I nodded.

"Hey." I heard a guy say. I looked over to see a Candor talking to an Abnegation boy. "So, all the food that we're not getting, you guys are giving to the factionless? Right?"

"Yeah." The Abnegation boy said as the others nodded.

"You're a liar." The Candor said. "Why are you lying to me? Everybody knows you keep it for yourselves. So, why don't you just admit it? Huh? I'm talking to you. Are all you Stiffs deaf or something. Hey!" He pushed the guy. I was about to walk over but Mateo stopped me.

"Jackie, don't." He said.

"But—"

"You're Amity." He said. "Remember? You can't deal with this stuff yet. Just leave it to me, okay?" I sighed and nodded. He turned to the guy. "Hey, chico!" The Candor guy turned to him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, huh?" The Candor guy chuckled.

"You serious?" He asked. "Aren't you Amity? You're not allowed to talk back. That's the rules."

"Not for me." Mateo said, walking up to him. Everyone looked at them. "Listen, you bother this guy again, and I'll tell your mother that her son was picking on an Abnegation."

"Oh really?" He asked. "Why don't you just stay in your own faction? Huh?" Mateo showed him the symbol for the Candor council on his jacket, making the smile on the guy's face disappear.

"Now, why don't you go back to your line and stay in there, or we're gonna have some problems." Mateo said. "You hear me, hermano?" The Candor guy nodded and walked away. Mateo walked back over to me. "That's the one thing I hate about Candor. People are douchebags. They think they can get away with whatever they want just because that's their faction."