i don't do fake love (but i'll take some from you tonight)

ii.

The offer hung in the air for the entirety of their day. They went to classes, sure, but only as ghosts of themselves, thoughts wandering elsewhere. How does one respond to an offer like that? They all wanted to travel the world. But only the two of them could go, leaving Dot behind. And their problems wouldn't just magically get solved. Two weeks absent from work would cut down their funds mercilessly. They were already late on their bills, reserves hitting an all time low.

Yet rejecting it would feel just wasteful. Where do you even get a chance like that? Two weeks living in luxury, doing anything they wanted? But it felt wrong, as if their wish was granted by a crooked, evil genie, enjoying the misfortune of others. Not even once they suspected they might win the first prize, just because of how unachievable it seemed. One of the lesser ones seemed much more down to earth. And yet here they were.

And so they sat in silence, thinking. The sun was slowly going under the horizon. No clear decision was in sight.

"You can't just reject it," started Dot, seemingly fixated on the idea of them going. Despite her initial reluctance to join and the shock after they won, the offer seemed too good to be true. And she'd love it for her friends. No jealousy involved. Really. And despite that, she had a feeling the two of them should clear some stuff up. She had enough of the awkward third wheeling with their unresolved sexual tension, or whatever it was. Maybe they'd resolve all the feelings they've been trying so hard to hide, but were obvious to anyone with eyes. To anyone except them two, apparently.

"We don't have enough money to pay rent, how can we afford going somewhere for so long? I have no intention of ending up on the streets," objected Anadil.

"Listen, maybe we can go. Rich people are careless with their things, so we could steal a diamond necklace or two and sell them. That would be even more than the ten thousand," thought Hester out loud.

"That shit's probably tracked. No one will ignore thousands of dollars missing from their neck," said Anadil, skepticism clear in her voice. But her mind immediately jumped to the possibilities opening up.

Hester only continued. "Unless they're really drunk. Or we can bring weed. Maybe they don't even know what that is, maybe rich people only do coke."

"Or we could each seduce a billionaire and get a sugar parent," suggested Anadil.

"Ani, it's our wedding cruise, I don't think anyone would like to hit."

"We can just say we're open."

Dot sat and stared at them open eyed, listening, waiting for their ideas to end. But the influx of their words never seemed to stop.

"One big heist, I tell you. Change our names and move to Brazil."

"Learn everyone's dirty secrets so we can blackmail them."

"No, no, you're onto something. I bet most of them are married and away from their spouses, so-"

"Guys, WHAT THE FUCK," screamed Dot, finally earning their attention to herself.

"Has the revolutionary thought of just like, asking, occured to you? With no schemes, just asking the organisator to switch your rewards with someone else?"

"You know it doesn't work that way, right? There are ten other people sharing the second spot. How would he even choose?" said Hester, dismissing her.

"I don't know, fairly? You should be glad we're winning despite not being really eligible to compete and not want anything more."

"It's not like we want to be millionaires, but we need the money. If we refuse our rewards, will we even get anything?" asked Anadil.

"So you'd rather get married? You do realize it's official, right? With no way back?"