Chapter 2 rough draft

I've always thought of the act of writing to be an act of limiting. The blank page holds endless possibilities. Any story imaginable can be carved into its pristine void. Any word in existence can be the first word of the story until the first sentence is penned. After that, infinity collapses into one.

At school Riley was consistently at the top of her class. Not that it mattered to her. She was simply doing what was expected of her and had no issues understanding the material. That was her special ability after-all. It failed to give her great pleasure or great pain. It was simply a thing to be done.

Already Riley understood adults were mostly liars and automatons. They practically told her so themselves; solidifying a suspicion Riley had for years. Age does not equal intelligence.

She would do what was required. Nothing more. Nothing less. When her release date was reached, she would leave this torture camp and find her own happiness. Until that day the only goal was to survive.

Riley spent most of her time in deep thought. She was constantly observing the world and altering her theories. People were the easiest of all. Everything they did was just a show for each other to watch. There was no substance to it. All anyone seemed to care about is the manipulation of the people around them. Each one said or did things simply to further their own goals. And what their goals inevitably turned out to be were little more than the attention of others.

They earned money so others would pay attention to them.
They made art so others would pay attention to them.
They studied so others would pay attention to them.
They exercised so others would pay attention to them.
They made jokes for attention.
Cried for attention.
Got angry for attention.
Every thought and action with the same insubstantial goal.
The attention of others who are as weak and meaningless as themselves.
Do they think they can only be real if they all affirm each other's reality?

Either way, it was a closed loop. Nothing gained. It just keeps going around endlessly accomplishing nothing. There must be something else. Another way. So as Riley grew older, she paid attention to no one.