PERCY.
Not only did I start the day with my mood already sour because I couldn't sleep again last night, I'd just powered through my second lecture for the day when my twin sister begged me to hang out with our childhood friends and their wider circle.
With another lecture in two hours, I reluctantly agreed, a decision I'd soon regret because shortly after sitting beside her on the student hangout's long bench, I heard my name.
"Oi, Perseus! My dude, how's it hanging? Sick party last night!" A random guy called out to me, his overly cheerful voice slicing through the heavy air like a blade.
Just the sound of his voice immediately pissed me off. He leaned towards me—way too close for comfort! With an instinctive flinch, I recoiled as he reached for a handshake. When my glare locked onto him, he withdrew his hand like I'd burned him. I let out a sharp 'tsk!' sound, my lips pressed tightly in annoyance.
"What the fuck, dude?" Cole, one of my childhood friends spoke first and another equally annoyed voice added,
"Yeah, what's your problem weirdo?" It was Daphne, another childhood friend of mine, as they turned their attention to the random guy with matching scowls.
Rising from the bench, I snatched my crossbody bag beside Penelope, my twin sister. She looked up with concern etched on her face, but I managed a slight nod, signaling that I was fine. I ignored the familiar murmurs from the group—excluding Pen, Cole, and Daphne; there were other five people around. They were all questioning the random guy why he'd invaded my personal space, knowing all too well how much I despised having others in it.
"So noisy!" I muttered under my breath, frustration lacing my voice as I turned my back and walked away, leaving them and their chattering behind without a second glance.
Now, you're probably thinking, "Wasn't that a bit rude, Percy?" Maybe it was. But honestly? I couldn't care less. For one, I didn't even know the guy, and two, all I wanted was a moment of silence to recharge before my next lecture. I have been in a power saving mood after enduring a long night of their partying, not that I would've been able to sleep without it anyway.
Why is it so difficult to find a moment of peace while spending time with my sister, anyway?
You would think something as simple as spending a quiet time with them should be an easy goal to achieve, yet here I am pissed off for the hundredth time today when I should be resting.
I sighed, feeling the tension spread through my shoulders, a heavy reminder of my frustration, like a storm brewing just beneath the surface. Cole, Daphne and my twin sister, we'd all grown up together because our families were close, and yet they're closer with Pen, it's not their fault; I'm not really a people person and that's completely fine by me.
Pen had always had an insatiable hunger for socializing, while I cared very little for people's interests in what I did. I never truly understood her need for sharing her space with others. I have always been the reluctant participant in her high-society gatherings, forced to indulge because I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her alone, we're a package deal after all. My inability to refuse her was beginning to feel like a curse—an endless cycle of self-inflicted misery wrapped in a haze of alcohol and loud music.
With every hour spent in those crowded spaces, my internal rebellion grew stronger like a dark storm brewing inside me. At first, I tried to find distractions, a way to shield myself from the madness while they danced and partied—but every activity wore thin far too quickly. Everything seemed entertaining at first, but soon enough, I lost interest and was in search of something else and that was quite exhausting.
I realized I never truly enjoyed those parties since before high school, even when everyone else was sneaking out or begging their parents to go out with friends. Now, as adults, we have the freedom to throw parties whenever we want, but nothing has changed for me.
My twin sister would hosts parties at our house most weekends, no; not our family house. Pen and I have our own place. Our guests would take over the sitting room, the pool, and the yard, while upstairs was off limits to them on those nights, that's where you would find me doing my thing. However, staying up all night has consequences, like arriving on campus looking like a character from a dark Nolan movie—not exactly the image I want to project. My exhaustion is becoming increasingly obvious, it shows in my constant grumpiness and irritability.
I know what you're thinking: must we really have these parties? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Our parties are quite legendary, both as legacies—and being the richest kids in school—it came with the territory. Thanks to Penelope's shenanigans, people have lots of crazy stories about us, they worship us—especially me, as if I were some sort of god rather than just someone desperately trying to hold on to his sanity. Those things made my sister happy, so that's worth something at least.
I'm what some may refer to as a restless soul, or perhaps a novelty seeker—a fitting term for people who easily get bored and jumped from one activity to the next, always in search of something more exciting. At least that was me before, wandering aimlessly through the mundane, until I discovered my passion for building stuff.
It's one of the reasons I decided to study Architecture when my parents finally gave in to my request of going back to school again. Architecture called to me. The only thing I truly enjoyed doing. Building things from scratch, breathing life into tangled woods and steel—it ignited a spark within that I'd never felt before. But, ah, my parents! No matter how disappointed they are in me, they could only allow this because I've already fulfilled their ambitions.
My father, a attorney, and my mother, a fashion mogul, have always wanted us to follow in their footsteps—law or fashion, take your pick. Taking up the reins of our family business in the future has always been the plan, it wasn't up for debate. So to appease them in some way I got a degree in Fashion Design and Business Administration after highschool and by eighteen I was already a college graduate and working as a fashion designer for my mom till nineteen when I discovered my love for architecture—not a bad deal if you ask me.
I wanted to show them I cared about our family's legacy, but now my heart belonged to the architecture. They haven't stopped telling me how disappointed they are in my decision to go back to school each time we meet even though I'm still keeping my end of the deal by working part time for my mom.
It wasn't easy going against my parents but my sister was right beside me. Her life motto: 'it's your responsibility to disappoint your parents' too came in handy.