Part 8

Santa moved closer to me so that our shoulders were pressed together. He took his Negroni cocktail and gave me my whiskey.

"Cheers, Tanaben," he said and winked at me.

Then the whole room went dark. Music came out of the speakers, and I needed a moment to realize which song was playing. There was something familiar in the beat, but there were no lyrics. Until the doors opened and a deep masculine voice started to sing the song that was dear to me. My heart started to race and Santa was playfully observing me. The lights grew brighter, and in front of us stood a man: an ethereal rock prince. Damiano David, lead vocalist of the Italian rock band Måneskin. In one hand he held a microphone he was singing into, and in the other he carried an electric guitar. Our eyes met, he laughed but didn't stop singing. He put the guitar in front of me and invited me to play it. I jumped from my seat, grabbed it, and started to play I Wanna Be Your Slave. A song that was one of my favorites, a song I had played on my guitar a million times. A song even the fans knew I loved.

I was so hyped I didn't know what to do when the song ended. Even though I was a celebrity, the man in front of me was a world-famous rock star with almost double the followers I had.