WRONG CALL

Matt was lost in thoughts. Time froze as he was still lying on his bed with his eyes fixed on the rotating fan on ceiling; however, his mind was seeing through it, into his past. Matt Jason has been an orphan ever since he knew about himself. From a downtrodden life at an orphanage he struggled alone all the way to reach what he was. Matt, final year undergraduate genius was awarded the biggest scholarship in the history of his university. Still life wasn’t easy for him. He did every odd job to sustain while he focused his energies on education. Being the best student in the class was an indifferent success to him. He missed love the most. He sought after true love all his life and failed at every instance.

Matt finally broke away from the fit of sulk he was in when the doorbell screeched. He looked at his watch; it was few minutes past eight in the evening and at once realized Joel Paxton, his roommate was at the door. Matt and Joel stuck to each other in a symbiotic relationship ever since they shared the university dormitory. Joel got help from Matt with his studies and in return he would assist Matt on his finances. Joel was everything Matt was not. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His dad was one of the wealthiest industrialists in the country. He was tall, gifted with a handsome figure as opposed to his roommate’s scrawny body. He always spoke about his luck with beautiful girls and whined about his grades. Although Matt and Joel looked up to each other to fill in their weaknesses, Matt deep in heart surreptitiously saw Joel as the personification of his own ill fortune. Despite the odds Matt liked Joel because if not for Joel’s dad he would never meet his living expense and most importantly he thrives in the company of Joel most of the day.

Several unremarkable days passed by. Then a Sunday afternoon, a week before the commencement of final exams, Matt was slouching in the couch watching television while Joel was sleeping; they were taking a break after tedious hours of studying. Around then the telephone rang forcing Matt to answer the call.
Matt: “Hello”
(Few seconds of silence followed before Matt received an acknowledgement)
Betsy: “Hi... This is Betsy. Betsy Clinton.”
(Matt immediately recognized the name. She was this blonde freshwoman every guy in the university wanted to date with. Matt dropped to a perplexed state of mind wondering why she would call him.)
Matt: “Are you not a fresher from the arts department?”
Betsy: “Yes. I’m.”
(Her reply reassured him.)
Matt: “How can I help you?”
(She frantically spoke.)
Betsy: “I’m in this weird situation. Some of the seniors were ragging on me asking me to do a kind of study on different guys and report to them before I eventually chose one to date with.”
(She made a pause to clear her throat.)
Betsy: “I’m afraid I’ve finally chosen you. I would be really lucky if I could go on a date with you. I’ve been following you in the last three weeks. I was always there at the Burger King in some corner seat quietly watching you. I know you must be thinking this is all a joke. Well it started out to be one but I aint that cruel enough to play a joke on someone. Unless you don’t like me (chuckles), may be you should give it a try.
(Matt was overwhelmed with joy on the one hand, however on the other hand he was still not convinced.)
Matt: “Honestly speaking I would love to go on a date with you. But you chose me just upon following me to the Burger King? I’m missing something here.”
Betsy: “That makes only some part of the story. If you can recollect you would remember having more friends for lunch at the food court in the recent times.”
Matt: “Yes. You are telling me that…”
(She interrupted)
Betsy: “One of them is my cousin. To my advantage he’s your classmate. I told him about the whole thing and was all along getting more information about you. Also if you had ever taken your eyes off the tennis ball you would have noticed my friends and me playing volleyball. I was trying to catch your attention but it didn’t really work. Well this is everything. I was wondering if we could meet up at the Starbucks around 2 p.m. tomorrow and so you would be in a better position to decide upon the whole date thing.”
(It was a moment of euphoria for Matt. His mind was racing for words.)
Matt: “…. I’ll… I’ll see you at the Starbucks tomorrow.”
Betsy: “Thanks a ton. See you tomorrow. Bye.”

It was the greatest moment of Matt’s life. After placing the receiver back on the cradle Matt looked at Joel who was still sleeping tight. This time around Matt didn’t see the personification of his ill fortune. He felt the day has come to finally redeem his lost prize - ‘true love’. Matt was the happiest man on earth. He knew Betsy was prettier than all the girls Joel ever dated. For a fact she was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. He no longer missed anything in life. Joel woke up startled by a loud noise from the speakers. It took him some time to realize it was Matt’s favorite track. He found Matt pressing clothes in synch with the song’s rhythm. In all these years Joel has never seen Matt so elated. Just about when Joel decided to strike a conversation, Matt preceded him. Matt told him that he would be late for lunch the next day and would introduce him to a new friend. He wouldn’t speak anything more about it as he was saving the rest for a surprise.

Matt felt the wait took years. It was 1:50 p.m. and he was already at Starbucks staring impatiently at his wrist watch. He wore his best clothes and his shoes unusually shined that day. Five minutes before two she walked in, waved her hands and threw a smile at Matt. That was just enough to flatten him. But for some reason she wouldn’t make any progress from the entrance. In a matter of time she wore a frenzied face. Matt was hovered between curiosity and insecurity sensing her inertia. After a few minutes Betsy released him from that state of mind as she proceeded towards him. It seemed to him like he got his life back. He gathered his strength and made the first move.
Matt: “Hi Betsy! Have a seat.”
Betsy: “Thank you but it’s alright.”
Matt: “Huh, is something wrong?”
Betsy: “You are Joel’s best friend. I’m sure he must have told you about the phone conversation I had with him. He promised to meet me here at 2 p.m. and it’s already ten minutes past it. Got a clue?”

MOST IMPORTANTLY HE THRIVES IN THE COMPANY OF JOEL MOST OF THE DAY.
A routine weekday would see Matt and Joel go to the nearest Burger King outlet for breakfast, attend the classes together, have lunch with friends at the university food court, play lawn tennis until they part at six in the evening as Matt would go to work at a restaurant while Joel would hang out with his other friends.