Eliza slammed the door behind her, the noise echoing through the empty apartment. She felt a lightness, a buoyant feeling coursing through her. She felt like dancing. She had just landed the biggest client of her career! It had been so long in the making.
Her phone rang. It was Chloe, her best friend. "Hey! Remember that concert we went to last summer? The one with the fireworks?" Chloe asked, her voice crackling with static. "I was thinking about it earlier. What a disaster, right?"
Eliza paused, her joy momentarily deflated. Disaster? She’d thought it was perfect, a night etched in gold. She'd laughed with such uninhibited joy that night. She remembered Chloe being captivated by the stage, lost in the music.
"Disaster?" Eliza repeated, confused. "No, it was amazing! The band was incredible, and the fireworks were stunning. You loved it!" She remembered Chloe singing along, her face lit up by the pyrotechnics.
Chloe sighed. "Eliza, you were the one who was practically dragging me out of there. I hated the band, the crowd was awful, and I got a terrible sunburn. I spent the whole night miserable." Eliza felt a cold knot form in her stomach. It was like living in an alternate reality.