Played like a Guitar

Chapter 2 : Serendipity

"There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be." - John Lennon

***

I was freezing my ass off thanks to Elektra's marvelous idea of having a stroll next to the bloody seashore on a windy November night. "If I look good, I feel good." – was her sassy but simple response to me asking how the heck was she not cold in that questionably short outfit of hers. "Besides, I plan on finding someone to keep me warm for the night, if you know what I mean." - she added while brushing her shoulder against mine. I rolled my eyes three hundred and sixty degrees. She adored finding new strangers every week to spend lonely nights with. Taking into consideration her confidence and provocative looks, she could find herself a stable partner easily, but I guess it just wasn't her style. Instead, she preferred something more challenging, someone hard to get like their lead singer Jessie with whom she planned on hooking up with after the gig. The fact that it seemed like a possibility in my head was both impressive and disturbing. One day she's happily single, the next morning she's texting a random dude cuz she's bored, they hookup, he doesn't reply to her texts afterwards, she bitches about him and the entirety of the male population for a day or two, she blocks him, she's over him, she finds someone new out of revenge, the cycle begins anew.

My love life was as dull as a rock in comparison, consisting of a few negligible short relationships which never worked out in the end as the chemistry faded away before they could turn into something more serious. My love cycle however, was a bit different: I'm happily single, I don't find anyone, I'm not happily single, I don't find anyone, the end. Still, I wasn't as interested as her in finding someone new, especially after I broke up with my ex Brian before I left for Greece. We both knew the distance would ruin our relationship and that we could only be together during the few national holidays I'd spend at my mother's place. I preferred blending in the crowd and staying out of the spotlight, which is probably why people rarely even notice me. I found myself to be one of those passersby who you look at dully for a second before switching attention elsewhere.

Her group of friends joined us near the bar, arguing over which songs were the album's best. As expected, my introverted ass wasn't a part of that conversation, too shy and uninterested in introducing myself since they would forget my name (and existence) after two minutes anyways.

El was already acquainted with the bartender who mixed us some fruity cocktails on the house: a handsome lad in his mid-thirties - hopefully just a friend of hers, but knowing El, anything was possible. The bar appeared freshly renovated, with flashing neon quotes, wooden seats and round tables with black finishes, resulting in a sleek premium look. Most of the ceiling was covered in white papered lamps surrounded by exotic plants. The cocktails tasted worse than they looked, so thankfully the first round was included in the entrance fee as the prices were over the roof. Having no intentions of getting wasted right off the bat, I ordered myself a refreshing Mojito and instead received a tall glass of ice with nothing more than a slice of lime and two mint leaves. I expected more from Elektra's acquaintance. I sighed heavily, hearing a girl yell at her friends to clink their drinks again, forgetting to record it for her Snapchat profile. First world problems indeed.

Technology might have saved some long distance relationships, but it simultaneously doomed face-to-face communication. These people were going out all dolled up for the sake of getting some fake recognition online. Did their self-esteem depend on double-taps and trivial digital numbers? No wonder most teenagers suffer from distorted body perceptions and eating complexes. All my social media accounts contained nothing but the same profile picture and the most basic information, refraining from posting my life online. My promiscuous blonde friend took advantage of this addiction to stalk her long list of exes.