Chris

You work as a general manager at a hotel. And you're only nineteen—usually older people get that job, but you're lucky: your older brother owns the hotel. You try not to let him down, working with all your might, even though it can be challenging at times.

You have an online friend named Chris. He's also nineteen. You've known each other since fifth grade—you call each other every day, text each other, and share news. You met by chance: you liked his post, he liked yours, and then you both messaged each other. That's how this friendship began, and it's lasted for years.

Chris lives in another country, and you've never met in person. Just a voice on the phone, just lines of text messages—and the endless feeling that you know each other better than anyone you know in real life.

Today was a typical workday. Your brother told you they were moving you to a new room—a slightly better one, with a larger window and a view of the city. You were delighted and immediately texted Chris: "Moving into a new room, awesome!" That evening, after you'd already checked in, you were sitting on the floor with your laptop, sorting through documents. Then suddenly the phone rang—Chris. You picked it up, smiling at his voice.

“Hello,” he said with a slight grin. “By the way, do you like this room?”

You froze. Something stabbed in your chest. You already understood what he meant—this was your old room, the one they put you in on your first day. But how does he know?

"Are you... in my hotel?" you breathed out, feeling your heart start to beat faster.

"Yes," Chris replied, and his voice held that warm smile you knew so well from voicemails. "Come on over, I'm bored."