Pest//phan au

Eighteen

I walked into my room with a plan: I was going to find the best Christmas present I could for Phil. I pulled out my laptop and started googling things I could get him that were as good or even better than the CD he gave me.

It was almost nine when I realized that I hadn't studied at all for calculus, but I didn't care about that. I just wanted to find the perfect present.

At 10:30, my phone rang. It seemed to be a telemarketer, so I ignored it, letting "Sugar, We're Going Down" play.

Oh my god, that's it.

I pulled up ticketmaster and typed "fall out boy tickets" into the search bar. It took a couple of seconds to pop up, but I found what I wanted pretty soon.

"Concert in Sacremento, California, December 23."

It was a little bit of a drive, but it wouldn't be too bad. I clicked it and saw that the tickets were fifty dollars a piece. I felt my heart drop slightly.

I had almost three hundred dollars in a savings account, but I was trying to save that for college or something important.

But this is important. I need to do this for Phil.

I went into my bank account online and transferred the money I needed for the ticket into my checking account quickly, then went back to the website.

The concert was right before Christmas, so that might be a little complicated, but I was determined to make it work.

But what if Phil went on vacation for Christmas? Then I'd spend a hundred dollars on nothing. I picked up my phone quickly and found Phil's contact. I realized that he might've been asleep, so I texted him.

Are you doing anything on the 23 of December?

I stared at my phone, awaiting a response. I wanted to buy them now, I was so excited for it. One of his favorite bands is Fall Out Boy, so hopefully he would enjoy it.

My phone buzzed with his response.

No, why?

I beamed happily and went back to my laptop. The ticket-buying process was easy, I just had to print the tickets when I was finished.

I hit print and took off down the stairs to the office where all of my dad's computer stuff was. I threw open the door and marched in. I grabbed the warm papers from the tray and walked back out, closing the door behind me. I was so excited for this, I could barely feel my fingers.

I went back up to my room, my exhaustion finally catching up with me. I closed my laptop and placed it on the floor next to my bed. I picked up my phone to put it on the charger, but found a missed call from Phil.

I redialed quickly.

"Hello?" His voice was slightly muffled.

"Hey," I responded cheerfully.

"Why did you want to know what I was doing on the twenty-third?"

I can't tell him yet, but I have to give him the present before Christmas, or it would completely defeat the purpose.

"You'll find out tomorrow," I replied.

"Okay," he said slowly. "When tomorrow?"

"After school."

"I don't know if I can wait that long," he chuckled.

"I have faith in you."

---

The next morning I hopped out of bed with an extra pep in my step. I grabbed the tickets and carefully put them in my binder.

I stepped out of my house wearing Phil's coat and for the first time this winter, I didn't really mind the cold. It felt good on my face.