Scarlet on Porcelain - Chapter 2: Simon James
Simon James Waking up to the first dawn of the school year is an interesting in itself: on one hand it represents the first day of the obligatory academic months of the year, on the other hand, at least in this particular case: it represents a new beginning, a fresh start. No longer with the canvas that was his old school reputation, tainted with blacks and greys, reds and greens, at this very moment, in the few moments that he would take his first steps into the wonderful, new building, he was not but a white slate. It felt good.
What did he do in the past that resulted so badly that he would crave such a fresh start? Well, that requires a bit of character exposition. James was your classic slightly above average looking, almost “A” student. He was sociable but not too popular, he was good at what he did but never excellent. That was him, in everything: just slightly above average. Now you see, James has hunger, within the range of normal doesn’t cut it for him, he wants excellence, he strives for it, he craves it, he demands it. However, it is just not within his capacity. In the past he has framed and stolen excellence, in small ways like cheating on a test to massive frauds through tricking others into helping him. If there was one thing he was truly excellent at it, it was and continues to be, manipulating those around him. His greed consumed him, he began to develop a slight inferiority complex and he did a lot of things he simply forgot about. A new school, a new start, was it truly beyond him to become a better person, to actually go forth, work hard and earn the plaudits he would actually deserve? Who knows, despite his past being shrouded in darkness to all but himself, he is indeed something of an open book. With his pride being his literacy and fluency in English, this is a boy who finds bending the truth into 101 different stories the easiest thing in the world. He knows from reading philosophy that many of the principles that we cling to as people, that we let define as people, that we use to give ourselves a purpose and assured identity, are heavily influenced by the perspective they are taken from.
His next step was an important one: with the light maroon walls surrounding him as he entered his home-room for the next two years he could categorise them as gullible and stupid, precious and perfect, trusting and not too intuitive. His conscious rocked him, his palms sweated, his face went red, and as he picked up his pen to write the very first words of the year, he looked up, dropped his mouth allowing it to gape, took one deep breath and exhaled, he wasn’t off to a good start.
