Page 98 of The Sixth Fraction

“Candor headquarters almost burned down a week and a half ago,” I say. “Dad was inside. He got burned, but he’s okay.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Caleb says, though he doesn’t sound as glad as he should, in my opinion. He has no idea how bad the fire was, how terrifying. And isn’t that strange? That the Erudite have been reporting about our former faction’s bad behavior but not about the hardship Candor suffered?

“But, Beatrice,” he says, lowering his voice, “why are you still going back there to see them? You left. You should be moving forward.”

“Is that why you didn’t let Mom come see you on Visiting Day?” I say. “Because you were ‘moving forward’?”

“I had nothing to do with that decision. I wanted to see her; of course I did.”

He says it fiercely enough that I believe him, and I try to relax. The elevator doors in front of me open, letting out another pack of Erudite, these older and not talking to each other.

“Mom asked me to deliver a message to you,” I say.

He frowns. “What is it?”

“She said to look into the aptitude test results and compare them to faction transfers. To look for a pattern.”

Caleb looks surprised. “Did she say why?”

I shake my head. “All she said is that she has a theory and wants to prove it. But if she asked, it’s because it’s important. You know that.”

Caleb shakes the sleeve of his blazer away from the wristwatch he now wears, a gesture I recognize from the Erudite boys at school. I try to remember how long it’s been since the Choosing Ceremony. Less than two months. Long enough to change him from a deferential Abnegation boy who carried everyone’s groceries to someone with brand-new habits, brand-new posture, and a brand-new hairstyle.

Long enough to change me, too.

“Do you ever think . . .” He hesitates. “Do you ever think Mom’s different than we thought she was?”

I feel uneasy. I think of the moments when I’ve wondered who I’m talking to—my mom, who loves me, or Natalie Prior, who keeps secrets from me. And Natalie Prior was the one who asked me to come here.

“I’m sure we don’t know everything about her,” I say. “But I’m also sure that in all the ways that are important, we know her.”

“Sometimes I’m not so sure.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Why? Did someone tell you something?”

“No. I just . . . I’m starting to remember things. Moments I didn’t think about before, when she acted . . . confusing. Like how she basically steered everyone around without them realizing it. Dad, Mrs. Black. Even Marcus Eaton, when he came over for dinner.”

She basically steered everyone around without them realizing it. The words don’t sit well. None of this sits well.

“Everyone respects her. There’s nothing surprising about that.”

“Yeah.” He doesn’t sound convinced.

Then I hear the elevator chime behind me as the doors open again. He looks up, and his eyes widen a fraction. Enough to make me glance over my shoulder to see a tall man in a blue jacket made of sturdy material that reminds me of the Dauntless sentry uniform.

“Miss Prior,” he says to me. “Jeanine Matthews would like to speak with you.”

My mouth goes dry.

“Wow, that’s quite an honor,” I say, “but I was actually just leaving—”

He puts a heavy hand on my shoulder. “She would like to speak with you immediately. If you’ll please follow me.”

I look back at Caleb as the man steers me into the elevator. He’s just standing in the elevator bank, beneath the portrait of Jeanine Matthews, his hands limp at his sides. The doors close. He didn’t even try to help me.

Chapter 34

Tris