Behind the Masks

Chapter 2

I met him when I bumped into him in the street, lost in a daydream (nightmare), and he spilled his coffee all over us. Oh great job Eleanor. You've really done it this time. Your life is over.

As to par with the standards of our little world, he smiled and apologized and offered to help me clean up. My heart raced and I shook as if there was an earthquake that only affected me, and replied with a smile that I would rather help him because it was my fault. My eyes darted up to his and my heart nearly stopped. He towered above my small frame, and I had to look up at him to look up at his face. His sky blue eyes held my gaze and calmed me down in an instant, and it was like he knew so much more about me than anyone ever had, more than I ever thought possible. He had broad shoulders and high cheekbones, with a strong defined jawline. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder what he actually looked like. I learned that his name was Oliver. Oliver Wilkins. And that he was very pleased to make my acquaintance. He seemed to radiate this calm that overtook me and I felt... safe with him. He smiled at me and made me smile for real in the first time for as long as I could remember. After that first meeting, I swear to you that that boy never left my mind, and I knew nothing of the kid other than his name and those enchanting blue eyes.

I tried my best to shake the thoughts of him during the day, but it was apparently pretty obvious that my mind was wandering all day when Marley asked me why I couldn't seem to focus on anything during our history class.

"Sorry girl," I replied quickly somewhat shaking my head.

"What's going on with you? Did something happen?" she seemed concerned, but I knew it was just a nicety.

Being careful with how I answered I said, "Yes something happened, but it's not a bad thing. Well, I might've majorly screwed up but also maybe not so I'm gonna say it's a good thing. I'm happy. Just daydreaming."

"Well daydream later, we're supposed to be going through all these photos and deciding why their marriages failed," Marley stated a bit harshly.

This class, the one that Mrs. Nells, taught – and I use that term very very loosely is one that I dreaded going to on a daily basis. Basically a propaganda class in order to keep us believing that the Council of Elders know best, and to learn and see how the normal people of the Old World looked. Then we would look at pictures of the models and of the old celebrities, and of the old people of power, and we had to find similarities between these people and the people here. It was obvious. The outward appearance of perfection. Sleek, smooth, and shiny everything, well, everything but skin of course. We'd study old politicians, and learn about how the government finally crumbled, falling apart and the Old World was split into factions which quickly turned on each other to gain power. There were classes about math and science, but from what I gathered from Mrs. Nells' class, these classes were very different than the ones taught back then.

Yeah, I know. Pretty messed up, right? In this project that we were currently working on, we were shown pictures of famous couples from the Old World, and were told to look at them and describe them and what characteristics the masks provide for us that they tried to attain without them, and then research these couples and find out why the marriages failed (infidelity I found, was a very common reason), and then explain how the masks prevent those problems so the marriages in our society last longer.

I desperately wanted to ask why this was even necessary because we already seem to have it all figured out, or are supposed to because of the masks, but I knew that if I did I would be ostracized and set apart from everyone else in the society. I'd probably be taken away and interrogated, or have my brain wiped or something. Nothing would really surprise me. Growing up, you hear all these horror stories, kids will gather together while their parents converse, and they'll do their best to scare the shit out of as many other children as possible. Favorite topics were those of ghosts (which they got the idea from reading stories from the Old World), zombies (also a thing from the Old World. Definitely terrifying), and being taken away by the Council. Once the parents caught on, the children would be broken apart and sent home, but usually nobody noticed it until one person started crying and ran and told because they were scared (yes that was Marley when we were younger. So many fun nights ruined with her being such a scaredy-cat).