‘Zayn, I don’t really have that many people who are interested in speaking with me. If I stop talking to Emma, you and Luna will practically be the only ones I talk to! And, of course, my boss, who talks like a robot and is, umm, kind of like the living dead. Emma feels the same.’ I pick up my bag as I get up to leave.

‘Stay away from Emma, Kee. See you later!’ Zayn says as I rush out of Josie’s.

‘Byeeeee!’

I enter my apartment just twenty minutes before the scheduled launch time of the app. I rush into the bathroom, have a quick shower and then put on a soft and comfy bathrobe. I open the refrigerator and pull out a slice of frozen pizza. I microwave it and once it’s done, I take a big bite of it as I set up my laptop on the study table. My table is next to the big glass wall that makes up one entire side of my apartment, which is on the twenty-ninth floor and overlooks the entire city. I suddenly realize that I haven’t seen any signs of Luna since I got back. I call out to her, but there’s no response. I get up, and on carefully looking around the entire apartment, I find her sitting on top of the kitchen rack. She ignores me and I ignore her. But it’s comforting to know that I’m not all alone in my apartment.

Every night before falling asleep, I somehow end up scrolling through social media. I work in Beta’s social media division, and I know the perils of the traps we’ve set up for our users. But I’m so addicted to it that I can’t help myself. I’m guilty of wasting an incredible amount of my time on social media. This, despite having read many personal development books that advise against going down the social media rabbit hole and, instead, push one to become a 4:30-a.m. club member. But I can’t bring myself to follow a single piece of advice from these books.

I even tried making a timetable, the way I used to back in school, but like every other past attempt, I failed this time too.

And I’m not as guilty about using social media as I am about stalking my ex-classmate, Asmitha. We were together in university—she’d come from IIT-D to NYU on an exchange programme and had collaborated with me on an AI assignment. I’m also ashamed to admit that it’s her life that I would’ve wanted to live in a utopian world. Asmitha fearlessly pursues entrepreneurship while having a perfect family. She has done everything right, and at the right time. She has everything I aspire to have.