2:31 am
I sat in my desk, watching the download bar progress sluggishly. My spirits were dampened and then stomped over by my dad's "generous scolding", as he'd put it.
He would always say that it was for the greater good, for when I'd grow up, get a girlfriend, get married, have babies, retire from working as a doctor, and live through old age.
Funny how all of that changed when I showed him the letter I got.
His face went through all five stages of grief. But it stopped at disbelief. He kneeled down and hugged me, crying into my black hoodie. It was embarrassing. I looked around our unfurnished house to see if no one was watching this happen.
He still hadn't calmed down yet. But he was definitely talking to someone. It was probably my mother, because after a few minutes, he was saying a tirade of curses to himself.
I leaned back on the desk, feeling numb. Sasha left me last minute for some celebration. And being my only friend, it kinda hurt a lot. Now I began to wonder who should I spend the day with.
My family? Nah, they're too problematic. For every one minute of peace, there's always five minutes of arguing between both my Mom and Dad. They had been like this ever since they got married, and they wouldn't stop.
My classmates? Even worse. I always thought they were in a higher league than me, even when they think otherwise of me. If anything, they'd be thrilled to lose their top notcher in class. I had held that position for several school years now, so it was natural for them to feel envious.
My neighbors? I cut off ties with every single one of them long ago. It's an immediate no.
While waiting for the time to pass, I opened my phone and scrolled down CountDowners. It was a social media site for Deckers. Here they recount their experiences before they die. For a long time now, I became fascinated with what stories they could tell, so I made an account to lurk there.
Now, I became one of the people who should recount their story, before I won't be able to.
I considered posting, but I decided against that. Instead, I scrolled through the feed. CountDowners adopted a blue logo, in honor of their collaboration with Last Friend Inc.'s latest creation called Last Message. It was all over social media, but in here, it had a continuous banner showing the latest messages, unlike others where there was a section just for it alone. After all, CountDowners was still a separate entity from Last Friend Inc.
My brows furrowed and I stopped scrolling. Of course. Why didn't I think of it before? I could find myself friends online in Last Friend. It was a great app for Deckers, like me.
I went to the app store and downloaded it. A second later, it was already in my home screen. I audibly gasped. I wished my games would download that fast.
I opened the app and waited for the animation on the blue interface to finish. I selected Register and it prompted me to choose if I was dying or not. I picked dying and I was greeted by a message from the company. Then, I worked on my profile.
Basic Profile
Name: Matthew Payo
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Pronouns: he/him
Nationality/Ethnicity: Filipino
Orientation: straight
Height: <skip>
Weight: <skip>
Allergies/Medical Conditions: <n/a>
Country: Philippines
Province/State: <skip>
Extra Details
Job: <n/a>
Interests: books, video games, sleeping
Favorites: <skip>
Decker Section
Who You Were in Life: A son to very terrible parents, a top-notcher with several regrets, and so very much alone.
Bucket List: Live the best life I could ever have.
Final Thoughts: Help me do it up.
-
I uploaded a picture of me when I was hiking with some batchmates I knew last summer. The wind kinda messed up my hair and the pink shirt I was wearing didn't help me feel warm. I managed a smile as I sifted through the memories.
Now, all I had to was wait.
I adjusted my settings so that only people around my age and in Cebu would be able to text me. I needed someone who could be here as soon as possible.
Then, I scrolled through the People You May Like part of the app. It lists people who share the same interests as me and compliment the Decker section of my profile.
So far, though, nothing. But I was getting messages like crazy in my inbox. I scrolled through them with indifference. Several of them were sex bots and people who wanted to "spend their End Day" with me. I stopped scrolling to find one message from a girl profusely declaring their hand in marriage. I chuckled at her message.
Scrolling through these messages made me remember how pathetic and stupid other people were. I sighed and returned to scrolling through profiles.
I passed through an Eliza when I came across a profile from someone named Russell.
I expanded the profile and read through its contents. His profile picture made him look like he was in a bar. He skipped through most of the stuff in his profile. He seemed like a suspicious person.
But from his Final Thoughts he seemed like a person who was lonely. I'll try chatting with him. Hopefully he was someone who can spend the End Day with me doing the best I could.
-
Matthew P. (2:34 a.m.): hey
Matthew P. (2:34 a.m.): are u sure you're not someone who'll kill me or smth?
Russell M. (2:35 a.m.): hey matthew nice clothes
Russell M. (2:35 a.m.): also no
Matthew P. (2:35 a.m.): ur pfp looks like a mug shot
Russell M. (2:35 a.m.): thanks i worked rlly hard on it 🙂
Matthew P. (2:36 a.m.): HAHAHAHAHAHA
Russell M. (2:36 a.m.): read ur profile...u want to live ur best life?
Matthew P. (2:37 a.m.): yeah staying in the house the entire day won't do mr wonders
Russell M. (2:37 a.m.): what
Russell M. (2:37 a.m.): u didn't even leave the house yet?
Matthew P. (2:37 a.m.): ye doesn't matter tho because one i'll find a last friend i'll be out of hrre
Russell M. (2:38 a.m.): alright i'll help u
Matthew P. (2:38 a.m.): r u sure you're not a serial killer?
Russell M. (2:38 a.m.): pfft no
Russell M. (2:38 a.m.): well, at least not yet
Matthew P. (2:38 a.m.): that's not reassuring
Russell M. (2:39 a.m.): either way i can help you
-
I sighed to myself. He may be joking, but what he was an actual serial killer? The Last Friend killings were intensifying around the globe; I had zero reason to trust this guy.
But he seemed like a guy who was capable of bringing the best version of me. And he seemed like the guy who needed my kind of company.
Besides, I had nothing to lose.
-
Matthew P. (2:40 a.m.): alright bet
Russell M. (2:40 a.m.): u're very far from me
Matthew P. (2:40 a.m.): we can meet halfway or smth...hold on
Matthew P. (2:42 a.m.): there's a mall between where we are
Russell M. (2:42 a.m.): alright sounds like a plan
Russell M. (2:43 a.m.): u're going now?
-
Before I could reply, the door opened, revealing my Dad. He looked tired. "Matt, your mom's downstairs. We should talk. Leave your phone here."
I cursed in my head. "Fine," I blurted out.
He left the room. "And hurry up!" His voice echoed in the corridor, along with his steps down the stairs.
-
Matthew P. (2:45 a.m.): maybe later at 6 or smth. . .my parents are calling me down
Russell M. (2:45 a.m.): can't you like convince them to go now?
Matthew P. (2:46 a.m.): you know these kinds of parents
Russell M. (2:46 a.m.): alright
Russell M. (2:46 a.m.): good luck with ur parents
-
I didn't have the chance to say thanks when my Dad shouted my name from below. I sighed as I stood up and left the room.