Alexander was always a straight A student and never caused any worries for his parents or even his extended family. He had many friends during his childhood, but never one he was really close to and would share some of his deepest secrets with.
He tried to keep up with this highly competitive sister and simultaneously help care about his little brother. To some extent he always envied his carefree brother Simon a lot.
Everybody had little to no expectations for Simon, yet everything he did from the first time he went to school until his graduation was seemingly effortless and even better than himself or his sister Caroline.
There seemed nothing in the world that was even remotely difficult for his little brother. He was bored to the extent of not finding challenges that he even started studying art and traveling around the world, just to find anything interesting.
Even though Simon always said he was traveling in order to just enjoy life or find creative inspirations, Alexander truthfully never believed that. For him it was incomprehensible that someone as gifted as Simon was just wasting his talent away.
Until recently when Simon started his own company and Atari became a massive success he didn't really know how to feel. His seemingly useless brother was actually a brilliant entrepreneur which obviously was great for him and his family. But on the other hand he was a little too brilliant and instantly eclipsed everything he and his sister have been doing all their life.
At first he still only felt pure joy for his brother and he was still on the same level as his sister, which gave him some physiological comfort. Even though he felt a little jealous, the joy for his brother's success still overwhelmed all the negative emotions.
But on the day of the celebration for Atari and Simon's successful return to New York, when Caroline was asked to become the CEO of the new company, he felt lost.
His sister was leaving the path destined for both of them and went on an unknown adventure, which she obviously enjoyed a lot over the next few weeks. Every time they met up with their parents she constantly talked about all the new expressions and ideas she received. She was extremely confident that Simon's new idea, an energy drink, would become the next great invention in the beverage industry.
And truthfully, after everything he heard about the project and the crazy marketing plan they had for Red Bull he truly believed in the success of this project too.
Unfortunately he no longer felt happy for his sister, like the first time Atari and Simon gained success. It felt like he was abandoned by his siblings and his great achievements in studying law and finishing with a great degree was no longer something special.
Compared to the achievements of his brother and the big goal his sister was about to complete he, the oldest brother, was becoming more and more ordinary.
This feeling intensified over the few weeks Simon went on holiday. He couldn't really control it and he hated himself for this feeling. He knew all three siblings grew up very close together and there were no ill feelings between them. His sister and brother also meant no harm at all towards him by starting their own business, but he still felt extremely alone and depressed.
When SImon invited him to today's event at the Union Club he felt very conflicted but agreed to attend nonetheless. Somehow all the ill feelings disappeared when they played around together just like in their childhood and he never had any of those depressing thoughts anymore. He truly felt only joy and happiness all day.
But when he noticed the behavior of his sister and how Simon tried to start talking but was extremely embarrassed to start talking he instantly understood what was going on. As one of the most accomplished students of Harvard Law School in recent years, Alexander was extremely intelligent and had great observation for details.
He suddenly felt enlightened as to why he received this invitation today. But he didn't feel repulsive but rather warmed by the thoughts of his siblings. He didn't want to see his two closest persons in the world struggling in front of him anymore, so he started the conversation before Simon could get ahead.
"I know I behaved very strangely in the past few weeks, obviously Caroline noticed something wrong with me. Indeed I felt very strange about the recent events and I needed some distance in order to get myself together.
Truthfully, I kinda felt jealous that both of you seemed to easily find something new and spectacular in your life, while I just stayed in the family law firm. Don't get me wrong, I always only ever wanted this position from early childhood, but after both of you went into new careers it somehow doesn't feel special to me anymore.
I didn't know how to arrange my feelings in the past and I still don't really know. All I know is that I never wanted to have any negative feelings for any of you, as you are my closest relatives in this world.
If any of you felt hurt by my behavior I am really deeply sorry."
When Caroline heard her twin brother talk about his own personal emotions she knew just how hard it was for Alexander to confess those feelings in front of them.
He always wanted to be the best and a perfect brother and student in front of the public, which resulted in him never really showing many emotions in front of his family. His behavior and how weak he was feeling at the moment nearly broke her heart. She tried to hold back her tears but immediately stood up in order to hug her twin brother closely to her chest.
Of course both Simon and Alexander expected these reactions right from the start, and they both looked at each other with an awkward face, while Caroline tightly clung towards her brother.
This strange situation lasted for a few minutes before Alexander was finally released from this hug and could take a few deep breaths.
After everybody settled down in his own chair, there was a short silence while the three people present gathered their thoughts.