Perfect Little Lies

“I just had the best day of my life with these gems! Never give up on your dreams, I am truly #blessed #Livingmybestlife”

Jonas Bugler’s post on Bestlifelook was the perfect fit for a status update: Short, inspiring, and attached to a colorful picture of Jonas with his buddies, drinks in hand, laughing and smiling for the camera amidst a crowd of likewise engaged party-goers.

A pang of jealousy stabbed Arthur in the gut. He tried to imagine himself in Jonas’s place: surrounded by friends, indulging in a selfie, and splurging on the pleasure of sharing their best moments with the world.

Why couldn’t Arthur have that?

The next post was a photograph of none other than Lacy Adkins, Arthur’s crush since he was in second grade. He was pretty sure she wasn’t even aware of his existence. The photo showed Lacy with her arm wrapped around Tim Grey.

“Sunrise was on the way, so we had to take shelter. Couldn’t have had better company. #feelingspecial #Livingmybestlife”:

The couple had taken refuge from the deadly sunlight in one of the hundreds of concrete bunkers sprawled throughout the city. Arthur had used many bunkers like it, but never shared it with anyone he considered special— mostly, he’d share it with his family when they were out and unable to make it back before sunrise.

The bunkers usually filled up fast, and waiting the day out proved to be an uncomfortable experience more often than not. But these two had the entire bunker to themselves… together. Arthur audibly gagged at the post. It wouldn’t last for long, he hoped. Then, he’d get his chance.

Bestlifelook was filled with inspiring posts of adventure, companionship, joy, and passion. But Arthur felt drained. He left his room.

Crawling up the stairs like a bear, Arthur made his way to the kitchen for Sunday breakfast with his family. The aroma of last night’s tuna casserole crashed through the door like a tidal wave. Great, he thought as his appetite made a tactical retreat.

A large plastic bowl of the steaming stuff had been tossed onto the counter, next to a pile of paper plates and plastic silverware wrapped in torn-up packaging.

Arthur’s mother, father, and sister all sat at the table, half-eaten plates forgotten or picked at absently. They mumbled at him when he walked into the kitchen, but their eyes were all on their phones. Arthur could see the corner of his father’s phone. The bright blue of Bestlifelook peeked at Arthur over his father’s shoulder.

Megan, Arthur’s sister, looked up at him as he sat down at the table and grabbed a plate. She spared him half a glance before returning to her phone.

Arthur ate in silence, pondering the latest posts he’d seen on Bestlifelook. Why couldn't his life be as awesome as some of the other high-schoolers? Why— the thought was broken when Megan jumped up from her seat, panic widening her eyes, the generous layer of eyeliner she used threatening to crack apart.

“I almost forgot my eight-thirty!” she exclaimed. She leapt to the other side of the table and started yanking on sleeves, “Quick, everyone get close and smile!”

The Benedicts had played this game before. Image was the cornerstone of society— how the community perceived a family said everything about that family. Prominence in a community started with a good image on Bestlifelook, so they all knew how to pose for a best life post in a pinch.

Megan wanted to be a social media influencer. Arthur though it moronic, but his parents had been proud. He could almost hear his eyes rolling at the mere thought of another lecture on “being more supportive.”

Arthur forced a smile as he embraced his family, and Megan snapped a high-definition photo on her Zonic Galaxy 109. A few nimble finger swipes later had the picture posted.

Arthur’s parents’ phones pinged with notifications, and they immediately opened them to see the photo.

“Awe, Megan,” Mom nearly squealed, “That is just so adorable!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Megan said with a smile too smug for Arthur’s taste curled up her cheeks.

Arthur’s sister turned her attention to him, the smile snapping into a distasteful scowl, “Don’t you follow me, Arthur?” she asked.

“No,” he scoffed, “Why would I?”

Stunned silence took the room. His sister was astonished, but his parents each gave him a disapproving frown, serious eyebrows peeking at him above their phones.

Arthur let out an inconvenienced groan, but pulled out his phone, went to his sister’s Bestlifelook page, then followed her.

The photo of his family mercifully left out any trace of the tuna casserole. Strange, his family actually looked… happy? That wasn’t right.

The caption read, “Breakfast with these nerds. #Livingmybestlief”

Megan had misspelled the hash-tag. You’d think an influencer would be more cognizant.

Then, a thought struck him. “Mom?” he asked.

“Yes, Arthur dear?” she replied. Irritation skimmed the edges of her tone. Patricia was obsessed with overzealous self-help articles and unrealistic inspirational quotes, and she wasn’t fond of interruptions.

“Is everyone actually living their best life?”

“Well, of course Arthur, what else would they be doing?”

“Does that mean we are living our best lives too?” he asked.

“Where are these questions coming from, son?” his father interrupted.

“I mean—” Arthur started, sighing through nostrils, “look at us. We have Sunday breakfast every week, but none of us talk to one another unless its on Bestlifelook! Mom threw some really mediocre leftovers on the table for breakfast, no one waited for me, and I was the only one at the table without my face in my phone. Yet, in that photo Megan just posted, we all look so happy. It’s a lie! You guys are so concerned with how other—”

“That’s about enough out of you, young man,” his father interrupted, the tone of his deep voice brokering no argument. Arthur was under the firm belief that his father’s scowl could crush rock to dust. “We work awful hard for you to be so ungrateful, Arthur.”

“But I’m not trying to be ungrateful, Dad, I jus—“

“Unsurprising, seeing how you don’t try a whole lot at much of anything. Image and influence are currency, son. We can’t live without it. I don’t expect you to understand until you’re older, but you will. Isn’t that right, Patricia?”

Arthur’s mom gave noncommittal, “Mhm.” Her attention was elsewhere, though. She had already checked out of the conversation.

“See, your mother agrees.”

“I agree with you too, daddy,” Megan said. Arthur wondered not for the first time how one hoped to be a social media influencer, a pinnacle example of Society’s beauty, with such a brown nose.

“Thank you, Megan,” Arthur’s father replied, then turned back to Arthur.

“Now that’s enough out of you boy, and I’m not gonna tell you again. Get the dishes done and not another word.”

Arthur nodded, and did what he was told.

***

He kicked his feet up on the polished oak desk and melted into the lavish desk chair, waiting for thee files he’d plugged into the computer to upload. Bestlifelook’s hadn’t spared one cent on their Chief Executive office. Arthur’s sister always did have an eye for the extravagant. A u-shaped sofa sat across from the desk atop a plush carpet with a unique design. Paintings lined the walls in between mirrors and book shelves.

Arthur checked his watch. Four-fifteen in the morning. He had less than fifteen minutes before his sister showed up for work. If Arthur was still in her office, he’d have to explain why he was there. Perhaps it would be best to postpone any reunion for the foreseeable future… especially if he accomplished what he broke into her office to do.

Megan had come a long way. Arthur never thought she’d actually do it, but her career as a social media influencer had taken off, and she’d eventually become the boss of social media. He was proud of her, in a way. Now, it was time to shut it all down.

That morning in the kitchen had changed everything for Arthur. Megan’s one spelling error had sparked a fire within him. Social media and public image had become such an integral part of society— people depended on it like oxygen. They’d all become slaves to image, investing everything in how they were portrayed in the digital world, while forgetting to live.

Was there even a time where people sat down and enjoyed a conversation together, or shared an incredible moment, a fond memory, without a flock of camera phones clicking greedily, sucking the meaning of that moment dry? Was there a time when people were held accountable for their harsh words, instead of hiding behind an anonymous keyboard? Arthur was born into the digital image society, so he wasn’t sure. But his grandfather had been a millennial, and had told stories of a time before social media sunk its claws into humanity— a time when the sun wasn’t so threatening. Genuineness had died, and no one cared. That would change today.

The files finished uploading to Megan’s computer, and Arthur went to work. His fingers clacked against the keyboard with practiced precision and, in minutes, everything was nearly ready to go. Arthur opened the desk drawer and pulled out the heart-shaped locket he knew his sister kept there. He set it down upon the desk in front of him, then wrote a message on a sticky note and stuck it to the desk below the locket. He took a picture and uploaded it. Everything was ready. His finger hovered over the enter button, tingles prickling up his spine.

Arthur was well aware of the consequences of what he was about to do. It had been nearly a century since the advent of social media, and society had been enslaved by it. If he erased it from their lives, what would they do? There would be chaos. Sure, technology made the creation of another social media platform possible— and likely, but Arthur would take a few days to give that chaos a chance to break the chains of digital subjugation, and free humanity. But who knows what would actually happen. Arthur knew that, once he pressed that button, there was no going back. He hesitated.

Might as well indulge one last time, right?

Arthur navigated the administrative end of the behemoth that was the Bestlifelook and found the two profiles he was looking for: Jonas Bugler and Lacy Adkins. He pulled up Jonas’s profile. The man who Arthur once envied still put on a face for the party. But, there were heavy bags hanging from his eyes, he’d become alarmingly thin, and the practiced party smile he put on was cracked with a sadness embedded behind his sunken eyes. Rough stuff, that.

He was clearly still living his best life, Arthur thought sardonically. Lacy’s profile was equally dismal. Her and Tim hadn’t worked out— he’d left her and their three kids to pursue a career in mumble rapping. It was probably for the best, anyway.

Well, that little side quest hasn’t changed my mind. Though, if he did go through with this, his sister would be out of a job. Megan had worked tirelessly for fifteen years to make it to the top, and Arthur was about to ruin that for his sister.

Worth it, he thought, and pressed the button.

Arthur wasted no time in getting up and making a swift exit as his virus purged every last file from Bestlifelook. The photo Arthur uploaded would replace the entire website. Megan’s heart-shaped locket, “freedom” inscribed into the center, and a note below that read:

This is Disconnect. You have been disconnected. Enjoy!

Arthur had no idea what would happen now. Would the people of his community even know what to do with this newfound freedom? Had he done the right thing? Was his a story of living his best life, or was it just another perfect little lie?