Todays the day of the Choosing Ceremony for my brother Kyle and to be honest I don't know what's going to happen. Kyle's a fitness freak for sure and loves sports but he's never really been much of a violent person and has always tried to think of the best solution for a problem which usually results in no violence, which I have to say is really boring most of the time like there's nothing wrong with being a little rough to sort something out, I personally think it's the best method.
My family and I wake up at 7:00 am in order to reach the Hub, where the Ceremony is held, a little bit earlier than the everyone else as my dad's a Dauntless leader so he has to give a speech which he isn't the best at, this is definately a Dauntless thing, and usually only parents and their 16 year old child can attend but with my dads job we were able to bag me a seat too. I throw on a slightly nicer and more professional looking outfit as I will be meeting the leaders of all the other factions, so today I slipped on some skinny black jeans, no rips, a black looser fitting shirt, a leather jacket and comfy trainers rather than my battered combat boots, last minute deciding to sling my hair into a low braid.
Fortunately, my family and I don't have to try and catch the train, I really don't want to be a sweaty mess before I even get to the Hub and we all need to be looking good as we are representing our faction. Instead the four of us head out to my dads sleek black Jaguar which I love and the fact that we only ever use it on special occassions makes me love it that much more as I very rarely see it. We strap ourselves in in complete silence and speed off to the venue, no one bothering to make any form of conversation, all of us are too nervous and unsure of what Kyle will pick and he's easy to read so it's clear that his brain is working overtime as he figures out what he'll pick and the what the results of his choice might be. Kyle and I never really talked about the results of his aptitude test, I mean you technically you aren't meant to, and I know not to push him but something in me is saying he might leave and transfer to Erudite. He has always been the one to think of and think through every possible plan and carry out continuous research of various machines and the human body, often giving the family a science lesson that no one asked for, he always excelled in school and even though you can see how much fitness and sports means to him, there was always something more in his voice and his body langauge when he'd talk science or maths and to be honest, that made me happy. I wanted Kyle to pick the faction that was truely right for him, I wanted him to selfish in order for him to be sucessful, even though I will miss him beyond description, it's more important that he feels fulfiled with his choice and confident, anyway I'm getting to sappy now and tears are starting to brim in my eyes and with a quick glance at Kyle, I can see that there are some in his eyes to but me being me and finding emotions to much to handle, I just punch him lightly on the shoulder and we laugh it off together.
Once we're finally inside the Hub I am suddenly bombarded with faction leaders shaking my hand over and over, at this point I think one more shake might take my arm off completely. This seems to happen to me everytime we meet anyone outside of our faction, they notice me straight away, the hair the colour of snow and eyes like steel, and it then also klicks that I'm Zuriah's daughter, the one and only Ingrid Zander, the only albino within our city.
Eventually everyone has found a seat and each faction leader reads out a short speech about their faction then Marcus the leader of our city's council begins to read off names and teenagers begin to drop their blood over the various bowls available. There's glass for Candor, soil for Amity, smooth grey stones for Abnegation, water for Erudite and burning coal for Dauntless. Most kids end up staying in their home faction but a few transfer and you can often hear their parents shock and wails as their child leaves them. It's a long wait for Kyle as they go in register order starting at A and so he's last but eventually Marcus calls 'Kyle Zander' and the whole room falls silent one last time as the final teenager rises out of their seat. He gives us all a look that seems to be saying I love you and thank you for everything but it's time to go and on the way down he gives a similar look to some of his friends that chose to remain in Dauntless, some of them even giving Kyle a quick pat on the back as he walks down to Marcus. Slicing his hand, he holds it close to him for a moment then in one quick motion, he shoves it out and the blood trickles through water, 'Erudite' Marcus calls. A few gasps can be heard as after all , Kyle is the son of a Dauntless leader but when I looked over at my dad, all I see is pure admiration, pride and a sense of happiness that seems to radiate off of him and onto my mother and then onto me.
With Kyle seated in the Erudite section Marcus gives a quick closing speech and then everyones up on their feet and walking out of the hub in every direction. Just before we leave with the rest of the Duantless leaders, I look back to try and sneek one last glance at Kyle and when I find him I give him the best smile I can muster, a gesture he gladly reiterates.