Distorted perspective
Summary
A simple damaged mask. A mask would be used to hide, to deceive, to pretend. My mask has hidden what I truly am from myself. But slowly, it has cracked, chipping away to the point where I can be myself. I have already taken it off, but I wear it on my belt, always ready to be put back on to deal with the everyday suffering in this world
Life is suffering. The basis of modern life is if you have money, if you have power, you got the best life out there. What regular people don't realize is that it is all an illusion. When you have power, you fear who will overthrow you. You gain a sense of paranoia and cause your own downfall. When you have money, you fear for your family and anyone you ever loved. As they will become the bargaining chips used against you. All of the desire we have are the cause of our suffering. If we had been content with the lives we lead innovation would never arise. This is the society I have grown to hate. Whenever we look at big picture, we fail to notice what will have to happen. The casualties that arise with innovation. Those who were left behind in the wake of change. We can say that it's their faults for not being adaptive enough. But they are regular folk. Living at a pace that they have become comfortable with for generations. Who are we to rip that comfort from them. But we don't care. Join us or get lost they say. I say don't care about your ideals, because I got my own. If only this worked in the world of a high school senior. Sadly, things never go as planned in my little world. As I finally stood up from sitting on the school's domed roof. I heard my name being called from the yard below. I looked over to see who it was, then opted to lay on the roof again. I once again heard my name being called. I still ignored it. It wasn't until I heard her voice that I decided to make a run for it. As I made my way to the maze of pipes, dumpsters, ledges, and vents to get back to main ground. To be smacked upside the head by someone I really wanted to avoid. Annabeth Chase.
"So Jackson,what were doing on the roof this time. Rolling another blunt, visiting molly, or perhaps chasing the dragon?" I swear just because I'm the fucking outcast doesn't mean I do any illegal behaviors. But I guess I fit the role. With my long hair covering my eyes, ears. A scar along my right cheek. A grey zip up with blacking lining and sleeves. Black jeans with dark red smears. And just a pair of red runners. A rather decent sized backpack that would make authorities question what I had on me. A bulge in my back pocket that people think are cigs but are Altoids. Maybe I should dress up in some white and grey instead. Nah too difficult to clean the blood off of whites.
"Chase, how many themes have we been over this. Just because I'm supposed to shadow your group as punishment for the fight, doesn't mean I need to be with you guys in class as well. And I don't go off to get a High!" If you couldn't tell, I have a bad history with the people at Goode High. First, most of them are middle class students that are okay with every little thing around them. That makes up about sixty-five percent of the school. Next we have the rich "I'll buy my way out of my problems" monstrosities. You heard me right. Those monsters aren't even people. The amount of shit they get away with makes me want to internally split my stomach so the digestive acids can melt the insides of me away. From constant abuse of middle and lower class students. To dealing more drugs to get even more money than their parent are able to give them. And finally all of the "accidents" they cause. Students just don't trip down a stairwell. Or slam they locker doors on the wrists. Or lose a finger tip carelessly in word working, well most of the time. They made up thirty-four percent of the school. Finally the lowest of the low. The slums of Goode High. We were considered the Untouchables, as misfortune followed us no matter where we went. We never went looking for problems. They found us. And this Annabeth is one of the many monsters in our school.
"I don't care Jackson, just consider yourself lucky Luke was holding back. Otherwise you'd end up like that freak Grover." She spoke carelessly as though she were a god to be praised.
"Chase, how I deal with this punishment from Mr.D is up my to interpretation. I see it as I act like a fucking monster in human skin when I am with you, then go back to being myself when I'm alone. So back off." Before this could escalate any further, I felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked back to see spiky black hair, and electric blue eyes. Thalia Grace.
"Perce, as much as I would love for you to tear this prideful excuse of a human up, you gotta lay low. We have a family to return to." Now I know what some people May think when think low class high schoolers talking about family. All of us low class have a job and share a single three room apartment. Thalia and I are essentially the mother and father just because we hold the most responsibility. Our little family consists of Thalia, Hazel, Frank, Nico, Rachel, and Jason. Each of us hold a difficult past that we have had to admit to before we were allowed to join the family. Hazel was a victim of attempted murder. Frank was almost turned into a cult sacrifice. Nico had been locked away in some pedo's basement. Thankfully he wasn't touched. Can't say much about the other twelve boys locked alongside him. Rachel used to belong to a monster of a family. But after a argument about some bullshit the company had been pulling, they disowned Rachel and abandoned her on the streets. Finally Jason and Thalia, they were born fraternal twins and didn't look like they would be siblings. Born from a father that went bar to bar, not caring if the women he knocks up are pregnant or not, their mother had been a nice and caring waitress. Now an alcoholic. I see her under the bridge sometimes with multiple men around. I didn't even feel sick when walking above and hearing the noises below. While others may have thought what a slut. Or how could you do this to yourself. I look past that. And say how much longer can you keep delaying the pain that you have been hiding from. The pain of knowing that you screwed up.
I've accepted that reality is horrid. But I wear a mask of ignorance while in public. Just noticing and not taking action. While anything that involves my family I show my true colors. I'm just as corrupt as the monsters I speak of, anything to keep them safe and to keep their eyes off of the true nature of this world. I may have a distorted perspective because of my own traumatic events, but what says that it is distorted. How do that you yourself has a distorted perspective. How do you know that you are the ones hurting the pure one around you. You don't. As you have used your morals as a barrier and have decided to force them upon us. Do they realize that we live in different worlds. I will mask myself to protect what I believe is right. They may say that they know me but they don't. Not even the family knows the true me. The true me. I haven't seen him in many years. Maybe this distortion will finally help me find him once again.
Thalia
Percy and I have been walking back to the apartment for a half hour now. As we can't afford the bus fare or taxi. As much as I don't want to admit it, it's thanks to him that the family feel so close to each other. In school, I'm known as the Ice Queen. I know right, alongside the caring side I feel towards those of us in our group, I hold a mask of ice to the outside world. In order to protect Jason when we were on our own. But Percy showed me that I didn't have to wear that mask all the time. That I didn't have to be a cold hearted monster for the sake of my family anymore. If only he would listen to his own advice. We all had been living with each other since sophomore year. And he distances himself further and further from us each years. Sometimes when I look out my door, I see him on the window sill, dressed in all almost all black and a gun in his hand. I don't know how is getting the funds to keep us here, but I am glad for what has sacrificed for us. Maybe we can chip away at the mask he wears. To truly find out who Perseus Jackson is.
Hello Hello, Deadly here, and a future project that I had to get down befor I forget about it. I have decided that I am not rewriting chapter two of RTMG but do have a direction that I want to pull the story. So I don't plan on giving this idea to anyone I hope, but this will be the next story I plan on doing after RTMG. So later my Thinkers see yah soon.
