Identity Distortion: The Perfect Family

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Nathan Shaw

November 4, 2015: Seven Months Before

---Counsel Session---

I was extremely bummed out when I woke up this morning.

Why?

Have you ever had a really great dream and then wake up disappointed because you realized that it was just a dream?

Ugh! I hate it when that happens. Especially when the dream actually feels real.

Exactly. Most times I can tell when I'm dreaming due to the absurdity of the dream itself but there are a few instances when my dreams feel very real. Those dreams are pretty vivid too.

So what was your dream about?

I dreamt that I was showing my paintings to a huge crowd at an art gallery.

That must've been nice.

It was. And the best part was that the people loved them and applauded each one. I probably should've known it was a dream when that happened though. My paintings aren't that good.

Nathan, you really should stop being so critical of yourself.

I'm just being honest. Personally, I love my paintings. After all, they're my work. I'd love it if they were admired but I don't think that's gonna happen.

You should show your paintings to people in your neighborhood.

Yeah, and maybe I should start the bidding at one billion dollars.

Now that might be a bit unrealistic.

Well, I was being sarcastic.

Seriously speaking, I really think you should show your paintings. You can host like a small art show at your school or at your church or even at your house. I'm sure your family will help you to put it all together.

Hm. That does sound like a good idea. I'm still not interested in becoming a professional painter as I'm still more focused on writing but I guess the art shows can be like a hobby. But I don't think my family will be getting involved in something like that anytime soon though.

And why is that?

At the moment my family is a bit...What's the word I'm looking for? Disconnected? I think we're a bit disconnected right now. Each of us are in our own little world, busy doing our own thing. We don't even eat dinner together at the table anymore. The campaign has really changed the energy around the house. It's a lot busier I would say. There's always something that has to be done so besides working toward the campaign together, there's not much else that we do together. And that's alright honestly. I'm fine with us focusing on the campaign for now. But the major irony is that the last time we did a spread for a magazine, the main headline on the cover was that our family is the 'perfect family'.

How has it been being a part of the campaign so far?

It has been...interesting. And I describe it as such because I've gotten to see how things are when the cameras aren't rolling. Like behind the scenes stuff. It has made me realize just how fake some people can be. For instance, a couple of days ago all of us went on the 'Smile Today' morning talk show. Have you ever seen that show?

No, I haven't.

Well, on the show there's this host by the name of Genevieve Vivance who Scott just hates for her views on a few matters. She's one of two hosts on the show. Anyway, Mom likes that talk show and whenever she watches it in the mornings, Scott would go on about how much he hates Genevieve and the show itself. Yet he had no problem going on the show and laughing it up with Genevieve. And I understand that it's just business but even when we were off the air, Scott was practically praising her and whatnot. So the fakeness of the business is just very interesting to me. I've noticed some fakeness in the family as well. I remember one time Mom and Scott had an argument just minutes before we were supposed to attend a social event. They were even arguing on the car ride there. But before they got out of the car, they literally agreed to put their argument on hold and then at the event they were all hand in hand, laughing and kissing and whatnot. It seems like in business, you have to be really fake to move forward.

Not just in business. In the real world as well. Unfortunately, that's just how it is.

It's a bit scary knowing that the world is like that. Isn't it? In a world where people can be so fake, how do you know the people that are actually genuine? What if there are people currently around us who are only using us for their own benefit? Who exactly can you or I trust?