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storytete · 7 years

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Truly a short Story

Here’s a little story for you.

It’s a story about what would seem like a normal and very average guy.

Though it's true that many people have diverging views on what normal is, he would match most of these definitions.

Putting aside the definitions of normal and average, he didn’t have anything particularly different from other people.

He grew up in a home with a family who was a part of the working class. They had their ups and downs, but overall they didn’t have problems that were over the top nor couldn’t be resolved. They weren’t a perfect happy family either, the argued just like any other family. At the end of the day, they were normal people who came across normal problems.

Having made a huge fuss about how normal they were and how normal he was, something changed at some point. Now, for some reason or another, he seemed a little less normal to himself.

He kept his façade of being normal on the outside, but something changed in the inside.

…

The boy has a name just like anybody else, but for our purposes we’ll just call him Zeel.

Zeel woke up in the morning just like he had always woken up.

Lying down.

Putting jokes aside, he had been having trouble waking up lately, and I don’t think I have to mention getting up.

It was now a bigger struggle than ever.

Just the other day he was woken up by a call to his phone. The call wasn’t too important, and he was a little irritated because his mind told him that it was almost 2 hours before his alarm was supposed to go off.

Reluctantly, he looked at the time just to make sure.

And there it was, the time.

He had overslept by an hour.

This wasn’t something to worry about too much, since he put his alarm to wake him up an hour early that day of the week, but now he couldn’t take his time getting up and getting ready. He’d even have to rush a little when he had breakfast.

The problem here was that he didn’t remember his alarm going off, let alone him turning it off.

This sort of thing had become more common and worried him a bit.

He used to be the type of person to wake up 5 minutes before his alarm went off.

Well anyway, Zeel got up after his alarm rang.

He stared off into space while sitting on his bed.

He didn’t want to go to school.

School used to be something he looked forward to everyday.

This, however, wasn’t because he loved to study. He didn’t like studying too much, especially when it was about something he couldn’t care less about.

He enjoyed the atmosphere when he was in high school.

Everybody laughing, talking, and having a good time.

Nobody was really worried about anything.

He wasn’t worried about anything.

But he had graduated from there over two years ago.

Zeel got off his bed and quickly got ready.

He changed out of his pajamas (though they consisted of shorts and an old shirt), and brushed his teeth.

He was now in his fifth semester in college and was having trouble keeping up with his classes.

He was not exactly inept to studying, he just wasn’t used to it.

When in high school, Zeel was able to get through without too much trouble with only the bare minimum of studying. He did well enough that right know he was attending a well-known university close to his home completely on scholarships. His friends always said that they wish they were in his shoes.

After getting ready, it was time to eat breakfast.

So in order to eat, Zeel walked toward the kitchen to eat something small.

He didn’t have the time to cook anything, so his breakfast consisted of a bowl of cereal.

*Creak*

The sound of a door opening indicated that Zeel’s younger brother was coming to eat.

“Dude, I didn’t want to get up!” Zeel said to his brother.

“What time did you go to sleep?” he responded.

“I went to sleep early, it was 10:30”

“Studying?”

“uhh… sure… haha”

……………………………………………………

Driving to school was always sort of a pain, but you could get used to it.

As they drove toward school, a commute of about 30mins with minimum traffic, they spoke.

“And so he said, ‘I eat and I eat, and rest for 20 mins, I huff and puff, then I eat some more!”

“hahahahahahaha”

“Oh, the other day this guy came to me pointed at a 20 dollar bill and said that some guy dropped it.”

“I was like, dude don’t tell me that, next time I’ll take it!”

“haha, yeah be like ‘woops I dropped my phone’ *tosses phone toward money* ‘silly phone, come back here’ *picks up phone and money*”

They both laughed while telling each other stories.

The days were always spent like these among the two brothers. They got along well for being brothers, they never got into a physical fight with each other and had never hurt each other even by accident. This was strange as most brothers would have played rough as children.

Zeel dropped off his little brother at school.

His little brother wasn’t that much younger than him, he was actually 17 and a senior in high school.

That left them with an age difference of 3 years.

And as the older brother, Zeel was very protective of his brother, giving him advice and telling me that he had his back if he were to ever get into some trouble. Though just words, Zeel meant every word that he spoke in benefit of his brother.

He was a smart kid, about to graduate and move up to college, he had good grades and was very adept at real life situations.

This is what set the two apart.

Zeel had done well in high school, but that was just because he was very good at taking tests. His real life skills were somewhat lacking. Every time he had to show these real life skills (like interviewing) he would put up a front, and most of the time his act would be convincing enough that he would be able to get through the given situation or pass said interview.

After a while, his act would crumble.

People can’t act all the time, even an experienced liar has to take of his mask at some point.

Zeel usually took off the mask when nobody was looking.

But that wasn’t enough sometimes.

He had been fired from his last job because of his inability to keep on the mask during the full shift after 3 months.

Of course, nobody knew that he was fired. He was actually asked to leave on his own terms, which he did. He had gotten sick of working there anyway. All the fake smiles and forced way of speaking. Having to greet everybody who showed up as customers. So he gladly went along with it.

But his little brother didn’t show any signs of being like older brother, and Zeel noticed. That kid was truly something else. His people skills were off the charts, and he was just in high school. The way he spoke, the decisions he made, Zeel could tell that he would grow to pass him in every way unimaginable.

He was the useless one.

Of course his little brother didn’t see it that way, he actually looked up at him. Because if Zeel was good at anything, it was keeping that mask on without anybody noticing. He had so many years of experience wearing the thing that sometimes he would forget how to take it off.

Arriving to his school, Zeel parked the car and proceeded to walk to class.

…………………………………..

The Professor was boring today again.

He literally repeated the same words but in different order 5 times.

“In order to calculate the complexity one needs to dumb it down a bit, that is to say, making something simpler will help figuring out how complex the system actually is. It can be tough, yes it can. But just remember that something hard can be found by making it easy…”

“Stop beating around the bush!” Zeel screamed internally. He knew that in order to actually learn something in the class, he would have to just read the book. But what was the point in paying hundreds of dollars on a class that didn’t teach you anything but just made you read the book anyway?

It was frustrating really.

Such logic didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

The class ended and Zeel had 3 hours to kill before his last class of the day.

While walking out of class he received a text from his little brother.

“They just told me that I got the Turrell Scholarship!”

“That’s great dude! Keep it up!” Zeel responded to the message.

That was great! His brother got the Turrell Scholarship, something that Zeel was too afraid to apply for. This meant that not only 4 years of school were automatically covered, but that included 3 years of studying abroad and an extra 3 grand a semester for spending. This even covered his living expenses.

Truly, this was a great accomplishment from the kid that he cared for the most.

Wait, that wasn’t right, he wasn’t a kid anymore. He was going to turn 18 in a couple of months. He wasn’t a kid anymore, but an adult.

Suddenly, as if a dark cloud came over him. Zeel’s motivation dropped to zero.

That kid wasn’t a kid anymore, he was an adult that could take care of himself and was going to make something out of his life. He no longer needed to look up at someone for guidance. He no longer needed someone to hold his hand as he walked. No, he was someone who was walking up the stairs to a bright future all by himself.

Zeel’s mask began to peel.

He knew there was something special about his little brother.

He was always a person who handled the situation well. He never had trouble talking to people, he was a good athlete. He was the leader of his group of friends. Truly something to look up to.

Zeel was worried because he was the opposite of him. Always quiet, and alone. He was lucky to have made friends in high school. These people approached him because he was somewhat athletic. But even then, it took him over a year to get along with these people. His leadership skills were missing something important. He had almost failed in a group project when he was made the leader because of this.

But, there was no need to worry. He had faked his way throughout his life and was able to draw an image for his brother to follow. And that was all done now.

Suddenly, the masked fell off.

Zeel was no longer needed. He didn’t really want to study anymore. He went to college because he wasn’t good at anything anyway. He thought that if he went to study something, then maybe even he would have something he was good at. But having spent 2 years already, it was obvious to him that he was a lost case.

He was below average in his overall skills.

Everything he had learned, he either forgot it already, or he had never really known much about it in the first place.

He was walking up some stairs, and people wouldn’t get close to him.

The wasn’t exactly new, since he wore a neutral face at all times, but this time his face showed a level of disinterest way above the usual. The look on his face actually caused fear to those who saw him today.

It was like if something that was being held back had suddenly come forward with everything it had.

The space around him distorted.

The stairs were almost finished.

He was useless in every sense of the word.

He had disappointed many people. He was supposed to be the top of his class in high school. He was supposed to be an honor student in college. He was supposed to have experience in his field by now. He was supposed to somehow get a job after he graduated but that was looking tougher and tougher each day.

He couldn’t remember that last time he had been relied on.

Things had changed, and the one person who looked up at him no longer needed him.

Zeel reached the rooftop.

As to how he was able to get up there, not even he remembered, but nonetheless he was there.

He took off his backpack and laid it on the floor.

He approached the edge and was about to jump.

The view was different, but he had seen these series of events before. He imagined how he would do it when the time came. He had come up with different ways in going to the rooftop was one of them. Next would be to take the final step. As he began to move his phone received another message. It was his brother again.

“Thanks!” it said

Zeel laughed a little, this actually a great way to say goodbye to someone like him. It was actually pretty heartwarming for him. He couldn’t imagine a better way to go.

Another message arrived.

“I’m actually a little worried because in order to redeem the scholarship, I have to maintain a 3.5 gpa and get a 23 or higher on my ACT score next spring.”

His little brother seemed scared.

He had taken the ACT a couple of months before and had gotten a 21.

He was a smart kid but was easily the one to get nervous when a test came up. He had gotten so nervous that he actually messed up his answer sheet and found out mid test. So he had less time and ended up not finishing one of the subjects. This rolled over to the next subject and was unable to make correct decisions when choosing the answers.

Zeel laughed.

He laughed and laughed and kept laughing.

His little brother was easily tipped over to one side in situations like that.

Just remembering that he couldn’t contain his laughter.

There was a time that his little brother was told to give a speech at his high school. He was the best person to choose and was only a sophomore. Right before he went up someone told him that he had to pump everyone up before the speech.

So, he went up all determined and started to bring up everyone’s spirits. He did a magnificent job. Just when he started the actual speech, they cut him short. He had run out of time!

The speech he had worked so hard on was never used.

And turns out he didn’t have to pump the school up before the speech, it was just a suggestion that someone let out before he went up on stage.

Having laughed for so long, tears began to come out.

Sobbing could be heard.

These tears rushed out and the feelings overflowed from the center of his chest.

Zeel couldn’t contain it anymore.

As if something was trying to escape from the inside.

His tears hit the floor and his body became weak.

He fell away from the edge and sat down.

That text was a confirmation.

His little brother was about to easily be tipped to one side. He was looking for help.

Who else to help but the one he looked up to?

This wasn’t the time to sulk, he couldn’t afford to leave before his little brother was a well-rounded adult. Because right now he wasn’t an adult, he was a kid.

And as a kid, he needed to follow behind someone and copy the things they did.

He was that person that he had to follow behind.

He still had a reason to stay, so he did.

He put on that mask that had fallen off and tightened it even more than the first time he put it.

That mask was a part of him and was going to help him guide the person who needed him.

That mask was going to hide the thoughts that came out today as if they never existed.

He was going to push someone until he couldn’t walk anymore.

Zeel stood up and walked down the stairs.

How he got back from the rooftop, even now he doesn’t know, but he didn’t care.

He still had 2 hours before his next class and was actually hungry.

He headed out to get something to eat, as if nothing had happened.

----end----

Tete’s Note:

This story.

I hope you liked it.

#truly a short story #storytete #depression #facade #trying hard to live #rabbit #my story

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