My Allegiant Life-- A Divergent Fanfiction

Chapter 26 Stella

Lamar is outside.

Nathanial refused to let him in here. I had no idea what this was going to be. This isn't another test.

It's a meeting.

"Stella Thorn," Nathanial says. "You might be wondering why I requested your presence." I nod. "This is a short meeting that will determine whether or not you should be on the council. Please, take a seat."

I follow his orders, I make sure to sit down in a seat where I can see Lamar through the window in the door.

I am not actually in Nathanial's office, he brought me to a different room to have the meeting. This room is white, like the hallways here and at Erudite. The table I sit at is white, the chairs that surround it are white. Faith would hate it here, Alice and Grace as well.

Everyone of the chairs are filled within minutes. A man that I don't recognize stands and says "The issue we will be discussing today is another crime," he pauses. "Inside this building, yesterday, a 24 year old man raped a 17 year old girl. The girl died that same night, we found out that the man killed her, she did not commit suicide." What is there to discuss then? The man should either be killed or locked up for life so we know he doesn't do it again. "We are here to decide what the man's punishment should be."

"Was he someone important?" A woman with dark hair, streaked with gray asks.

"No," the man says as he sits down. "Neither was the girl."

"We should lock him up for a few months, then release him," a bald, fat man says. "If he does it again, we lock him up longer."

"What?" I ask. "Why not eliminate the chance of him doing it again? Kill him or lock him up for life."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," the dark hair-ed woman says. "Not always a third, but always a second, everyone makes mistakes. I've seen a few of yours, Stella."

"This isn't about me," I say. "That guy raped a 17 year old. And then he killed her. Why are we even discussing this? The answer is clear. We make sure he doesn't do it again, we don't briefly punish him, that gives him a reason to do it again."

"Why are you even here?" The bald man asks. "You look like you're 13 or something. I wasn't aware we were allowing children to discuss important things like this."

"Hank," Nathanial says. "Shut up and let her talk, I agree with her. Haven't either of you noticed that I don't speak when I find someone I agree with?"

"Of course we've noticed," the dark hair-ed woman says. "We all do it, that's why only four of us are talking."

Hank snorts. "I want everyone around this table to say what they think, I'll start. We lock him up for a few months, let him out, see if he does it again. If he does, lock him up longer!"

A woman that sits next to him says, "I think we should leave him out, if he does it again, we kill him."

The rest of the opinions consist of what has already been said: Leave him out, lock him up for a little while, kill him, give him another chance. As soon as it gets to me, I restate what I said originally, Nathanial doesn't give his own piece, he just says that he agrees with me.

"Then we should vote," Hank says. "Raise your hand and say 'I' if you think we should leave him out." Two hands go up. "Lock him up for a few months, let him out." Four hands go up. "Eliminating the chance of him doing it again." Six hands go up, including mine and Nathanial's. "Then it's settled," Hanks says, he turns his head to look directly at me. "What do you suggest we do, Thorn?"