Damian woke up to thirty-seven unread messages.
He stared at his phone.
Then blinked.
Thirty-seven.
"What the hell?"
He unlocked the screen.
Most of them were from the class group chat.
The rest were from Ethan.
~Ethan: bro
~Ethan: Damian
~Ethan: answer your phone
~Ethan: Are you alive?
~Ethan: If you died I’m taking your shoes
Damian laughed.
He scrolled further.
The class group was arguing about an assignment.
Someone had apparently submitted the wrong file.
Someone else was blaming the professor.
Nothing important.
He locked his phone.
Then remembered something.
The investment.
Damian sat up.
He opened his banking app.
$201,786.32
Still there.
He stared at the number for a moment before dropping back onto his pillow.
It was still difficult to process.
Not because of the number itself.
Because of what it represented.
Three days ago, he’d been calculating whether he could afford a replacement laptop.
Now he owned a small piece of a technology company.
And had enough money left over to completely change his life.
The thought should have made him excited.
Instead, it made him nervous.
Money could disappear quickly.
Damian knew that much.
He’d watched people receive large amounts of money and somehow end up with less than they started with.
He didn’t want that to happen to him.
He got out of bed.
By nine, Damian was on campus.
He found Ethan outside their lecture hall.
Ethan looked at him.
Damian looked back.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Ethan said,
"Twenty thousand."
Damian sighed.
"Good morning to you too."
"Twenty thousand dollars."
"Yes."
"Into a company."
"Yes."
"A company you’ve known about for like three days."
"That’s an exaggeration."
"How long?"
Damian thought about it.
"Four days."
Ethan stared at him.
"That’s somehow worse."
Damian laughed.
"You worry too much."
"Someone has to."
They walked into the lecture hall.
Ethan lowered his voice.
"Seriously, though. What if the company fails?"
"Then I lose the investment."
"That’s it?"
"That’s it."
"And you’re okay with that?"
Damian shrugged.
"I’m not expecting it to fail."
Ethan gave him a skeptical look.
"That’s not an answer."
Damian smiled.
"It’s the only one I have."
They found seats near the back.
The professor walked in.
Everyone quieted down.
For the next hour, Damian actually paid attention.
Mostly.
After class, Damian received an email from Sarah.
Subject: Westbridge Solutions — Follow-up
He opened it while walking.
Hi Damian,
Daniel appreciated your suggestions regarding the student pricing model.
We’d like to discuss them further with you.
Are you available Friday afternoon?
Damian stopped walking.
He typed a quick response.
Yes, I’m available.
He sent it.
A strange feeling settled over him.
He had expected his investment to be the end of his involvement.
Instead, they were already asking for his input.
He wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing.
But it was interesting.
He put his phone away.
"Damian!"
He turned.
Emily was walking toward him.
She slowed when she reached him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
She glanced at his phone.
"Busy?"
"Not really."
She smiled.
"Good."
There was a pause.
"I wanted to ask if you had the notes from yesterday’s lecture."
Damian nodded.
"Yeah."
"Could you send them to me?"
"Sure."
She unlocked her phone.
"What’s your number again?"
Damian gave it to her.
She saved it.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
She started walking away.
Then stopped.
"Oh."
Damian looked at her.
"Are you coming to the study group tonight?"
"I didn’t know there was one."
"There is."
"Who’s organizing it?"
"Me."
Damian smiled.
"That explains why I didn’t know."
Emily laughed.
"Seven o’clock. Library."
"I’ll think about it."
"Would be expecting you."
She walked away.
Damian watched her for a second before continuing.
Nothing strange.
Nothing dramatic.
Just another conversation.
That afternoon, Damian went grocery shopping.
He could have ordered food.
He could have gone to a restaurant.
He could have bought enough groceries to feed himself for months.
Instead, he walked to the supermarket he’d been visiting for years.
He pushed a cart through the aisles.
Milk.
Bread.
Eggs.
Chicken.
Rice.
Vegetables.
Some snacks.
Nothing extravagant.
At the checkout, the total came to $86.47.
Damian paid.
The golden screen appeared briefly.
«[CASHBACK RECEIVED: $864.70]»
His balance increased.
$202,564.32
Damian glanced at it.
Then continued packing his groceries.
It was becoming normal.
That was the strange part.
A week ago, receiving nearly nine hundred dollars from a grocery trip would’ve blown his mind.
Now it barely registered.
Damian stopped.
He looked back at the floating screen.
Then dismissed it.
I could get used to this.
That thought stayed with him as he walked home.
Later that evening, Damian sat at his desk.
He opened his spreadsheet.
His finances were becoming messy.
Not because he was spending too much.
Because he didn’t really know what he was doing.
He had his investment.
His emergency fund.
His available balance.
But the system’s cashback complicated everything.
Normal financial advice didn’t account for someone receiving ten times what they spent.
Damian rubbed his forehead.
"Okay."
He opened another document.
Financial Plan
He typed.
1. Never spend recklessly.
2. Maintain emergency reserves.
3. Invest in assets, not appearances.
4. Learn before investing.
5. Don’t let the system make me stupid.
He stared at the last line.
Then nodded.
"Important."
He saved the document.
His phone rang.
Ethan.
Damian answered.
"What’s up?"
"Are you going to the study group?"
Damian looked at the clock.
6:43.
"I forgot."
"Of course you did."
"I’m coming."
"Great. See ya."
The call ended.
Damian grabbed his jacket.
The library was quieter than usual.
About seven students sat around a large table.
Emily looked up when Damian arrived.
"You actually came."
"Turns out I was free."
Damian pulled out a chair.
"I like keeping people uncertain."
Emily rolled her eyes.
The study session lasted almost two hours.
It was surprisingly productive.
Damian helped with a few questions.
Emily helped him with one topic he’d missed.
Nobody cared about his clothes.
Nobody treated him differently.
For two hours, he was simply a nerd of some sort.
Eventually, the group began packing up.
Emily closed her notebook.
"You’re quieter than I expected."
Damian looked at her.
"Is that a compliment?"
"Not sure."
She smiled.
"You’re hard to come by these days."
Damian paused.
"... I’m always around. Though."
"Are you....."
She shrugged.
"You just seem...to be one place and gone the next."
Damian looked down at his notebook.
She was right.
Currently and before the system he was not the social type always heading home the instant the lecturer leaves unless Ethan got plans.
"I’m not the social type...asides from hanging out with Ethan there’s nothing to look forward to after school."
Emily used her hand to support her chin.
"Sounds lonely though."
"What’d you mean lonely..." He replied a drop of sweat forming at the corner of his head "... I’ve got Ethan."
Emily stared at him as if expecting him to call more names
Come to think of it I am sort of lonely. But it never bothered me. Why do I now feel like I’m a loser
"In that case I’ll be your second friend then" Emily said with a smile.
"Okay I guess..."
She didn’t ask anything else.
They left the library together.
Outside, the campus was almost empty.
The night air was cool.
Emily checked her phone.
"I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Alright."
She walked toward the dormitories.
Damian headed in the opposite direction.
He took a few steps before his phone buzzed.
It was an email.
From Westbridge Solutions.
Your investment agreement has been finalized.
Damian stopped.
He opened the attachment.
Everything looked legitimate.
His name.
The company’s name.
His ownership percentage.
0.5%.
Damian smiled.
He had done it.
His first real asset.
Not cashback.
Not money sitting in a bank account.
Something that could grow independently.
He locked his phone.
Then looked up at the dark sky.
For some reason, he felt more satisfied about that tiny 0.5% than he did about the two hundred thousand dollars in his account.
Maybe because it was the first thing he’d built.
Or at least the first thing he’d become part of.
His phone buzzed again.
This time, it was Ethan.
~Ethan: Did you get home?
Damian smiled.
~Damian: Not yet.
~Ethan: Where are you?
~Damian: Walking.
~Ethan: At night?
~Damian: Yes.
~Ethan: Get an Uber 😂
Damian laughed.
He opened the ride app.
Then stopped.
He looked at the price.
$18.
He shook his head.
"Absolutely not."
He put the phone away.
Then continued walking.
A few seconds later, the golden interface appeared beside him.
Damian glanced at it.
«[PURCHASE OPPORTUNITY DETECTED.]»
He frowned.
"What?"
The screen disappeared.
Damian stared at the empty air.
"...Was that a joke?"
Nothing happened.
He shook his head and continued walking.
Damian wondered if it was developing a personality.
He really hoped not.
Because he already had Ethan.
One annoying person in his life was enough.