Word Count: 1590

October 14, 2022

SAMARTH and his determined friends gathered around their laptops once again as the clock inched closer to midnight. They adjusted their positions, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared for the task ahead—it was their third consecutive day attempting to secure the highly-coveted tickets to Bow-Wow!'s concert.

As the seconds ticked away, they all counted down in unison, their eyes locked on their screens.

"58, 59... 00."

Click. Click. Click.

To their dismay, everyone's laptop froze simultaneously. A collective groan of frustration and disappointment filled the room, and Sam felt the weight of their efforts bearing down on him.

Amit, one of Sam's friends, threw his hands up in exasperation and vented, "Seriously, is all this trouble even worth it? We've been at it every single day!"

"—thrice." someone added.

"—thrice every day!" He agreed and continued. "It's no use, bro. You know how crazy the fans are."

Sam sighed and slumped down on the sofa. He picked up a pillow and covered his face in frustration. "But I need this. This is the only perfect way that I can think of!" He whined.

He had it all planned out in his head. Everything would have been perfect if he could just get the website to open. He had asked his friends to help him since he knew the site would be overloaded.

If five people tried instead of one, there were more chances of getting in. He was sure of that. But it had been three days already. They tried every day — in the morning, late afternoon, and then at midnight, but to no avail. His plan was falling apart even before it started. He would have to think of something else to do in the next forty-eight hours before his next date with Niti. He did not have enough time to plan out anything else.

He wanted it to be grand. More than just grand.

They say, if you want something really bad, the entire universe conspires to get it for you. But that was not true for Samarth. He had two options; either try hard and get it himself or run out of luck and fail. Did he lack the necessary desire? Perhaps he was simply unlucky.

He knew he was old school, always had been. "If only I had gotten the tickets in person," he mumbled, "staying in a queue for three days wouldn't have been this bad."

He believed that a queue would have made it possible for him to get it. On the internet, there was no such thing as that, only luck. If you were fortunate enough, you could become a millionaire just by posting a random song that you sang in the bathroom. But sadly, he was not one of those.

"Let's go grab a drink, Sam. Better get that disappointment out." One of his friends insisted.

"Yes, let's go to my apartment. I am keen to open my new stock." Amit grinned.

"Should I?" Sam sighed. After all, he did all that he could. It was just not in his hands.

Maybe I should postpone it all together and wait for a new opportunity?

He slowly dragged his body out of the slump, slammed the laptop lid shut and immediately regretted it. His laptop was the most expensive thing he owned at the moment. He literally had a fight with Niti regarding the purchase of it. She wanted to help him by paying fifty percent of the total cost, but he had enough of her covering for his expenses. She would have paid off the whole thing if he asked her to, because she always did.

Having effortlessly secured a lucrative job right from the start, she felt an unwavering determination to lavish her earnings on him. Generously, she allocated more funds towards his needs and desires, often matching, if not surpassing, what she spent on herself.

When his old laptop gave up on him and he had no choice than to buy a new one. He had almost convinced himself that he would have to ask for help, either from his girlfriend or his parents. But he could not fathom himself straight up asking for money from anyone.

After much contemplation, he opted to purchase the product through installment payments. However, a mere three months passed before he began treating it with disdain, as if it were of no value.

Ugh, I need to be more careful. He thought. He could not let his feelings take control of his actions.

Soon after buying the laptop, he had landed a high-paying job as a 3D Product Designer. He had worked his ass off for it. He could pay off the installments anytime, but he still needed to learn how to control his mindless actions.

Niti remained unaware of the fantastic job opportunity he had secured. He was determined to astonish her, knowing that she rarely asked for anything. Yet he could sense her longing for thoughtful gestures and presents, just like anyone else. He, too, cherished those precious moments when she couldn't help but hide her smile, eagerly anticipating his reaction whenever she surprised him with gifts.

Sam smiled to himself. He really wanted to surprise her, too.

I'll think about it after the drinks.

"Let's go." He motioned to everyone to leave and rapidly texted Niti that he was going to get some drinks with his friends. It was a simple update from his side.

'Again? And this late???'  Her text read, 'This is becoming a weekly thing now, hun. I am not very thrilled about it, but anyway, take care.' Sam sighed and closed the door behind him.

The next morning, Sam woke up with a throbbing head and a dry throat. He looked around and found himself alone in Amit's bedroom. He did not recall going there.

His late night memories were a mess, but he had a hazy recollection of particular moments. He remembered having talked to his sister early in the morning, while he was still drunk and drowsy, but he lost the bit where their words made sense.

Why did she call me so early in the morning? He mumbled to himself as he got up and poured himself some water. Whatever, it will come back to me, eventually.

One of Sam's bad habits was that he couldn't live without his phone, even for a few minutes. When he couldn't find it near his arms' reach, he became frantic. He searched for it and turned the pillows and the bed sheet upside down. After he had made sure that it wasn't there, he tiptoed out into the living room. He made sure not to make a lot of noise because everyone was sprawled on the floor, passed out from all the liquor.

Even in all his drunkenness, he saw he had plugged his phone into the charger. He never ceased to amuse himself. He trotted towards the outlet and unplugged it from his phone.

Amit's house was like his own. Both of their parents had been friends since before they were born. Although Amit was almost six years younger than him, it didn't stop them from having fun together. Even though Sam had moved out of his family home into his tiny apartment, the bond between him and Amit had not diminished much.

Sam hoped that Amit's parents would never get to see their lovely son blacked out. Whatever the case, ultimately, Sam was going to be blamed for being an irresponsible friend.

As soon as he had picked his phone off the table, all the notifications came pouring in at once. He anticipated Niti had sent him messages asking where he was and why he was not replying, as it was already eleven-thirty in the morning. But to his surprise, there was only one message from her.

'Good morning. I know you must have slept late, so reply whenever you wake up.'

Relieved that she wasn't upset, he texted back an 'I love you.'

Samarth hummed a tune as he continued to scroll through his other notifications. Most of it was updates about some new games and messages from his previous colleagues.

He made his way towards the kitchen, still engrossed in his tiny digital world. Swiping away the tiny stray hair from his forehead, he contemplated on next course of action.

"Maybe I could just tell Niti about my new job and take her to a bookstore..." he mumbled as he nibbled on a cookie. He could only think of what could make her happy, since he couldn't get the tickets.

Suddenly his phone lit up with a new message with the subject, 'I have what you want.'

He peered at the email notification for a while, his deep brown eyes squinting. For all he knew, it could be a phishing email.

But curiosity got the best of him. He pressed the message which opened up in the email app. It had two attachments and a body text.

'I have the tickets. If you want them, meet me at ten am on Sunday. Our favorite place. — Luna.'

He clicked on the attachment and saw they were pictures of the tickets in her hands. It meant that the message was genuine, and she wasn't just trying to meet up with him.

The problem was that he had to meet with Niti the same day. It was cutting it too close, but he accepted it.

'Fine, but I am not paying for your food.' He hit send.

Instantly, his phone pinged again. It was a reply: 'Love you too.'

Samarth sighed.