Chasing November

Chapter 16: A Symphony on Stolen Strings

Events like this were rare for her family, but when they came, Gen didn't pass them up. She even scheduled a day off of work for it, spending the entire day in preparation for the evening. Due to her advice on a recent investment in certain company's stock, Armin earned a fair amount of money and was gifted four tickets to a concert at The Theatre at Solaire, but not just any concert—a symphony.

She had never been to one before, and neither had her mom and brother. Only her grandmother had seen an orchestra, and it was more than thirty years ago. But before it began, Gen chose to make the most of her day off by taking her family out for lunch. She knew the perfect place, and had been waiting for a good excuse to visit.

It was near the bay with a perfect view of the water, and though expensive, she figured it was worth celebrating, given the recent growth of her brother's portfolio. At a classy lounge built into the bottom floor of a hotel, it was 2 p.m. when Gen and her family took their seats, which were near the outer glass wall, giving them a perfect view of both the city and the water.

Sunshine glistened over the waves and warmed the beaches. The buildings were like bars on a graph, each one varying in height, and there were so many layers, pushing the cityscape into both the foreground and background. A distant plane flew in from the sea, leaving behind a trail in the sky, and from the water's edge, she could see numerous boats coming in to port, both private and commercial vessels alike. Though congested, Manila was a beautiful place, one full of life and prosperity, and despite living there her whole life, she couldn't help but feel tired of the hustle and bustle.

It wasn't until the waiter as for their orders than she glanced away from the bay, and at that time, she hadn't studied the menu for more than a few seconds. That being the case, she ordered the first thing she saw—something that contained fish. It was fitting while dining by the ocean. Hopefully, the price reflected how good it tasted.

In the minutes that followed, the waiter took their orders and departed for the kitchen, leaving them to start a conversation once he was gone. It all began with Armin, who wanted to address the whole reason they were there in the first place.

"The stock's price raised by 18% six days after I placed the investment," he said. "It looks like my decision to invest before the company's latest software released was a gamble worth taking. That's $25k in my pocket."

Their grandmother congratulated him. "Good work, Armin. You've outdone yourself this time. Keep making decisions like this and you'll have a larger bank account than me in a few years."

In an instant, the conversation set off alarm bells in Gen's head. He didn't make any decisions at all. In fact, Armin was hesitant to invest in the company, and he only listened because Gen was emphatic about the stock price going up. She also invested, but with a much smaller amount, bringing in just over $1,000 for herself. How the hell was he going to take credit for her intuition? Was he seriously not going to mention her input at all?

"Maybe one day," he chuckled.

His mother smiled. "To be honest, I'm more excited about the symphony than the money. These are hard to come by, you know. They're expensive, too."

"Yeah," he answered. "If they weren't a gift, we wouldn't even be here. It's nice when companies give out things like this."

At this point, Gen as fuming on the inside. Armin really wasn't going to mention that all of this was because of her. It was her doing. Her advice. Her suggestions. Yet there he was, sitting across the table, acting like a genius whose invention finally started to work.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Gen asked. The bitterness in her eyes couldn't have been more obvious, as she looked genuinely pissed off. "Something important?"