1 Year Later...
I sat hunched over a computer at the local shop, fingers flying across the keyboard as I immersed myself in the latest online game.
But frustration boiled inside me.
I kept dying, and each defeat felt like a personal attack. The one who played the enemy sitting behind me was relentless, and I could feel my anger rising.
After my character fell for what felt like the hundredth time, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Damn it!” I yelled, throwing my chair back in a fit of rage. Heads turned, and I knew I was drawing attention, but I didn’t care.
Just then, the kid who kept defeating me—my nemesis—gloated with a smug grin. That was the last straw.
I whipped around and smacked the back of his head. “What’s your problem, man?”
“Bro, it’s just a game,” he said, brushing it off.
“Just a game?” I snapped, my temper flaring as I continued to smack him, fueled by my anger and embarrassment. “You think this is just a game?”
As the commotion escalated, people around us started to stand, eyes wide, some pulling out their phones to record.
“Gabriel, stop!” Kevin finally said, trying to intervene.
“Are you kidding me? This loser keeps camping me! You don’t understand!” I hissed, pointing a finger at the kid. “I swear, if I see you again, I’ll cut your throat!”
“Dude, chill out!” Kevin urged, his voice rising over the crowd. “Since we’re famous, we can’t get into scandals like this! Think about our image!” He whispered aggresively.
Before I could respond, the owner of the shop stepped in, shoving us both away.
“Enough! Take this outside if you’re going to fight!”
As we were pushed out of the shop, my anger simmered. I could still hear the laughter and whispers of the onlookers, and it only fueled my frustration.
“I can’t believe that kid,” I muttered, still fuming.
Kevin shot me a look of concern. “You’ve got to control yourself, man. We can’t afford this kind of drama. It’s not worth it.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but the adrenaline was still pumping through me. “I know, I know, but he just... he makes me so mad! I hate losing like that!”
“Let it go,” Kevin said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Focus on what really matters. We have a reputation to uphold.”
My frustration reached a boiling point. It felt like everything was crumbling around us.
Just a year ago, we were on top of our world, riding the wave of success with our highest song hitting 4 million views.
Now? Our latest tracks barely scraped 10,000 or 17,000 views. It was infuriating.
Our success was the reason why I stopped school because it's nothing now we got fame and money.
But where are those now?
We had been pouring our hearts into making music, working harder than ever, but it felt like no one was listening.
The decline in our popularity gnawed at me. I couldn’t understand how we had gone from being celebrated to barely noticed.
Every time I checked the stats, my anger grew.
“What’s happening?” I snapped, pacing back and forth in the small practice space we had rented. “We’re putting out so much music, yet it’s like we’re invisible! This is horrible!”
